The Prophets

soooo...

i'm back.

i really need to get with it.

so i'm going to study the prophets.

my companion will be a friend, Abraham Heschel, a Jewish scholar from the mid-twentieth century. prophecy is an interesting literary style because of it's sometimes dual meaning. what's important to first understand (and what i hope my Jewish friend will help me with) is that all prophecy had specific relevance to the time to which it was written. there were (relatively) immediate implications and responses to all the OT prophets. understanding this cultural context that surrounds the content is essential to expanding our ability to grapple and apply the scripture.

Heschel is brilliant...i highly recommend checking some of his material out. i'll be using his "The Prophets" book as a companion as i read through the OT prophets.

i leave tonight with a verse that i think sums up my interest & challenge in this study. the prophets understand that worldly desires were ultimately unfulfilling and often-times distracting. they remind us as such:

"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord Who practice kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord"

Paul, reflecting later, reminds us...
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

all boasting...all glory...it's all God's. and the prophets are the voice reminding us constantly of his due.