M
ore individual books of the Bible come under the heading of prophecy than under any other heading. Four major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) and twelve minor prophets (the final twelve books of the Old Testament), written in ancient Israel between about 760 and 460 ~.c.;contain a vast array of messages from Cod. The minor prophets are so-called only because these books are relatively short in length; the major prophets are relatively long books. The terms imply absolutely nothing about importance.The Nature of Prophecy
We should note at the outset that the prophetical books are among the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret or read with understanding. The reasons for this are related to misunderstand- ings as to their j&n&m and*. But before we discuss these two matters, some preliminary comments are in order.
The Mean&J of Prophecy
The primary difkulty for most modern readers of the Prophets stems fkom an inaccurate prior understanding of the word prophecy.
For most people this word means what appears as the first definition in most dictionaries: “Foretelling or prediction of what is to come.”
It often happens, therefore, that many Christians refer to the Prophets mly for predictions about the coming of Jesus and/or certain features of the New Covenant age-as though prediction of
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166 THE PROPHETS: ENFORClNG,THE COV- events far distant from their own day was the main concern of the Prophets. In fact, using the Prophets in this way is highly selective.
Consider in this connection the following statistics: Less than 2 percent of Old Testament prophecy is messianic. Less that 5 percent spectically describes the New Covenant age. Less that 1 percent concerns events yet to come.
The prophets dti indeed announce the future. But it was usually the immediate future of Israel, Judah, and other nations surrounding them that they announced, rather than our future. One of the keys to understanding the Prophets, therefore, is that for us to see their prophecies Med, we must look back upon times which for them were still future but for us are past.
The Fqibets as Spokqemms
To see the prophets as primarily predicters of future events is to miss their primary function, which was to speak for God to their own contemporaries. It is the “spoken” nature of their prophecies that causes many of our di8iculties in understanding.
For example, of the hundreds of prophets in ancient Israel in Old Testament times, only sixteen were chosen to speak oracles (messages from God) that would be collected and written up into books. We know that other prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, played a very influential role in delivering God’s Word to his people and to other ,nations than Israel as well. But we know more about these prophets than we do of their actual words. What they did was described in far greater length than what they said-and what they said was placed very specifically and clearly in the context of their times by the writers of the Old Testament narratives in which they appear. Of a few prophets such as God (1 Sam. 22; 2 Sam. 24; et al.), Nathan (2 Sam. 7, 12; 1 Rings 1; et al.) or Huldah ‘(2 Rings 22) we have a combination of prophecy and biography-a situation paralleled in the case of Jonah’ and to a lesser extent Daniel. But generally in the narrative books of the Old Testament we hear abwt prophets and very little @PZ prophets. In the prophetical books, however, we hear* God ti the prophets and very little about the prophets themselves. That single difference accounts for most of the problem people have making sense of the prophetical books in the Old Testament.
Furthermore, have you ever noticed how difficult it is to read any of the longer prophetic books through in one sitting? Why do
THE PROPHETS: Eh?FORCING THE COVEhMNT 167 you suppose that is? Primarily, we think, because they were probably not intended to be read that way. For the most part these longer books are collections of spoken ora&, not always presented in their original chronological sequence, often without hints as to where one oracle ends and another begins, and often without hints as to their historical setting. And most of the oracles were spoken in poetry! We will say more about this below.
The Problem of H&tory
Another matter complicates our understanding of the Prophets, and that is the problem of historical distance. Indeed, by the very nature of things, we modern readers will find it much harder to understand in our own time the Word of God as it was spoken by the prophets than did the Israelites who heard those same words in person. Things clear to them tend to be opaque to us.
Why? Partly, it is because those in a speaker’s audience have certain obvious advmtages over those who read a speaker’s words second hand (cf what was said about the parables in chap. 8). But that is not really where the difficulties lie for the most part. Rather, as people far removed from the religious, historical, and cultural life of ancient Israel, we simply have great trouble putting the words spoken by the prophets in their proper context. It is often hard for us to see what they are referring to and why.
