Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Introduction
What is a prophet?
A prophet is someone who has received a message from God.
Abraham
Where does the Bible first teach us about prophets?
The first person identified as such is Abraham. In Genesis 20, Abraham lies about his wife, Sarah and identifies Sarah as his sister. King Abimelech then takes Sarah into his harem. God appears to Abimelech and warns him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” Abimelech then protests that he did not know that she was a married woman. God assures Abimelech,
Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. (Genesis 20:6-7)
Here Abraham is called a “prophet.”
What message had Abraham here received from God such that he was called a prophet?
In this context, no particular message to Abraham is mentioned. Rather, the reason Abraham is here called a prophet is because he is one who is able to intercede for Abimelech and to succeed in this. The assumption is that Abraham knows God in such an intimate way that he has God’s ear and and is thus able to speak to God on Abimelech’s behalf. A similar word is found in Jeremiah where God is condemning the false prophets. Jeremiah says,
But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? (Jeremiah 23:18)
The idea is that the false prophets have never been summoned to a meeting with God. True prophets have met with God just as a board of directors might meet. (1 Kings 22:19) This is why false prophets are speaking from their own mind and imagination. The true prophets have heard from God directly and bring a message that is really and truly from Him.
Israel
Where else do we meet a prophet?
The next place is Aaron. God tells Moses,
Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. (Exodus 7:1-2)
The proper understanding of this verse depends on God’s previous statement to Moses,
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.” (Exodus 4:14-17)
Notice here that God makes Moses to be as God to Aaron. Thus, Aaron will receive messages from God but through Moses. In this way, Aaron is a prophet.
From this, it would follow that Moses was also a prophet.
Yes, we find this in the book of Deuteronomy. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Who else was a prophet in ancient Israel?
Scripture teaches us that Miriam was a prophetess although we are not told what messages from God she was given. Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. (Exodus 15:20)
Were Moses, Aaron, and Miram the only prophets in Israel?
No, we read of seventy men who were given the gift of prophesy along with Moses. In this context, we find that Moses is weary of leading Israel.
Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.” (Numbers 11:10-15)
To this lament, God responds by giving seventy men the gift of prophesy.
The LORD therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. (Numbers 11:16-17)
Moses does this and positions the seventy men around the tabernacle.
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him [Moses]; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. (Numbers 11:25)
Why does it say here that they only prophesied one time and did not do so again?
Patrick (p191) says that this was because their calling was to be civil rulers and not prophets. So the temporary gift of prophesy was a visible display to the nation that they had indeed been called by God to this office. After this it stopped because it was no longer needed.
What happened to Eldad and Medad?
We read that these two men were intended to be part of the seventy but, for some reason, had not joined the others at the tabernacle. When God came down and gave the seventy the gift of prophesy, these two men also received it even though they were not at the tabernacle with the others.
But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. (Numbers 11:26)
When Joshua is informed that these two men were prophesying in the camp of Israel, he is inflamed with zeal for Moses’ authority and honor.
So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” (Numbers 11:27-28)
Moses rebukes Joshua, however, and expresses the wish that all God’s people would be prophets. (Numbers 11:29)
Was the prophesy that Miriam and these seventy men different from the prophesy which God gave to Moses?
There is some indication already that this was the case. Miriam and the seventy receive a more temporary or occasional gift of prophecy. Miriam’s prophecy was accompanied by the playing of musical instruments. Moses, on the other hand, is always in possession of the spirit of prophecy; it is not something that comes and goes. Keil compares (bottom of p70) this prophesy with that of the New Testament. He says that the prophesy of the seventy is not “the foretelling of future things, but as speaking in an ecstatic and elevated state of mind, under the impulse and inspiration of the Spirit of God, just like the “speaking with tongues,” which frequently followed the gift of the Holy Ghost in the days of the apostles.” Edersheim also (p161). This difference is made explicit in the next chapter. Beecher disagrees with both (p74).
What story is found in the next chapter?
In this story, we are told of Miriam and Aaron objecting to Moses leadership of Israel. When God settles the matter, He states,
Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?” (Numbers 12:5-8)
Clearly, God speaks to Moses in a way that He does not speak to anyone else. (cf Deuteronomy 34:10) For our purposes here, it is clear that a prophet is someone who receives a message from God.
Were there false prophets in Israel?
Yes, we read of these in Deuteronomy.
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:15-22)
From this, we learn that a false prophet is someone who brings a message which he claims is from God, but it is not. The message was made up in his own mind or imagination. God calls this “speaking a word presumptuously.” We are also told here how Israel can discern between true and false prophets.
