Introduction to Prophecy - Church of God - NEO

are recorded in the Bible.The e prophets spoke out, first to theHou e of Israel, then to Judah. They werenot appreciated. They were treatedlike .. . well, like we would probably treatthem today. They were rejected, resisted,ridiculed, thrown in jail and sometimesput to death.Their writings are a record of a hard andthankless task. Few took them seriously.Usually, not the king. Nor the priests. Northe people. They were superb patriotsbutthey were regarded as troublemakersand traitors. "Can't you see whatis happening?" they wouldwarn. "Unless we, God's chosenpeople, change our ways and returnto him, national disasterwill overtake us. Can't you seethat even now the forces aregathering against us? Don't yourealize why things are goingwrong for us? We have droughtand crop failure ... . We're losingbattles .... Our societies arefalling apart. Can't you see thatthese things are happening towarn us and wake us up? Putaway those idols. Stop your lying,cheating and adultery. It isnot too late to change. People ofIsrael andJudah, can't you see?!"No-they could not see .They wanted their own way.They rejected the warnings ofthe prophets, and reaped the consequences.Israel went first. In the latter half of theeighth century B.C., the northern kingdomsuffered a devastating series of invasionsby the Assyrian Empire. Finally, they weretaken into captivity and their land wasresettled by others. The Israelites lost everything-theirhomes, their liberty, theirland and eventually even their identity.The Bible record seems to close aroundthem with these sad words: "For so itwas that the children of Israel hadsinned against the Lord theirGod, ... and they had feared othergods, ... Yet the Lord testified againstIsrael and against Judah, by all of Hisprophets, ... saying, 'Turn from yourevil ways, and keep My commandmentsand My statutes, according toall the law which I commanded yourfathers, and which I sent to you byMy servants the prophets.' Neverthelessthey would not hear, but stiffenedtheir necks .... until the Lord removedIsrael out of His sight, as Hehad said by all His servants theprophets. So Israel was carried awayfrom their own land to Assyria, as itis to this day" (II Kings 17:7, 13, 14, 23) .The kingdom of Judah limped on forabout another 120 years. God sent moreprophets but their pleading fell on deafears. There was a brief revival under KingJosiah, but after his death the people ofJudah continued their moral slide.Inevitably, they, too, paid the penalty.This time it was at the hand of the BabylonianEmpire (II Kings 25:7-11), whichhad replaced the Assyrians as the majorLAST KING OF ISRAEL VANQUISHEDIt seemedas if thestory of thechosen peoplewas over.power in the Middle East. Jerusalem wasbesieged, the last king was taken captive,and the temple was destroyed. Like thehouse of Israel before them, the people ofJudah were led off to captivity.It seemed as if the story of the chosenpeople was over. God had kept his part ofthe covenant, but neither Israel nor Judahwould remain faithful. They wanted theirown way. They took God's blessings forgranted and mistook his patience andmercy as a sign of weakness.The lesson of the six books of the "formerprophets" is clear. A chosen peoplewho persistently fail to keep their part ofan agreement with God must reap theconsequences.If that were the end of the story, wecould leave it there. The writings of theprophets could be included in therecords of ancient Israel. Certainly, theywould make interesting and instructivereading, as do the annals of other ancientpeople, if it were the end of the story.But it was not the end. Israel and Judahwere taken into exile, but the propheciescontinued to come. 9