THE PURPOSE & EFFECT OF REVELATION

PART NINE

Prophecy Can Bring Blessing 

Many times throughout the Old Testament we see prophetic words bringing significant blessing and prosperity. Take for instance the prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah:

Ezra 6:14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

The Jewish nation prospered as a direct result of the prophetic utterances of Haggai and Zechariah.

Elisha the prophet is directly responsible for blessing and abundance coming to a widow. He prophesies to her about vessels of oil being filled and her obedience discovers provision for her family:

II Kings 4:3-7 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “ There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

But the prophetic voice that brings a blessings cannot be caught up in the desire for riches. When Naaman the Syrian was cleansed from leprosy, he came back to Elisha with the intent to give him a gift, but Elisha refused:

II Kings 5:15-16 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

Through prophetic ministry great blessings results, but the minister cannot be taken with an unholy desire for gain. Elisha refused to take pay for prophesying, this was the sin of Balaam, the willingness to sell prophecy for financial gain:

Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant is a perfect example of this. Where Elisha refused to tie financial gain with prophecy, his servant attempted to profit off of Elisha’s ministry:

II Kings 5:20-21 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “ Is all well?”

Gehazi claimed that Elisha had sent him to take him up on the offer: 

II Kings 5:22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.”

But Elisha is aware of Gehazi’s deceit and judgement is heaped upon Gehazi’s head:

II Kings 5:26-27 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

Elisha firmly placed the responsibility for Namaan’s healing upon the obedience of Namaan and not upon his own power or effort. By refusing to accept pay for his ministry, Namaan could not give Elisha the credit. Glory belonged only to the Lord. Healing is to be freely given, this is the promise of the Gospel and a purpose of prophetic ministry/

Prophecy is to support and establish leadership

In the Old Testament there are only a scant few examples of a prophet being the leader of Israel. David prophesies as a king on occasion, though he is not considered a prophet to the nation. Most of what David prophesied is recorded in the book of Psalms, and it points towards Christ. Moses is called the prophet par exemplar and is also the key leader. 

Deuteronomy 18:17-18 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.

The prophet like Moses is ultimately Christ. This gives Moses a unique role as both prophet and leader, a unique role that would point to Christ.

However, there are countless examples in scripture of prophets coming alongside kings to provide wisdom, insight and guidance. This is overwhelmingly common. David walked with Gad and Nathan as prophets that would consult with him. Gad came to David and offered the correction of the Lord following the taking of the census:

II Samuel 24:11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and tell David, Thus says the Lord: ‘I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.’”

David consulted Nathan regarding his plans for the temple:

II Samuel 7:1-3 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.” Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

Nathan is corrected by God in the night and offers further instruction to David the next day:

II Samuel 7:4-5 But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David, Thus says the Lord : “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?”

Nathan goes on to tell David about the house that the Lord will build for David, as well as how David’s son would build the temple that David longed to see.

Shemaiah, the man of God, gave Rehoboam direction to walk away from the war he was about to wage:

I Kings 12:22-24 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.’” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Elisha gives prophetic insight about the coming war with the Moabites when the kings of Israel and Judah come to him:

II Kings 3:11-12 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

Isaiah is seen working with Hezekiah on a few occasions:

II Kings 19:5-7 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’

And again: 

II Kings 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’

Isaiah goes on to give Hezekiah insight regarding what the Lord has in store for Sennacherib.

David and Samuel worked together to appoint people for service in the tabernacle and city:

I Chronicles 9:22 All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office.

David appointed specific people who would prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbal at the request of David. The king was in the place to put a demand on prophetic ministry. They prophesied according to the order of the king:

I Chronicles 25:1-2 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king.

A pertinent New Testament example would be Agabus prophesying to Paul:

Acts 21:10-11 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

Very rare (almost non-existent) in the Biblical narrative are prophets who led the nation. Occasionally, you have prophets who led other prophets like Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha who led the company of the prophets (1 Samuel 19:20, 2 Kings 2:3, 2 Kings 6:1-4). Or Moses who was a prophet like no other as well as the leader of the nation. This ought to serve as a check on prophetic ministry today. The heart of prophetic ministry is to establish and uplift leadership, not necessarily to be the key leader themselves. Humility must come with anyone hoping to prophesy and minister to the people of God. That is abundantly clear when we look at the history of prophetic ministry and its tendency to play support for the kings and leaders in the kingdom of God. 

It seems to me that one of the key characteristics of a prophetic person is the ability to be intensely focused on one thing. To carry a prophetic responsibility requires great focus. This tends to come naturally to many prophetic people, intense focus. But as a prophetic person grows and matures they learn to take a bigger picture of the kingdom of God and see other leaders and the value they hold for the kingdom of God. Sometimes these prophetic people begin to think of themselves as apostolic because they carry a bigger picture of the kingdom. When prophets style themselves as apostles, the basic function and calling is in danger of being lost. Just because you have clearer perspective does not an apostle make.

Prophecy tells people of their distance from God

Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, [a]spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.

One aspect of prophetic ministry: telling people where they are erring in their relationship with God.  The purpose for their seeking is their own brand of justice and their own delight.  They are not authentic in their seeking of God, they are in it for their own gain, and that is clearly laid out in the next few verses that detail their offense.

And the reason for prophetic ministry of this character is not to condemn the people and leave them with little hope, but rather to draw them near to the Father’s heart. Prophecy ought to always have a redemptive edge, as God is a redemptive God. Nothing ever went so wrong that God did not intend to bring redemption.