How were the Israelites to know the difference between a true and false prophet?
The simple test was that if the prophet’s prophecy came about as prophesied, then he was a true prophet. If not, he was a false prophet. There is one qualification to this, however.
What qualification to this simple test does God give?
This is also given us in Deuteronomy,
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
This scenario is especially difficult since the man in question here is able to do a real miracle and to make predictions that really come true.
Does this not contradict the test which God had given in Deuteronomy 18?
The key to understanding Deuteronomy 13 is that the prophecy given contradicts what is already the well-established word of God. Any person claiming to have a message from God such that they should turn to other gods is clearly false no matter what miracles they might bring in support it.
Were both men and women prophets in Israel?
Yes, we have already mentioned Miriam. Deborah (Judges 4:4) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) were also prophets. Joel prophesies of a coming day,
It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)
Samuel
Who is the next individual who was a prophet?
We next encounter the person of Samuel. All Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet because he had received messages from God.
Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.” Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3:16-21)
What else do we learn about prophets from the books of first and second Samuel?
In 1 Samuel 9:9, we are told that prophets were first called “seers רֹאֶה.” This is due to the fact that prophets saw a vision חָזוֹן. (1 Samuel 3:1; 1 Chronicles 17:15; 2 Chronicles 32:32; Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 7:13, 26)
In the next chapter, we read for the first time of an organized group of prophets.
What were these groups of prophets?
We read,
Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” A man there said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. (1 Samuel 10:9-13)
Edersheim (p44) says that this story shows that already at this time, there were these prophetic schools perhaps organized by Samuel himself or at least advanced by him. From here on in Israel’s history, these prophet schools become a “permanent institution in Israel.” Evidently, these organizations were training grounds, a kind of seminary, for prophets. There is evidence that there was such a school at Ramah where Samuel himself lived.
What leads one to believe that there was a school of the prophets at Ramah?
We read,
Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. It was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 19:18-24)
Here we have an organization of prophets with Samuel presiding over them. Beecher writes (p78),
This incident, as well as the previous one, presupposes organization of some sort. Concerning the forms and the purposes of the organizing, we have little information. We cannot escape the conclusion, however, that an educational element was included. The instruments of music in the one incident, and the concerted prophesying under the conduct of Samuel in the other, suggest that training in orchestral and choral music was made prominent. We shall not be far out if we suppose that instruction was given in patriotic history, in theology, in literary practice, in whatever would fit the disciples of Samuel to be preachers of the religion of Yahweh to their contemporaries. The remarkable blossoming out of Israel in the times of David and Solomon, in matters of literature and culture, was doubtless largely due to these prophetic organizations introduced by Samuel. It is probable, however, that these organizations were not merely schools, but were, like those of a later time, also centers of political and religious movements.
We read of other such communities at Bethel (2 Kings 2:3), Jericho (2 Kings 2:5), Gilgal (2 Kings 4:38) as well as near Jordan. (2 Kings 6:1–7)
Terminology
Who were the prophets in Israel?
The term “classical prophet” is sometimes used to refer to the standard list of major and minor prophets.
Why are some prophets called major and others minor?
This refers to the size of the collection of prophecies we have from a prophet. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel have much larger collections of prophecies than the minor prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Why do you call the books of the prophets a “collection of prophecies”?
Because rarely are the books of the prophets one continuous prophecy. They are a collection of the messages which God gave to that particular prophet. We have something similar in our own day when we refer to the collected writings of Thomas Jefferson or the works of John Owen.
If there are the classical prophets, then who are the non-classical prophets?
These are called the pre-classical prophets and are Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and the others mentioned above. The term “writing” prophet is another term used to refer to the classical prophets and “non-writing” prophet to the pre-classical prophets.
Sometimes one hears the term former and latter prophets. What are these?
The Jews divide up their canon of Scripture into the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets. This last category is further divided up into the former and the latter prophets. The former prophets refers to the histories of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The latter prophets are the classical prophets as stated above. It is noteworthy here that the Jews understand the histories of the former prophets to be prophetic; i.e. they are a message from God to His people. This is an important fact to keep in mind for both Jews and Christians.
What other terminology is used in reference to the prophets?
Prophets are sometimes categorized based on their ministry relative to the exile. Thus, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are called post-exilic prophets because their ministry came after Israel had returned from exile. Daniel and Ezekiel are known as exilic prophets because they were in exile when they received their messages from God. All the rest of the prophets are known as pre-exilic prophets because their ministry was before the exile and prophesying of its coming.
