The Integrity of the Prophet
1. What is the role of a prophet according to 1 Kings 22:10-18?
1Kings 22:14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
ANSWER:
To deliver God’s message, nothing more and nothing less.
OBSERVATION AND QUESTIONS:
Observe what Micaiah said in verse 15, “And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.”
Did God tell Micaiah to say that? As far as I can see what Micaiah said in verse 15 was not what God told him to say. Because the king demanded Micaiah to tell the truth in the name of the LORD? So somehow the king was able to figure out that Micaiah was speaking in his own way.
Did Micaiah lie because he felt the pressure from the king and all other false prophets?
Was Micaiah being sarcastic in a mocking way to the king?
Just looking at the Bible, I am not sure what the motive was for Micaiah to give wrong message in the beginning. But one thing is clear. And that is he did give a wrong message. And I really cannot see God told him say that. Therefore we see Micaiah making a human mistake. We do not know the reasons behind it but we can definitely say it was a wrong message.
CONCLUSION:
Based upon above observations, we can see that even true prophets can make mistakes and wrong judgments. Therefore prophets are not infallible. When are they not infallible? When they share their own human opinions and decisions. Then what aspect of a prophet can be consider infallible? When they deliver God’s message, nothing more and nothing less.
The Integrity of the Message
1. Read Jer. 43:2-4. What did the people accuse Jeremiah, and who was said to have originated the counsel that Jeremiah declared to be from the Lord?
ANSWER:
Baruch
Who was Baruch? Baruch was a scribe for Jeremiah. In today’s term, we can call him Jeremiah’s secretary.
Jer. 36:32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
Jer. 36:26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
OBSERVATION:
It is interesting to observe how the people discredit the message by saying it is from Baruch. Apparently Baruch was not accepted as a prophet, a mouthpiece of God.
They accused Jeremiah by saying that he got the message (those words in verse 2) from Baruch, meaning someone else and not from God.
Why did they refuse to accept the message? Because they thought, in their own human reasoning, it would be better for them to seek a refuge with Egyptians then to surrender to Babylonians. Their decision sounds like an obvious choice but not based upon the wisdom of God.
Isn’t it interesting to observe how some people discredit Ellen G. White’s writing by saying it was written by her secretary or she got it from somewhere else and at the same time they do not deny the fact that she is a prophet.
CONCLUSION:
Even if Jeremiah were to use Baruch’s writing, if God told him to use Baruch’s writing then it would still be God’s message.
APPLICATION:
Do you know any thing in the writings of Ellen White that you want to discredit because you think it is not from God? How do you determine that it is not from God?
“Thus Says the Lord”
1. What did the prophets often designate as the source of their messages? Jer. 1:4, Ezek. 7:1, Hos. 1:1.
ANSWER:
Jer. 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying
Ezek. 7:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying
Hos. 1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea
OBSERVATIONS:
Prophets are only mouthpiece of God.
Prophets cannot claim authorship of what they deliver because God is the Author.
Prophets are being inspired to deliver the message from God but they are not the inspirer of the message.
Growth in Understanding
1. What do the following texts tell us about the spiritual-growth experience of biblical prophets? Dan. 8:27, 9:2.
ANSWER:
Dan. 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Dan. 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
OBSERVATION:
It is possible for a prophet to receive a vision or a message and may not understand the meaning of the message fully or partially.
Prophet Daniel needed to study the prophecy in the book of Jeremiah. Hence I support the following statement from the Sabbath School Lesson.
“The possession of the prophetic gift in biblical times did not imply immediate, full, and complete knowledge of spiritual and other matters. Prophets received increased light as history unfolded and as they were able to understand it. Theyalso had to study Scripture, as the case of Daniel illustrates (Dan. 9:2).”
CONCLUSION:
Therefore the prophets in the Bible had a growing experience in their understanding of God’ will and His wisdom.
DISCUSSION:
Could you name some prophets that has a growing experience in their understanding?
When Prophets Get It Wrong
1. Read 2Samuel 7:1–7. What was wrong with Nathan’s advice to David, and why would God not allow David to build Him a temple? 1Chron. 22:8.
2Sam. 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
OBSERVATIONS:
For sure Nathan was only sharing his opinion here.
We know from the rest of the story that God did not permit David to build the temple because David shed too much blood.
1Chr. 22:7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: 1Chr. 22:8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
Obviously Nathan did not know the will of God regarding the building of the temple.
Notice how Nathan did not say, ‘thus says the Lord’ and “do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee”.
Nathan was simply saying, ‘yeah, I can see that God is with you, why not, go ahead with the project, I am sure God will bless you’
CONCLUSION:
It is not wrong for a prophet to express his or her to give according to his or her understanding. After all, prophets are not always receiving vision and dreams from God. Again, the message that the prophets receive is infallible but not the instruments that receive the message. If a prophet gives a wrong opinion or judgment, we must trust that God will correct that mistake.
DISCUSSIONS AND QUESTIONS:
So is Nathan a false prophet because he shared his own opinion?
How do we distinguish the difference between “thus says the Lord” from ‘thus says the prophet’s opinion’?
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