004. The Beginnings Of Hebrew Prophecy

THE BEGINNINGS OF HEBREW PROPHECY With Amos and Hosea, in the middle of the eighth century before Christ, began that notable succession of religious thinkers whose utterances have been given permanent form in the prophetic books of the Old Testament. As we know from their writings, they were men of remarkable breadth, insight, and power. While their greatest service to the world of their day, or of ours, was in the sphere of constructive religious thought, they were interested in the practical problems of human life, and touched it at many points. Their conviction that righteousness and sincerity were the fundamental elements of true life made them unsparing critics of social wrongs, idolatry, formalism, and worldliness, preachers of faith in God and love to man, and statesmanlike advisers on questions of public policy. Their chief distinction was their modest boldness. They spoke in the name of God, and claimed to give expression to his will. They looked at life from the standpoint of the Divine, approving or denouncing its varied phases according to their harmony with the ideal revealed to them.

These men were called by their contemporaries “prophets,” or occasionally “seers.” Another favorite term was “men of God.” “Prophet,” the most frequently recurring term, literally meant “the speaker” (Exodus 7:1), and suggested that the one to whom it was applied was commissioned to proclaim the will of God. The prophets themselves claimed that they spoke with the sanction and support of Jehovah. In the consciousness of this support they dared “to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” The number of prophets whom we know through their published utterances is strangely small. Between the middle of the eighth century and the Babylonian exile (586 B.C.) only eight or nine can be enumerated. Even these appeared in two groups separated by nearly a century of silence. The student of to-day is therefore tempted to consider the prophet an isolated phenomenon, called into existence by God to serve as his mouthpiece at a time of especial need, when his people required reassurance, guidance, comfort, or criticism. To the men of that era, however, the prophet was a familiar sight Those to whom the title was freely given were numbered by scores and hundreds. They formed an important class in Hebrew society, to which the people at large paid constant deference. So marked was this respect that many adopted prophecy as a profession who were morally and spiritually incapable of apprehending and of interpreting the will of God, and were unwilling to meet the social consequences of proclaiming his austere commands. For such as these the real prophets had a profound contempt; with them they held many a bitter dispute; from them they not infrequently met with the most exasperating opposition, because the people of Israel, not unlike other peoples, often followed the advice of the prophets who echoed the popular desire. The honor thus wrongly bestowed is a proof, however, that the prophetic order was recognized as a permanent national institution. For centuries before the days of Amos, prophets had been ardent champions of popular rights, zealous advocates of devotion to God, and champions of patriotism and other true ideals. Even Amos and Hosea were merely unusual types of their class, with ideas that were startling. They appealed to the popular conscience; they were not revolutionists, but reformers. Their right to speak in God’s name was not seriously questioned, for this was in the line of a prophet’s duty.

We can trace the history of the prophetic order as an organization back to the times of Samuel. There are indications that, before his day, there were individuals here and there who were regarded as having the power to determine the will of God. They were called “seers” (1 Samuel 9:9), and held in high respect by the people, but their isolation prevented their wider effectiveness. Samuel was a sort of link between the old and the new. He was himself a “seer,” but his practical mind created a new sphere of influence. Apparently enlisting those who were ready to give themselves to loyal service for God, he organized a permanent order of religious patriots, whose first duty was to kindle a sense of loyalty among the people. These men may well be described as enthusiasts, and they used methods of arousing themselves to religious fervor that to-day seem crude and even objectionable. Yet it was a decided advance in religious history when such enthusiasts submitted to leadership. Their devotion and energy gradually found expression in worthier ways.

