Judging Prophecy; 2nd Edition

In the next 5 lessons, we are going to be looking at what we do when we receive a prophecy. Do we immediately act on it or do we wait awhile? Do we change our lives on the strength of it? Do we do nothing at all? These are all questions that may have passed through our minds when we are recipients of a word from the Lord.

For the first week we are going to look at prophecy in the Old Testament and then the second week we will look at prophecy in the New Testament. As new covenant Christians we need to be aware of the changes that occurred after the death and resurrection of Jesus. This will give us some helps in understanding how we receive prophecy.

We will start by looking at prophesy old testament, to understand how it differs from New Testament prophecy. In the Old Testament, there were mainly two types of prophets: Seers and Nebi'im. We will take a brief look at both types.

Seers

Firstly, the seer. The list of seers would include Samuel. Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and many more. Also note, John the Baptist would be included here, as the age changed with the cross, not at the birth of Christ. These are all people called and set apart by God.

Let us look at a few verses which mention seers:

1 Sam 9:19: Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind."

1 Chron 26:28: Also all that Samuel the seer, and Saul son of Kish, and Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah had dedicated--all dedicated gifts were in the care of Shelomoth and his brothers.

Amos 7:12: And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there."

The seers were often solitary, contemplative figures, spending much time alone in God's presence. They were usually prophets to a whole nation or even nations, their ministry being much wider than just a local setting.

Hag 1:13: Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. And the spirit of the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerrubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.

2 Samuel 12:25: The Lord loved him, and sent a message by the prophet Nathan.

Ezekiel 47:13-48:35: Here Ezekiel prophesied the boundaries for all the tribes of Israel.

The seers spoke God's infallible word. They were the mouthpiece of God. The prophet spoke and the King and the nation were to obey. Of course, on many occasions they didn't!

Deu 18:15-22: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." Then the Lord replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put My words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in My name, I Myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in My name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak--that prophet shall die."

You may say to yourself, "How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?"

If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.

NEBI'IM

The second type of Old Testament prophet was the nabi (plural nebi'im). The nebi'im were bands of prophets engaged in what is often called ecstatic prophecy. They were local prophets living in community, often in the desert.

Clifford Hill in his book 'Prophecy, Past and Present' says "Clearly the kind of prophesying in which the Nebi'im engaged was a very strenuous exercise, probably more akin to what some modern charismatics call praise warfare."

1 Chron 25:1: David and the officers of the army also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals.

1 Sam 10:5: There, as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy.

Also the Rechabites mentioned in Jeremiah chapter 35 were Nebi'im. This chapter includes description of their way of life; their commitment to never drinking wine and living a nomadic lifestyle.

Relationship between Seers and Nebi'im

So, what was the relationship between the Seer and the Nabi'im. The differences were not always clear cut and there was much interaction. For both, one of the main things was to help the people stay loyal to the true God.

Take Samuel as an example. It would seem that he travelled the land, whenever he was able he joined with the local Nebi'im and was recognized as their leader. 1 Sam 19:20 says, "Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy."

Another example of the interaction can be seen with Elisha in 2 Kings 9:1.

Then the prophet Elisha called a member of the company of prophets and said to him, "Gird up your loins; take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. When you arrive, look there for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi; go in and get him to leave his companions, and take him into an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, 'Thus says the Lord: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and flee; do not linger."

So the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. He arrived while the commanders of the army were in council, and he announced, "I have a message for you, commander." "For which one of us?" asked Jehu. "For you, commander." So Jehu got up and went inside; the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel: I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. You shall strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and no one shall bury her." Then he opened the door and fled. When Jehu came back to his master's officers, they said to him, "Is everything all right? Why did that madman come to you?" He answered them, "You know the sort and how they babble." They said, "Liar! Come on, tell us!" So he said, "This is just what he said to me: 'Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.'" Then hurriedly they all took their cloaks and spread them for him on the bare steps; and they blew the trumpet, and proclaimed, "Jehu is king."

It is interesting to note in this passage that whilst Jehu called the nabi a madman, the word that he gave was accepted as a true and infallible word.

We will be looking at New Testament Prophesy in our next lesson, and we will examine the differences that can be found there. The emphasis of the Old Testament prophets is that they were people called by God and used by God to speak an infallible word to the people. The expectation was that the nation obeyed or suffered the consequences of their disobedience.