August 1929
369
T h e
K i n g ' s " B u s i n e s s
The Prophet’s Place and Duty B y R ev . J ohn G. R eid , P h .D. (Spokane, Wash.)
If any one thing is clear, it is that they were in no sense servants of man or amenable to man, or in the re motest degree to be controlled by man. The prophet was “the man o f God,” God’s man, and he still i s ; the mes senger of Jehovah, sent where God wills, not where he selects or where men “call” him; to speak what God bids, not what men “pay for” ; to “tell them, Thus saith Jeho vah,” whether men will hear or forbear. All this must sound strangely to modern ears! Yet such is the inspired picture of the “prophet,” the “man of God,” the “minister” who has any divine right to the name or to the office. No man ought, as a minister of Jesus Christ, ever to enter the pulpit without a clear, definite consciousness that he goes, not in his private, personal capacity, but as the minister ( diakonos, servant) of Jesus Christ. As the commissioned messenger, as the authorized ambassador of the Son of God, charged with a specific message which he must deliver as it is delivered to him, which he may—nay, must deliver wth authority. “Hear ye the word o f Jeho vah!” “Whether those to whom he is sent hear, or for bear.” That is not his concern! His business is faithful discharge of his commission-**-the delivery of his message. He is to “speak as one having authority and not as the scribes.” If he cannot forget himself and all earthly relation ships of whatever character, and merge himself in his official position, he should STAY OUT OF THE PUL P IT ! This is imperative! If a true minister of God and not a mere hireling of man, he is not a private individual. The words which he speaks are not his but His who sent him. This will solemnize him and at the same time inspire, give confidence and deliver him from “the fear o f man which bringeth a snare” ( Prov. 2 9 :25). Never was emphasis upon these things more needed than just now when, alas, too many are rash enough jn this present day of “liberalism” in thought and speech, as in those days of old, to assume the name—the office— and to speak in the name of Jehovah, of whom He said: “I have not sent those prophets, yet they ran : I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.” “They speak a vision out of their own heart and not out o f the mouth of Jehovah” (Jer. 23:16, 21). R esponsibilities of th e O ffice But my purpose is to dwell not so much upon the authority and dignity of the office as upon its responsibili ties. If “the priest’s lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth because he is the mes senger of Jehovah of hosts, much more the prophet who stood above the priest, as Moses above Aaron; as Samuel above E li; Haggai and Zechariah above Zerubabbel and Joshua, as the personal representative of his Sovereign. Is any conscious of the divine call to the prophetic office constraining him to “leave all and follow him”? Has he “seen God” as did Isaiah or Ezekiel or Moses or Paul ? Has he felt the coal on his lips purging them from iniquity? Has God touched his mouth? Has he suddenly, in the midst of a prosaic life, been confronted with a bush
"I ordained, thee a prophet." —Jer. 1 :5-7, 9. "As for thee — stand thou here by me, and, I will speak unto thee all the com mandments and the statutes and the judgments which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them."- —Deut. 5 :31. RIGHT conception of the office and position of iPRa a minister is vital in these days .when on all sides Jl^g l it is so misunderstood. All the words in the J e m , Bible for “the preacher” are significant. The Jj-ffwllt “prophet” in the New Testament is one who “speaks for God”; i.e., who stands as the medium of the revelation of God’s mind; and “prophecy” ( proph- etia) is distinctively the proclamation of truths of divine revelation. In the Old Testament the thought is rather of the inspiration. The word is “a bubbling spring”—suggesting the “bubbling up” of that which in spite of them struggles for utterance. A large part of Old Testament prophecy is predictive; but by no means all. Much of it is didactic; much is positive revelation. In confining prophecy to prediction we have distorted the word and shorn many passages of their meaning. T h e P rophet C alled and C ommissioned by G od Both bring into view men “called o f God” for a spe cific purpose. “No man taketh this honor to himself, but he who is called o f God.” With their selection man had nothing to do. In one case only had man any part in their ordination. Moses was chosen and ordained of God at “the bush.” Samuel had no human hands laid upon his head. We have no record of Nathan’s ordination. Who anointed Elijah? Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s calls to the office are well known. Provision was made for the maintenance of the priests but none for the prophets. Nowhere do we read of their receiving any “salary” or share in the tithes or, indeed, any compensation whatsoever from man. When any was suggested or offered it was indignantly refused (see 2 Kings 5:16; Dan. 5:17). Yet they never suffered. God took care of them and saw that their needs were sup plied (1 Kings 17:4, 9). Called of God and ordained, set apart to this sacred and responsible office, they obtained their message directly from God, through the “g ift of prophecy,” a special en- duement of the Holy Spirit equipping them to “speak for God.” They spake from God, being moved (irresistibly borne along) by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). “The Spirit o f Jehovah came upon them” (Isaiah 6 1 :1). “The word o f Jehovah came to them” (Jer. 1:11, 13), and. countless other passages. They “spake the preaching God bade them.” When modification or accommodation to popular demand was suggested they replied: “A s Jehovah liveth, what Jehovah saith to me that shall I speak” (1 Kings 22 :14). “Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah hath put in my mouth?” (Num. 23:12, 16, 26; 24:13— et al). It was perilous to mock at or to question their utterances (2 Kings 7 :2, 7, 20) or to offer them any indignity (1 Kings 13:4). “Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm” (Psa. 105:15).
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