We began with a time of fellowship around some thematic snacks (Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies) in order to relax before we got down to business.
We next turned to some handouts that Carissa prepared for us to use as quick references and a basic history lesson of what happened to Israel after the reign of Solomon:
Carissa then provided some background on prophets.
Daniel wondered if there were prophetesses (female prophets) in the Bible, but was reminded of Miriam and Deborah by Carissa.
Remaining Questions:
Announcements:
On the night of the study you will receive some handouts that chronicle some of the dates when prophets were prophesying, including the kings they were matched with, when appropriate. You will also receive a quick-reference guide to prophetic books (and whatever else we think will help). Like angels, prophets are heavily involved in the Old Testament and we do not expect to cover every one. The included passages are meant to provide an overview of the various roles of prophets and their importance to history generally.
Passages from non-canonical texts are included. Texts from the Bible can be looked up in your favorite edition. We've included brief explanations of what each passage entails for quick reference.
I. Prophets have 4 titles:
Question to ponder:
What is unique about each prophet's call and their prophetic "title"?
a) Seer
b) Diviner
c) Man of God
d) Prophet
II. Role of the Prophets:
We will discuss this more on Monday, but the verses from 2nd Kings give a good summary of the overall important role of prophets.
2 Kings 17:7-13 (role of seers and prophets to warn Israel)
III. Prophetic Literature Outside Prophetic Books:
a) Abraham
b) Aaron
c) Miriam
d) Balaam
e) Moses
f) Nathan
g) Baruch
(http://www.zyworld.com/cosmiccreeper/OTpseudigigrapha/4baruch.htm)
15 ...And while Baruch was still praying, behold an angel of the Lord came and said to Baruch all these words: Councilor of the light, don't worry about how you should send to Jeremiah. For tomorrow an eagle is coming to you
16 (at the) hour of light, and you must direct (it) to Jeremiah. Therefore, write in the letter, Speak to the children of Israel, Let him among you who has become a foreigner be expelled, and let them spend fifteen days, and after these things
17 I will lead you into your city, says the Lord. Whoever is not separated from Babylon, let him not come into the city, and I will punish them with not being
18 taken back again by the Babylonians, says the Lord. And after these things,
19 the angel departed from Baruch. And Baruch sent to the marketplace of the gentiles and got papyrus and ink, and he wrote the following letter. Baruch, the
20 servant of God, writes to Jeremiah in the captivity of Babylon. Hail and rejoice! For God has not left us to pass out of this body grieving over the city which was
21 desolated and outraged. For this reason the Lord has taken pity on our tears and has remembered the covenant that he established with our fathers Abraham, Isaac,
22 and Jacob. And he sent his angel to me and told me these words which I have
23 sent to you. Now, these are the words that the Lord God of Israel, who led us from the land of Egypt, out of the great furnace, spoke: Because you didn't keep my commandments, but your heart was lifted up and you stiffened your neck before me, in wrath and anger I delivered you to the furnace of Babylon.
24 However, if you will listen to my voice, says the Lord, from the mouth of Jeremiah my servant, whoever listens I will bring him back from Babylon, and whoever does not listen will become a stranger to Jerusalem and to Babylon.
25 And you will prove them with the water of the Jordan; whoever does not listen will become known; this is the sign of the great seal.
IV. Death of the Major* Prophets:
* Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are considered the Major Prophets.
Question to ponder:
Why do you think The Lives of the Prophets was written?
a) Hebrews 11: 32-39 (notes ways in which the righteous have been killed)
b) Luke 11: 47-51 (A "woe to you" passage about building tombs for the prophets); If you're interested, you can also read Matthew 23: 29-39, the same story written in different language, but it's not essential!
c) Lives of the Prophets 1- 3 (Chapter 1 is about Isaiah, Chapter 2 is about Jeremiah, and Chapter 3 is about Ezekiel)
(http://www.zyworld.com/cosmiccreeper/OTpseudigigrapha/livpro.htm)
The names of the prophets, and where they are from, and where they died and how, and where they lie.
