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Commentary on "Testing the Prophets"

PHIL HARRIS

 

Day 2: Sunday, February 1, 2009

The theme of the lesson on this day concerns how God communicates with his messengers and maintains that it is primarily through dreams and visions.

 

Problems

From reading Scripture, we learn that not all who receive a vision from God are prophets of God. In Gen. 41:1-40 we read where Pharaoh had a dream from God that he did not understand. In Daniel Chapter Two we read of Nebuchadnezzar who not only had dreams he didn't understand, but, he couldn't remember what they were. These examples illustrate the point that God may send any person he chooses a message but only a prophet from God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can provide the interpretation of a dream or vision.

This lesson provides several examples of how God communicates via dreams and visions. In Gen. 15:1 God speaks to Abram in a vision. In Num. 12:6-8 God called directly to Aaron and Miriam and says; " If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream". In Dan. 7:1 we also see where Daniel received ”a dream and visions" that were from God.

The following examples show that God is not limited in the ways he chooses to communicate with mankind: Enoch, "walked with God”; Gen. 5:18-24. Jacob, wrestled with God and states, "I have seen God face to face"; Gen. 32:24-30. Moses, "talked with God" as where two people speak, face to face; Ex. 3:1-4:17; 33:7-11. In First Samuel Chapter Three God speaks to the young Samuel so clearly he believes it is Eli calling him from another room. Elijah, hears "a still small voice" in I Kings 19:9-15. Notice that Elijah walks outside the cave during the conversation with the Lord. He is awake and physically hears the voice of God.

In Isa. 6:1-10 we see where the prophet confesses to being an ordinary mortal full of sin. God cleanses him and prepares him to deliver his message to the people perfectly. In Jer. 28:1-15 we see how God deals with a false prophet and prophecy. Hananiah delivers a false message which he claims is from God. God corrects him with a prophecy that he gives to Jeremiah, his true prophet. Both prophets were ordinary men. One, controlled by his sinful nature perverted God's message. The other, moved by the power of God, spoke the truth perfectly.

In Jer. 18:6-10 Jeremiah explains what a conditional prophecy is. To paraphrase him; "if you repent of your sin God will relent of his curse on you. If you sin and refuse to repent, God will revoke the blessing he intended for you". This aligns with God's blessings and curses that Moses imparted to the Hebrew people just before his death, found in Chapters 32 and 33 of Deut. It should be noted that not all prophecies are conditional. The classic one is found in Gen. 3:14-19. Verse 15 is a specific prophecy of a coming Redeemer. This, along with the rest of this passage, is absolute. God would do what he said without fail. There are no conditions for mankind or any other created being to fulfill.

 

Summary

 

Copyright 2009 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised January 26, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com. Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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