THE PROPHETS 

by Steve and Terri White

"When you come to the land which the LORD you God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment. . ." (Deut. 17:14-20)

A quick review of King Solomon’s life would expose his failure to heed every commandment given for the kings of Israel in the above passage. His disobedience was his demise. When Solomon made alliances with the nations surrounding Israel, he sealed the agreements by marrying the daughters of the foreign kings. He then built temples for the idols of his 700 wives and 300 concubines. Eventually ". . . his wives turned his heart after other gods" [and] "Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD as did his father David." (I Kings 11:4,6)

To support the massive building programs for Solomon’s household and military projects, the Israelites were heavily taxed. After his death, Solomon’s son Rehoboam increased the people’s burdens, causing the ten northern tribes to rebel against the house of David. Their leader was Jeroboam the Ephraimite with whom God had offered a covenant for an enduring throne over the ten northern tribes. Fearing that the people would return to Rehoboam and kill him if he let them worship at the temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam established a pagan religious system in Israel, rejecting God’s covenant. Thus began the period of the divided kingdom: the descendants of David (with the Messianic covenant) reigned over Judah (and Benjamin) until 606 B.C., and a motley assortment of men ruled over the remaining ten tribes, called Israel, until 722 B.C. After Jeroboam died, no king thereafter encouraged the Israelites to worship the true God. Judah, however, did have some good kings that kept the Law: Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah, to name only three. (See I Kings 11 & 12; I Kings 13 - II Kings 25; II Chron. 10-36.) 

The prophetic messages to the divided kingdom were moral and spiritual, trumpeting calls of repentance from sin and idolatry. These calls were also accompanied by warnings of impending doom if the messages were ignored by the people. For hundreds of years, God wooed His people through the prophets, but to no avail. When Israel refused to repent, God sent Hosea to announce the end of Israel’s covenant relationship with Him. ". . . For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel. . . For you are not My people, and I will not be your God" (Hosea 1:6b & 9b).  The Assyrians conquered Israel and scattered the ten tribes over its broad kingdom in 722 B.C.

Learning nothing from Israel’s captivity, Judah went from bad to worse. As Hosea had in Israel, Jeremiah was commissioned by God to declare the end of the Sinai covenant to Judah. ". . . My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD" (Jer. 31:32c).  The word 'broke' means 'to annul, to make null and void'. The covenant is finished, not just set aside. In 586 B.C. Babylon seized rebellious Judah and deported its population across the Euphrates River. Only the poorest farmers were left behind. Judah was now back to the land out of which Abraham was called, with only a broken covenant in her hands.

With the Sinai covenant null and void, Israel (all the tribes) was without a covenant with God. All the curses of the Sinai Covenant were fulfilled (Deut. 28). A new covenant, then, had to come that would fulfill the promises made to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and David (Jer. 31:31-34). This messianic thread runs through many of the prophecies. The message of the whole Bible is Jesus. From Genesis through Malachi, prophecy pointed forward, and the New Testament records the fulfillment of the ancient messianic prophecies.

"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into." (I Peter 1:10-12)

There is no record of any prophets sent to the scattered tribes of Israel, but Daniel and Ezekiel were raised up to bring hope to Judah in Babylonian exile. When a remnant from Babylon was granted permission to return to Jerusalem in 536 B.C. and rebuild the temple, Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them. Malachi, the last prophet before John the Baptist burst on the scene 400 years later, shouted a call to repentance.

SOME MESSIANIC THEMES IN THE PROPHETS:

THE PROPHETS AND THEIR MESSAGES

 ISAIAH THROUGH MALACHI,  Circa 800 - 400 B.C.

• TO ISRAEL BEFORE HER FALL, 722 B.C.:

Amos: Unrepented sin is followed by divine punishment; the Tabernacle of David

Hosea: Israel’s broken covenant; God’s love for Israel

Jonah: Ninevah called to repentance; God’s concern for gentiles

• TO JUDAH DURING HER DECLINING YEARS:

Joel: Call to repentance; promise of the [Holy] Spirit

Obadiah: Judgment of Edom

Micah: Bethlehem’s King

Isaiah: Messiah -- King-Savior-Servant

• TO JUDAH IN HER LAST YEARS, 634-606 B.C.:

Jeremiah: Judah’s broken covenant; announcing the "New Covenant"

Nahum: Judgment on Ninevah and Assyria

Habakkuk: The Lord’s Kingdom will triumph

Zephaniah: Remnant rescued for blessing

• TO EXILES IN BABYLON, 606 B.C. - 538 B.C.:

Daniel: Messiah -- Rock cut out; coronation of the King

Ezekiel: Messiah -- Shepherd-King; the promise of the [Holy] Spirit

• TO RESTORED COMMUNITY, 538-400 B.C.:

Haggai: Restoration of temple; Kingdom-age foretold

Zechariah: Messiah -- the Branch & King-Priest

Malachi: Priests called to repentance; the Day of the Lord

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