The Function of Prophecy
To understand what God would say to us through these inspired books, we must first have a clear understanding as to the role and function of the prophet in Israel. Three things must be emphasized:
The Pmplm were wvenunt enfimemmt mediutom We explained in the preceding chapter how Israel’s law constituted a covenant between God and his people. This covenant contains not only rules to keep, but describes the sorts of punishments that God will necessarily apply to his people if they do not keep the Law, as well as the sorts of benefits he will impart to them if they do. The punishments are often called ‘Yurses” of the covenant, and the benefits “blessings.” The name is not important. What is important is that God does not merely give his law, but he enforces it. Positive enforcement is blessing; negative enforcement is curse. This is
168 THE PROPHETS: ENFORCLNG THE COVENANT where the prophets come in. God announced the enforcement
(positive or negative) of his law through them, so that the events of blessing,or curse would be clearly understood by his people. Moses was the mediator for God’s law when God first announced it, and thus is a paradigm (model) for the prophets. They are God’s mediators, or spokespersons, for the covenant. Through them God reminds people in the generations after Moses that if the Law is kept, blessing will result; but if not, punishment will ensue.
The kinds of blessings that will come to Israel for faithfulness to the covenant are found especially in Leviticus 26: 17 13;
Deuteronomy 4:32-40; and 28: l- 14. But these blessings are announced with a warning; if Israel does not obey God’s law, the blessings will cease. The sorts of curses (punishments) that Israel may expect if it violates the Law are found especially in Leviticus 26: 14-39; Deuteronomy 4: 15-28; and throughout Deuteronomy 28: 15-32:42.
Therefore, one must always bear in mind that the pro;hets did not invent the blessings or curses they announced. They may have worded these blessings and curses in novel, captivating ways, as they were inspired to do so. But they reproduced G&J word, not,their own. Through them God announced his’intention to enforce the covenant, for benefit or for harm depending on the ftithtulness of Israel, but always on the basis of and in accordance with the categories of blessing and curse already contained in Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 4, and Deuteronomy 28-32. If you will take the trouble to learn those chapters from the Pentateuch, you will be rewarded with a, much better understanding of why the prophets say the things that they do.
Briefly, what one finds is this. The law contains certain categories of corporate blessings for covenant ftithfulness: life, health, prosperity, agricultural abundance, respect, and safety. Most of the specific blessings mentioned will fall under one of these six general groupings. As regards curses, the law describes corporate punishments, which we happen to find convenient (and memoriza- ble) to group under ten headings which begin with the letter “d”:
death, disease, drought, dearth, danger, destruction, defeat, depor- tation, destitution, and disgrace. Most of the curses will fit under one of these categories.
These same categories apply in what God communicates through the prophets. For example, when he wishes to predict
THE PROPHETS: ENFORClNG l-N3 COVENANT 169 hture blessing for the nation (not any given individual) through the prophet Amos, he does so in terms of metaphors of agricultural abundance, life, health, prosperity, respect, and safety (Amos 9: 1 l- 15). When he announces doom for the disobedient nation of Hosea’s day, he does so according to one or more of the ten ((d’s”
listed above (e.g., destruction in Hos. 8:14, or deportation in Hos.
9:3). These curses are often metaphorical, though they can be literal as well. They are always corporate, referring to the nation as a whole. Blessings or curses do not guarantee prosperity or dearth to any +ecz$~ individual. Statistically, a majority of what the prophets announce in the eighth, seventh, and early sixth centuries B.C. is
curse, because the major defeat and destruction of the northern kingdom did not occur until 722 B.C.; that of the southern kingdom (Judah) did not occur until 587B.C. The Israelites, north and south, were heading for punishment during that era, so naturally warnings of curse rather than blessing predominate as God seeks to get his people to repent. After the destruction of both north and south, that is, after 587 B.C., the prophets were moved more often to speak blessings than curses. That is because once the punishment of the nation is complete, God resumes his basic plan, which is to show mercy (see Deut. 4:25-31 for a nutshell description of this sequence).
As you read the Prophets, look for this simple pattern: (1) an identification of Israel’s sin m of God’s love for her; (2) a prediction of curse or blessing depending on the circumstance. Most of the time, that is what the prophets are conveying, according to God’s inspiration to them.
