2nd Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper.
Those two statements given in the opening passage are of critical importance for the Christian and every believer to digest, and thoroughly understand since they follow on the heels of each other strategically. The way we are to believe in God is by believing His prophets. Here they are, juxtaposed to each other.
[1] Believe in The Lord your God. [2] Believe His prophets.
The reason why the statements come close together is because ordained prophets of God are His mouth pieces to all of the human family, for they speak on His behalf, on everything that pertains to temporal or eternal life. From salvation to end time events, from agriculture to finances.
From marriage to diets and foods, and everything in between, God’s prophets are your go to source for instructions on godly living, for true success, and for true prosperity, because the word of God comes to us through His ordained prophets. For this reason, they are to be believed and taken very seriously. Let’s read:
2nd Peter 1: 19 We have also a more-sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star arises in your hearts.
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Deuteronomy 18: 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
That’s the candid instruction given in our first verse when it says: “Believe His prophets”. That passage does not direct anyone to quibble and question His prophets neither are His prophets to be investigated with the purpose of finding faults or inconsistencies in what they say or do.
When God has made it plain that He’s chosen such and such a person to be His mouth piece, God does not authorize any person to scrutinize His prophets before believing them, if they have been ordained by Him, nor should folks reject their writings, even if the prophets’ actions, on rare occasions, might be inconsistent with their teachings.
None of those so- called caveats, which are so often introduced by Bible critics are valid, as far as God is concerned. Like the Bereans, it is our individual duty to find out whether those things are so, comparing line upon line, to come to the correct conclusions.
There is nothing wrong with an objective deep dive into the writings of the prophets, but this should be done in a humble spirit.
However, the word given in our first passage is so serious that a surgical interpretation of what this means, and all the ramifications thereof must now be addressed to put it in the right perspective.
Even if the prophet might be wrong in some rare instances, in the information they give, that does not constitute grounds for their rejection, because the instruction to us is to believe, not to criticize.
For instance, when in the book of James, the Bible prophet says to send for the elders if you are sick, that instruction does not mean to scrutinize those elders, because what they did or did not do should be none of our business. Our instruction is to send for them.
Individuals must of necessity take time to digest the previous statement, because, God’s prophets, being human, can in rare instances make mistakes. In fact, if we were to look for flaws in the prophet’s writings and scrutinize, and criticize what ordained prophets did or did not do, we will ultimately reject every prophet of God, for none are perfect.
Even though they should be model examples, they are fallen human beings like ourselves and therefore we must be careful about tethering the authenticity of God’s prophets to their actions in the temporal realm.
We hope for the best and we wish them all the best, but if they are anointed By God, to speak on behalf of God, His word through them must have the same weight with us, even if they have made blunders in their own life experience.
Moses murdered the Egyptian, and even though he is described as the meekest man on earth, history shows that he had a temper problem. Yet, he was a chosen mouthpiece for God, and therefore, those to whom he was sent must believe him even if at times he may have an attitude.
One of the criticisms of Moses that was often hurled at him, is that even though he had spoken on God’s behalf, what he said didn’t pan out exactly as they’d expected, and because of this, many of the Hebrews took up missiles to stone him on several occasions.
But just because things didn’t work out exactly as he had said, that was no grounds for them not to take him seriously. We tremble when we consider what is written concerning this aspect of believing God’s ordained prophets. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown.
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, we will not come up.
14 Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
Basically, they now reject Moses as God’s ordained prophet, and the word of God through Moses to the men of renown has lost all validity in their view. The rest is history, and you could read to the end of the sequel in the same chapter.
David was also a murderer and an adulterer, and he told a number of blatant lies on several occasions, yet, he too was called by God to be His prophet. The situation which obtained after David slept with the wife of Uriah, reveals that David had several bottles of alcoholic beverages, and wine, chilling in his own personal refrigerator.
