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Study No.8 : A significant early prophecy

A. Readings

1 Sam 2:27-36

B. Think:

1. How does the man refer to the past? v.27,28

2. What is the accusation? v.29

3. What principle does he lay down? v.30

4. What does he say will happen in judgement? v.31-34

5. How does he say the Lord will positively change the future? v.35.36

C. Comment:

     First note the PROPHETIC MAN: he is an unknown figure who has the courage to bring to the leader of the day the strong word of the Lord. In that this man stands out, but he is truly a “man of God ”. It takes much faith to come without any other support and say what he said to such a leader as Eli.

     Second note the PROPHECY itself, the structure of which is very significant. First there is a reminder of Eli's divine history, i.e. he reminds Eli of the revelation that he has had and the blessing conveyed by God, and by implication, the responsibility conferred. Second there is a statement of sin and failure: Eli is allowing his sons to abuse the position they hold.

    Third there is a principle that is laid down: God will honour or bless those who honour Him but those who abuse Him will be abused by Him. The New Testament parallel is Gal 6:7 - a man reaps what he sows!

     Fourth comes the declaration of what God will do about this, and it comes in two parts: first there is the negative judgement on Eli's family and then comes the positive that God will raise up someone else to replace him but carry on blessing Israel.

    So what is the order we should note in bringing prophetic correction:

1. State historical revelation.

2. State the sin.

3. State the divine principle being offended.

4. State what God says He will do.

    In such painful circumstances, such a rounded message leaves no room for doubt and questions - only repentance, which may not come!

 

D. Lessons:

1. Prophetic correction must be seen in historical context.

2. Such correction should leave no doubts or questions.

   

Study No.9 : Samuel

A. Readings

1. 1 Samuel 3:1-9, 10-21, 9:6-9

2. 2 Chron 35:18, Acts 3:24, 13:20, Heb 11:32

 

B. Think:

1. What happened at Samuel's first encounter with the Lord?

2. What was the gist of the message the Lord gave Samuel?

3. Why did Israel recognise Samuel as a prophet?

 

C. Comment:

     Samuel stands out in the Scripture as the first of the real prophets who spoke out about the future as a ministry from the Lord, He stands with Moses (Jer 15:1) as an intercessor and is recorded in the New Testament as the first of a series of special men who heard God.

     The story of Samuel epitomises everything we have learnt so far about a prophet. First we see he is CALLED by God (literally out loud in his case).

      Second we see that he has to LEARN TO HEAR. Many people hear God but do not recognise that it is Him they are hearing and therefore do not respond.

     Third, he had to RESPOND TO GOD. Until he responded the Lord would not continue speaking.

      Fourth, he learned to HOLD ONTO GOD'S WORDS, he did not forget what the Lord had said. Many today are perhaps too casual about what God has said and “let his words drop to the ground” and therefore do not hold onto them and seek and watch for them to be fulfilled.

     Fifth he ACTED WISELY in respect of what to do with the word and did not act proudly in the way he passed them on. When the Lord reveals His heart there is a temptation to think we, the messenger, are someone special and deliver the word in a haughty manner, but there was none of that in Samuel. He did not presume to blast Eli with the word but allowed Eli to come to him and press him for it. He still respected the position of Eli and did not therefore presume to put him down. In other words he brought the message with HUMILITY.

 

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets are those called by God to hear God.

2. Prophets also have to learn to hold onto what God says and how to

    deliver the message.

 

Study No.10 : Saul

A. Readings

1. 1 Sam 10:5-11

2. 1 Sam 18:10,11

3. 1 Sam 19:19-24

4. Jn 11:49-51

 

B. Think:

1. Why in the first & third readings did Saul actually prophesy?

2. Yet what sort of person was he?

3. What does this teach us?

C. Comment:

     Each of the episodes above are shrouded in mystery. In the first and third readings Saul finds the Spirit of the Lord come upon him in such a way that he is overcome and his will was subjugated to God's will. This is one of those rare times when the sovereignty of God seems to over-rule the will of man.

     In the third reading it appears that Saul used to prophesy while David played, again an inference that the Spirit of the Lord was in David's music and that inspired Saul. Yet on this occasion an evil spirit took hold of Saul and broke through his prophesying and sought to kill David. In the fourth reading we find Caiaphas, an enemy of Jesus, prophesying the truth. What does this all this say to us?

