For the next 20 days, I will be sharing our 2015 Advent Devotionals, written by Diana Barker. Today's entry starts with Psalm 119:45. “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I may mediate on your promises.”.
Psalm 119, perhaps written by Ezra the priest, comforts us in the knowledge that God’s Word is truthful. His promises are always reliable. Prophets, those who make prophecies, must be carefully scrutinized to make certain their
Verses 21, 22 say, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord? If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.” Some leaders are false prophets. In Deuteronomy 13:1-3 we hear,“If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears, among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.
The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.” There are false prophets among us today. Judge a leader by his focus, direction of guidance, truthfulness, and consistency with God’s Word as stated in the Bible.
Prophets were selected by God to do his will. They were male or female, young or old, rich or poor, king or slave. 2 Kings 22:14-20 mentions Huldah, a well-respected prophetess. Judges 4:4 shows God chose Deborah, an exceptional prophetess, to be leader of Israel. Exodus 15:20 reveals that Miriam, Aaron’s sister, was a prophetess because she not only received revelations from God but possessed musical skills. In I Chronicles 25:1 we learn how David chose musicians with special talents “for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres, and cymbals.” God’s message was spread to others through songs as part of worship.
The book of Amos explains how God used Amos as a prophet. Amos 7:14 states, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” God knew he could work through this man of humble lifestyle to accomplish extraordinary things.
Moses was called Israel’s greatest prophet not because he was perfect, gifted, or powerful. Numbers 20:12 says, “’Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as hold in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’” God disciplined Moses for his disobedience. Moses responded to God with love and a true desire to follow his commands. God chose Moses to be a prophet even though he was a stuttering shepherd.
Exodus 4:10 reads, “Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’” The Lord responded in verse 12, “‘I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’” God gives us the ability to perform a task if we trust in him. Moses learned to rely on God’s wisdom and direction developing a friendship with God. Exodus 33:11 reveals Moses was the only person to speak “face to face” with the Lord, “as a man speaks with a friend.” God called Ezekiel to be a prophet at age 30, the age for becoming a priest. Ezekiel 1:1 states, “. . . the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”
Through these symbolic pictures, ideas were vividly conveyed to Ezekiel from God. Ezekiel 2:5 tells us, “’And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house –they will know that a prophet has been among them.’” God does not judge us on how well people respond to the message but on how faithful we are in accomplishing the task we are given.
God sent Elijah as a prophet to Israel and Judah. He was the first in a long line of important prophets as told in 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 2. The last prophet in the Old Testament was Malachi. With his death, the voice of God’s prophets would be stilled for 400 years.
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