The Radiating Revelation of God through People: 5. Prophets and Kings

Just as Moses was a hybrid of patriarch and prophet, linking two covenantal epochs, Samuel was the last judge and also the first person in the Old Testament named as a prophet after Moses. He also linked the epochs of the theocratic, tribal community of Israel, and the theocratic Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. As a prophet, Samuel was a new kind of mediator between the radiating, central revelation of God’s nature and will, and the people of God. Beginning with Samuel and King Saul, prophets and kings shared the tasks of representing God to the people, and the people to God. Sometimes, the power struggles between royal prerogative and prophetic application of God’s revelation led to rifts between kings and prophets. This was usually because either the king or the prophet, or both, stopped paying attention to God’s central, radiating revelation, and so stopped listening to God, thus ceasing to operate as an authentic representative of God to his people.

          
Isaiah gives us a remarkable insight into the calling of a prophet: The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back (Is. 50:4-5 NIV).

The prophet was one who had been “instructed,” and continued practicing the daily discipline of the “morning by morning” study of the Word. He listened to the Word, as “one being taught,” and he did not “(draw) back” from his primary role. The primary role of the prophet was to prophesy (or preach) God’s revealed Word. (J. B. Phillips properly translates the New Testament word prophaytas as “preach” (for example: 1 Cor. 12:28 Phillips)). This is what preaching has fundamentally always been – professing the properly received, exegeted, and applied Word of God. The prophets were expected to be formed through their understanding of God’s Word through exegeting the Law (which was the only revealed text they had at that point), to hear God’s Word afresh (as prophets, they received God’s special revelation directly and personally – Am. 3:7), and to profess God’s Word so that the community of God would be Spiritually formed.

Prophets were forbidden to pass their opinions off as God’s authoritative Word (Jer. 31:34). These are plainly called “lies” (Is. 9:15), and false prophecy was punishable by death (Deut.1 3:5). They preached God’s revealed Word to their contemporary context. The postmodern church needs preachers who know and understand God’s Word (through excellent exegesis, meditation, and living), and who know and understand their own contemporary context, so that they can proclaim God’s authentic Word to their generation.

          
It is important to point out that God himself attested to the authority of prophets (and apostles) as his spokesmen by doing miracles through them. These miracles were a sign by which God’s covenant people could test whether anyone who claimed to speak for God was indeed called by God to speak for him and to bring revelation from his throne. This is important for today because many men and women claim to speak for God and even claim to be prophets and apostles. One must ask anyone by what authority they claim to speak for God, and ask for proof (a “sign”) of their authority. Even still, the Church is warned to beware of false teachers and prophets who can also produce miraculous signs (Deut. 13:1-5, Mk. 13:22-23). The real test of any teaching will be that it does not compromise, contradict, or even add to what God has revealed through his Word (Gal. 1:6-9).

The Radiating Revelation of God through People: 4. The Judges

After Moses, there was a series of judges to whom God spoke, and through whom God formatively spoke to the covenant community. God continued to initiate the revelation of his nature and will by speaking his Word through these judges. It can be argued that the primary role of these judges was to speak for God by exegeting God’s Law and applying the authentic content of the Law to the specific, existential context of the everyday life of the faith community. It is not enough to simply proclaim God’s Word randomly to the people of God. Authentic Christian leadership requires leading God’s people to specific application of God’s revelation to the real experience of Spiritual formation toward godly living.

The second chapter of Judges reveals God’s plan for the post-Moses/Joshua task of authentic Spiritual leadership. After Joshua died, “another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel” (Jud. 2:10b NIV). They became ignorant of the salvation history of God, recorded in the Law of Moses, so they “did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths” (Jud. 2:11-13 NIV). 

Because no one taught them the Word of God, they could not obey it. They were unaware of the texts of God’s recorded revelation. Thus they were not Spiritually formed. The result of not hearing the Word of God was that “whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them” (Judges 2:15 NIV). He had sworn it to them in the text of the Law, but they were ignorant of God’s warnings and promises because no one was preaching the text to them. So “the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders” (Jud. 2:16 NIV). The primary task of the judges was to lead the people of God to listen to the text of God. This was a preaching task.

Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD’s commands. Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived … But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died (Jud. 2:17-21 NIV).