     First of all it says that when the Holy Spirit is moving powerfully He can take any person and bring response. In the Old Testament it seems that there were groups of “prophets” who were ecstatic prophesiers, who seem to come under the Spirit and prophecy.

     Second it tells us that charisma or prophetic gifting is not the same as character. Saul was clearly an ungodly self-willed character and the fact that he sometimes prophesied is not a testimony to his character.

     Third, in respect of the last reading, we see that the Holy Spirit can inspire all sorts of people to utter prophetic truth, which we should perhaps not write off simply because of the vessel bringing it.

 

D. Lessons:

1. Prophecy and character and not necessarily linked.

2. God can speak through whoever He wills.

Study No.11 : Nathan

A. Readings

2 Samuel 7:1-17

B. Think:

1. What was Nathan's first advice to David, and why?

2. What did the Lord first say? v.5-7

3. What did he next say? V.8-11

4. What did he finally say about His House? v.11-16

C. Comment:

      David as king has found peace and now looks round to see what else he ought to be doing. He ponders over the ark of God which is still housed in a tent and wonders whether he ought to build a house for it. Nathan, his prophet, feels that is a good idea and says so but, as he encounters the Lord that night, the Lord corrects him.

     The lesson is clear: prophets are not to speak what seems a good idea; they are to speak the mind of God and in this case the mind of God was different from what seemed good!

     The Lord first chides David, that He is God and He is not restricted to a single dwelling place, so why has David got such a limited view of Him. He then goes on to reassure David that he will be secure and the nation will be secure and that the Lord himself will establish David's house! (Here was David wanting to establish the Lord but the Lord says He will establish David!). Then He says how He will do this: by raising up his son after him who will be the one to build a house for the name of God (notice, for His name, not where He will dwell!).  So let's note the lessons from the Lord:

      First He is too big to be held down or limited by men.

      Second He does not need men to try to establish (defend) His position in a nation. He can do that Himself. He is the one who establishes men, not the other way round!

      Finally He is the one who orders history and has His own plans that may be contrary to men's plans, for His plans are based on perfect wisdom and knowledge.

D. Lessons:

1. God's thoughts are not always our thoughts!

2. God can look after Himself!

Study No.12 : Gad

A. Find Out:

       

1. 1 Samuel 9:9, 22:5

2. 2 Samuel 24:10-19 (1 Chronicles 21:9-19)

3. 1 Chronicles 29:29

4. 2 Chronicles 29:25

B. Think:

1. Where do we first hear of God and what did he do?

2. What was his major role seen in the 2 Samuel reading?

3. What else did he apparently do?

C. Comment:

    Gad appears as a prophet or seer, as they were sometimes called. We first see him as he comes and joins himself to David at Adullam. He is obviously a man who is willing to go against the tide of authority and be in the right place! There he simply gives David counsel which he receives. At that point Gad is already perceived as a prophet.

    We see him next, considerably later in David's reign, being sent by the Lord to tell David to chose one of three judgements for his folly. At this point he seems to be appointed as the king's prophet so he clearly had some credibility with David. David had already recognised his folly and so was open to the word from Gad. We also see that Gad was a writer and, with David and Nathan the prophet, also had a say in setting up the worship band in David's reign. What do we learn from all this?

     First that prophets need to align themselves with God's anointed, even when it means moving out of the mainstream, where they can have influence as directed by the Lord.

     Second, they can bring guidance, counsel and wisdom as well as words of correction.

    Third, the office of prophet doesn't have to be rejected but can come into great acceptance, where there are godly leaders, and can have great influence on leadership issues. Obviously for that to happen they have to be accepted by those to whom they come - but it can happen.

 

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets go where God goes, not with the establishment!

2. Prophets can influence in big ways. This means responsibility.

 

Study No.13 : David?

