Deuteronomy 18
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Deuteronomy 18:18-20, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
The people wanted leadership and God provided that in the form of kings, priests, and prophets. Today's text addresses the latter. Prophets were the only one of the three that were not inherited. Prophets were men and women raised up individually by God and empowered to communicate God's message to the people. Oftentimes, the prophet would bring a word of instruction or rebuke to the people. They weren't often liked but they were the mouthpiece of God. The cultures around them also had prophets but they were considered detestable in the eyes of God. The prophets of the one true God were a channel of revelation to whom the Lord spoke and who would then directly share that message to the people.
In our world, prophecy is considered a gift from Jesus to the church. Consider Ephesians 4:11-13, "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
There are still people who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are given the gift of prophecy, just as there are individuals given the gift of shepherding and teaching. Even today, the church doesn't often want to hear what the prophets have to say because it is often a word of rebuke, of what the church needs to be doing but isn't. Just like in Biblical times, prophets tend to exist on the periphery of the church. And yet, they are so important! We are incomplete without prophets. We need to really listen to what we have to say.
Do you know someone who has the gift of prophecy? What has their role been in the church? How might we at New Hope be more open to listening to the prophets among us?
Let's pray...Dear God, We thank you for the prophets you send to us. Please give us discernment and wisdom in finding and listening to those you send. Help us be open to even the hard messages. We pray this all in the name of Jesus. Amen.