![]() But as they witnessed injustice in the land, and saw the way in which the poor were oppressed conrary to God’s commandments, they declared in no uncertain terms that if Israel did not change its ways, it would be judged by God with dire consequences. ![]() The great prophets of social justice in the Old Testament were not religious leaders or professional preachers, neither were they fortune tellers who knew precisely when the end of the world would come, nor did they spend their time writing proof texts for the coming of the Messiah. I generally use the word prophet in this sense, but when we use the word we need to be sure we know who we are referring to. in the tradition of the great OT prophets, speak truth to power, proclaiming the need for justice if there is to be peace and reconciliation. But there are also others we deem prophets today who. And then there are the self-proclaimed contemporary prophets who clam to predict the future, some who claim to have a hot-line to God, can heal you of all your diseases, and can tell you precisely when Jesus will return. We also read about “false prophets” who proclaim “peace, peace” when there is no peace, and prophets who misled the church usually out of greed. Then in the New Testament we read about the “gift of prophecy” and how prophets in the early church brought messages of encouragement and guidance to congregations and individuals. ![]() “Prophets are not without honour except in their own country and in their own house.”Ībout a third of the Old Testament is made up of books referred to as “The Prophets.” We are probably all familiar with some of them, or at least a few of their verses, whether from Isaiah or Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekiel or Jonah, though we are probably less familiar with Obadiah and Zephaniah to say nothing of Habakkuk and Haggai. “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you God?”
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