Prophets in Hebrew Scriptures

Oct. 24, 2017

Winthrop University

Review Carvalho

Up until the time of Solomon, Israel was a united nation. When Solomon died, there was internal strive among the Israelites. The nation then split into 2 kingdoms:

The Northern Kingdom was invaded and fell to the Assyrians in 721 BCE. Many of the Israelites were DEPORTED to Assyria. This event is called the Deportation.
The Southern Kingdom was invaded and fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. Jerusalem was burned and the Temple was destroyed. Many of the Israelites were EXILED to Babylon and Egypt. This event is called the Exile.

This is also the Age of the Prophets: Pre-Exilic, Exilic, Post-Exilic.
In the 5th century BCE, the Jewish people are freed from exile.
The fate of Israel was always linked to the fortunes of its neighboring superpowers.

prophets spoke to their own community about issues facing them in their own day
They were the most able to critique the king
sometimes they were the voice of the poor and oppressed
surviving oracles (elements that look to the future) were about issues facing the nation as a whole

The prophets are ordinary humans beings.
The prophets are poets, storytellers, preachers madly in love with God, and madly in love with God's people.
Because of their great love for God and all creation, they are willing—however reluctant—to proclaim an unpopular yet steadfast love.
They are the keepers of the covenant and the guardians of mispat, sedeqa, and hesed—justice, righteousness, and lovingkindness.
Their message is time bound yet timeless.

They take us to where it hurts—to the streets, to the poor, to the oppressed, to those who have suffered injustices and unjust bloodshed, to those who have been silenced, to those who have not been heard, to those who suffer abuse, to those who have been out to death without cause or reason, to the homeless, to the landless, to the hungry, to the spurned, to those rejected, the down-hearted, to the beaten-down.
What others close their eyes to or accepted as part of the system sends the prophets REELING.

Every little injustice shakes them.
Injustices keep them awake at night.
They feel deeply about everything.
They are men and women of tremendous passion; they are passionate people.
They are never indifferent; they are never on the fence.
They challenge frequently that which the majority holds as sacred; they challenge institutions, systems, structures, mindsets.

Their reward is not much; often their message is rejected.
Their mission is often repugnant to them and repugnant to others.
They are primarily concerned with the moment and the contemporary scene; they are very in tune with the world around them.
The one thing that holds them together is their relationship with God—their communion with God—because oftentimes there is nothing else.

The whole person of the prophet is involved in the prophetic word proclaimed-mind, heart, spirit, intuition, imagination, all the internal intellectual faculties the prophets were concerned primarily with history, and the course that history was taking.
The prophet is intent on intensifying responsibility, is impatient with excuses, and is not interested in pretense or one's self-pity.
The prophet's mouth is a sharp sword, a "polished arrow" taken out of the quiver of God (Isa 49:2).

The prophet's ear perceives the silent sigh.
The prophet has a vision, and has a vision of the end.
The prophet's words begin to burn where conscience has waned.
The prophet's duty is to speak to the people whether they hear or refuse to hear.
The prophet is called to be faithful, not successful.
The prophet's word is a scream in the night while the world is asleep and at ease.
The prophet is often a lonely person because of the task he/she has been given which sometimes separates one from one's life-supports, ie, family, community, friends.

The focal point of the prophet's thought is God. and the world is seen as reflected in God.
The prophet is sent not only to upbraid but also to comfort, to make strong feeble knees and weak hands.
At the heart of the prophetic message is hope.
The prophets remind us of the moral state of a people—while a few may be guilty, all are responsible either by participating in injustice or by condoning injustice by choosing to ignore it, or by one's general silence or malaise.
The prophet is overwhelmed by the Divine Presence that becomes an incessant demand.

The true greatness of the prophet is to be able to hold God and humankind in a single thought.
The measure of the prophet's greatness is his/her universality.
The prophet stands in the presence of God (Jer 15:19), "in the council of the Lord" (Jer 23:18)
The prophet reveals who God is and the ways of God.
Within the prophet's heart is an intense love, and an intense compassion.
They are men and women of tremendous passion; they are passionate people.

Prophecy and the office of the prophet is a vocation that calls the prophet to faithfulness/fidelity:

The prophet is called not to be successful but to be faithful

See 1 Sam 3:1-21; Jer 1:4-10; Isa 6:1-9; Isa 49:1-7

when prophecy end?
for Judaism Malachi is end of prophets, not Daniel
establishing canon
Christianity open to continuation of prophecy
Christianity arose in the midst of a resurgence of "prophecy" with the result that different Christian groups today are open in different ways to prophetic actions
false prophecy p. 251

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/
The Book of Enoch, written during the second century B.C.E., is one of the most important non-canonical apocryphal works, and probably had a huge influence on early Christian, particularly Gnostic, beliefs. Filled with hallucinatory visions of heaven and hell, angels and devils, Enoch introduced concepts such as fallen angels, the appearance of a Messiah, Resurrection, a Final Judgement, and a Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. Interspersed with this material are quasi-scientific digressions on calendrical systems, geography, cosmology, astronomy, and meteorology.

Kevin Heider singing “On the Dark Side”

ends with quote Amos 2:1
- judgment for unrelenting hatred and violence for one’s conquered foe