Just wanted to give a quick note on the biggest impact that the prophets have on my life. And that is how they shed light on the longsuffering mercy and faithfulness of God. I often hear God described di-chromatically. People like to juxtapose the God of the new testament with that of the old, and in so doing, they inevitably attribute to the Old Testament God a pitiless, merciless personality. Reserving all the merciful gracious love for their New Testament version. However as one reads through the Old Testament Prophets it becomes quite evident that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The mercy given in the New testament through the atonement of Jesus Christ is not only predicted in the Old Testament Prophets. It is made manifest in them manifest in them (Mal 3:13-18)
There is a beautiful motif drawn out in nearly all of the Old Testament prophets of God’s mercy despite the people’s sin. It usually takes the formula of 1) God’s accusation of the people’s breaking of the covenant. 2) His calling them to either repent or face exile. 3) His promise to one day restore them. This motif exalts God’s mercy and longsuffering!
The prophetic books of the Old Testament not only show us God’s patience and his commitment to his sinful people, but they also contain so much hope for the future Messianic age. And these two concepts are so inexorably linked! It is by God’s commitment to love a sinful people that He brings about the promise of the Messiah and the messianic age to come. One of my favorite prophets is Hosea. The extreme love that the Lord displays through the prophet’s philandering wife of whoredom is humbling. Especially when I consider that I so often have played the role of harlot in my own walk with God. Yet He, through the blood of the cross, bestows upon me such amazing grace. Oh what a savior!