Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1)
Old Testament Prophets
Deut.13:1-5 ;Deut 18: 14-22; Jer. 23:23-32
All of us have the desire to know the future in order to be prepared for it. We want to be in control of as much of our destiny as possible, and not be at the mercy of events.
Deuteronomy 18, along with Deuteronomy 13, is a warning to such people. Those seeking to know the future are often being misguided, putting themselves at the mercy of lying demons, or at the very least, of manipulative men and women. While there are genuine prophets of God who speak out “Thus says the Lord!” there are many false ones whose main objective is to lead God’s people astray.
When it comes to a prophet of God we need to know who they are and what is their function.
In the Bible, God reveals himself to humanity in a variety of ways, one major way being through the prophets. The ancient prophets were said to possess an intimate association with God and spoke on behalf of God as divine messengers. Revealing his divine will as “mouthpieces,” the prophets did not claim to possess special powers in being divine messengers in
(a) forthtelling of current events and God-given truth e.g. Samuel, Nathan and Jonah and or
(b) foretelling of future events : they simply relayed a message from the omnipotent, omniscient Being. e.g. Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel
In the Hebrew portions of the Bible there were three words used for a prophet, all which are used in 1 Chonicles 29:29: in the book of Samuel the seer (Hebrew: ro’eh), and in the book of Nathan the prophet (nabi’), and in the book of Gad the seer (hozeh). A fourth term (kosem) “to divine” is used in Numbers 22:5,7 “Balaam also the son of Beor, is used only of a false prophet.
Even though all the writings of the prophets, were the Word of God for the time, only such portions as the Spirit of God determined became part of Scripture. There were sixteen of the OT prophets, whose prophecies formed part of the inspired Bible. These are divided into four groups:
1. The prophets of the northern kingdom (Israel): Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah.
2. The prophets of southern kingdom (Judah): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
3. The prophets of the Captivity: Ezekiel and Daniel.
4. The prophets of the Restoration: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The story of Israelite prophecy begins with Moses and Miriam and takes different forms at different points in Israel’s history. The Biblical narrative tells us about prophets like Deborah, Samuel, Nathan and Elijah. The canon also contains written prophecy attributed to prophets like Isaiah, Amos, Ezekiel and Malachi.
A close look at the canonical prophets quickly reveals that they each had their own concerns, their own ways of expressing themselves and their own ways of relating to their target audiences. Still, the canon asserts that despite their differences from each other, each spoke unconditionally and authoritatively for God.
A prophet’s primary function in the Old Testament was to serve as God’s representative or ambassador by communicating God’s word to his people. True prophets never spoke on their own authority or shared their personal opinions, but rather delivered the message God himself gave them.
Several texts make this explicit. God promised Moses, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exod. 4:12). God assured Moses, “I will raise up for [my people] a prophet like you . . . and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him” (Deut. 18:18). The Lord said to Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth” (Jer 1:9). God commissioned Ezekiel by saying, “You must speak my words to them” (Ezek. 2:7). And many of the OT prophetic books begin with the words, “The word of the LORD that came to . . .” (Hos. 1:2; Joel 1:1; Micah 1:1; Zeph. 1:1; cf. Jonah 1:1). Amos claimed, “This is what the LORD says” (Amos 1:3).
“I will put my words in his mouth “(Deuteronomy 18:18) God says of the prophet. “Thus says the Lord,” says the prophet in a phrase that appears over 400 times in the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophet is simply repeating the very words of God.
The primary task of the OT prophet was not only to predict the future, but “to tell forth the will of God which He had communicated to them by revelation.”
This all goes to demonstrate that though predictive prophecy was an important element in an OT prophet’s ministry and message, it was not the primary role or function of the prophetic office. The man or woman whom God called to the prophetic office was called
(a) to preach and teach the Law;
(b) act as guardians against religious apostasy in the nation; and
(c) to warn and rebuke the nation when it wandered away from God and His will revealed in the Law given through Moses.
