limtaglongtree

Ditty 8

8. Discuss the relationships of the prophets of Ancient Israel with the throne (government), the temple (religion), and the people (society).

            The prophets are the mouthpiece of God. They are the Spokesperson that God utilizes in His delivery of His plan, message, and his will to the people of Israel. They are means of relaying the message of God.

            In Hebrew, the word traditionally translated as prophet is נְבִיא (navi), which likely means “proclaimer”. This forms the second of the three letters of TaNaKh, derived from Torah, Navim, Ketuvim. The meaning of navi is perhaps described in Deuteronomy 18:18, where God said, “I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him.” Thus, the navi was thought to be the “mouth” of God. The root nun-bet-alef (“navi”) is based on the two-letter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself “open”. Cf. Rashbam’s comment to Genesis 20:7. (Wikipedia)

            In the monarchy period, the government officials have a distinct role from the seer or the prophets. The king would reign as the administrator to the people where his ruling is on governing the people. The role of the man of God or seer or Prophet is that they be the mouthpiece of the Lord’s revelation to the King like the acts of Samuel, Eli, and Elijah.

            In the spiritual aspect, the prophets are the ones who give direction on the people’s spiritual condition such as Jonah who was sent to Nineveh to call the people for repentance.

            On the people, Amos was a Judean prophet who was ministering in the northern Kingdom as what Kaiser said; “vigorously denouncing the luxurious living of the upper classes that they were getting rich by exploiting the poor that leads to political and economic crashes.

            We can say that prophets in the ancient near east have a major role in transforming the lives of the people in social, spiritual, political, and personal aspect. God’s revelations are relayed by the prophets for the holistic welfare of the people.