He then reached for these in his efforts to drunken Uriah, and thereby tried get him to go sleep with his wife, so that the child that was his, could then be attributed to Uriah. What he did was dead wrong, and God reproved him for it, but his actions do not then authorize persons to reject his writings, which were given him by The Holy Ghost.
Noah also had a drinking problem, but he was God’s chosen prophet to announce the coming deluge and the antediluvians were expected to believe him and take him very seriously. They did not, and the rest is history.
Paul was also a murderer previously, and James and John were called the sons of thunder for very good reason, for in their history you will find violence the thirsting for revenge and ambition to be the highest, and first in the kingdom of God, very grievous flaws and things that you would not expect from ordained prophets. Let’s read:
Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
John 15: 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
[D.A. pp 293>294] While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. He now came forward, soliciting a place in this inner circle of disciples.
God takes men as they are, with the human elements in their character, and trains them for His service, if they will be disciplined and learn of Him.
They are not chosen because they are perfect, but notwithstanding their imperfections, that through the knowledge and practice of the truth, through the grace of Christ, they may become transformed into His image. Judas had the same opportunities as had the other disciples.
Thus, Judas, like all the other disciples was ordained and just like Peter, James and John, he had his own set of problems to deal with. Therefore, if Judas was scheduled to preach in church on some Sabbath, he shouldn’t be rejected because of what he did or did not do.
His words should be studied Berean style, but for a person to outright reject him, because of flaws in his character, would put such a person on the path to reject all twelve of the disciples, for every single one of them had serious flaws. Let’s read:
Luke 9: 52 And He sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
[The Desire of Ages pp 295] All of the disciples had serious faults when Jesus called them to His service. Even John, who came into closest association with the meek and lowly One, was not himself naturally meek and yielding. He and his brother were called “the sons of thunder.”
While they were with Jesus, any slight shown to Him aroused their indignation and combativeness. Evil temper, revenge, the spirit of criticism, were all in the beloved disciple. He was proud, and ambitious to be first in the kingdom of God.
But day by day, in contrast with his own violent spirit, he beheld the tenderness and forbearance of Jesus, and heard His lessons of humility and patience. He opened his heart to the divine influence, and became not only a hearer but a doer of the Savior’s words. Self was hid in Christ. He learned to wear the yoke of Christ and to bear His burden.
Yet, they too were God’s ordained prophets, and the Lord strictly forbids any person to reject what they wrote under the inspiration of The Holy Ghost, for our belief should not hinge on their performance or their good and regular standing, but rather on the mere fact that they’re God’s ordained mouthpieces. Let’s read:
Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jonah 3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
The preaching was as direct as Nineveh could get, for, according to a strict reading of the sermon, the possibility of a pardon which could lead to a reversal of fortune was never raised by Jonah. All Jonah says is that the city has forty more days in existence.
Question: Why would Jonah be sent preach such a direct or explicit sermon like that, with no caveats?
Two parents have a son named Jack, who habitually steals cookies from the jar on numerous occasions, and try as the parents might, to get him to stop he just wouldn’t listen. Finally, the situation reaches a tipping point, where the parents have to give their son an ultimatum, lest he passes the point of no return.
How should this last-ditch effort on the parent’s part be given? Should Jack’s parents say: Son, if you steal anymore cookies from the jar, and you were to ask for forgiveness, we will let you off the hook. Or, should the parents issue their son a blunt threat that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth?
Let us dissect the first option: Jack, if you steal one more cookie from the jar, we will let you off the hook if you ask for forgiveness. Knowing Jack, and his habit of stealing cookies for so many years, if the option of pardon is put on the table, he most likely will continue stealing cookies.
Great care has to be exercised whenever a pardon is offered up front, because, the recipients in so many cases may view it as a sort of loophole, so that they will plan to sin, and then utter all the right words so that they could obtain pardon.
It is worthy of note that God did not offer pardon up front to Adam and Eve before they sinned, He offers it only after they have sinned, and thus, His word to them was, if you eat of the forbidden fruit, you will certainly die. In fact, pardon was a last resort, for if it was offered up front, there would be no deterrent to sin.
