Working of the Prophet

Working of the Prophets

From the beginning the kings of Israel abandoned God's law in favor of a false religion. The ministry of prophets was sent in hope of the people coming back to God. In the end Israel and Judah had to suffer the consequences for rebelling against God. Being sent into exile was punishment for both. Then God restore them back to Himself.

During the Northern and Southern separation with all their sin, God was still with them. God sent repeated messages through the prophets to the Israelites asking them to return back to him. A lot of the kings in the Old Testament refused to follow the law of the Lord. The rather be confined to the customs of the land causing them to become an evil in the sight of God. King Ahab was the leader of the evil rulers in the land at that time. The prophet of the Old Testament job was to rule the people of the time. The warnings of future judgment were for things like injustice, oppression, materialism and pagan worship. Future predictions are meant to help the sick and the lame, and to let those who are victims know that God has their back and he is with them. A prophet job has always been either to preach or prophesy about sin, life, suffering and salvation. In the book of Isaiah we can find scriptures like Isa. 1: 1-6:13 which speak about the social sins of the time, Isa. 49:1-57:21; talks about the suffering of the servant of the Lord, and Isa. 40:1-66:24 speaks of salvation, which let Israel and Judah know that if they follow the guideline that these are the consequence for them (Merrill, 1991, p241-255).

The prophet had to live a life of purity, always being in consecration for his purpose, even while they were in their mother womb (MacArthur Comm. 2005, p.848). Prophets have to have a wealth of knowledge of God and His working; they have to know the word of God thoroughly and be a demonstration of the word (The Old Testament, 2006, p.300). Most prophets have a real hunger and burning desire within their heart for God people (Ps. 63:5, LASB p.971). They are led by the spirit of God to speak to individual about their sin, and wickedness that they do in the face of God (Rom. 8:14, LASB, p. 2042).

The sin and condemnation of Israel and Judah brought shame and disappointment, unfaithfulness, along with their promiscuity brought about the destruction upon the land. This was God message from Isaiah to Judah and Israel. By this time they had a lot of hostility between them (Merrill, 1991, p.232-233). God warned Judah not to arouse his anger and return back to him, but Judah continued in their disobedience and would not return back to God (Mac Arthur, 2006, p.477; 2 Kings. 25:22-30). God had Jeremiah deliver this message to Judah, "I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt, declares he Lord, and will make it desolated forever (Jer. 25: 9-13,