Scripture Notes: The Message of the Prophets, Part 2

But God’s warnings go unheeded. The people even scorn the prophets, hating their words and their call to repentance. So God disciplines His people. He allows the covenant curses to fall on His rebellious family. The prophets describe what happens. In chapter 10, Ezekiel watches as God’s glory leaves the Temple. In chapter 33, the same prophet describes the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah adds significant details in his chapters 39 and 52, and Lamentations and Baruch paint a dire portrait of suffering and loss. Joel speaks of a plague of locusts while Obadiah describes the downfall of Edom (a related neighbor who dares to scorn Israel). None of this seems much like love. Famine and the sword, plague and captivity, fire and destruction and exile. These seem more like hatred. But God does not hate His people. They have refused to learn from God’s instructions, so now they have to learn the hard way. This is what a parent does. Children must face the consequences of their choices, as horrible as they may be. They have to understand the horrors of sin, the effects of their rebellion. God’s justice is part of His love, and it falls heavily when people refuse to accept His mercy.
    
Yet God does not forget His people. After all, He continues to send them messages through the prophets. He could have gone silent, but He does not. Instead He tells them that He will help them in the midst of their sufferings. He says through Isiah, “fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand” (Isa 41:10). Hosea, too, shows by his very action of taking back his own unfaithful wife and loving her that God will do the same for His people. Daniel tells how this is done in practice as God remembers him and his companions in the midst of their trials as they remain faithful to him in the face of death. Jonah even reveals how God remembers the pagan Ninevites, reaches out to them, and has mercy when they repent. God has not forgotten. His love remains even in the midst of suffering. 
    
What is more, God promises through His prophets a time of restoration beyond the people’s wildest dreams. This restoration takes many forms throughout the prophetic books. Isaiah speaks of Immanuel, the king who will rule, the shoot and branch from David’s line (Isa 7, 9, 11) as well as the return of the remnant to Israel (Isa 11) and the in-gathering of the nations for an extended, eternal covenant that will go beyond anything they have ever known (Isa 60, 54, 56). Jeremiah, too, speaks of the righteous branch and a new covenant. God declares through him, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” a covenant that will be written right in their hearts (Jer 31:31, 33). Ezekiel prophesies about the true shepherd who will come, and this is God Himself (Ez 34). He sees a vision of the dry bones come back to life through God’s Spirit (Ez 37) and the new Temple with its flowing river of life (Ez 40ff.). Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man before the Ancient of Days (Dan 7) and his prophecies of resurrection (Dan 12) add further detail, and Daniel even offers a timeline for the coming of this Son, this Messiah, this King Who will rule the whole world. Micah says that He will arise from Bethlehem (Mic 5). Malachai announces a messenger to prepare the way for the “sun of righteousness, with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2). Zechariah points to the victory of the pierced one and the fountain that will open to cleanse the people (Zech 12-13). Joel speaks of the Spirit poured out “on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). In other words, God’s love will triumph. God’s love will reign. After the horrors of sin and the covenant curses, renewal will come, and it will be better than ever before. God has a plan for His people’s good, and it is a plan that will extend to the whole world. Israel, God’s first-born, will have siblings, lots of siblings, and God Himself will mysteriously come to His people in a whole new way.
    
We Christians know how this plays out. We know that Jesus has fulfilled the prophets, bringing the new covenant. We see God’s love in action among us. Yet the prophets still speak to us today, for we still sin. We still spurn God’s love. We still need warnings, for we must understand that our sins have consequences and our covenant comes with curses, too, curses that could mean eternal separation from God if we fail to repent of our sins and turn to Him. God does not change; He still loves, warns, punishes, forgives, and restores His people. We all experience this love, and the prophets help us understand it. Further, the prophets point well beyond their day, well beyond our day, to a final restoration that we still await. We can turn to the prophets for hope that God’s plans are still in place and still unfolding no matter how bad our world seems. For God loves us in many wonderful ways, and the prophets allow us to see that love in action both for the people of their day and for the Church right now, right here, God’s new covenant people.