Prophets in the Bible – What Things Did They Say?

By Robert Wyeth

A prophet speaks the very words of God. It will be there to guide people, to help them develop and encourage them. But a false prophet speaks out of his own mind.

A prophet is open minded and be willing to any of the people including kings and rulers and speak what God wants them to find, or do, or to work out.

Many people do amazing things, the achievements of a mighty man who toils against the enemy and the opponent is defeated. Some people have a gift for magnificent things which stagger and persuade the crowds. Prophets declare the precise words given them by God. They do not have to do anything, but speak, what the Lord has given them to say.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664117549

Robert Wyeth

After university I went to the London Bible College. I expected to prepare for missionary work, but the Lord didn’t want me to go there. I carried on as a project engineer, working in industry. I have been going to church for a number of years, and I have been an elder, so some things are good and the rest of them are bad. One friend commented to me, "After I am dead, I will be an angel. Floating around doing good for anybody." Really? Particularly so with the concept and themes of the Bible. You are children of God, welcomed in the kingdom of God, do you want to be an angel? Remember the good and bad angels. What will happen to the bad angels?

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 by Robert Wyeth.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Most of the verses were taken from the NIV Bible:

The Holy Bible, New International Version ®, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

Copyright 1985 by the Zondervan Corporation.

Anglicisation 1987 by the Hodder and Stoughton Limited.

This edition first presented in Great Britain in 1987.

Other versions used:

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust, and used by the Tyndale House Publishers.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/28/2022

Xlibris

UK TFN: 0800 0148620 (Toll Free inside the UK)

UK Local: 02036 956328 ([phone] from outside the UK)

www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

838226

CONTENTS

Preface

Summary

Making a Prophet

The Prophets

Abram (Abraham) Son of Terah

Moses Son of Amram

Aaron Son of Amram

Miriam Daughter of Amram

Deborah Wife of Lappidoth

The Unnamed Prophet

Jotham Son of Gideon

Samuel Son of Elkanah

Saul Son of Kish

Gad

Nathan

Ahijah of Shiloh

Shemaiah

An Unnamed Prophet

Jehu Son of Hanani

Elijah from Tishbe in Gilead

An Unnamed Prophet

Micaiah Son of Imlah

Elisha Son of Shaphat

Jonah Son of Amittai from Gath Hepher

Amos a Shepherd of Tekoa

Jonah Son of Amittai

Micah from the Town of Moresheth

Hosea Son of Beeri

Isaiah Son of Amoz

Huldah Wife of Shallum in Jerusalem

Nahum from Elkosh

Zephaniah Son of Cushi

Habakkuk

Jeremiah Son of Hilkiah

Ezekiel Son of Buzi

Obadiah

Joel Son of Pethuel

Daniel (Belteshazzar) in Babylon

Haggai

Zechariah Son of Berekiah

Malachi

Prophecy about the Nations

Zechariah

John the Baptist

Anna Daughter of Phanuel

Jesus Christ

Philip the Evangelist

Agabus

In the Church

Our Prophets

To who can I speak and give warning?

Who will listen to me?

Their ears and closed so that they cannot hear.

The word of the Lord is often offensive to them;

they find no pleasure in it.

But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,

and I cannot hold it in.

Jeremiah ch.6 v10–11

Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to abolish

the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.

Matthew ch.5 v17

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.

If they did not escape when they refused him

who warned them on earth,

How much less will we,

if we turn way from him who warns us from heaven?

Hebrews ch.12 v25

He said to him (the rich man), "If they do not listen to Moses

and the Prophets, they will not be convinced

even if someone rises from the dead." Luke ch.16 v31

PREFACE

I have added more words between the Bible texts to aid you in understanding something I have altered, amended and the book is more complete.

When a prophet has a large chapter, I have separated off parts of it to make it easier to comprehend.

I have added several Biblical verses to add to the text where something needs to be explained.

The purpose of all the prophets when they say something most of the text when they speak to God, or God speaks to them. This is what they are trying to say, to convince people, even the kings.

This is why I have left several sections alone, where they will be communicating with God, and God speaks to them.

SUMMARY

A prophet speaks the very words of God. A false prophet speaks his own mind. The word of God will also come true, but not necessarily immediately. It will be there to guide people, help them and encourage them.

A prophet is open-minded, and he will go up to any person and speak of what God wants him to find, do or work out. He will even go up to the king and remind him of what God says. That is a big test.

Many people do amazing things; the achievements of a mighty man toil against the enemy, and the opponent is defeated. Some people have a gift for magnificent things, which stagger and persuade the crowds. Prophets declare the precise words given to them by God; they do not have to do anything but speak what the Lord has in mind.

John’s (the Baptist) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Matthew ch.3 v4

John didn’t have any protection, no staff or sword. His clothes were rags, and he ate what he could find. He didn’t even have a horse to move about on in case he was threatened.

People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. Matthew ch.3 v5–6

John was a poor man who was draped with a prophet’s garment, but he spoke the very words of God, and that made a difference.

John’s words were God’s voice, speaking to mankind.

MAKING A PROPHET

The prophet must receive a specific and personal call from God, and the initiative in making a prophet comes only from God. It is only a false prophet who dares take his prophecy upon himself.

I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. Jeremiah ch.23 v21

A prophet stands before men as a person who has been made to stand before God, the mighty and awesome God in all his majesty.

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing round him on his right and on his left. 1 Kings ch.22 v19

But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. Jeremiah ch.23 v22

Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. Deuteronomy ch.18 v15

We find in Moses the combination of speaking out and warning that is found in all of the prophets.

They used symbols:

This is what the Lord says: Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate." Jeremiah ch.19 v1–2

They used prediction:

The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. Ezekiel ch.7 v3

Jesus said, Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew ch.5 v12

THE PROPHETS

Abram (Abraham) Son of Terah

Abraham, a descendant of Shem, became the ancestor of the Jewish and other nations (see Genesis ch.17 v6). He lived a life of outstanding faith and was known as ‘God’s Friend’ (see 2 Chronicles ch.20 v7). At God’s call, at the age of 75, he left his home and was moved into Canaan (see Genesis ch.12 v4–5). Abraham’s faith is perhaps best seen in his ready obedience whenever called by God (see Hebrews ch.11 v8–19).

The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, but she was renamed Sarah.

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis ch.12 v7 (also referred to in ch.13 v14–17)

The Lord frequently appeared to Abram and to others, but not in all his glory. The first of several places where Abram built a memorial, spiritual experiences. Abram acknowledged that the land of Canaan belonged to God in a special way.

The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward ... Abram believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness. Genesis ch.15 v1, v6

God used ‘shield’ as a reference; it stands for ‘king’. Abram was very rich, though God himself was Abram’s greatest treasure. This also teaches us that God graciously responds to a man’s faith by crediting him with righteousness. The Lord changed his name from Abram, which means ‘Exalted Father’, to Abraham, the ‘Father of Many’, when he was almost 100 years old.

God appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Genesis ch.18 v1

It was the heat of the day, early afternoon. When the men got up to leave, they looked down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Then, the Lord said, ‘The outcry against them is so grievous, I will go down and look at what they have done.’ Abraham said, ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?’ God answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will spare the city’.

The Lord found not even ten people in the whole of Sodom and Gomorrah, so these places were totally destroyed. The Lord rained down burning sulphur out of the heavens. He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living there, even the vegetation, from a violent earthquake spewing up asphalt, such as is still found in the area today. It is caused by God, who made burning flames come down out of the heavens.

God