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The Gospel Observer

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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August 12, 1990
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Contents:

1) The Prophets of God (Tom Edwards)
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The Prophets of God
by Tom Edwards

A study of the minor prophets can be beneficial for every Bible student; but, sadly, this type of study is often neglected. Though some will often begin, they soon become discouraged and give up, due to a lack of background information. And there are also those who are not concerned at all about the background information; instead they are trying to find other things, such as allusions toward "cars, planes, current world leaders, and a list of other modern day happenings" in the holy ancient text. (Just glance through some of today's premillennial writings and you'll see this is so.)

Having an understanding as to the political, social, and spiritual conditions of the time in which the prophet lived will help us in better interpreting his writing. We must keep in mind that the prophet was addressing those in his day and see the relevancy of his message in view of their circumstances.

All of the minor prophets are quoted or alluded to in the New Testament with the exception of Obadiah and Nahum.

It has been said that it was Augustine who coined the phrase "minor prophets." Though many have probably misunderstood this expression, a minor prophet was not inferior to a "major prophet"; his writings were simply shorter. Each of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (all major prophets) is longer than the combined writings of all twelve of the minor prophets.

Etymologists are not certain as to the origin of the Hebrew word translated "prophet" ("nabhi"), but there is a general agreement that it is derived from a term that means "to boil up or boil forth like some hot spring or fountain." It was Jeremiah who declared, "...But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not" (Jer. 20:9). This simile depicts the fervent nature of Jeremiah in proclaiming God's word. Just as water that is heated to 100 degrees Celsius must boil, Jeremiah was prompted by his love for the truth to proclaim the word of the Lord that had been brought to his heart. He could not merely keep it to himself.

There are other designations used in the Bible to refer to the prophet: "Seer" is apparently the earliest of them; 1 Samuel 9:9 states that "Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: `Come, let us go to the seer'; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer." Other terms sometimes employed are "man of God" (1 Kings 13:1), "man of the spirit" (Hos. 9:7), and "watchman"; but the most common is simply "prophet." It is used more than 400 times as a noun in the Old Testament; and, as a verb from the same root, 110 times.

Perhaps by observing Aaron's relationship to Moses it will serve to illustrate what a prophet is. Exodus 7:1 reads, "Then the Lord said to Moses, `See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet." Exodus 4:16 further exclaims: "Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a MOUTH for you, and you shall be as God to him." ("he shall be thy SPOKESMAN unto the people" [King James Version]).  Since Aaron, as a prophet to Moses, was to be a "spokesman" or a "mouth," this then is also what God's prophet was to be to Him.  2 Chronicles 36:21 speaks of "the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah." Hebrews 1:1 states: "God...spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets...." These men of God were "moved by the Holy Spirit" to proclaim the message that the Lord was imparting to them (2 Pet. 1:20,21).

The prophets of old can be categorized as either an "oral" or a "literal" prophet. The "oral" prophet simply being the one whom, though he prophesied, we have no books by him. Elijah and Elisha would be two examples of this order. In the Old Testament we have the writings of 16 "literal" prophets.

Many of the Bible characters were prophets of God: Abraham (Gen. 20:7) and Moses (Deut. 18:15-18; 34:10; Hos. 12:13) are both referred to as such; yet especially in Moses' writings, he dealt primarily with current laws and regulations rather than the foretelling of future events. As one old preacher used to show, the prophet was not just a foreteller, but even more so a forth-teller, proclaiming the message God wanted His people to know.

Though Abraham, Moses, and many other prophets lived years prior to the days of Samuel, it appears that the "prophetic era" really did not begin until the time of this venerable Bible character; who served not only as prophet, but also as priest and judge between the time of Eli the high priest of Shiloh and Saul the first king of Israel.  As Peter was urging the people to repent and turn unto God, he informed them that "all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days" (Acts 3:24).  When Paul related to his fellow Jews in the synagogue of some of Israel's history, he spoke of that time when God "gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet" (Acts 13:20).  The Hebrew writer also alludes to this prophetic era in Hebrew 11:32; here he states: "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets."

Commenting on this Robert Harkrider states: "The origin of the prophetic order in Israel dates back to Samuel...Samuel...was the one who originated the `schools' of the prophets and thus, also, the prophetic `order.' In this sense, he is `the first of the prophets' -- a distinction which the New Testament clearly recognizes in Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb. 11:32."
 
It's interesting to note that the prophets also served not only as "foretellers" and "forth-tellers," but also as the HISTORIANS OF ISRAEL, or to clarify this more, THE INTERPRETERS OF ISRAELITE HISTORY. This function, however, is often overlooked.

A number of times in the books of Samuel and Kings, a small note is given at the end of the information of each king that says something to the effect that the rest of the acts of this particular king are recorded in the "book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah" (and/or "Israel"). Many have erroneously assumed that this has reference to the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, but that could not be so because they were probably not even written until about a hundred to a hundred and fifty years after the books of Samuel and Kings. Also, these references that are indicated as being in the "books of the chronicles of the kings of Judah" (and/or "Israel") are often not in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles. Apparently, these referrals in the books of Samuel and Kings had reference to official archives or records. Interestingly, in the parallel passages of 1 and 2 Chronicles, the notes at the end of the reigns of those kings also direct the reader to what in all probability are the same official records. But in Chronicles it does not refer the reader to "the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah (and/or "Israel"), but rather to the BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS: Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chron. 29:29); Iddo and Ahijah (2 Chron.  9:29); Shemaiah and Iddo (2 Chron. 12:15); Jehu (2 Chron. 20:34); and even Isaiah (2 Chron. 26:22) and other prophets.

Consider the following example concerning the end of the reign of Rehoboam: 1 Kings 14:29, "Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?" Now hear the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 12:15: "The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies?...."

It appears that these historical records were being kept and written by the prophets themselves. Phil Roberts remarks that these records "were probably stored in the temple, and while that might suggest a job for a priest, we should remember that many of the prophets were in fact priests."

The Jews themselves have preserved yet another indicator of the prophetic role in the writing of Israelite history. Though we speak of the main divisions of the Old Testament as Law, History, Poetry, and the Prophets; the Jews divided these same books into just three divisions: Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Their historical books were at least in part under the category of the prophets.

This three-part division of the Old Testament is rather ancient. Jesus Himself spoke of the things which were written of Him in "the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44).

Another distinction between how we categorize the prophets and the way in which the Jews did is seen in the following: We normally speak of the "Major" and the "Minor" prophets, but the Jews referred to both these categories as the "Latter" prophets; and they also referred to some as the "Former" prophets, that pertain to the historical books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. They had viewed these writings as essentially the works of the prophets of Israel.

The prophets we read of in the Bible are probably just a segment of all the prophets whom God has used.  However, their writings can be very profitable for us today, as we see the world entangled within so many of the same snares which God's people became entrapped long ago; and their message of God's righteousness, man's sin, and man's need to repent and turn to the Lord is still highly relevant and needful for our time as well.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation


1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17;  John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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First published for the Tri-state church of Christ in Ashland, Kentucky, at 713 13th Street.

evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards
tedwards1109@gmail.com
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