This view of prophecy’s primary nature and function is set forth by the Old Testament itself. In 2 Kings 17, when explaining why God’s judgment fell first on the northern kingdom of Israel and then later on the southern kingdom of Judah, the writer states; “They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger. They worshipped idols, though the LORD had said, “You shall not do this.” The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
“But they would not listen and were stiff-necked as their fathers who did not trust in the LORD their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them…So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.” (2 Kings 17:11-18 NIV).
Note that in the text above, two important facts are stated about the ministry and message of the Old Testament prophets:
First, the prophets are clearly portrayed as God’s spokespersons to Israel, called and sent by Him to rebuke Israel for its apostasy and idolatry, and to urge the nation to repent and to return to the LORD.
Secondly, they are portrayed as those through whom God had delivered “the entire Law” to the nation of Israel.
Throughout the nation’s history, the prophets fulfilled the role of guardians of the theocracy.”
In the earliest period, the role of the prophet was assigned to the Levitical priests, who were charged with the responsibility of teaching the implications of the Mosaic Law for daily conduct in the practical issues of life. As the priesthood became increasingly professionalistic in attitude and lax in practice (as for example Hophni and Phineas, sons of Eli) a new order arose to maintain the integrity of the covenant relationship in the heart of Israel- the role of the prophet.
Prophetic ministry was not restricted to men in the OT, however. Moses’s sister Miriam is called a “prophet” (Exod. 15:20), as are Deborah (Judg. 4:4) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14–20). We occasionally read of groups or bands of prophets ministering in Israel (1 Sam. 10:5; 1 Kings 18:4), referred to as “the company of the prophets” (2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7; 4:38).
The Bible doesn’t explain how the word of the Lord came to a prophet, although in addition to the audible and internal voice of God there are a number of instances in which the Lord revealed his will through visions (1 Sam. 3:1,15; 2 Sam. 7:17; Isa. 1:1; Ezek. 11:24) or dreams (Num. 12:6).
Those who claimed to speak for God were held to a strict standard of judgment. Even should an alleged prophet perform a sign or wonder or accurately predict the future, if he leads the people “to leave the way in which the Lord your God had commanded you to not to walk “ - “Let us follow other gods . . . and let us worship them” (Deut. 13:2), he is to be rejected (Deut. 13:3). Likewise, “if the word he speaks does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken” (Deut. 18:22; see also Jer. 14:14; 23:21, 32; 28:15; Ezek. 13:6). The punishment for speaking falsely in God’s name was death (Deut. 18:20).
Being a mouthpiece for the word of the Lord was often a dangerous calling. People frequently mocked, rejected, persecuted, and even killed God’s prophets (2 Chron. 36:16; Jer. 11:21; 18:18; 20:2, 7–10). Stephen, the first martyr of the new covenant, pointedly asked, “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?” (Acts 7:52).
What's interesting is that God Himself defined the role and function of the prophets at the beginning of Israel's history as a nation:
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19
That's the most important definition. A prophet in the Bible was someone who spoke the words of God to people who needed to hear them.
To fully understand the role and function of the Old Testament prophets, you need to be familiar with Israel's history as a nation. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness, Joshua ultimately led the military conquest of the promised land. That was Israel's official beginning as a nation on the world stage. Saul eventually became Israel's first king, but the nation experienced its greatest growth and prosperity under the rule of King David and King Solomon. The nation of Israel was split apart under the rule of Solomon's son, Rehoboam. For centuries, the Jews were divided between the northern kingdom, called Israel, and the southern kingdom, called Judah.
God began to use prophets as the primary way of speaking to his people during the period of the judges before Saul became King. They remained God's primary way of delivering His will and words until Jesus took the stage centuries later.
As God’s spokesman, their message can be seen in a three-fold function they had among the people of God in the Old Testament:
First, they functioned as preachers who expounded and interpreted the Mosaic law to the nation. It was their duty to admonish, reprove, denounce sin, threaten with the terrors of judgment, call to repentance, and bring consolation and pardon. Their activity of rebuking sin and calling for repentance consumed far more of the prophets’ time than any other feature of their work. The rebuke was driven home with predictions about the punishment that God intended to send on those failing to heed the prophet’s warning (cf. Jonah 3:4).
