Understanding the Old Testament Prophets: Roles, Actions, and Visions

Understanding the Old Testament Prophets

Major and Minor Prophets

Major: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.

Minor: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

What is a Prophet?

A prophet is a messenger of God, a close advisor to the king, true to the Torah, an advocate for the people and God, and an agent of God, a truth-teller.

A prophet is not a fortune teller, a perfect believer, or a prognosticator/predictor of the future.

Superpowers and Empires During the Time of the Prophets

Persia, Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, Greece (these empires affected the Israelites).

Prophetic Actions

• Isaiah: Walked around naked for 3 years, symbolizing the people would be carried away naked, or without defense.
• Jeremiah: Wore a yoke, symbolizing the burden of bondage.
• Ezekiel: Lay on his side for 300+ and 60 days, representing the number of the siege.
• Elijah: Challenged the prophets of Baal, demonstrating that their gods were useless.
• Ezekiel: Had to cook with dung, highlighting the contrast between cleanliness and uncleanliness.

Women Prophets

• Isaiah’s wife: Possessed prophetic gifts to be used in the service of God.
• Deborah and Huldah: Served as prophets.
• Sarah: God changed her name to Sarah, which means queen.
• Hannah, Abigail, Esther: Also considered women of prophetic significance.

Prophetic Visions

• Jeremiah: Saw a tipping pot, symbolizing danger from the north.
• Ezekiel: Saw a wheel, symbolizing that the law was moveable because they didn’t have the temple anymore.
• Isaiah: Saw the temple, representing God’s splendor, glory, and sovereignty.
• Ezekiel: Saw the valley of dry bones, symbolizing the people feeling death from battles, but then God breathed new life into the bones, representing death and renewed hope.
• Amos: Saw a plumb line, indicating that Israel was not measuring up.

Retributive vs. Restorative Justice

Retributive Justice: Lex talionis, punishment fits the crime, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

Restorative Justice: Punishment and consequences seek to restore society.

Three Big Idols

Wealth, power, and sex (Isaiah).

Relief, Development, and Justice

• Relief: Meeting basic needs, providing money or food, taking care of basic things, temporary and a first step. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.
• Development: Sustaining actions, rebuilding, helping to grow food. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
• Justice: Moving further than what was there before, restoration, fixing the problem and the system. Who owns the pond, shared resources.

Hope in the Prophets

The promise of the kingdom of God, God is active, God restores us, second chances, upside-down kingdom.