1 Isaiah, from Jerusalem, died under Manasseh by being sawn in two, and was buried underneath the Oak of Rogel, near the place where the path crossed the
2 aqueduct whose water Hezekiah shut off by blocking its source. And God worked the miracle of Siloam for the prophet's sake, for, being faint before he died, he prayed for water to drink, and immediately it was sent to him from it; therefore
3 it is called Siloam, which means sent. And in the time of Hezekiah, before he made the cisterns and the pools, in response to the prayer of Isaiah a little water came out, for the nation was besieged by foreigners, and (this happened) in
4 order that the city might not perish for lack of water. For the enemies were
5 asking, From where are they drinking? And having the city under siege they
6 were encamped at Siloam. If then, the Jews were coming, water would come
7 out, but if foreigners (approached), (it would) not. Wherefore to this day it comes
8 out intermittently, in order that the mystery may be manifested. And since this happened through Isaiah, as a memorial of it the nation also buried him nearby with care and in great honor, so that through his prayers even after his death they might enjoy the benefit of the water, for an oracle was also given to them concerning him.
9 His tomb is near the tomb of the kings, west of the tomb of the priests in the
10southern part of the city. For Solomon made the tombs, in accordance with David's design, east of Zion, which has an entrance from Gabaon, twenty stadia
11 distant from the city. And he made a secret construction with winding passages;
12 and it is to this day unknown to most. There the king kept the gold from Ethiopia
13 and the spices. And because Hezekiah showed the gentiles the secrets of David and Solomon and defiled the bones of the place of his fathers, God swore that his offspring should be enslaved to his enemies, and God made him sterile from that day.
Chapter two
1 Jeremiah was from Anathoth, and he died in Taphnai of Egypt, having been
2 stoned by his people. He was buried in the environs of Pharoah's palace, because the Egyptians held him in high esteem, having been benefitted through
3 him. For he prayed, and the asps left them, and the monsters of the waters,
4 which the Egyptians call Nephoth and the Greeks crocodiles. And those who are God's faithful pray at the place to this very day, and taking the dust of the place
5 they heal asps' bites. And we have heard from the children of Antigonus and Prolemy, old men, that Alexander the Macedonian, after standing at the prophet's grave and witnessing his mysteries, transferred his remains to Alexandria and
6 placed them in a circle around (the city) with due honor, and the whole race
7 of asps was kept from the land, and from the river likewise the crocodiles. And to the same end he introduced the snakes which are called Argolai, which means snake-fighters, which he brought from Argos of the Peloponnesus, whence they are also called Argolai, that is, fortunate ones from Argos; for everything fortunate they call laia.
8 This Jeremiah gave a sign to the priests of Egypt, that it was decreed that their idols would be shaken and collapse (through a savior, a child born of a virgin, in
9 a manger). Wherefore even to this day they revere a virgin giving birth and,
10 placing an infant in a manger, they worship. And when Ptolemy the king inquired about the cause, they said, It is an ancestral mystery delivered to our fathers by a holy prophet, and we are to await, he says, the consummation of his mystery,
11 This prophet, before the capture of the Temple, seized the ark of the Law and
12 the things in it, and made them to be swallowed up in a rock. And to those standing by he said, The Lord has gone away from Zion into heaven and will
13 come again in power. And this will be for you a sign of his coming, when all
14 the gentiles worship a piece of wood. And he said, This ark no one is going to bring out except Aaron, and none of the priests or prophets will any longer
15 open the tablets in it except Moses, God's chosen one. And in the resurrection the ark will be the first to be resurrected and will come out of the rock and be placed on Mount Sinai, and all the saints will be gathered to it there as they await
16 the Lord and flee from the enemy who wishes to destroy them. In the rock with his finger he set as a seal the name of God, and the impression was like a carving made with iron, and a cloud covered the name, and no one knows the
17 place nor is able to read the name to this day and to the consummation. And the rock is in the wilderness, where the ark was at first, between the two mountains
18 on which Moses and Aaron lie. And at night there is a cloud like fire, just like
19 the ancient one, for the glory of God will never cease from his Law. And God bestowed this favor upon Jeremiah, that he might himself perform the completion of his mystery, so that he might become a partner of Moses, and they are together to this day.