Second, they functioned as foretellers who announced coming judgment, deliverance, and events relating to the Messiah and His kingdom. Predicting the future was never intended merely to satisfy man’s curiosity, but was designed to demonstrate that God knows and controls the future, and to give purposeful revelation. The prediction given by a true prophet would be visibly fulfilled. The failure of the prediction to be fulfilled would indicate that the prophet had not spoken the word of God (cf. Deut. 18:20-22). In 1 Samuel 3:19 it is said of Samuel that the Lord was with him and let none of his prophetic words fail (lit., “fall to the ground”).
Finally, they functioned as watchmen over the people of Israel (Ezek. 3:17). Ezekiel stood as a watchman on the walls of Zion ready to trumpet a warning against religious apostasy. He warned the people against political and military alliances with foreign powers, the temptation to become involved in idolatry and Canaanite cultic worship, and the danger of placing excessive confidence in religious formalism and sacrificial ritual.
In summary, the prophets of the Old Testament were men and women called by God to speak for Him and often lead on His behalf during a chaotic and often violent period of Israel's history. They were dedicated servants who ministered well and left a powerful legacy for those who came after.
Coming to Deuteronomy 13:1-5
1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
The passage is straightforward. The term translated “prophet”is the normative and frequent Hebrew word used of God’s prophets. “Dreamer of dreams” is less frequent They occur individually or in some combination of people with whom God did indeed communicate, such as: Joseph (“this dreamer”; Gen 37:19 – literally, “master of dreams”: Pharaoh (Gen 20:6); and Jacob (Gen 28:12). The point is that, in other passages, prophets or dream recipients do in fact receive their messages and sign abilities from God.
Prophets of God of course performed signs and wonders, or knew of some future event that would come to pass. Examples are numerous. One needs only to read of Moses and the signs and wonders called down in both judgment on the Egyptians and for the benefit of Israelites. Interestingly, Moses is called a prophet in the same book of Deuteronomy (Deut 18:15). This connection suggests that the warning of Deuteronomy 13 might have an individual in view who sought leadership or authority over God’s people. That notion is strengthened by noting the crime for which that individual is condemned: performing a sign or wonder, or dispensing a “word” of revelation that indeed comes to pass, and on the basis of this his leading the people in a way which was contrary to the worship and commands of God:
1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. . . .
God was thus not the source of the sign or revelation despite the fact that both were came to pass. Consequently, the problem wasn’t only the genuineness of the fulfillment of the sign or revelation. The problem was the programme of the prophet or dreamer, for along with the sign and revelatory word came false teaching: “Let us go after other gods . . . and let us serve them.” In other words, the issue was false doctrine.
That this is the case is confirmed elsewhere in the chapter. The nature of the problematic “let us go after other gods” which God tells his people to reject is discerned by noting what God wanted affirmed: “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice” (Deut 13:4). Israel was not to “leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded [them] to walk” (Deut 13:5).
The context for these “commandments”, “obeying God’s voice”, and “walking in the way” is, not surprisingly, the revelation at Sinai. In Deuteronomy the scene of the giving of the Law is found in Deuteronomy 5. That more than the Ten Commandments is in view is seen by taking note of Deut 5:28-33, verses that follow the enumeration of the Ten Commandments:
28 “And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
The language here is obviously copied in Deut 13:4-5. In a nutshell, if the wonder-working prophet or dreamer of dreams married the sign or revelation with anything contrary to what God had commanded for Israel, he or she was to be rejected and … worse … put to death by stoning (Deut 13:5).
This last part that ought to get the attention of modern-day prophets and revelation-dispensers — and those who listen to them. In my experience, a lot of Bible students know Deut 18:22 (also. Jer 23:23-32), where we are told that if a prophet predicts something that doesn’t come to pass, he or she is to be rejected as a true prophet of God:
22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
But it seems that few who know this verse are familiar with Deut 13:1-5 and its “reverse” circumstances. I think the passage ought to make churches very cautious about listening to “prophecies” from people.
