Exodus 7–14; 1 Kings 15–22; 2 Kings 1–6; and Luke 13–19
Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages.
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1 Kings 14:1–17, Here the evil King Jeroboam who had turned his back on Elohim when he introduced idolatry into the northern kingdom of Israel, in his time of personal need, sought a word from the prophet of Elohim. He wondered whether his sick son, his only heir, would recover or not. He sent gifts via his wife to the prophet Ahijah hoping to “purchase” a word from the LORD. Instead, Ahijah pronounced judgment upon the child and upon Jeroboam.
We see a similar situation in 2 Kings 8:7–9 where the wicked king of Syria attempted to hire Elisha the prophet for money to find out whether he would recover from his illness or not. Instead, the man of Elohim pronounced judgment on the king.
Finally, Saul, sought to hire the prophet Samuel to give him a word regarding his lost donkeys (1 Sam 9:6–9). Saul’s penchant to divine the future remained unabated, for later in his life he sought to consult Samuel via the witch of Endor in an effort to know his future fate (1 Sam 28:7). Again judgment was pronounced on Saul.
What do these examples all have in common? Individuals were seeking to know the future by those they deemed to have prophetic capabilities. Does the Bible condone this practice? From the examples cited, it would seem not. This is not to denigrate in any way the true role of the biblical prophet. However, the biblical norm is that the prophet of Elohim came to you with a word; you didn’t go to him seeking a word—or to divine your future
. And no money was ever exchanged!
In certain areas within the church, prophets and prophecy have became a fad. Many “prophets” have almost a cult following. Many of these “prophets” profit handsomely as they peddle prophetic words and personal prophecies. The problem is that these “prophets” are hard-pressed to find biblical examples to justify their activities. For many of them, it seems that their subjective experiences determines what they believe, teach and practice rather than the objective truth as recorded in Elohim’s Word.
Would you care to open this can of worms and share your insights and experiences in the area of “personal prophecy” and your experiences with church “prophets”?