Prophets, lives of

God called individuals from differing backgrounds to speak as prophets on his behalf, sometimes in difficult circumstances.

The backgrounds of the prophets

Exodus 2:1–10 Moses was brought up in the Egyptian royal court; 1 Samuel 1:21–28 Samuel was a temple servant at Shiloh; 1 Kings 19:19–21 Elisha was a farmer; Ezekiel 1:3 Ezekiel was a priest living in exile in Babylonia.; Amos 1:1, Amos 7:14

The calling of the prophets

Their initial encounter with God

Isaiah 6:1–4 See also Exodus 3:1–6; Ezekiel 1:4–28

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

God communicating his call

Jeremiah 1:4–5 See also Isaiah 6:8–10; Ezekiel 2:3–3:5; Jonah 1:1, Jonah 3:1

The word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Their response to God's call

Jeremiah 1:6–10 See also Exodus 3:11–12

“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”

The family life of the prophets

Jeremiah 16:1–4 See also Isaiah 7:3, Isaiah 8:1–4; Ezekiel 24:15–24; Hosea 1:2–11, Hosea 3:1–5

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.” For this is what the LORD says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and the mothers who bore them, and the fathers who fathered them in this land: “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”

The hardships faced by prophets

Persecution

Hebrews 11:32–38 See also Acts 7:52

And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

Reviling and beating

Luke 6:22–23 parallel Matthew 5:11–12 See also Jeremiah 20:1–2; James 5:10

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

Imprisonment

Jeremiah 37:11–16 See also 1 Kings 22:26–27 parallel 2 Chronicles 18:25–26; 2 Chronicles 16:10; Jeremiah 37:21, Jeremiah 38:6–13

When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” “That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials. The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.

Killing

1 Kings 19:14 See also 1 Kings 18:4, 1 Kings 18:13, 1 Kings 19:2; Jeremiah 26:8–11, Jeremiah 26:20–23; Matthew 23:29–31, Matthew 23:37 parallel Luke 13:34; Luke 11:47–49; 1 Thessalonians 2:4–15

“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

The death of prophets

Deuteronomy 34:1–8 Moses; 1 Samuel 28:3 Samuel; 2 Kings 2:11–12 Elijah did not die but was taken up in a chariot of fire.