The Prophets: Messengers of God's Word in the Bible - Pt 1 (Re-Airing)

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This is a re-airing of the episode that provides an in-depth exploration of biblical prophets, defining their roles, calling, and significance as God’s messengers. We uncover their multifaceted functions beyond predicting the future, emphasizing their impact on guiding the people back to faith and righteousness. 
• Exploration of what defines a prophet 
• Discussion on the divine calling of prophets 
• Examination of the prophets' functions and roles 
• Insights on the interaction between prophets and rulers 
• Importance of the prophets’ dramatic and verbal messages 
• Reflection on the relevance of prophets for today's faith journey

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.

Episode Transcript

Jacqui (00:12):
Greetings listeners.
Before we dive into Season 4,which covers the Bible's books
of prophecy, I want to take amoment to revisit two important
episodes that lay the foundationfor understanding the prophets.
Many people think of prophetsas just tellers of the future,

(00:33):
but their role was so much morecomplex.
They were God's messengers,calling people back to faith,
confronting kings and sometimeseven acting out their messages
in dramatic ways.
In this first episode, we'llfocus on what a prophet is and

(00:55):
what their role was in God'splan.
Then, in next week's episode,we'll look at the historical
backdrop where the prophets fitinto the Bible's storyline.
Even if you've heard theseepisodes before, I encourage you
to listen again.
They'll give you a freshperspective as we prepare to

(01:17):
explore the books of prophecytogether.
Well welcome everyone.
I'm your host, jackie Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where, weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
When the subject of biblicalprophets comes up, many of us

(01:41):
think first of the men who wrotethe last section of the books
of the Old Testament, and maybea few others we've heard of,
like Elijah or Elisha.
However, the Bible identifiesmany more, some of them by name,
some nameless, spreadthroughout the Old and New
Testaments.
The primary task of thisteaching is to provide an

(02:05):
overview of who thoseindividuals were, what they did
and how God used them for hisoverall plan.
So what is a prophet?
Well, simply put, a biblicalprophet is a person who receives
revelation from God andcommunicates his message to
other persons, cities andnations.

(02:27):
Another common Old Testamentword for prophet is seer.
This term emphasizes the wayprophets receive their
revelation, namely by seeing.
These were men who saw themessage God gave, whether that
meant with the physical eye orseeing them in dreams or visions

(02:47):
.
In addition to prophet and seer, they were also referred to as
men of God, servant of the Lord,preachers, god's messengers,
watchmen and spokesmen.
So we've covered what a prophetis.
Let's explore their calling.

(03:08):
How they became prophets?
The office of prophet was nothereditary, like that of a
priest or a king.
Prophets were specificallycalled by God.
They were chosen from manydifferent walks of life and the
call was not an invitation but adivine appointment.

(03:28):
In some instances, the Bibledescribes the call in
considerable detail and eachaccount has distinctive features
not found in the others.
The call properly designated aprophet and gave them the
authority for their work.
For example, god told theprophet Jeremiah, before I

(03:49):
formed you in the womb, I knewyou Before you were born.
I set you apart.
I appointed you as a prophet tothe nations.
Except for God's call, prophetshad no special qualifications.
They appeared from all walks oflife.
They included sheepherders andfarmers like Amos and Elisha,

(04:13):
but also princes like Abrahamand priests like Ezekiel.
We'll get into even more detailabout the prophets in future
episodes.
Now let's talk about thefunctions of a prophet.
If we go straight to Google orWikipedia, we may see the most
common definition of a prophetis one who foretells future

(04:35):
events, and the typical synonymis a predictor.
While Old Testament prophetsdid speak about predictions of
far distant events, it'simportant to note that most of
any predictions of the futurewere not about our time, but
rather about the immediatefuture of Israel and surrounding

(04:55):
nations, not our future.
What prophets did primarily wasforth-telling, sometimes called
preaching.
They spoke to the people mostlyIsrael, but occasionally other
nations about their currentsituation.
They pointed out the sin of thepeople.
They warned the people aboutthe terrible and certain

(05:17):
consequences of sin, thediscipline and judgment of God.
They encouraged the people torepent wholeheartedly, turn back
to God, to worship him and himalone, and they also brought
messages of consolation andpardon.
Adding to the complexity oftheir role, they also had the

(05:37):
responsibility for speaking ofthe future.
These messages focused on Jesus, the coming Messiah,
descriptions of the new covenantage, which is the period after
Christ's crucifixion, and endtime events.
Prophets did not only speak ofGod's messages.
Sometimes they became quitedramatic and acted out their

(06:01):
messages.
Isaiah went naked and barefootfor three years.
Ezekiel lay on his left sidefor 390 days and right side for
40 more days to communicateGod's message.
You gotta know those prophetswere some special people.

(06:21):
In their ministry, prophets notonly spoke to the people of
Israel, but were often directlyspeaking to the rulers and kings
of Israel.
The reason for this isimportant to understand.
It was typically the behaviorof the leader that influenced
the behavior of the people.
It was through the king thatthe prophet could best influence
the nations regarding the truthof God.

(06:42):
Like the priests, the prophetsalso interceded on behalf of the
people before God.
However, the key function ofthe prophet was to be a person
in whom's mouth God placed hiswords and who spoke those words
to the people.
It is important to note thatthe prophet did not act or speak

(07:04):
independent of God.
The prophets also did not takeup the role on their own.
God raised them up.
The emphasis here is that thetrue prophet's message was God's
, not their own.
They communicated this byregularly prefacing or
concluding or punctuating theirspeeches with Thus saith the

(07:26):
Lord.
To sum it up, the true prophetsin the Old Testament were
chosen by God to deliverimportant messages to the people
of Israel and to enforce thecovenant God had made with them.
They pointed out sin, warned ofconsequences of disobedience,
encouraged repentance andfaithfulness and proclaimed

(07:48):
messages of hope and restoration.
As we continue to explore theprophets in the Bible, it's
important to keep in mind thattheir messages have much to
teach us about a wide range ofissues for today.
By studying the prophets, wecan learn much about the nature
and character of God, his plansfor his people and how God's

(08:11):
people that's, us should live.
I don't know about you, but forme that episode provided a
great foundation forunderstanding who the prophets
were.
But to fully grasp theirmessages we need to know when
they spoke and the historicalevents surrounding them.

(08:32):
That's exactly what we'llexplore in next week's episode.
In next week's episode We'llwalk through the different
periods of prophecy, from theearly prophets like Moses and
Deborah, to the writing prophetsthat we'll be discussing in
season four.
So stay tuned for part two,where we'll uncover the

(08:53):
historical timeline of theprophets and their place in the
Bible's big picture.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith so that we spread God'sword further.
Please share, like, follow,comment and subscribe Subscribe.

(09:17):
Thank you.