The prophet’ messqe was not their own, ht God-k. It is God who raised up the prophets (cf. Exod. 3:lf.; Isa. 6; Jer. 1; Ezek. l-3;
Hos. 1:2; Amos 7:14-15; Jonah 1:l; et al.). If a prophet presumed to take the office of prophet upon himself or herself, this would be good cause to consider such a one a false prophet (cf. Jer. 14:14;
23:21). The prophets responded to a divine call. The Hebrew word for prophet (ti) comes in fact from the Semitic verb “to call”
(K&Z+ You will note as you read the Prophets that they preface, or conclude, or regularly punctuate their oracles with reminders like
‘Thus says the LORD” or “Says the LORD.” A majority of the time, in fact, the prophetic message is relayed directly as received from the LORD, in the first person, so that God speaks of himself as “1” or
“Me.”
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170 THE PROPEIETS: ENFORCZNG THE CO- Read’ for example, Jeremiah 27 and 28. Consider Jeremiah’s difKcult task in relaying to the people of Judah that it would be necessary for them to submit to the imperial armies of their enemy, Babylon, if they wished to please God. His hearers, most of them’
considered this message to be the equivalent of treason. When’he delivers the message, however, he makes it abundantly clear that they are not hearing hir views on the matter, but God%. He begins by reminding them, ‘This is what the LORD said to me:. .” (27:2), and then quotes God’s command’ “Then send word . . .” (27:3);
“Give them a message . . .” (27:4), and adds ‘%ays the LO R D” (27: 11). His word is God’s Word. It is delivered on God’s authority (28:15-16), not his own.
As vehicles through whom God delivered his Word both to Israel and other nations, the prophets held a kind of societal office.
They were like ambassadors from the heavenly court’ who relayed the divine sovereign’s will to the people. The prophets were, on their own,, neither radical social reformers nor innovative religious thinkers. The social reforms and the religious thought which God wished to impart to ‘the people had already been revealed in the covenantal Iaw. No matter which group broke those laws, God’s Word through the prophet held punishment. Whether the guilt for covenant violations lay with the royalty (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:1-14;
24:11-17; Hos. 1:4),,or with the clergy (Hos. 4:4-11; Amos 7: 17; Mal. 2: l-9), or any other group, the prophet conveyed God’s message of national curse faithfully. Indeed’ by God’s word prophets even installed or deposed kings (1 Rings 19:16; 21:17- 22) and declared war (2 Rings 3:18-19; 2 Chron. 20:14-17;
Hos. 55-8) or against war (Jer. 27:8-22).
What we read in the prophetical books then, is not merely God’s Word as the prophet saw it, but God’s Word as God wished the prophet to present it. The prophet does not act or speak independently.
The prophet? message Ij unoriginal. The prophets were inspired by God to present the essential content of the covenant’s warnings and promises (curses and blessings). Therefore, when we read the prophets’ words, what we read is nothing genuinely new, but the same message in essence delivered by God originally through Moses. The form in which that message is conveyed may, of course, vary substantially. God raised up the prophets to gain the attention of the people to whom they were sent. Gaining people’s attention
TEE PROPHETS: ENFbRCZNG l-TiE COV’ 171 may involve rephrasing and restructuring something that they have already heard many times, so that it has a certain kind of “newness.”
But that is not at all the same as actuaily initiating any new message or altering the.old message. The prophets are not inspired to make any points or announce any doctrines that are not already contained in the Pentateuchal covenant. As a first example of this conservation of the message, consider the first half of Hosea 4:2: ‘There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery.”
In this verse, which is part of a long description of Israel’s sinfulness in Hosea’s day (750-722 B.C.), five of the Ten Com- mandments are summarized, each by a single term. These terms are:
“Cursiig,” the third commandment’ “Do not use the LORD’S name wrongly . . .” (Exod. 20:7; Deut. 5: 11). (CLying”’ the ninth commandment, “Do not give dishonest testimony . . .” (Exod.
20:16; Deut. 520). “Murder,” the sixth commandment, “Do not murder” (Exod. 20: 13; Deut. 5: 17). “Stealing,” the eighth com- mandment’ “Do not steal” (Exod. 20:15; Deut. 5:18). “Adultery”’
the seventh commandment, “Do not commit adultery” (Exod.
20:14; Deut. 5:18).
It is as interesting to note what the inspired prophet does &
do as what he does do. That is, Hosea does not cite the Ten Commandments verbatim. He mentions five of them in a one-word summary fashion much as Jesus does in Luke 18:20. But mention- ing five, even out of their usual order, is a very effective way of communicating to the Israelites that they have broken the Ten Commandments. For upon hearing five ,of the commandments, the hearer would think’ “And what of the others? What of the usual order? The original wording is. . . .” The audience would begin thinking of ail ten, reminding themelves of ‘what the covenant law calls for in terms of basic righteousness. Hosea did not change a thing in the Law, any more than Jesus did, in citing five of the commandments for ,a similar effect. But he did impress the Law upon his hearers in a way that simply repeating it word for word might never have done.
