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Many people today tend to think of Prophets as being those who see into the future and predict what will occur. Certainly this has often been a feature of prophets - but a prophet is far more that just this.
A prophet is basically a spokesman for God chosen to preach his message to the people. They were examples of holiness, role models, scholars and often set the standard of behaviour that those they spoke to were failing to meet. In the Old Testament there are 55 prophets and these are not all men; Ruth, Esther, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and Abigail are all female prophets.
A prophet is basically a spokesman for God chosen to preach his message to the people. They were examples of holiness, role models, scholars and often set the standard of behaviour that those they spoke to were failing to meet. In the Old Testament there are 55 prophets and these are not all men; Ruth, Esther, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and Abigail are all female prophets.
Interestingly not all prophets in the Old Testament are Jewish - most notably the prophet Balaam in Numbers 22 - and some of the prophets are not sent to the Jews such as Jonah whose message is delivered to the Gentiles of Nineva.
Often prophets have a very rough time of it and are often not accepted by the people they are sent to (as Jesus says in Matthew 13.57 - "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home."). Elijah was described by King Ahab as “the troubler of Israel” is never really listened to throughout his career. Jonah was swallowed and then spat out of a fish and forced to go to Nineveh where he did not want to go. Ezekiel was made to lie on his Left side for 390 days and then his right for 40 days - this was to make up for the rebellion of Jewish people! Hosea was directed by God to marry a promiscuous woman, divorce her and when she had sold herself into slavery re-marry her - their children are given symbolic names such as “unloved” and “not my people”. These names are representative of the people of Israel and their broken relationship with God.
Often prophets have a very rough time of it and are often not accepted by the people they are sent to (as Jesus says in Matthew 13.57 - "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home."). Elijah was described by King Ahab as “the troubler of Israel” is never really listened to throughout his career. Jonah was swallowed and then spat out of a fish and forced to go to Nineveh where he did not want to go. Ezekiel was made to lie on his Left side for 390 days and then his right for 40 days - this was to make up for the rebellion of Jewish people! Hosea was directed by God to marry a promiscuous woman, divorce her and when she had sold herself into slavery re-marry her - their children are given symbolic names such as “unloved” and “not my people”. These names are representative of the people of Israel and their broken relationship with God.
 Hosea - not so lucky in love |  Elijah - the "Troubler of Israel" |
The key to understanding what is going on here is that Prophets often live out God’s message in their real lives - they don’t just speak the word, they act the word, they suffer for the word.
For Christians the culmination of all the Old Testament prophecies was the birth of Jesus of Nazareth - the Messiah predicted as the “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9.6). That he would be born of a virgin (Jeremiah 31.22) and that he would be both God and Man (Jeremiah 23.5-6). And finally that he would die for the sins of the world and by doing so put an end to sin and reconcile us with God (Daniel 9). This is what Philip says in the Gospel of John, who told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
For Christians the culmination of all the Old Testament prophecies was the birth of Jesus of Nazareth - the Messiah predicted as the “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9.6). That he would be born of a virgin (Jeremiah 31.22) and that he would be both God and Man (Jeremiah 23.5-6). And finally that he would die for the sins of the world and by doing so put an end to sin and reconcile us with God (Daniel 9). This is what Philip says in the Gospel of John, who told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
Jesus as he is "Transfigured" - To either side of him are Moses and Elijah representing the prophets who predict him in the Old Testament. The Disciples are terrified and fall face down (Matthew 17)
Obviously this claim needs the faith of Christianity to be seen as true and many would deny these prophecies - Jews in that that they have yet to come about and Atheists that they are just wishful thinking. Either way the prophets represent a rich vein of Philosophical and Theological material that have inspired the generations and impacted upon our literature, music and culture.
How has our modern culture been influenced by the Prophets of the Old Testament?
Who would you say are modern day prophets?
How has our modern culture been influenced by the Prophets of the Old Testament?
Who would you say are modern day prophets?
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