Persons who preach that God’s law has been nailed to the cross, and that it is no longer binding upon persons, because of the blood of Jesus, are offering pardon up front, and thus, the flood gates of sin are opened.
There’s an album out there currently that is named: Saturday Night/ Sunday Morning, a very strange title indeed. The singer/ producer got the idea for the album after speaking with a close relative of his. The relative in question was a man, who would party all night on Saturday night, and be ready, and dressed for church early on Sunday morning.
His actions puzzled the singer so much that one day he asked him: Why do you bother going to church on Sunday morning after partying hard on Saturday night? Why not just stay home and rest?
The man said, Sunday Church service is absolutely necessary, because I plan to party again next week, so if I don’t attend church on Sunday morning, how will I atone for my Saturday night sins? This is not a figment of our imagination. It is a true story with a real album on the charts.
Now, let’s look at the second option. If Jonah were to tell this same man that he has forty days to live, because of his sins with no offer of pardon, the man will most likely think long and hard, before another Saturday night live. This is the reason why Jonah’s message was so blunt, and direct, as an ultimatum. Let’s read:
Jonah 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
And it worked, because that blunt ultimatum gave them pause for concern. They huddled together and decided to do whatsoever it would take to avert the threatened danger. God knew this in advance. Thus, He sent Jonah to deliver the message in a stark and very grave manner that would be sure to grab their attention. Let’s read:
Jonah 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
However, from Jonah’s perspective a good outcome such as this would apparently pose a real problem for his credibility, because, if after making a direct threat, and nothing happened, how will people view his next sermon? Would they believe him the next time around?
And what about God’s view on the matter? If He has to send Jonah to preach another sermon like the 1st one, would God expect the people to believe him? It is a very serious question which will lead us into the Bible study for today: Jonah’s Next Sermon. Let’s read:
Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Question: Why did Jonah become exceedingly angry at the outcome? Jonah had to grapple with issues of credibility, because, if after giving such a definitive sermon, it fails to pan out, the question in his mind will obviously be, will his reputation be on the line, and will people ever believe him again. Let’s read:
Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
From God’s perspective, Jonah was still credible and if for some reason God saw fit to send him back to Nineveh, at a later date, with a message of warning, God would expect the people to fully believe him, just as if the first prediction had come true. Let’s read:
Luke 11: 29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, this is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
This issue of disappointment, and of God’s prophets delivering His message, and it not coming to fruition as expected, is nothing unique to Jonah alone, for throughout history, other ordained persons have had to pass through similar experiences, where the messages given them by God didn’t pan out exactly the way they thought.
This does not and it should not interfere with their credibility, for if disappointments take place that, in and of itself is no grounds for persons to discredit any future messages coming from God through the same person.
Some whom God has called to give a warning, have at times misunderstood the message, others might not have understood the right interpretation, while others who were directly sent by God, have at times gotten the time and place incorrectly. As far as God is concerned, none of the above must prevent any future hearers from believing the same prophet.
There are times when Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance have misunderstood what the president sent them to say, and there have been many occasions where what they said, in the most direct and positive way, did not actually pan out the way they expected. This is nothing new, for messengers who are called by their superiors to give a specific message. Let’s read:
Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
[The Desire of Ages pp 215>216] Like the Savior’s disciples, John the Baptist did not understand the nature of Christ’s kingdom. He expected Jesus to take the throne of David; and as time passed, and the Savior made no claim to kingly authority, John became perplexed and troubled.
And now from his dungeon he watched for the Lion of the tribe of Judah to cast down the pride of the oppressor, and to deliver the poor and him that cried. But Jesus seemed to content Himself with gathering disciples about Him, and healing and teaching the people.
He was eating at the tables of the publicans, while every day the Roman yoke rested more heavily upon Israel, while King Herod and his vile paramour worked their will, and the cries of the poor and suffering went up to heaven.