A second example concerns the messianic prophecies. Are these new? Not at all. Certainly, the kind of detail about the life and role of the Messiah that we find in the Servant Songs of Isaiah 42’49, 50, and 53 may be considered new. But God did not bring the notion of a Messiah to the people for the first time through the prophets. It had in fact originated with the Law. Otherwise how
172 TUE. PROPIBTS: ENFORCING THE .COI4?WANT could Jesus have described his life as f&illing what was written “in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44)?
Among other portions of the Mosaic Law that foretell the Messiah%
ministry, Deuteronomy 1818 is prominent: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command h i m . ”
As John 1:45 also reminds us, the Law already spoke of Christ.
It was hardly a new thing for the prophets to speak of him. The mode, the style, and the specticity with which they .made .their inspired predictions did not need to be restricted to what the Pentateuch already contained. But the essential fsct that there would be a New Covenant ushered in by a new “Prophet” (using the language of Deut. 18) was, in fact, an old story.
The Exegetical Task The Need j&r Outside Help
We noted in chapter 1 that there is a popular notion that everything in the Bible ought to be clear to everyone who reads it, without study or outside help of any kind. The reasoning is that if God wrote the Bible for us (for all believers), we should be able to understand it completely the first time we read it, since we have the Holy Spirit in us. Such a notion is simply incorrect. Parts of the Bible are obvious on the surface, but parts are not. In accordance with the fact that God’s thoughts are profound compared ,with human thoughts ‘(Ps. 925; Isa. 55:8) it should not be surprising that some parts of the Bible will require time and patient study to understand.
The prophetical books require just such time and study. People often approach these books casually, as if a surface reading through the Prophets will yield a high level of understanding. This cannot be done with school textbooks, and it does not work’with the Prophets either.
We need to repeat here, specifically for the interpretation of the Prophets, the three kinds of helps that are available to you. The first source would be the Bible dictkmarh, which provide articles on the historical setting of each book, its basic outline, the special features it contains, and issues of interpretation of which the reader must be
l-HE PROPHETS: E.NFORWG THE COVENANT 173 aware. We recommend that you make it a practice to read a Bible dictionary article on a given prophetical book before you start to study that book. You need to know the background information before you will be able to catch the point of much of what a prophet conveys. God’s Word came through the prophets to people in prwtiMilar situations. Its value to us depends partly on our ability to appreciate those situations so that we can in turn apply it to our
OWn.
A second source of help would be the mmentaries. These provide lengthy introductions to each book, somewhat on the manner of the Bible dictionaries though often less usefully organ- ized. But more importantly, they provide explanations of the meaning of the individual verses. They may become essential if you are studying carefully a relatively small portion of a prophetical book, that is, less than a chapter at a time (see Appendix).
a A third source of help would be the Bible hana’bmkx The best of these combine features of both the Bible dictionaries and the commentaries, though they do not go into as great detail on either the introductory materials or the verse-by-verse explanations. When one is reading through several -chapters at a time of a prophetical book, however, a Bible handbook can yield a lot of helpful guidance in a minimal amount of time.
The Himrkal Gmttxt
In the study of Jesus (chap. 7), “historical context,” you will recall, referred both to the larger arena into which Jesus came and to the specific context of any one of his deeds and sayings. In the study of the Prophets, the historical context can likewise be larger (their era) or specific (the context of a single oracle). To do good exegesis you need to understand both kinds of historical context for all the p r o p h e t i c a l b o o k s .
The Larder Conttxt. It is interesting to note that the sixteen prophetical books of the Old Testament come from a ,rather narrow band in the whole panorama of Israelite history, i.e., about 760- 460 B.C. Why do we have no books of prophecy from Abraham’s day (about 1800 B.C.) or Joshua’s day (about 1400 B.C.) or David’s day (about 1000 B.C.)? Didn’t God speak to his people and their world before 760 B.C.? The answer is, of course, that he did, and we have much material in the Bible about those ages, including some that deals with prophets (e.g., 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 13). Moreover,