Progressive Revelation - Part 4: The Three Peaks of Prophecy: Examining Failure, Repentance, and God's Faithfulness

Introduction: Understanding God’s Revelation

Read part 3 here.

When governing officials face a crisis (like in the case of natural disasters), they often conduct an aerial survey to gain a high-level view of the situation. While high-level officers receive detailed ground reports, the overall understanding of the crisis only makes sense when the low-level details are related back to that initial, comprehensive aerial survey.

In the same way, over past few posts, we have sought a "high-level view" of how God revealed Himself to His people progressively. This approach ensures we rightly understand and relate the specific details of God’s word, avoiding misuse or misunderstanding.

We know that 2 Peter 1:20-21 establishes the nature of Scripture: "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit". 

As God’s people repeatedly failed to meet the expectations of the covenant established in the Torah, God sent prophets to warn them, exalt them, and ask them to return.

The Essential Role and Start of Prophecy

Prophets were not merely focused on predicting the future; their primary role was to represent God and bring people back to Him. They possessed peculiar qualifications, including listening to God, being sent by God, and living a separated life.

The very first mention of the word "prophet" in the Bible defines this role uniquely:

• Genesis 20:7 (ESV): "Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

God refers to Abraham as a prophet, and the primary action required of him is prayer. He was not asked to predict the future, preach a sermon, or write a prophetic book. This teaches us that the fundamental duty and starting point of prophecy for any believer, irrespective of gender or social status, is to start praying for others and for God's people.

The Structure and Audience of Prophetic Books

The Old Testament contains 17 books of prophecy. They are traditionally divided in several ways:

1. Based on Content (Length): Five Major Prophets (Isaiah to Daniel) and twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi).
2. Based on Chronology/Circumstance:
   • Before Exile: Spoke before God’s people went into exile (e.g., Hosea).
   • During Exile: Spoke during the time of exile (e.g., Daniel, portions of Ezekiel, and portions of Jeremiah).
   • After Exile: Spoke after the people returned from exile (e.g., Zechariah and Malachi). Understanding the circumstance and timing of writing is crucial for right interpretation.
3. Based on Audience:
   • Nation of Israel (Northern Kingdom): Spoke only to Israel (e.g., Amos, Hosea).
   • Nation of Judah (Southern Kingdom): Spoke only to Judah (e.g., Jeremiah).
   • Other Nations: Spoke only to heathen people (e.g., Obadiah to Edomites; Jonah to Nineveh/Assyria).
   • Both: Addressed God's people as well as other nations like Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt (e.g., Isaiah).

The Call to Repentance and the Cost of Prophecy

The common theme throughout all prophetic books is the failure of God's people to keep the covenant. Prophets were sent to ask them to repent, which rightly means to turn back or come back to God. They proclaimed blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

Prophets used various methods to deliver their message—some spoke, some wrote, and some did both. Sometimes they were asked to physically act out the message:

• Jeremiah was told to go to the potter’s house and prophesy from there.
• Ezekiel was asked to shave his hair and divide it into three parts to demonstrate judgment.
• God even required prophets to live out the message before speaking it. Hosea was told to marry a prostitute to understand God’s pain over Israel’s unfaithfulness. Jeremiah was commanded not to marry in the land as a sign of the coming judgment.

The role of a prophet was not comfortable. The history records that Isaiah, known as the "prince of prophets," was sawn upside down with a wooden saw. 

For God, the preparation of the messenger was often more important than the preparation of the message itself.

Hosea and the Lack of Knowledge (Before Exile)

Hosea spoke just before the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) went into Assyrian exile.

Context of Failure: Israel was experiencing political peace, prosperity, comfort, and luxury, getting richer and richer. However, they were spiritually declining, marked by idolatry, injustice, bribery, and oppression, thus breaking God's covenant. The people had physical comfort but were spiritually poor and in bondage.

The Symbolic Message: God commanded Hosea (name means "Deliverer") to marry a prostitute to symbolize God's relationship with His people—God being the faithful Husband to His people, the unfaithful wife. God was preparing Hosea to understand His heart by going through the same situation practically in his own life first.

The Key Diagnosis: The message of Hosea, repeated 15 times in 14 chapters, was "return". The core reason for their failure was a lack of knowledge of God.

• Hosea 4:1 (ESV): "Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land."
• Hosea 4:6 (ESV): "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."
• Hosea 6:6 (ESV): "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

The people wrongly prioritized sacrifices and offerings, thinking God was concerned more about the offering box than about them having the true knowledge of God. But, they did not return to God. That led to the exile of the northern kingdom of 10 tribes. 

Jeremiah and the Uncooperative Clay (Decline and Exile)

Jeremiah spoke just before the Southern Kingdom of Judah went into Babylonian exile. The meaning of his name, "God will build up and throw down," characterized his ministry. God’s initial desire was to build them up, but their non-cooperation led to God throwing them down.

The Potter’s House: God asked Jeremiah to observe the potter. When the clay did not cooperate with the potter while making the first pot (God's desire to bless), the potter had to take the clay again and make another pot (the coming curses). God maintained His sovereignty, reminding the people they were like clay in His hands, and their lack of cooperation led to judgment.

Greater Treachery: Despite seeing the Northern Kingdom of Israel go into exile, Judah did not repent. God stated that "Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah" (Jeremiah 3:11). Finally Judah also went into exile. 

Malachi and the Restoration of the Family (After Exile)

Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, spoke just before the 400 silent years began. Though the people had returned from exile and the temple and walls were rebuilt, they remained faithless.

Malachi’s Dual Message: He spoke against failures in both religious practices and family life.

1. To the Priests: They were failing their two duties: representing the people before God (offering wrong sacrifices) and representing God before the people (teaching the laws partially or wrongly).
2. To the People: They were failing in their marriage lives—marrying foreigners and being unfaithful to their spouses. God emphasized that He is as careful about our families as He is about our church worship .

The Ray of Hope: The book ends with a promise of restoration:

• Malachi 4:5,6 (ESV): "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Even when the whole nation was faithless, God focused on building families, recognizing that the nation or church cannot be built unless families are built in a right way according to God's word .

Conclusion: God’s Enduring Faithfulness

Through the entirety of the prophetic books, a persistent nature of God is revealed: even when His people were faithless, He remained steadfast . This truth is encapsulated in the New Testament:

• 2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV): "if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

God’s faithfulness endures, always seeking to bring His people back and build them up . We are called to embody the prophetic life by starting with prayer for others, listening carefully to God's word, and living a separated life that prepares us to deliver God’s message accurately and faithfully.

(To be continued...)