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Imagine seeing this job ad:
WANTED: Messenger. Must deliver unwelcome news to powerful people. Will often be ignored, mocked or threatened. Previous employees have been hunted by a queen, locked up for telling a king the truth, and lowered into a muddy well. Pay: poor. Benefit: you speak for God.
Would you apply? Every one of those things really happened to someone in the Bible (1 Kings 19:1–2; 1 Kings 22:26–27; Jeremiah 38:6). This term we meet the people who took that job, the prophets, and we read the songs God's people sang when life fell apart, the Psalms. Our theme is hope in hard times.
What you'll learn
- Who the prophets were, and the three main jobs they did
- Where the prophets fit in Israel's story, before, during and after the exile
- Why the Bible says Jesus is more than a prophet
Covenant messengers
After King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Most of their kings turned to other gods, and the road led to exile: being defeated and carried off to a foreign land.
The prophets weren't inventing a new religion. At Mount Sinai, God had made a covenant with Israel: he would be their God and they would be his people. That covenant came with blessings for faithfulness and warnings, including exile, for unfaithfulness. The prophets were God's covenant messengers, calling people back before it was too late.
When the northern kingdom was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC, the Bible's writer explained why:
"Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, ‘Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.’ But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God." (2 Kings 17:13–14)
God sent prophet after prophet, for centuries. The exile came after a very long warning. That's patience, not harshness. Think of a smoke alarm: it's annoying, but it exists to save your life.
| When | Some of the prophets | Main message |
|---|---|---|
| Before the exile (about 870–586 BC) | Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah | Warning: turn back before it's too late |
| During the exile (586–538 BC) | Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah's letters | Comfort: God hasn't abandoned you |
| After the return (538 BC onwards) | Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi | Rebuild, and wait for the coming King |
In your Bible, the Major Prophets (Isaiah to Daniel) are the longer books. The twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi) are shorter, but not less important.
Warn, comfort, point forward
People often think prophecy just means predicting the future. That's only part of it. Most of what the prophets said was forthtelling: speaking God's word into their own day, about idols, injustice and how the poor were treated. Some of it was foretelling: announcing what God would do in the future.
The prophets had three main jobs:
| Job | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Warn | Call people back to God and to justice, and spell out the consequences | Micah 6:8; Amos 5:24 |
| Comfort | Remind hurting people that God hasn't given up on them | Isaiah 40:1–2; Hosea 11:8 |
| Point forward | Promise what God will do: a coming King, a new covenant, a new heart | Micah 5:2; Ezekiel 36:26 |
"‘Comfort, comfort My people,’ says your God." (Isaiah 40:1)
Warning and comfort come from the same God. If a parent yells "Stop!" as their child runs towards a busy road, that's not cruelty; it's love. And the prophets still speak to people today. Martin Luther King Jr quoted Amos 5:24 in his "I Have a Dream" speech, calling for justice to roll down like waters.
True and false prophets
Not everyone who claimed to speak for God really did. False prophets were often more popular, because they said what people wanted to hear:
"They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all." (Jeremiah 6:14)
The Bible gives ways to test a message. Does it come true (Deuteronomy 18:22)? Does it lead people to the true God (Deuteronomy 13:1–3)? Does it fit what God has already said? Does it take sin and suffering seriously? We still hear "everything's fine" voices today: ads, influencers, "you deserve it", "nothing is ever your fault". They're easy to listen to, but they don't always tell the truth.
God's final Word
The New Testament book of Hebrews begins like this:
"On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe." (Hebrews 1:1–2)
The prophets spoke "in many different ways", in pieces, over hundreds of years. Now God has spoken by his Son. Jesus isn't just another messenger. He's the heir of everything, and the one through whom the universe was made.
Imagine someone overseas who sends you letters and texts for years. Then one day they knock on your door. The letters were true, but now you have the person.
Key words
- Prophet: a messenger who speaks God's word to people.
- Covenant: a binding relationship and promise between God and his people.
- Exile: being forced out of your homeland; for Israel and Judah, being defeated and taken away by Assyria and Babylon.
- Forthtelling: speaking God's word into the present.
- Foretelling: announcing what God will do in the future.
How this points to Jesus
Moses promised that God would raise up a prophet like him (Deuteronomy 18:18), and Peter says Jesus is that prophet (Acts 3:22). Jesus took the messenger's job too. He wept over Jerusalem, the city that killed the prophets (Luke 13:34), and was rejected and killed as they were. But he is more than a messenger. He is the message. This term, as we read the prophets, look for the ways they point to him.
Think about it
What's the difference between forthtelling and foretelling?Show answer
Forthtelling is speaking God's word into your own time (like warning against injustice); foretelling is announcing what God will do in the future. Most of the prophets' work was forthtelling.
What does it tell you about God that he kept sending messengers for hundreds of years to people who ignored them?Show answer
It shows his patience and love; he didn't want to bring judgement and gave his people chance after chance to turn back.
According to Hebrews 1:1–2, how is Jesus different from the prophets?Show answer
The prophets brought pieces of God's message, but Jesus is God's Son, the heir of all things and the one through whom the universe was made; he is God's final Word.
Take it further
This week, notice the "everything's fine" voices around you: in ads, online, in your own head. Whose voice do you listen to when you want to feel better? What would it look like to listen to God's voice instead? Your worksheet helps you build a timeline of the prophets and sort their messages.
If you'd like to, you could pray: God who speaks, thank you that you kept sending messengers to people who didn't listen. Thank you for your final Word, Jesus. Help me listen to him. Amen.