The prophet's handbook

the role of prophet and priest (not unusual for monarchs of that day) along with roles previously anchored in the mantle by Samuel. David, a born warrior, exhibited a wholehearted working relationship between the Lord and His prophet. He inquired of God and received answers to what he asked by consulting the ephod, a kind of interrogatory vestment normally restricted to priests. Revelation became commonplace to this king as he portrayed powerful and amazing relations with Israel’s God. Once more, the prophetic surfaced as the common denominator, the indispensable implement of God’s activities. By the time David’s reign was in full swing, the connection between God and His prophets was permanently forged. History had been made, and Lord’s archetype was forever set. From here on it was official: surely the Lord does nothing without first revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. (See Amos 3:7.) Throughout Scripture the prophets show up as the voice of God, the power of God exerted, His implements and weaponry. The most striking and telling account of this organization was that of the prophetic institution of Jezebel, the Phoenician witch King Ahab made queen of Israel. Her staff consisted of nearly one thousand prophets whom she used to seduce, manipulate, and tyrannize the nation. She utterly usurped the Lord’s messengers with her own and had the majority of Yahweh’s prophets killed to stop their influence over her own institution. Solomon, years earlier, did likewise. His prophetic perversions show themselves in his receiving three personal visitations from God and still ending up giving the Lord’s spiritual and governmental domains to other gods. His treason inseminated the nation’s consciousness so that it was well-accustomed to the idolatry by the time Jezebel came along. Over time, things shifted a bit as the kings were assigned prophets to serve their reigns. Eventually the institutional arrangement took hold and the custom became professional policy. Jeremiah, Elijah, and the other major and minor prophets all continued its protocols up to and including the Lord Jesus Christ. What all this says is that the occult, the supernatural, and witchcraft are all reasons why God maintains a prophetic staff. Elijah proved this point in his Mount Carmel clash with Jezebel’s staff. The Lord showed apostate Israel that indeed her God really is the God of all gods, even though Elijah’s contest showed itself as too little, too late. Nonetheless, our point is made. That is the prophet is God’s arm, mouth, thoughts, and will. The reason is simple: the occult as we know it demands for the God of all humanity and the sake of the Most High’s dominion over the works of His hands, an indomitable counterbalance to