Obviously, we aren’t in a theocracy and so the death penalty for people who perform a sign or “speak a word” to a church or believers and who wind up using the success or accuracy of that deed to lead people astray isn’t on the table. But what is the right course of action is evident from the epistles: false teachers should be exposed so that believers and churches know to avoid them (2 Pet 2:1-3). Paul quite clearly said there was such a thing as “false apostles” (2 Cor 11:13) who taught people error instead of truth.
Deuteronomy 13 sets up a situation where signs, dream revelation could be mimed as part of an effort to get Israelites to depart from the truth of God and follow other gods or doctrines. We all need to realize that our authority is Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17). In that sense, should we be prepared to obey Deuteronomy 13 if a sign or wonder or “word” comes to pass but brings false teaching with it. We ought not be so impressed by the sign or revelation that we become less impressed with the Word of God.
Frequently, the words a prophet spoke on God's behalf were, in fact, foretelling what would happen later. However, the prophet's essential role was to speak for God, regardless of whether he did any predicting of the future. A prophet expresses the will of God in words, and sometimes he uses signs to back up what he says and to demonstrate God's power behind it.
In a similar way, a false prophet also may not be in the business of foretelling the future. A false prophet is simply someone who speaks for another but falsely. False prophets either speak for the wrong god, or they claim to have heard from the true God but do not accurately represent Him or His words. At the very least, they speak out of their own human hearts, but more likely, the "god" they are speaking for is really a demon.
It is true that, if a prophet foretells something that fails to come to pass, he is a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:20-22), but foretelling the future correctly is not the determining factor when looking at false prophets. The real issue is whether the one who claims to be representing God and speaking for Him, is doing so accurately or falsely. A prophet may accurately predict an event or demonstrate supernatural power, but if he is leading people away from the true worship of the true God, he is a false prophet (Deut 13:1-5)
This passage begins with the assumption that the prophet does foretell the future accurately or perform some other, humanly impossible work. Nevertheless, if that prophet's central message is to follow after a different god or to take a spiritual path that the true God has forbidden to take, that person is a false prophet. God states unequivocally that misrepresenting Him incurs the death penalty, and Revelation 19:20 says that this is exactly what happens to the False Prophet: He is thrown into the Lake of Fire.
The message of the false prophet is contrasted in Deuteronomy 13:3-4 with loving the true God with all of our heart and soul (life), walking after Him, fearing Him, keeping His commandments, obeying His voice, serving Him, and holding fast to Him. These elements indicate what God wants His people to be focused on Him . Verse 4 also mentions obeying God's voice and keeping His commandments. This is a regular theme with God's true prophets: They always have God's law undergirding their messages. When the Old Testament prophets were sent to warn or inform Israel and Judah, they always pointed out the grievous ways in which the people had transgressed God's law.
False prophets, on the other hand, will not hold the moral line that God requires. Lamentations 2:14 says that the false prophets "have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions." False prophets will not connect the dots between the sinfulness of a nation and God’s judgment. They instead focus on something other than God's standard of righteousness.
This same principle appears in Isaiah 8:19-20. Both houses of Israel were guilty of seeking out mediums and wizards for spiritual guidance, and God's response is very telling:
And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
God gives us a standard by which to measure the words of a prophet: the law and testimony—His Word. If the prophet's message contradicts what is already established as God's Word, it is evident that he has not being sent by God . If his words do not line up with God's law and testimony, he is not speaking the truth.
In summary, the hallmark of a true prophet is his upholding of the law of God, while false prophets dodge moral teaching and instead preach a message that appeals to the masses. God's truth is abhorrent to the natural mind (Romans 8:7), and thus it is quite common for God's prophets to be killed, while the false prophets enjoy widespread popularity and support.
Popularity is not a good measurement of God's pleasure with a prophet or church leader!
The apostle Peter, in warning against false prophets, illuminates their characteristics. The entirety of II Peter 2 is about false prophets and false teachers. What sort of message would these men preach? What would be one's impression of God—whom they allegedly spoke for—after watching and listening to such men?
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction" (II Peter 2:1). The King James Version calls their heresies damnable, implying that their words—their messages—are destructive to one's faith and relationship with God. "Denying the Lord" does not mean they deny that He lived or died or that He is God, but that their words and conduct are opposed to His fundamental nature. Their lives deny any close contact with Him.