We cannot definitely trace the history of the order between the days of Samuel and the time of Elijah, although we know that it had an unbroken record. The biblical historians of these centuries direct our attention to a few of Samuel’s successors, such as Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, and Jehu. These leaders were, no doubt, the ones who dignified and developed the function of the prophet as an active member of society. The patriotism of these men led them to become the annalists and historians of the nation; their farsightedness and moral earnestness made them the valued advisers of kings and people; their honesty led them to expose that which was wrong or unworthy; their constant thought of God in his relations to mankind developed a simple but profound philosophy of history, to illustrate which they studied their past experiences as a nation. Since they represented the Almighty they were not afraid to defy any human power. Repeatedly they rebuked the king himself for forgetting his duty or his right. The growing influence of the order became in itself a danger, for it attracted many recruits who were of little value. It is probable that voluntary association as well as such a selection by a recognized prophet as that of Elisha by Elijah, increased the membership of the prophetic bands. These bands formed little communities, sometimes living together, having many interests in common. Ahab had no difficulty in summoning before him four hundred at one time (1 Kings 22). Their support came, in part, from the gifts of those who sought their advice. Inevitably there were members of the order whose motives were mercenary. Micah’s sarcastic reference (Micah 3:5) to the prophets, who “bite with their teeth and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even sanctify war against him,” is paralleled by the evident lack of confidence of Jehoshaphat in the four hundred prophets who unhesitatingly predicted the victory which Ahab desired (1 Kings 22:7). In the days of Ahab and Jezebel a test was applied to the prophetic organization which at once made prominent a true representative of its noblest aims, and emphasized the difference between the spurious prophet, who was merely a member of the order, and the real prophet to whom Jehovah revealed himself. The zeal of Queen Jezebel for her ancestral faith caused her to determine to introduce the worship of Baal throughout all Israel, as well as in Samaria, the capital, where a magnificent temple had been erected for her use. To the king and to many of the people this mattered little. To the true prophets it meant treason to Jehovah, the God of Israel. In order to overawe all opposition, Jezebel began a persistent persecution of the prophets and their sympathizers, which seemed to be successful (1 Kings 19:14). Those who remained loyal to Jehovah were forced to hide or keep their opinions a secret. This supreme crisis produced the man to meet it. The prophet Elijah, after announcing by the prediction of the drought and famine that Jehovah was displeased with his people, dared to challenge the representatives of Baalism to a test, and to demand from the people absolute loyalty to Jehovah. He was only in part successful; but his policy of determined resistance to Baalism, and all that it fostered, was continued by his disciple and servant, the prophet Elisha, to whose zeal and influence was due the ultimate expulsion of the hated worship and its votaries from Israel. Through their influence the nation fully acknowledged Jehovah as its God. With that declaration of loyalty there was renewed a consciousness that he had chosen them to be his peculiar people, with a unique destiny which they could not define, but in which they firmly believed. The next half-century seemed to justify this spirit of faithfulness. It was a time of prosperity and peace in both kingdoms under able rulers. Each nation grew strong, secure, and wealthy. The ensuing commercial development revolutionized social conditions. The ruling classes used their power unscrupulously to acquire riches. Greed, violence, injustice, fraud, became so common that they excited little remark. Even prophets and priests were found who shared in this carnival of selfish greed. In the face of it all was a complacency which tried the souls of the truly upright The people were proud of their history, scrupulous about their religious duties, and confident that Jehovah their God was loading them with blessings, and would bestow yet greater ones. Their theory of religion made it a system of observances, the hearty fulfilment of which would ensure the protection and favor of God. That he would measure the quality as well as the quantity of such worship they hardly seemed to realize.

Under these conditions, the advance of the conquering nation of Assyria produced another momentous crisis in Israel’s religious life. This nation seemed invincible, its intentions clear. Would Jehovah protect his people? If he failed to do so, was it not because the gods of the invader were stronger? Was it worth while to be loyal to him? Upon a true answer hung the faith of the Hebrews. None but a prophet could give it. At this juncture, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah saved Israel’s faith by broadening it. They showed that the nation was guilty in the sight of God, that he was going to make use of the Assyrian world-power as an instrument of scourging, but that his ultimate intention was to purify the nation, and use it for his gracious purpose. By this clear-cut assertion of the supremacy of the moral element in the character of God the prophets revolutionized religious thinking. They had to restate the true conception of Jehovah, his purpose and methods, and to reinterpret human experiences in their light. An era of constructive thought ensued which is hardly to be surpassed in the world’s history. To explain it as the mere achievement of logical and earnest minds is impossible. The only satisfactory explanation is that God was leading and teaching mankind through his chosen messengers.