Prophets Week 27 2 Peter 1:12: “I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them…”

Outline for Tonight Review of readings this week Demonstrate the power of object lessons Who or what is a prophet Some tips for reading the prophets Work of the prophets Handouts to help place the kings and prophets within the divided kingdoms Listings of the prophets Do we have prophets today?

Review of Readings This Week Micah’s prophecy regarding Judah Beginning of Israel’s captivity by Assyria Isaiah’s prophecies about a Savior Isaiah’s prophecies and judgments against various nations

The Power of Object Lessons A minister (we will call him Matthew) decided a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. So he put four worms in 4 different cans. –The first worm was put in a can of alcohol. –The second worm was put in a can of cigarette smoke. –The third worm was put in a can of chocolate syrup. –The fourth worm was put in a can of good clean soil. At the conclusion of his sermon Matthew reported the following results: –First worm in alcoholDEAD –Second worm in cigarette smokeDEAD –Third worm in chocolate syrupDEAD –Fourth worm in clean soilALIVE Matthew asked the congregation “what have you learned from this demonstration?” He was hoping they would learn the value of good, clean living. Leslie was sitting in the back of the church. She raised her hand and responded “As long as you drink, smoke, and eat chocolate you won’t have worms!” That pretty much ended the service.

Who or What Is A Prophet? They were forth-tellers, not necessarily fore-tellers Very simply put, prophets declared (made known) the word of the Lord to the people Prophet = Preacher / Teacher AKA: Seer, Mouthpiece, Oracle

Some Tips in Reading the Prophets Remember the 5 W’s when reading – Who, What, When, Where, Why Who was their message intended for – Judah or Israel or someone else. Who were the kings when the prophet was active – usually identified at the beginning of their writings. What was the political and religious climate during their period of activity. When was the prophet active – pre-exile, during the exile, or post-exile. Where were they physically located. Why did they write: to warn, to encourage, to give hope, or something else. It seems the why depends on the when.

Work of the Prophets Spoke the word of the Lord Told the people what the were doing wrong Exhorted the people to change their ways Warned of consequences if they did not change their actions Proclaimed the Lord’s judgments on various peoples and nations

Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah

Israel Ahijah Iddo Jehu Elijah Micaiah Elisha Jonah Amos Hosea Shemaiah Azariah Hanani Jahaziel Eliezer Obadiah Joel Isaiah Micah Oded Nahum Huldah Zephaniah Jeremiah Habakkuk Daniel Ezekiel Haggai Zechariah Malachi Note: Not all of the prophets to Israel and Judah wrote books. Judah

Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Modern Day Prophets Do we have prophets today? If yes, who are they? Reference: Eph. 4:11