God intended these men and women to be listened to, and what they were to be listened to about was “the way of obedience to the LORD’s commands” and “the covenant that (God) laid down for their forefathers,” his recorded Word. This is how they were to be Spiritually formed. This is what Deborah the prophetess (preacher) was doing as she held court “under the Palm of Deborah” (Jud. 4:4 NIV). The Law by which she judged was the recorded text of the Law of Moses. Gideon only knew how to “build a proper kind of alter to the LORD” (Jud. 6:26 NIV) because he paid attention to the texts of the Law of Moses. Abimelech demonstrates his knowledge of the texts of the Word of God when he scatters salt over the conquered city of Shechem (Jud. 9:45). When the people of God listened to their leaders, who preached the Word of God, they prospered. When they ignored the Word, they were cursed. Jephthah demonstrates his attention to the Law of Moses in his response to the Ammonite King, quoting the texts of the existent Scriptures (Jud. 11:14-27).

Here, the formation of God’s people through listening to God’s Word by paying attention to God’s text is seen. By the time of the judges, the Law was recorded. Though the stories of the lives and words of the judges came more Scripture. The fundamental work of listening to God, from the time of Moses on, became the careful exegesis and proclamation of God’s text. This text is variously called, among many things, “the Scriptures” (Mar. 12:10); the “law", “decrees", “statutes”, “commands”, “precepts", and “promises” (Ps. 119); “the law and the prophets” (Lk.16:16); “the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20); “my word” (Is. 55:11); “the word of God” (1 Thes. 2:13); “the word of the prophets” (2 Pet. 1:19); and “the word of truth” (Col. 1:5).           

            

From the time of Moses on, there was a holy text to pay attention to and to meditate on. Authentic godly meditation is precisely what the Hebrew word for meditation evokes – a “mumbling over” of God’s revealed (written) Word. When the Lord tells Joshua to “not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night” (Josh. 1:8), God was instructing him to memorize and “mumble over” the text day and night. When the last psalm before the psalms of ascent (Psalm 119) asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” the answer is proclaimed, “by living according to your Word...I have hidden your Word is my heart...With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth” (Ps. 119:9, 11 NIV).

            

When one is doing this, it is imperative that it is done with a thorough understanding of the context of the passages being meditated on. It is so easy for people, as fallen, self-centered creatures, to misinterpret the texts and apply them in unholy ways to self-centered contexts. Joshua and the writer of Psalm 119 were steeped in an understanding of the content, context, history, and meaning of the texts they prayed, memorized, and mumbled over. The apostle John wrote Revelation with this same Scripture-soaked imagination, drawing from the imagery of the whole revealed Word, and quoting from almost every book of the Bible.

            

Some have argued that there are two contrasting approaches to the understanding of the Word. One is the rational, exegetical study of the Scriptures with one’s mind, while the other is the direct, inspirational revelation of the Spirit of God to one’s heart. It is said that one represents the ministry of the Word and the other the ministry of the Spirit. John Woodhouse makes a convincing argument for the absurdity of this dichotomy, stressing that the Word and the Spirit are inseparable. He rejects the attempt to bring a “balance” between these two heretical extremes, demonstrating that the illumination of God’s Word is the primary work and message of the Holy Spirit. He then calls for an embracing of the authentically Christian approach to the Word, which is a dynamic synergy between the Spirit of God speaking and working through the Word of God.

The Radiating Revelation of God through People: 3. Priests, Sacraments and Artists

During this time, the ceremonial function of the institutional priesthood was established. One could say that the purpose of the Levitical priesthood was to complement the role of the Law in the transformative life of the community. Artists were also enlisted by God to be a part of his public revelation in and through the faith community. Artists constructed all of the elements of the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 25:3 – 30:10). Bezalel and Oholiab were specifically called and equipped by God (Ex. 31:1-6) to be his formative instruments of revelation. Artists were sent from Tyre to build a palace for David in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:11-12). It can be argued that artists were enlisted as “prophets” through music and song in the assembly (1 Chr. 25). Artists were also employed in the building of God’s temple (2 Chr. 2-4). The Tabernacle and the Temple and all that was seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted in them were complementary elements to the revelation of God’s Word. These can be understood as visible expository sermons, sacramentally exposing the person and will of him who is at the center, on the throne. 

