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February, 1940
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
The Prophets as Men By K . OWEN W H IT E \ A tlan ta , Georgia
D NE of the rich experiences of my life, and one for which I shall always be thankful, was the graduate study in seminary, majoring in Old Testament Prophecy. For two solid years I spent every available min ute with the prophets of the Old Testa ment, endeavoring to understand the world of their day, trying to visualize the men themselves, studying the dis tinctive message of each man, living with them in the stirring days in which they lived. Thank God for the prophets! They are in a class by themselves. In all history there is nothing to compare with them. Briefly let me state some convictions concerning these men which have to do with three distinct realms of life. I. The Prophets and the State. It has been thought by some that the prophets were oblivious to the events of their own day and were concerned only with predictions relating to future ages. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though there was the predictive element in their message, they were deeply concerned over the condition of their own nation in their own day. They were statesmen, not politicians. There is a world of difference in the two terms. It is not surprising to find modem statesmen turning again and again to the pages of the Old Testament and quoting from the words of the prophets. The prophets were not iden tified with factions or parties; hence [D r. White, a graduate of the Bible Institute of Los A ngeles in the Class of 1922, later attended the Southern Bap tist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., receiving there his Th. M . and Ph. D . degrees. H e is pastor of the Kirk wood Baptist Church, A tlanta, Ga. Mrs. Wh ite (Pearl Woodworth) was a member of the Class of 1925 at Biola. — E ditor .]
mighty stream” (5:24, R. V.). Surely there is need for modem prophets who will be the -“Tearless and outspoken champions of orthodoxy, of spirituality, and of justice and equality! , III. The Prophets and Personal Life. What manner of men were they? They were not all alike. Elijah was fiery and passionate; Elisha was mild and compassionate. Amos was a rough countryman; Isaiah was a cultured city- dweller. They differed in background and in characteristics, but in one re spect they were all alike—they were men of like passions with us. They made no claim to perfection, and no such claim is made by us for them. They wrestled with the same tempta tions that assail us and were subject to the same weaknesses, passions, and mis takes. But they believed in God. They believed that God had spoken to them, [Continued on Page 78]
they were not popular. They were al ways in the minority; frequently they stood alone. Princes, prophets (false), priests, and people rejected and opposed them. But of one thing you could be assured: No matter where others stood, the prophets of Jehovah were always on His side. They were statesmen; they loved their country and people, they prayed for their rulers, they rebuked them when they went wrong, and they encouraged them when they did right. Many a king depended more upon God’s prophet than upon all his military coun selors and aides. II. The Prophets and Religion. ' This was their supreme interest. No matter how grave the military situa tion, no matter how hopeless the eco nomic picture, no matter how involved the social affairs, the prophets were never so wrapped up in these matters that they forgot that their chief busi ness was spiritual. In the presence of false teaching and unbelief, they were the champions of orthodoxy. They kept the fires of faith burning; they refused to allow the great doctrines of the faith to be lost; they passed on the torch to others. They were the champions of spiritual ity. In the midst of formalism, and ritualism, and idolatry, they kept bpfore the people the ideals of personal and spiritual religion. Isaiah and Amos, Micah and Malachi, all declared fearr lessly the utter futility of altars and sacrifices, offerings and ceremonies, un less the motive of the heart was right. They were also the champions of justice and equality. It was the voice of the prophets of Jehovah that was raised in protest against the oppression of the poor, against the wanton cruelty of the mighty, against the flagrant injustice of the courts. It was Amos the fiery preacher of the retributive justice of God who cried out, “Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a
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GOSPEL TRUTH FROM A PROPHET'S UPS * "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isa» 55.6, /)# Illustration bv Ransom 0 . Marvin
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