| JANUARY 31, 2009 - YEAR B |
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Psalm 111 Our Old Testament text both appeals to me and disturbs me. I like the text because it is part of the Hebrew nation’s book of laws, regulations and policies. I spend a significant amount of my time in my job reading, interpreting, and applying laws and regulations from federal and state agencies, and creating and applying policies from my employer—and I like doing it. Knowing that this text is found in Deuteronomy, the Israelite’s equivalent of the “code of federal regulations” I asked myself how was it intended to be understood by the people it was written for, and whether it applies today. In first reading over the text, I was disturbed by the last two verses which imply that the test of a true prophet is whether or not what he says comes true. This does not seem particularly practical. Had I been Isaiah’s contemporary, how long would I have had to live to see the fulfillment of his prophecy concerning the Persian king Cyrus, when he said “[Cyrus] is my shepherd, . . . he will say of Jerusalem ‘Let it be rebuilt’?” Or if I had to wait to see the fulfillment of Haggai’s prophecy concerning the coming of ”the desired of nations” who would fill the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem with a glory “greater than the glory” of Solomon’s temple?It is an even greater problem when prophecies go unfulfilled. Such as the prophecy in Isaiah chapter 2 concerning Judah and Jerusalem, “the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains . . . and all nations will stream to it, . . . they will beat their swords into plowshares, . . . nor will they train for war anymore.” Or the one mentioned in last week’s Old Testament text: the story of Jonah. His prophecy, “In 40 days Ninevah will be destroyed,” clearly went unfulfilled: 40 days later Ninevah had not been destroyed. This led me to ask whether the context of our scripture passage helps to make its meaning clearer? In the verses leading up to this text, the people are warned not to imitate the detestable practices of the countries they will be invading. “Let no one be found among you . . . who practices divination or sorcery, . . . engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” Our text comes right after this warning, implying that God would provide persons for his chosen people to consult when they needed to know about the future. So in this context a prophet is a person who can be consulted about proximate events to find out what will happen. Thus Saul goes to Samuel to inquire after his father’s lost animals, and Jereboam sends his wife to the prophet Ahijah to ask about the recovery of their son, Abijah, from his illness.But is this the only role of a prophet? To make predictions about the mundane or the transcendent? Our text implies that a prophet would be used when God needs to say something to the people, because they would be too fearful to hear from him directly. The verses read, 16This is what you requested of the Lord your God . . . on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more . . . I will die.” 17Then the Lord replied . . . “They are right in what they have said. 18I will raise up for them a prophet . . . I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. So the prophet is not just a divinely sanctioned fortuneteller, the prophet is one who speaks on God’s behalf. But why did God need prophets when he already had religious leaders, the priests and Levites, to teach his law, and His own anointed civil leaders to enforce it? Earlier in Deuteronomy (starting in ch. 16) there are instructions for appointing judges and officials (and later, kings), the civil leaders, who are to administer justice. There are also instructions about the role of the priests and Levites in educating the people in God’s law, and in helping the civil leaders in their judgments. With the civil and religious authorities already established in the law, why would there be a need for another voice?Civil leaders, particularly kings, could be corrupted by their power. And the priests and Levites inherited their positions, which is no guarantee of their fitness for the job. On the other hand, anyone could be called to fill the role of prophet: like the lad Samuel who grows up to fill the role of both prophet and judge, the shepherd Amos from the southern kingdom of Israel, or Ezekiel the priest in Babylonian exile. The prophet acts as a check on the institutional authorities. Throughout the Old Testament we have examples of prophets who are called to confront powerful persons, both civil and religious; to remind them of the consequences of not discharging their duties appropriately. We see that the very first message that Samuel is given is for the high priest, Eli. He tells Eli that because of the iniquity of his sons, his family will not be allowed to continue in the priesthood, in fact, his family line will be cut-off. Nathan is sent to rebuke King David when he commits murder to cover up his affair with another man’s wife, the beautiful Bathesheba. The prophet Ahijiah sends a message to King Jeroboam, that because he has led the ten tribes of Israel astray, to worship other gods, his family will be wiped out. Elijah confronts Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in front of the people, to prove to the idolatrous nation that Yahweh is the one true God.So this text could be seen to refer to the succession of prophets that God sent to his people through the centuries. These prophets filled various needs. They were available to be consulted about private