Chapter three
1 Ezekiel. This man was from the land of Arira, of the priests, and he died in the land of the Chaldeans during the captivity, after having prophesied many
2 things to those in Judea. The ruler of the people Israel killed him there as he
3 was being reproved by him concerning the worship of idols. And they buried him in the field of Maour in the grave of Shem and Arpachshad, ancestors of Abraham, and the tomb is a double cave, for Abraham also made Sarah's tomb
4 in Hebron like it. It is called double because there is a twisting passage and an upper room which is hidden from the ground floor, and it is hung over the ground level in the cliff.
5 This prophet gave a portent to the people, so that they should pay attention to the river Chebar; When it failed they should set their hope in the scythe which desolates to the end of the earth, and when it flooded, in the return to Jerusalem.
6,7 For the saint also lived there, and many used to congregate to him. And once when there was a multitude with him the Chaldeans were afraid that they would
8 rebel, and came up against them to destroy them. And he made the water stop
9 so that they might escape by getting to the other side. And those of the enemies who dared to pursue were drowned.
10 Through prayer he furnished them of his own accord with an abundant supply of fish, and for many who were at the point of dying he entreated that life should come from God.
11 When the people was being destroyed by its enemies, he went to the (enemy)
12 leaders and terrified by the prodigies, they ceased. He used to say this to them; Are we lost? Has our hope perished? And in the wonder of the dead bones he persuaded them that there is hope for Israel both here and in the coming (age).
13 While he was there he used to show the people Israel what was happening in
14 Jerusalem and in the Temple. He was snatched up from there and he went to
15 Jerusalem to rebuke those who were faithless. Like Moses, this man saw the pattern of the Temple, with its wall and broad outer wall, just as Daniel also said
16 that it would be built. He pronounced judgment in Babylon on the tribe of Dan and that of Gad, because they were committing sacrilege against the Lord by
17 persecuting those who were keeping the Law. And respecting them he worked this great wonder, that snakes would devour their infants and all their flocks, and he foretold that on their account the people would not return to its land but would
18 be in Media until the consummation of their error. And the one who killed him
19 was one of them. For they opposed him all the days of his life.
d) Martyrdom of Isaiah 1: 6-13 (Isaiah's prophecy of his own death by Manasseh)
(full text available on-line at http://www.ccel.org/c/charles/otpseudepig/martisah.htm, but this translation is from Outside the Old Testament by DeJonge)
6 ...In the twentieth year of the reign of Hezekiah Isaiah had seen the words of this prophecy and had handed them to Josab his son. And while (Hezekiah) was giving
7 his comands, with Josab the son of Isaiah standing by, Isaiah said to Hezekiah the king, and not only in the presence of Manasseh did he say (it) to him, 'As the Lord lives whose name has not been transmitted to this world, and as the Beloved of my Lord lives, and as the Spirit which speaks in me lives, all these commands and these words will have no effect on Manasseh your son, and through the deeds of his hands, tormented in body, I will
8 depart. And Sammael Malkira will serve Manasseh and will do everything he wishes, and he will be a follower of Beliar rather
9 than of me. He will cause many in Jerusalem and Judah to desert the true faith, and Beliar will dwell in Manasseh, and by his hands
10 I will be sawn in half.' And when Hezekiah heard these words, he wept very bitterly, and tore his robes, and threw earth on his
11 head, and fell on his face. And Isaiah said to him, 'Sammael's plan against Manasseh is complete; there will be no benefit to you from
12 this day.' And Hezekiah thought in his heart that he would kill
13 Manasseh his son, but Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'The Beloved has made your plan ineffective, and the thought of your heart will not come about; for with this calling have I been called, and the inheritance of the Beloved will I inherit.'
V. Is there Always Prophecy?:
These two verses tell of times when there was no prophecy.
Question to ponder:
Do you think we have prophets on Earth today like they had during Biblical times?
a) Lamentations 2: 9
b) Amos 8: 12