A. Readings

1. 1 Sam 23:2, 4, 9-12

2. 2 Sam 5:19,23

3. 1 Chron 28:11,12,19

4. Psa 22

B. Think:

1. How does David appear to hear from God in 1 Samuel?

2. How does he appear to have heard in 1 Chronicles?

3. Is any indication given of how he heard in 2 Samuel?

C. Comment:

     Was David a prophet? The strict answer is no, there is no reference to him having prophesied, but there are various indication of having prophetic characteristics. First he does have communication with the Lord. In the 1 Samuel references it appears that Abiathar the priest was helping him, but the answers do seem more than just yes or no. In 2 Samuel there is no reference to how he heard from the Lord but the likelihood was that either Nathan or Gad were with him. Finally in 1 Chronicles it is obvious the Holy Spirit Himself has directly put into David's mind the plans for the temple. Not only that, when we come to the Psalms, all but one of the psalms referred to as messianic, because they have messianic prophecy within them, are written by David, e.g. Psa 16,22,40,69,110. But what is missing?

     What seems to be missing from David's life to make him a prophet are those words that come so many times elsewhere: “the word of the Lord came to....”. There seem to be three things that confirm the sign of a real prophet.

 

•  First, the Lord takes the initiative in imparting His word.
•  Second it comes directly
•  Third it comes consciously, i.e. the prophet is aware of the Lord imparting it as prophecy.

     But David shows us a man with challenging characteristics: he seeks God for every situation, he responds when the Lord speaks, and he clearly catches the heart of the Lord in his writings.

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets hear when God speaks directly.

2. We may not be a prophet but we can still seek and hear God.

Study No.14 : Ahijah

A. Readings

1. 1 Kings 11:26-40, 1 Kings 12:15

2. 1 Kings 14:1-16

3. 2 Chron 9:29

B. Think:

1. How was Ahijah instrumental in changing history in Solomon's time?

2. How was he shown he have an open ear even in old age?

3. What else was he seen to have done?

C. Comment:

     Ahijah appears as a prophet from Shiloh whose significance is that he was the cause of rebellion after Solomon. Ahijah was a king maker! He meets Jeroboam, a man whose heart is obviously inclined towards rebellion and he puts into his mind God's intention: to split the kingdom up but to leave part of it with David's descendants. If Ahijah had not brought this prophecy Jeroboam probably wouldn't have had the courage to do what he did and rebel against Rehoboam and take ten of the tribes away. Yet Jeroboam shows himself to be an ungodly king and was frequently referred to as such for leading Israel into idolatry. Merely because he had a prophecy it doesn't make him a good person. The prophecy merely states God's intentions to judge and discipline.

      In old age when his sight had gone, Ahijah is still hearing the Lord and is still able to bring God's word of condemnation without fear or favour. We also see he wrote down what was happening then.

     What do we learn here? First that a prophecy coming to a man does not make him righteous; it is simply the intent of God being expressed and it may not imply any goodness in the receiver.

    Second, a prophet has the potential to change history, for God often does it by putting his intents into the receptive minds of men to suggest a course of action to them that they will follow and thus fulfil His purposes. Prophets can thus be highly influential in history.

D. Lessons:

1. God works with the hearts of men - even ungodly men!

2. Prophets often act as a catalyst.

RECAP No.2  : From Samuel to the Divided Kingdom

Content:

Covered in these next 7 studies:

- Anonymous   - judgement on Eli

- Samuel           - learning to listen to God

- Saul                - charisma is not character

- Nathan           - no bright ideas please

- Gad                 - get with God's anointed

- David             - a man after God's own heart

- Ahijah            - provoking men's hearts

 

Comment:

     There is much here about the human heart. The weak heart that would not discipline his sons. The teachable heart who would learn to hear. The self-heart that misses the point. A good heart that may have nice ideas. A heart for God that follows His leaders. A God centred heart that feels with God. A wrong heart that can be provoked never the less to do God's will. Think on these!

 

Lessons:

- Prophetic correction comes in the context of what God said before.

- Prophets need to learn to hear God and hold onto His words.

- Prophets should look to match character with charisma.

- Good ideas are insufficient; only God's will is adequate.

- God doesn't need defending.

- Prophets go where God goes, not with the establishment.

- A prophetic people learn to hear God for every day life.

- God works with the hearts of men, even ungodly men!

- Prophets often act as catalysts.

 

Application & Prayer

     It is obvious that God may use me while I am still very imperfect, but that is not to be an excuse to tolerate having a poor character. Ask the Lord to point out to you areas of weakness in your character. Ask for the grace to face them, deal with them and become more Christ-like.

      As you do this, ask the Lord to help you catch His heart as well as His words.