Its Schools by J. O. Corliss

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jun 8, 1911

Its Schools

By J. O. Corliss

Tracings of the Prophetic Gift—No. 5

Its Schools

J. O. CORLISS

It would seem from one explanatory expression found in I Sam. 9:9, that the term prophet was not at first applied to the man of God chosen to point out the ways of the Lord. The expression referred to is this: “Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer.” This would convey the idea that a seer (roeh), or gazer (chozeh), was not considered so exalted a personage as one chosen to be a prophet (nabi). The first-named title does not appear to cover so much latitude as the last. While the former was supposed to be able to gaze, or see, beyond ordinary mortals, the latter was reckoned at that time to be in such direct relation with God as to be

always able to make known his will in matters of importance to his people.

David, a man after God's own heart, ascended the throne as prophet-king of Israel during Samuel's prophetic administration. He had for a chief counselor, Nathan, a highly exalted prophet. The hand of Samuel transferred the crown from Saul to David. I Sam. 16:13. Nathan conferred the crown upon Solomon. I Kings 1:45. The influence of these two men of God had much to do with shaping the policy of Israel's government.

Toward the close of Solomon's reign, great confusion came in, making the need of the prophetic order greater than ever. Its work at that time gave it a more important standing in the state than it had before reached. Upon the death of Solomon the threatened rupture of the nation came, which created a new kingdom of ten tribes, leaving Judah, with a portion of Benjamin, as a remnant of the once united empire.

In the meantime, schools, or seats of prophetic instruction, had been established within the bounds of the ten tribes—at Bethel, Jericho, Gilgal, and Carmel. This gave the northern kingdom the bearing monopoly of prophets, of which there were many. See I Kings 18:4; 19:18. The sanctuary being located in Judah, the priests naturally chose the southern kingdom as an abiding-place, but for at least two hundred years the prophets were mostly found in the northern kingdom, in which their schools were located. Prominent among these were Ahijah of Shiloh (2 Chron. 9:29), Jehu son of Hanani (I Kings 16:7), Obadiah (I Kings 18:3), Micaiah (I Kings 22:8), and chiefest of all, Elijah and Elisha. Contemporary with these were a few in the southern kingdom, like Azariah (2 Chron. 15:1-8), Hanani (2 Chron. 16:7), and Eliezer (2 Chron. 20:37).

This distribution of prophetic talent seems quite providential when we consider the later tendency of both the northern and southern kingdoms to repudiate prophetic testimony. For a long time the free passage of these men of God between the rival kingdoms served to keep alive a general sentiment of national religion, and also to preserve a true history of the two kingdoms, as related to each other.

One name, however, was omitted from the list before made of the southern prophets, which should be mentioned in this connection, by way of illustrating the thought just expressed. This is “Iddo the seer,” spoken of in 2 Chron. 9:29. He is there said to be the prophet who testified against Jeroboam the son of Nebat. It will be remembered that this Jeroboam was made king of Israel upon its separation from Judah, immediately following the death of Solomon. Very soon thereafter, we find Jeroboam standing at the altar in Bethel to offer incense, and an unnamed prophet from Judah withstanding him. I Kings 13:1, etc. Coupling this incident with the statement made in 2 Chron. 9:29, led Josephus and Jerome to identify the Judean prophet as Iddo the seer.

At first it seems as if the prophets were satisfied with simply oracular deliverances of their messages. But in later times they were careful to commit the most of them to writing. This may be partially accounted for from the fact that they became chosen instruments to compile the history of their respective kingdoms, and so to record the lives of their principal actors. It is a matter of record that at least Samuel, Gad, and Nathan traced the life of David (2 Chron. 29:29, 30), and Nathan and Iddo described the lives of Solomon and Jeroboam. 2 Chron. 9:29.

Among the older written prophecies are the strong denunciations of Joel against sin. His statements are truly bold and unequivocal. They call for decided action in repentance on the part of the nation. He points out, briefly but clearly, the future of God's people, even to the final consummation, and reveals the design of Heaven in their varied experiences.

But according to Usher's chronology another prophecy dates back of the one bearing the name of Joel. That is the one attributed to Jonah. He was the son of Amittai, whose nativity was in Gath-hepher. 2 Kings 14:25. Gath-hepher was a city of Zebulon well toward the northern part of Israel, and not far from the border of the New Testament Syrophenecia. Instead of confining his work to the people of Israel, or even of Judah, he was sent to the heathen of Nineveh, to whom he became a “sign” of God's infinite mercy. Luke 11:29. When the Saviour was asked by the Jews to prove his mission from God by some sign from heaven, he said that he would give them no sign but that of the prophet Jonah. He, too, spent the most of his time among other people than his own, and completed the “sign” by being held three days and nights in the power of those who sought his death.

Following these notable prophetic characters come Hosea, Amos, and the great school of prophets which rose in the Judean kingdom under Uzziah,—Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zechariah. This last-named prophet, who, it is distinctly said, “had understanding in the visions of God” (2 Chron. 26:5), evidently should not be confounded with that prophet of like name whose prophecy was written nearly three hundred years later. This one is probably identical with Zechariah, the “son of Jeberechiah,” mentioned in Isa. 8:2, to whom many Bible expositors have ascribed most of the prophecies which are quoted by Matthew under the name of Jeremiah (particularly Matt. 27:9, 10), and which are found in the later Zechariah's writings. The mixing of names might have been easily done by carelessly transcribing the name in Isa. 8:2, given as the father of Zechariah.

Conspicuous among the later prophets are the names of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel. It may have been noticed by most people that while the titles to the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah distinguish them as prophetic, the book of Daniel receives no such acknowledgment in its title. This may have been through the influence of the Jewish canon, which refuses to acknowledge the prophetic character of the book.

Furthermore, it may be well to mention that most of the early manuscripts omit from Mark 13:14 any reference to Daniel as a prophet, and the Syriac Version does the same for Matt. 24:15. It can only be conjectured why this strong prejudice has existed among the Jews. Certainly the book of Daniel clearly and strongly points out the world's future as no other prophetic book does, and from no other source comes the almost exact date to the day for the appearance of the expected Messiah. Herein may lie the secret of the Jewish refusal to acknowledge the prophetic character of the book.

* Mountain View, Cal.