            

The ritual practices of the sacramental community can be understood as the visual sermons of the people of God. The Levitical code was a communal response to God’s revelation. God not only initiated the revelation of his person and will and his redemptive relationship between himself and man, he also created a practice of living the reality of that relationship through everyday practice of formative worship, sacrifices, and ceremony. This is the authentic action of the faith community.

Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal ... Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Rev. 4:6, 9-11). 

The authentic act of response to God’s revelation is worship (Ex. 4:29-31). Worship must not be used as a tool to try to obtain revelation, or as a self-centered, esoteric experiential device. It must always and only be a genuine response to what God has revealed. As God’s self-initiated revelation is received, his people respond in prayer, praise, and proclamation. They lay whatever crowns they possess at his throne, declaring the truth that God has revealed to themselves, each other, and the world.

            

The Christian sacraments can also be understood as expository sermons. God’s truth is revealed through the acted-out expositions of baptism and communion. Paul declares, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). And, as Peter points out, “This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:21). These outward signs of inward realities are symbolic proclamations of God’s revelation. Lutheran professor, Gordon Lathrop, commenting on one of the earliest “ordos” of Christian sacramental practice, found in St. Ignatius, literally calls the water of baptism “the speaking water”.

Returning to John’s “Revelation,” one can argue that John is describing this same understanding of Sunday worship as responsive, expository sacrament. Through the visible preaching of baptism (the crystal sea 4:6) and the eucharistic preaching of his sacrificial death (the slaughtered lamb 5:6), the good news of God’s Word is exposed. As well as these sacraments, the public and private Scripture reading and meditating (the text scroll 5:1), the allegiance to Jesus (the Lion of Judah, the triumphal root of David 5:5), the regular, public practice of praise (harp 5:8), prayer (incense 5:8), and preaching (the messengers 5:11), the Holy of Holies before the throne of God is entered. Only God the Word can open the “seal” and reveal himself, the Word. No one else can open the “scroll or even look inside it” (5:3 NIV).

The Radiating Revelation of God through People: 2. The Lawgiver

Next, God called the Lawgiver, Moses, who also had a unique relationship with God. In spite of Moses’ protests, God initiated a special relationship with him, revealing a greater depth of knowledge of God’s nature, name, and will (Ex. 3). Moses can be seen as a transition figure, being a kind of patriarch and a kind of prophet. But Moses is also the only Lawgiver (Jn. 1:13-14, Heb. 3).  After revealing himself through creation, and then in covenant with specific humans, God revealed himself one step further and deeper through the Exodus, the Mosaic Law, the Levitical code, and the new theocratic, covenant community, Israel. Moses, as the mediator between God and the faith community, was primarily called to lead God’s covenant people to listen to God’s Word.

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites" (Ex. 19:3-6 NIV).

The whole community was gathered before the mountain and waited for God’s Word. God spoke to Moses, and then appointed Moses to speak his Word to Israel for him. Israel’s formation and transformation was God’s initiative. And, though the “the whole earth is (his),” God wants his covenant faith community to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” God does not need human help. However, he forms his people through his personal initiated revelation to them through his Word. Then he reforms them to be his ministers, administrating his Word to the world, leading the rest of humanity to be transformed towards the truly human posture of listening: to hear his Word and respond in proper worship.

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you" (Ex. 19:7-9a NIV).

In the next part of Revelation, the apostle John evokes this historic picture, borrowing the imagery from Exodus 19, to link what “will happen next” (the immediate experience of the worshipping faith community whenever the Church gathers as God’s people to listen to his Word) with what happened when God’s people gathered at Mount Sinai.

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him (Ex. 19:16-19 NIV).

          

The people of God come together to be formed by listening to the Word of God and then go out to worship God by communicating and demonstrating the transformative revelation of God to the world. This was true of Israel at Mount Sinai, and it was true of the seven churches John wrote his “Revelation” to. It is also true of the authentic, Christian faith community today. The essential task of God’s appointed Spiritual leader has always been to help the faith community to be the authentic people of God; to help them gather to listen to the Word of God, and then to go out and worship God by being part of the “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6).