PRIORIDADES

Contents 1.0 Introduction

This unit marks the end of study on Old Testament Theology in this manual. It focuses on the concept of Prophecy in the Old Testament. In the words of Dennis Bratcher,

“Prophecy is a difficult topic in modern religious culture. It is not that the topic itself is so complicated, only that we bring so many preconceptions and assumptions to it. We are so used to hearing the term "prophecy" equated to "prediction of the future" in popular thinking and language that we assume this is what biblical prophecy is about.” This unit will survey this concept of prophecy under the following sub-headings: Definition for Prophecy in the Old Testament; Prophetic Methods; Prophetic Messages, and Hermeneutical considerations.

2.0 Objectives

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

 Appreciate the role of prophets in the Old Testament as the bedrock for Judaism

 Understand how prophecies shaped the conscience of the nation, Israel.

 Know the criteria for differentiating between false prophecies and real ones.

 Acquire an interpretative lens for evaluating prophecies in the contemporary church.

3.0 Main body

3.1 Definition for Prophecy in the Old Testament

The prophets in the Hebrew Bible are divided into two groups, the "Earlier Prophets" and the "Later Prophets". In the Hebrew Bible, the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings are called "The Early Prophets". It is in these books that we find listed many prophets of ancient Israel. Joshua, Nathan, Gad, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha all testified during these early days. No one knows exactly when the institution of prophecy began in Israel. Tradition traces it back to Moses. From ages old, the religions surrounding the Hebrew world presented with those who claimed they could speak for God. The Book of Kings describes 450 such ecstatic under the tutelage of Jezebel confronted and destroyed by Elijah on Mount Carmel. Similar groups of visionaries, many false, abounded during these times and were accepted by the Hebrew officials as occupying a legitimate service in their territory. Their visionary powers were often utilized by the officers of the Hebrew government. Such groups could be found accompanying Samuel, Elijah and Elisha. As a

confraternity, there was a harmony between them, but also, the distance of rank. There is no question in scripture as to which prophets commanded the awe and respect of the lesser visionaries.

All were chosen by a simple rule: no one was permitted on his own to be a prophet. He had to be selected by God and inspired to speak. No one was permitted to turn God down.

In the chronicle of Jonah we learn that when asked to speak, the prophet has to speak. As it grew, the institution of prophecy became enormously important in Israel. It formed the third office of the Hebrew government. Although the period of prophecy was short, one has only to look at the large quantity of prophetic books chosen for scripture to see how reverently it was received by priests, people and governing officials alike. After the Jewish Return from exile to Babylon, Hebrew visions began to fade in importance. With the appearance of Christ, Jewish prophecy disappeared altogether. That house of Israel has yet to see it return.

With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost a new wave of prophecy appeared on earth heralding the Messiah that was promised, and declaring the salvation that He had brought down to the world from heaven. That same Spirit and the prophetic voices it inspires continue to this day.

3.2 Prophetic methods

The prophets conveyed the mind of the LORD to their contemporaries through spoken or written words and through symbolic actions. Divine inspiration came to the prophet usually before the actual delivery (e.g. Jer. 7:1-2; 28:12-13), although inspiration during delivery is not to be excluded. Presumably divine inspiration revealed the ideas, rather the words, to the prophet, and the finished discourse was prepared through meditation and perhaps composed in writing in full or in outline. In any case, the prophetic discourses that have been transmitted to us were written either by a hearer or by the prophet himself after delivery.

Besides the spoken and written word, the prophets used symbolic acts to convey their message. The majority of scholars assert that Hosea’s marriage to a prostitute (Hosea 1:3) was ordered by the LORD as a dramatic object lesson to Israel; in reality this unpleasant story is based on a misinterpretation of Hosea 1:2 and the unwarranted identification of the wretched woman of chapter 3 with Hosea’s respectable wife Gomer; “wife of whoredoms” and “children of whoredoms” in 1:2 is clearly explained as in a state of religious, not literal, prostitution (Pfeiffer 1961:136; cf. Isa 8:3-4;Jer 19:1-13).

3.3 Prophetic Messages

In a sense the prophets, notably Isaiah and Jeremiah, were statesmen without portfolio, regularly in the opposition. They were in fact the LORD’s agents in his dealing with Israel and Judah. Some of the prophets were ardent advocates of social justice, champions of the underprivileged, and defenders of the oppressed. The most important contribution of the prophets was in the field of religion but, curiously, they did not realize how

revolutionary and epoch making this contribution was. They did not know that they were preaching a new religion. The prophets were not historical scholars, but men convinced of teaching the true religion by divine inspiration.

Robert H. Pfeiffer (1961:126) summarized the prophetic messages as follows:

1. They introduced a new standard of values: where the national leaders saw only prosperity, power, justice, and piety, they could see but iniquity and ruin.

2. They introduced a new conception of the requirements of the LORD: not primarily sacrifices and offerings, but right living, honesty, and philanthropy.

3. They proclaimed the notion that the LORD, the God of Israel, and his people Israel were not inseparable, but that the LORD could – and in his holy fury would – destroy his people without committing suicide.

4. They announced that the LORD was the ruler of history, using Israel’s enemies to punish his own people.

5. They changed the national God the LORD into a God of unlimited power, extending far beyond the limits of Israel, and a God of unspotted moral character, without partiality for Israel.

3.4 Hermeneutical Considerations

In looking at Old Testament prophets more closely, it is clear that their message was most often calling people back to proper worship of God. But much of that task was done in the context of the community, the nation of Israel. That means that much of the criticism of the prophets was leveled at religious leaders for their failure to be spiritual leaders. It was also aimed at the powerful, most often also the religious leaders, who used their power and influence for selfish or sinful purposes. The prophets were a balance to the unrestrained power of the monarchy and the aristocracy (Bratcher).

Prophecies in the contemporary church in Nigeria has been influenced or shaped by socio-political and economic factors. One cannot say that the circumstances which OT prophets addressed are quite different from what is obtainable in modern Nigeria. It is almost the same. The spate of corruption, violence, arms struggles and injustices are rife in the nation. Religion as the conscience of the nation should address some of these ills in the nation; but apparently religious groups and leaders fail to play their roles, instead have become praise singers and card carriers of politicians. Some issue-out their so-called prophecies in support of one political group or the other, expecting material support in return for their institutions. Similarly, individuals are exploited with fake prophecies, promising them prosperity in the face of economic hardship, healing in the face of sicknesses and diseases; compelling them to commit their resources (or as they call it,

“sow seed”) in anticipation of a divine visitation. Hence, most religious institutions, instead of fulfilling their roles as consciences of the nation, are compounding the woes of the nation.