Prophetic ministry reveals itself in several different ways. Last week we looked at a variety of different meanings for the word, including to speak "for" and to speak "before." We also considered how worldly prophets speak out of their own burdens regarding various causes and how God's prophets carry and deliver His burdens. This week we look at prophets in the Old Testament.

Prophets heavily populate the Biblical landscape. In days of old, God delivered His message to mankind through the mouths and pens of His prophets. They heard the word of the Lord, then spoke and wrote in faith. God's Old Testament prophets also performed many dramatic exploits with signs, wonders, and miracles. In Jesus' time, these prophetic writings were considered part of the Hebrew Scriptures. After Christ's earthly ministry, Church fathers canonized these prophetic books and made them part of what we now call the Bible.

Let's look at some basic facts. In the Old Testament, from Moses to Malachi, God did not fail to have His prophetic voice active in Israel. Sixteen out of the sixty-six books of the Bible are named for Old Testament prophets. The story of Moses, Israel's first major prophet, fills four more complete books of the Old Testament. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. So, twenty books out of thirty-nine means that over 50% of all Old Testament books are dedicated entirely to the stories and prophecies of the Old Testament prophets.

But the counting does not stop there. The figures above do not include prophets like Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha who do not have complete books dedicated to their ministries and messages. Furthermore, Moses' disciple Joshua could easily be considered to have had a prophetic ministry among the people of Israel. He received direct instructions from the Lord and delivered these instructions to the nation. The book of Judges tells of twelve prophetically called men and women. Unfortunately, most of them failed in their missions. And there are more. Esther and Mordecai subdued the Persian kingdom of Xerxes. Ezra and Nehemiah, two prophetically called souls, helped bring back Israel from captivity and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And of course David, the Psalmist, gave us many prophetic pictures of Christ the Messiah in his writings. One can hardly turn a page of the Old Testament without finding some sort of prophetic activity.

What did Old Testament prophets do? Beginning with Moses, we see a wide array of ministry flowing forth from the prophets - all involving the Word of the Lord. Moses confronted Egypt's Pharaoh. He proclaimed God's judgment and then watched it come forth in the form of plagues and scourges. He brought forth miracles, signs and wonders, and as discussed last week, delivered the Ten Commandments and many other laws to the nation of Israel.

Other prophets confronted kings, both Hebrew and Gentile. They did battle with false prophets, waged war with false gods, and called nations to repentance. They accurately predicted future events in detail, especially the advent of Christ. Hebrews chapter 11, from verse 32 to the end, provides highlights of the many exploits of God's Old Testament prophets.

God's Old Testament prophets often stood against the tide of public opinion and suffered for their statements and positions. They were men of vision. When God called Jeremiah, He imparted to him a vision of his calling. "See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:10 NKJV). Jeremiah clearly understood his calling. Old Testament prophets were often called "seers" because they could see things that others could not. Considering the opposition they often faced, they had to have a clear vision and an accurate picture - a solid word from the Lord.

What lessons can God's modern-day spokespeople learn from the prophets of old? Might these Old Testament prophets be considered models for Christians today? How are modern-day "prophets" confronting the culture of our day? Share your thoughts.

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What differentiates the prophets of the Old Testament from the prophets of the new? Next week we will look at New Testament Prophets.