affairs, as well as to give advice on political or religious matters. They reminded rulers and the people of the duty to follow God’s law. God sent prophets to rebuke the people for their faults, to warn of judgments that would come as a result of their continued sinning, and to predict redemption and deliverance as a comfort in their times of suffering and exile. But there is more to this text then the establishment of a system of checks and balances. What is also important is the phrase “I will raise up for them a prophet like you.” Like whom? Like Moses. Moses, the greatest leader Israel ever had. The man who mediated between God and the people, who pled with God over and over to show the people mercy when they rebelled. The man who talked to God “face to face” (Deut. 34 ). All of the prophets mentioned in the Old Testament were called to perform important work, but all were considered inferior to Moses. This passage came to have a more specific prophetic meaning—it was a promise, pointing to the ultimate prophet, the Messiah. Who better than the Messiah to speak on behalf of God? The Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well understood this. She said, “I know that the Messiah . . . is coming; and when he comes he will explain everything.” When the priests and Levites came out to John the Baptist at the Jordan river to ask him by what authority he was baptizing people, they asked, “Are you the prophet?” John replied, “No. . . .The one who is coming after me, . . .I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.” Phillip, when he goes to get Nathanael says, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus . . . of Nazareth.” The apostle Peter, and Stephen the martyr both publicly proclaimed Jesus as this promised prophet. So if the promise in this text has been fulfilled in the person of Christ, is there any further applicability? Was Jesus the last prophet? As Adventists, we clearly answer, “no.” Among our fundamental beliefs is that prophecy is “one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. [And that] this gift . . . was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White.” She is referred to as “the messenger” much as the religious leaders used the term “the prophet” when interrogating John the Baptist. Her writings are collectively referred to as The Spirit of Prophecy in capital letters.So the question arises: if there are prophets after Jesus, are there also prophets after Ellen White? Certainly it would make our church leaders much more comfortable today if there weren’t. There were leaders when Mrs. White was alive who wished she hadn’t been called to exercise her gift for their benefit. We have a need today, as the followers of Moses did, to have individuals “from among our own people” speak to us on God’s behalf.Our seminary and ordination process provides our church organization with a continuity that is important to the maintenance of our beliefs and traditions, and is not dissimilar to the hereditary nature of the priesthood. But for the Israelites, God did not leave the religious health of his people entirely to the hereditary office held by the sons of Aaron. He provided, in his plan, a role for ordinary people, men and women, to be called forward to proclaim His word, to lead the people back to a closer walk with Him. How well do we recognize a need for that today in our church or in our lives? Are we too comfortable with the idea that God always and only works through those who have been “called” to a formal, institutionally-authorized ministry? Is it safe to assume that in reading the Bible, or the writings of Ellen White we will always discern the words of God speaking to our immediate situations? Are we so secure in the “knowledge” we have as a church, as a University, or as individuals, that we can ignore those who, with or without official status, may be calling us to reflect thoughtfully on our doctrines and beliefs and to practice social justice? In our text God says, “Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.” Accountability is a common concept. We are accountable for how we perform in our jobs, for what we do with our assets, and how we live in our relationships. In my position I am held accountable not only for how I do my job, but for how others do theirs as well—and not just for those persons who report directly to me. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes only two officials at a university as responsible for adherence to the laws and regulations it administers: the President, and the Director of Financial Aid. Those are the two individuals who may be fined or jailed if the University is discovered to have acted fraudulently. And believe me, this was a consideration when I applied for the job, and is not something I take lightly.But, what an awesome responsibility to be accountable to God. It doesn’t matter if we don’t believe that He speaks through ordinary people in this day and age; if we believe that Christ, or Ellen White was the last prophet, and that everything that needed to be said, was said, by them. If He does send someone he expects us to listen and to act on what we are told; even if that someone is considered a “nobody”, or is someone we know too well. We will be held accountable.In a few moments we will stand to affirm our faith. We will confirm our belief that God “called prophets and rulers to proclaim truth and enact justice.” I ask you to consider that God continues to call prophets and leaders today “to proclaim truth” and to “enact justice.” Are we listening?
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