Prophecy in the Old Testament

I don't have a natural aversion to drawing. However for those who are so inclined, I will attempt to answer all your questions regarding the Spirit and Prophecy with a simple diagram.

For those requiring further explanation, please read on for the remainder of these posts over the next few days.

What is prophecy?

A helpful passage to understanding the role of prophets in the Old Testament is Exodus 7. The context is that Moses is a wimp who would rather not be God's mouthpiece to both Pharaoh and the people. As a consequence God appoints Aaron to be the person who communicates the word from God to the people via Moses. This is how these relationships are described in Exodus 7:1-2;

And the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land..."

Moses plays the role of God, speaking the words to an individual while Aaron plays the role of the prophet, communicating that word of God to a wider audience. To boil the role of a prophet down to it's essence is to say a prophet is one who speaks the word of God.

Who can prophesy?

Anyone can be a prophet in the Old Testament. But not everyone can be a true prophet. False prophecy was rife throughout Israel's history. And as the prophet was making a claim to be the messenger of the word of God, the punishment for false prophecies was severe. Deuteronomy 13 describes what is to happen to a false prophet in a situation whereby a prophet or a dreamer of dreams performs a sign or wonder which comes true, but then they lead people to other gods. Deuteronomy 13:5;

But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God.

It's amazing how often the more supernatural end of prophecy is diminished in the Bible. Yesterday we saw the first mention of prophecy in the Bible is in the context of dreams, but the dreamer isn't the prophet. Here in Deuteronomy, the truth of a prophecy or the performance of miracles is no sign they are from God. A prophet from God will lead people to the LORD regardless of the signs they perform or their knowledge of the future.

When we think of prophecy, we most likely associate things such as predictions of the future, including if it will rain tomorrow, when am I going to die and what lotto numbers will be drawn next week. Prophecy in the Old Testament certainly at times carries future expectations, but I would contend that a prophet looks back as much as he or she looks forward. Those writings we know as 'the prophets' are full of reflections upon the promises of old. They are often calling the people back to the covenant. Consequently, the yet to be fulfilled promises from God then lead the prophet to speculations and predictions of what this glorious future will look like. These predictions of the future are often quite specific (Isaiah 11:1), yet it remains that the prophets anchor all their future expectations in the promises of old. A prophet is someone who speaks the word of the LORD to lead people to God.

But wait... there's more!

As this is quickly becoming my longest post thus far, I will save more reflections on prophecy in the Old Testament until tomorrow. Yet for those visual learners who will be tossing and turning in bed tonight as you try to make sense of the diagram, I will give you the first piece of the puzzle: Prophecy is present in the Old Testament. But does prophecy exist today? If no, why has it ceased? If yes, how long does prophecy continue in it's original form?