If someone were to take a poll asking Christians of their thoughts on the subject of prophecy, the comments would most likely be traced to a common theme. For many of us the topic of prophecy naturally leads to a discussion of the end times
- predictions of how the end of the world will come about, the bad guys vs. the good guys, and the long awaited return of Jesus for his
people.
We think of the book of Revelation and the graphic images of the end described by the apostle John, who was grasping for words to explain visions of things he had nothing in reality to compare to. There are certainly a number of books out there on the subject of end times prophecy, both fiction and non-fiction. And these books do inspire in us a certain fascination with the topic. But the fact is that most of us don't quite know what to do with the prophetic books of the Bible, most of which are found in the Old Testament. These books are among the most difficult parts of the Bible for us to read and understand. It's surprising to realize that more books of the Bible fall in the category of prophecy than in any other type of literature found in the
Bible.
So, what does a 21st century Christian do with these Old Testament prophetic books? After all, it seems God chose to use them as a significant means of communicating to us, as they are a large part of His revealed word to us, the
Bible.
A difficulty for us in understanding the Old Testament prophets' messages is the historical distance between them and us. We also have major cultural and religious differences as well. It helps us to know that these messages were spoken and then written by four
"major prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) and twelve "minor prophets" (the last 12 books of the Old Testament) in ancient Israel thousands of years ago (the designations
"major" and "minor" refer only to the length of the books, not their importance). All of the prophetic books contain relevant messages from God, given through his chosen mediators, the prophets, to the nation of Israel and the surrounding
nations.
If you look up "prophecy" in a dictionary, the definition has to do with foretelling or predicting things to come. The Old Testament prophets did announce the future, but their prophecies were more than just predictions. The primary function of the prophets was to remind God's people of their covenant relationship with Him. If you look back at the first few books of the Old Testament, you will read about how God took an insignificant nation enslaved in Egypt, brought them out of captivity and took them into a land they could call their own. He expressed a unique relationship with them as His own people, set apart from all other
nations.
The forming of such a covenant was a common practice at this time in history. God used their understanding of a covenant relationship to communicate to Israel the Old Testament Law and the nature of His commitment to them as a people. Obedience to the covenant meant benefit, protection, and blessing for Israel. Disobedience meant punishment and consequences that God laid out for them beforehand. Deuteronomy 28 describes some of the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience according to His covenant with
Israel.
Another challenge for us in understanding the prophets is that they communicate their messages mostly in the form of poetry. In ancient times people were familiar with poetry, which was a common way to learn and memorize things important to them. It's helpful to read a little about Hebrew poetry in a Bible dictionary to familiarize yourself with this form of
communication.
As you read the Old Testament, you can clearly see how deeply God cares for His people, Israel, and how much He desires relationship with them. There is an obvious cycle throughout Israel's history, as the nation turns from God, He sends a prophet as mediator to call them back to relationship with Him, and they experience either the blessings of obedience or the consequences of their
disobedience.
God sends prophet after prophet to His people, reminding them of their covenant relationship with Him, going back to the beginning of their history as a nation. The prophets' messages always pointed back to the covenant God initiated with Israel. Since the covenant was so much a part of Israel's identity, the prophets' messages were very relevant to the people they were first spoken to and later written to. In this way. God communicated to generation after generation through the prophets, warning and encouraging them to remain faithful. The prophets of the Old Testament communicated God's love for His people. They also pointed toward future events He would bring about sometimes in their lifetime and sometimes in the far distant future. These fulfilled events reminded Israel that their God was in control and was serious about enforcing His covenant with
them.
Today, we have the added benefit of recognizing the fulfillment of many of these prophecies throughout history, from the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms, to the first coming of Jesus as the Messiah, and ultimately the final return of
Jesus.
Understanding the messages of these prophets may take some work, but with a little help in understanding their historical context and their literary style we can begin to hear what they have to say. And we can know that their messages are important for us as believers
today.
When we read through the Old Testament prophetic books we are reminded of God's desire for relationship with mankind, as He has pursued us with love throughout history. We are reminded of His stability and that He is not a God who changes like we tend to do. We see that He wants those who follow Him to walk in real and heartfelt obedience to His ways and know the blessing that results. He tells us that it's a serious thing to mix any form of idolatry with the truth of the Gospel. We see that God cares very much about social injustice, greed and violence. And we are reminded again and again that the God of the Bible really is in control of human history and that we have nothing to fear, in the end, if we are His.
For further study
