What kind of man did it take to be chosen to be a spokesman for God? Out of 39 Old Testament books, 17 bear the name of a prophet. Apart from them, there are dozens of prophets who make appearances in the Biblical narrative who played their part in revealing the will of God. Despite the honor of the position, ordinary men were chosen to leave their current circumstances to become men of God, ready to deliver His message no matter how unpopular it sat with their contemporaries.
A prophet would often tell his hearers about future events because he spoke for God, who sees all of time all at the same time. But a prophet was so much more than that. He was a chosen spokesman to deliver the particular message God wanted a group of people to hear at a particular time. Often the message was about impending wrath from God in judgment of their wickedness (Jon. 3:4, Jer. 2-6). They had already received from Moses what wonderful blessings their faithfulness would produce for them, and the merciful forgiveness that was available to them, so when they departed from that law, they needed to understand that God would not allow their sin to go unpunished. The prophet would let them know they should repent and return to God who would receive them gladly.
Sometimes the prophets would look back on past faithlessness and remind the twelve tribes about the lessons learned to prepare them for a path forward. Ezekiel places the fault of the captivity at the feet of the shepherds (leaders) of the people in chapter thirty-four of his book but offers hope going forward through life brought to the valley of dry bones in chapter thirty-seven. In his day, Joshua admonished the people to choose between the mistakes of the past and the prosperous path God had laid out for them (Josh. 24:14-15).
Prophets would often speak of things to come about which they could not have a full understanding. Consider the magnitude of Isaiah’s four messages about God’s servant (Isa. 42:1-7, 49:1-13, 50:4-11, 52:13-53:12) or the prophecy about an important child being born (Isa. 9:6). Also Jeremiah foretells the New Covenant and Zechariah mentions the triumphal entry and price for Jesus’ betrayal (Jer. 31:31-34, Zech. 9:9, 11:12-13). They did not fully understand the reach that their message would ultimately have, whereas we can appreciate our all-knowing God and His plan of salvation He conceived before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:10-12).
We do not need special individuals to fill these prophetic roles today because we have the completed word of God revealing the entirety of what we need to obey Him (1 Cor. 13:10). Revelation of God’s will has been fully accomplished, but God’s prophets lived in a time when that job was not yet finished. This means that when we proclaim God’s truth to the world we are similar to the prophets. However, we should not expect a new prophet in the future to show up and declare some previously unknown but all-important truth that “changes everything!”
The character of these men was important and often tested. Prophets had to be bold like Amos. Prophets had to represent God’s character like Hosea. Prophets had to be humble and submissive like Habakkuk. Prophets had to trust God to take care of their needs like Elijah. Prophets had to be persistent almost to the point of stubbornness like Jeremiah. Prophets had to be brave like Nathan. Prophets had to find their place in uncomfortable surroundings like Daniel.
While these are specific attributes you would have wanted from anyone who would serve as a prophet of God, it is striking to note the differences in the men who served. Amos’s preaching against the nations in the northern kingdom is very different from Daniel’s prophesying about the coming Kingdom of God (the church) in Babylon from King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Sometimes we get a lot of narrative mixed with specific prophecies and object lessons like Jeremiah or Ezekiel and other times we have very short messages of communication between the prophet and God recorded for the people like Habakkuk. Some prophets are mostly known for the miracles they performed like Elisha and others perform no miracles but are just as impressive with their boldness in prophesying like Nathan. The bold judgment against Nineveh from Joel is a stark contrast to the relatively quiet praise of Simeon at the appearance of the Messiah.
While we are amazed to read of all that these prophets accomplished, we would do well to remember that they were ordinary people who were called by a great God to do great things. Jonah was certainly an imperfect vessel to carry God’s message to the Assyrians, and all the prophets must have had their individual strengths, weaknesses, styles, and preferences. Regardless, God could use them all the same. While the work looks different in the context of the New Testament church, we should not fail to recognize that God still works through everyday people to save souls eternally. In that respect, our work is of greater importance.
A study of the prophets reminds us of the unique qualities of God’s servants today. There is a beautiful oneness in the church through doctrine and fellowship (Eph. 4:1-6). Yet our differences make us able to cover a greater span of needs with our faithful service to the King.