PROPHETS OF THE BIBLE
MAY 19, 2018
The Old Testament is described by Hebrews as the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings; and they are divided up and in this order:
TORAH: Genesis WRITINGS: Psalms
Exodus Proverbs
Leviticus Job
Numbers The Song of Songs
Deuteronomy Ruth
Lamentations
PROPHETS: Ecclesiastes
Joshua God is Salvation Esther
Judges Daniel
1st Samuel His Name Is God/Asked of God Ezra
2nd Samuel Nehemiah
1st Kings 1st Chronicles
2nd Kings 2nd Chronicles
Isaiah YahWeh Is Salvation
Jeremiah YahWeh Throws
Ezekiel God Strengthens/Strengthened by God
Hosea Salvation
Joel YahWeh Is God
Amos Burden/Burden-Bearer
Obadiah Worshipper of YahWeh/Servant of YahWeh
Jonah Dove
Micah Who Is Like YahWeh?
Nahum Comfort/Consolation
Habakkuk One Who Embraces
Zephaniah YahWeh Hides
Haggai Festival of YahWeh
Zechariah YahWeh Remembers
Malachi My Messenger
However, there are more prophets than those whose writings we read in God’s Word under their own name. We will take them in Biblical or Chronological order to see how often our gracious God attempted, as He still does, to speak to and through His people.
The very first Prophet, surprisingly enough was the victim of the first murder. And that, I think, is a prophetic message in itself, which Y’shua substantiates in the verses we are going to look at in Luke in a bit. His name was Abel. He was killed by his jealous brother Cain, as recorded in Genesis 4.
Cain and Abel were the first two men born of a woman. The second generation on earth, but the very first generation born on earth as opposed to being created from scratch, so to speak. The first two people who proved that the Creator knew what He was doing – as if that needed to be proven, but you know what I mean. AND the first demonstration of what the fruition of sin will lead to:
“And the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7Behold, if you do well, you will be accepted. And if you do not do well, sin sits waiting at the door, and its desire if to possess you, but you can rule over it.’” Genesis 4:6-7
But alas, he did not rule over it. “And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and I happened when they were in the field that Cain rose to Abel his brother and slew him. 9And the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ And he said, ‘I did not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’” Genesis 4:8-9.
Cain’s response tells us that he didn’t know what had happened to him after he attacked his brother and what the results were. He obviously didn’t kill him in the same manner that he saw Abel offer his sacrifice to the Lord, so he must not have had any idea why God couldn’t find him. However, he figured it out as soon as he heard the Lord’s response, “And He said to him, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground. 11And now you are cursed from the earth, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your own hand.’’ Genesis 4:10-11
Seems that Abel’s blood was the real prophet. And Y’shua mentioned him when He was rebuking the Pharisees and Scholars in Luke 11, which is how Abel received his status as Prophet: “Woe to you, because you are building the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48Now you are witnesses and you approve of the works of your fathers, because they indeed killed them, and indeed you are building their tombs. 49Because of this the wisdom of God also said, ‘I am sending prophets and apostles among them, and they will kill some of them, and they will persecute others, 50so that the blood of all the prophets, that which has been shed from the foundation of the world, would be required from this generation, 51from the blood of Abel until the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the House: indeed I say to you, it will be sought out, required from this generation.” (vss 47-51, the House being the Temple)
He, Abel, is mentioned in Hebrews 11:4 also, “By trusting, Abel, contrary to Cain, bore a better offering to God, through which he was testified to be righteous, when God witnessed his gifts, and through it he is still speaking, although he died.”
The Ancient Book of Jasher sheds a little more light on this in that it actually records their final conversation in the 1st chapter, which is entitled Creation to Abel. In a nutshell, time had passed after the sacrifices were made, which, it is recorded was approved by God in that He set fire down from heaven to consume Abel’s offering, but didn’t for Cain’s; which would clear up the question of how Cain knew he was being disapproved of.
Then, they went out to do their thing one day and Abel’s sheep walked all over Cain’s field and started eating his grass, so they started arguing. Cain got mad, Abel got snotty, Cain picked up the iron blade of his plow and voila no more brother. However, it also says that he knew what he did, repented, cried over him and buried him.
I can’t believe he repented, due to the way God reacted to his crime, but this isn’t Scripture, so…
At any rate, Abel is noted as the first prophet. And he did (as far as Jasher recorded) tell his brother that God would know what he did if anything happened to him and know his brother’s motive, so if nothing else, that would qualify.
Next on the list is Enoch. He is the 7th generation and Genesis records this about him: “And Enoch lived sixth-five years and begot Methuselah. (Noah’s grandfather) 22And Enoch walked with God walked with God three hundred years after he begot Methuselah, and begot sons and daughters. 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24And Enoch walked with God, then he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:21-24
Again, Jasher says a lot more about Enoch than Genesis does. (However, he has his own book also, which, unfortunately, is rather boring.) Seems that he was the first monk; in that he separated himself from everyone after a while and just prayed and communed with the Lord every day.
After a while an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to go and teach the people about God, so he did and they made him king. At one point Jasher says that 800,000 people were hanging on his every word.
Genesis 5:24 is described also, although the whole process took seven (7) days. After Enoch was translated into heaven, his son Methuselah was crowned king and he walked with the Lord and taught the people just like his dad did. However, after a few years they all turned from the Lord which makes sense, as we know that when the Flood came “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was continuously only bad. 6And the LORD was sorry the He made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.” Genesis 6:5-6
And it must have been twice as heart breaking to see how everyone turned from love to loathing when He is so consistently loving, gracious and merciful. But that is the way of the unregenerated heart, which is why God hates sin and we need to too. Let’s always remember that it is NEVER people that we need to fight against! It is always people that we have to fight FOR! Whatever their behavior, whatever their sin. Whatever their weaknesses, whatever their bondages or whatever their deceptions, we always need to fight FOR them! God loves them and the further they are from Him, be they saved or not, the worse off they are, “because the wrestling for us in not with blood and flesh, but with the rulers, with the powers, with the world rulers of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Ephesians 6:12)
It’s SIN we fight against and the author of it – satan!! His time is short, so he’s rearing his ugly head more and more. So keep praying saints! Keep pulling people out of his grasp! Keep witnessing with love, compassion, generosity and understanding! And use words only when you have to. We may be the only Jesus someone will ever see! Let’s make sure we portray Him as the glorified and all-loving God that He is!!
SHALOM!
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