Monday, May 19, 2008, Part 1
". . . and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32b).
IDEA: True prophets are the mouthpiece of God, telling His purposes for His people.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand who the Old Testament prophets were.
When the writer of Hebrews is listing people who have ministered in faith, he writes, “. . . and the prophets.” He assumes that his readers understood who they were.
Do you think that people today have a clear idea who the prophets were?
I. Whom do you think he has in mind when he talks about the prophets?
These are people who spoke for God. Sixteen of them have their proclamations written down in the Bible, but there were more prophets than that.
We call some of the prophets “major” prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
We call other of the prophets “minor” prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
Why are some called major prophets and some called minor prophets?
What does a prophet do? What kind of ministry does a prophet have?
They spoke to kings to rebuke them or to encourage them.
They spoke to the people usually to rebuke them and call them back to God.
Prophets had two major ministries:
One was forthtelling—they were to declare what God’s will was for the people of Israel and Judah.
Another was foretelling—they made predictions about coming events. They did not make these predictions to impress people as much as to warn them why they needed to change.
II. They were spokespeople sent by God. They were told to speak the Word of the Lord to the people faithfully without distortion.
They were not to make up their own message in order not to try to please the people.
Jeremiah 23:16-19 reported God's description of false prophets:
"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, "The Lord says, You will have peace." And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, "No harm will come to you." But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.' "
Are preachers today the same as prophets in the Old Testament? Yes and no.
No, they are not given direct messages by God.
Yes, a preacher is similar to a prophet in the Old Testament, but not the same. If they are going to proclaim God’s Word, as much as lies in them, they should proclaim it accurately.