Day 1 of 14
Who Were the Prophets?
Voices Crying in the Wilderness
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Deuteronomy 18:15-19 carefully. Moses tells the people that God will raise up a prophet "like me" from among them. This foundational text establishes the entire prophetic office in Israel. A prophet is not someone who merely predicts the future; a prophet is someone who stands between God and the people, delivering God's word whether the people want to hear it or not.
Reflection
The popular image of a prophet is someone who predicts events hundreds of years in advance. While the prophets did sometimes speak about the future, this was never their primary role. The Hebrew word for prophet, nabi, means "one who is called" or "one who speaks forth." The prophets were called by God to speak God's word to God's people in their own historical moment.
Graeme Goldsworthy has helpfully clarified that the prophets functioned as covenant prosecutors. God had made a covenant with Israel at Sinai, setting out the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. When Israel broke the covenant -- through idolatry, injustice, exploitation of the poor, and empty ritualism -- God sent prophets to prosecute the case. They did not invent new truths; they applied the existing covenant to new situations.
N.T. Wright adds another dimension: the prophets were people who had "stood in the council of God" and were sent to announce what God was planning to do. They saw the big picture of God's purposes and called Israel to align with those purposes. Their message was not abstract theology; it was a summons to action, repentance, and hope.
The prophets came from all walks of life. Isaiah was likely an aristocrat with access to the royal court. Amos was a shepherd and fig farmer. Jeremiah was a priest's son who never wanted the job. Ezekiel was a priest taken into exile. What united them was not their background but their calling: God had put His words in their mouths.
Going Deeper
Second Peter 1:20-21 reminds us that "no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation" but that "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." As you begin this two-week journey through the prophets, ask yourself: Am I willing to be confronted, comforted, and redirected by the same God who spoke through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest? The prophets' message is not a museum piece. It is a living word.
Key Quotes
“The prophets are not to be thought of primarily as predictors of the future. They are the covenant prosecutors, calling Israel back to the terms of the covenant that God had made with them.”
“The prophets were not crystal-ball gazers. They were people who had stood in the council of God and were sent to tell Israel, and the world, what the one true God was planning to do.”
Prayer Focus
Ask God to open your ears to hear His prophetic word with fresh urgency, just as Israel was called to hear and respond.
Meditation
The prophets spoke on God's behalf to people who often did not want to listen. When has God's word confronted you with something you would rather not hear?
Question for Discussion
If the prophets were primarily covenant prosecutors rather than fortune-tellers, how should that change the way we read and apply the prophetic books today?