Page 98 - Pentateuch

Throughout OT history, these principles hold true. God did provide a series of prophets who spoke his
word. Isaiah refers to God’s call, “Go and tell this people (Is. 6:9). Jeremiah claims, “The word of the LORD
came to me (Jer. 1:7). His experience of God’s presence is vivid. “Then the LORD reached out his hand and
touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth’ (1:9). Amos protests when people
told him not to prophecy. “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, 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’ (Amos 7:14-15).”

On a rare occasion, genuine prophets of God “changed” their
message. Two classic instances come quickly to mind.
Through miraculous circumstances, Jonah is brought to
Nineveh with a message. “Forty more days and Nineveh will
be overthrown (Jon. 3:4). The people repent, and God spares
the city. In this case, everyone involved seems to know the
prophecy carries with it the possibility of a different ending
than the one announced. The Ninevites wonder if “God may
yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so
that we will not perish (3:9). Jonah anticipated this very
possibility and did not want to go in the first place (4:2).” His
message carried with it such a hint, even if none is written in Fig. 70: Ancient wall of Ninevah
the text. God tends to be far more merciful than we humans
are.

A second example is found when the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah, “This is what the LORD says: Put
your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover (Isa. 38:1).” Hezekiah prays to God,
and YHWH tells Isaiah, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life (v.
5).” God adds to the message his intention to protect the city of Jerusalem from the army of the king of
Assyria that is surrounding them. The reversal is remarkable, so remarkable that God gives a sign of its
truth. The shadow of the sun would reverse itself on the stairway (v. 7-8). The writer of 2 Kings adds a note
about the timing of the two messages. “Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came
to him (20:4). God did not let much time go by before responding to the king’s prayer.

The more frequent picture is that of conflict between true and false prophets. Jeremiah spoke a vivid
message to Israel about their coming defeat and bondage to the nation of Babylon. He spoke for over
twenty years (Jer. 25:2). They did not listen. He promised seventy years of captivity to the king of Babylon
(v. 11). To emphasize the message, Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke on his shoulders. We can picture this
lonely man walking about Jerusalem, even in the government buildings, with a yoke on his shoulders to
illustrate his message. On one occasion, another prophet, Hananiah, came up to him and said, “This is what
the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of Babylon… (28:2).’” He proceeded to take
the wooden yoke off Jeremiah and break it (v. 10). Jeremiah said, “Amen,” and went home (vv. 6, 11). God
spoke to Jeremiah again. This time, he returned with an iron yoke and a reaffirmed prophecy. In addition,
he warns Hananiah: “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you (v. 15).” Jeremiah adds a sign to his
words. Hananiah would die within the year. His death in the seventh month confirms the truth of
Jeremiah’s prophecy.

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