To the desert prophet all this seemed a mystery beyond his fathoming. There were hours when the whisperings of demons tortured his spirit, and the shadow of a terrible fear crept over him. Could it be that the long-hoped-for Deliverer had not yet appeared?
Then what meant the message that he himself had been impelled to bear? John had been bitterly disappointed in the result of his mission.
That which took place in 1844 is another example of what is being referenced in the experience of Jonah, and John, for there was great disappointment, and those who were sent to deliver the message did not fully understand all of the details and fine print, just like John and Jonah didn’t.
Like John, Jonah, and all twelve of Christ’s disciples, those who preached the advent message were the ordained instruments of God, and they faithfully did their work. However, their credibility must never be questioned because it was The Lord who sent them. Let’s read:
[Life Sketches 88, pp152] The voice of Brother Abbot rung through the hall in notes of warning to the world. He repeated the evidences of the soon coming of Christ, and that vast crowd listened in sacred silence to his stirring words.
The Holy Spirit rested upon the assembly. Heaven and earth seemed to approach each other. The meeting lasted until a late hour of the night. The power of the Lord was felt upon young, old, and middle aged. Some Methodists and Baptists who were present seemed to fully unite with the spirit of the meeting.
“As we returned to our homes by various ways, a voice praising God would reach us from one direction, and, as if in response, voices from another and still another quarter, shouted, ‘Glory to God, the Lord reigneth!’
Men sought their homes with praises upon their lips, and the glad sound rang out upon the still night air. No one who attended these meetings can ever forget those scenes of deepest interest.
The point of expectation was nearing. The time when we hoped to meet him was close at hand. We approached this hour with a calm solemnity. The true believers rested in a sweet communion with God, an earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter.
“Worldly business was for the most part laid aside for a few weeks. We carefully scrutinized every thought and emotion of our hearts as if upon our death-beds and in a few hours to close our eyes forever upon earthly scenes.
“But the time of expectation passed. This was the first close test brought to bear upon those who believed and hoped that Jesus would come in the clouds of heaven. The disappointment of God’s waiting people was great.
Some who had appeared to possess true faith seemed to have been influenced only by fear, and now their courage returned with the passing of the time, and they boldly united with the scoffers declaring they had never been duped to really believe the doctrine of Miller, who was a mad fanatic.
“We fully believe that God, in his wisdom, designed that his people should meet with a disappointment, which was well calculated to reveal hearts and develop the true characters of those who had professed to look for and rejoice in the coming of the Lord.
Those who embraced the first angel’s message (see Revelation 14:6, 7) through fear of the wrath of God’s judgments, not because they loved the truth and desired an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, now appeared in their true light.
This most searching test of God revealed the true characters of those who would shirk responsibility and stigma by denying their faith in the hour of trial. The reason why it is so critically important for us to understand this Bible study, is because the Advent People of God will be called upon to deliver the last and final message of mercy to a dying world. And we shouldn’t shrink from our calling, even if we may not fully understand all of the details and fine print.
Like Jonah, like John, like all twelve disciples and like William Miller, we are now called upon to give the trumpet a certain sound, for we are seeing the hand writing on the wall and we would be remiss if we sat in silence and watch America, and all the rest of the world, go over the cliff without saying a mumbling word.
Let us therefore, like all the faithful of bygone years rise to the occasion, and deliver the three angel’s messages, leaving the results with God. Of course, there will be critics who will point to 1844 as reason why we should not be viewed as credible, and yes, it ill call for courage and faith like never before, even as many critics would say I told you so.
Credibility, in the eyes of the world is not the same as credibility with God and therefore, we are to take up the mantle of service faithfully, not by giving the same smooth sermons like the famous sooth sayers do, but like John, we are to give present truth which is the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Let us therefore be found worthy of the high calling in Christ, because the kingdom of Christ is at hand, whether persons will hear, or whether they forbear. We therefore end with a passage of Scripture which will encourage us and cheer us on our way, for it is God who is sending those who are called. Let’s read:
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord comes, for it is nigh at hand.
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
God Bless!