Call
What is meant here by a call to be a prophet?
Several of the prophets relate how God called them to be a prophet. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Micah, and Amos are prophets who tell us this story.
What does Isaiah say about his call to be a prophet?
In Isaiah 6, he tells how God gave him a vision of His glory. (Isaiah 6:1-4) After this vision, God asks this question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” To this question, Isaiah immediately responds, “Here I am; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) God then gives him his mission:
He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
What do we learn about a prophet from this account?
First, we learn of the prophet’s need for atonement before he can deliver the words of God. Isaiah had a profound sense of his own sin and guilt before God.
Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:5-7)
Second, Isaiah teaches us how even the preaching of the good news can be used by God to harden people in their sin. In Isaiah’s call, God mentions the possibility of repentance, reconciliation, and healing if Israel should turn and repent. (Isaiah 6:10) The purpose of this preaching, however, for Isaiah, is to render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim with the result that they will not hear, understand, turn, and be healed.
What does Jeremiah say about his call to be a prophet?
Jeremiah’s call does not come with so much majesty and glory. We read of a simple conversation between God and Jeremiah,
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Jeremiah protests that he is too young and a poor speaker for this kind of work. (Jeremiah 1:6) To this, God responds:
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:7-10)
What do we learn about a prophet from this account?
From Jeremiah, we learn about the opposition that is sure to arise when a prophet steps out to deliver the words of God.
Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
What does Ezekiel say about his call to be a prophet?
Like Isaiah, Ezekiel receives a vision of such unparalleled splendor (Ezekiel 1) that it causes him to collapse. (Ezekiel 1:28) The God commands Ezekiel to get up. (Ezekiel 2:1) Even then, the Holy Spirit is necessary to get Ezekiel on his feet. (Ezekiel 2:2) Then God speaks to him:
Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ “As for them, whether they listen or not–for they are a rebellious house–they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. (Ezekiel 2:3-7)
What do we learn about a prophet from this account?
First, Ezekiel’s call impresses on us the almost helpless state of the prophet when once God’s call was on him. When God called someone to be a prophet, they were no longer their own person. God took possession of them, and they came and went at His command. Six times, we read in Ezekiel about the Spirit of God coming on Ezekiel and “lifting him up.” (Ezekiel 3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 43:5) On other occasions, we read of “the hand of God” coming on him. (Ezekiel 1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1) God tells Ezekiel that He will both speak to him and open his mouth when he has a message to deliver. (Ezekiel 3:27)
Second, we see in Ezekiel the guilt that comes down on a prophet when he fails to deliver the message which God gave him.
At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself. (Ezekiel 3:16-21)
Message
Why is the message of the prophets often called a “burden?”
See Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, etc. This language reflects the fact that the word of God was like carrying a heavy burden. It was almost like a woman who is going into labor; she must deliver the child. She can’t hold the child in any longer. Jeremiah says that the word of God was like a fire in his bones.
O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction because for me the word of the LORD has resulted in reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,” then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire, shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it. (Jeremiah 20:7-9)
We see a similar thought in Paul. (1 Corinthians 9:16) Naegelsbach writes (p188):
The prophet describes his experience, when, having undertaken the prophetic calling, he attempts to escape from it. He had the feeling as if a fire were burning within him, which having no outlet would consume him, to which, therefore, he was obliged to give an outlet by expressing what was inwardly communicated to him.
Are there any themes or ideas which are common to the prophets?
Yes, Vos breaks these down into four major themes:
- The Nature and Attributes of Jehovah.
- The Bond between Jehovah and Israel.
- The Rupture of the Bond: The Sin of Israel.
- The Judgment and the Restoration: Prophetic Eschatology. (Biblical Theology, 234)
Explain the first of these.
Here we notice that the prophets are driven entirely by their understanding of God as the sovereign King of the universe and as the One who controls all things. Perhaps the greatest and most vivid representation of this is Isaiah’s vision.
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4)
The glory and majesty of God is the premise of all that the prophets spoke. The word they brought was from the Great King and Sovereign of heaven and earth.
Explain the second of these.
This bond is the covenant which God made with His people at Mt Sinai. This is represented in so many ways in the prophetic writings. One very graphic picture of this is given in Ezekiel 16 where God finds Israel, rescues her, and showers her with all kinds of gifts and privileges.
Explain the third of these.
This third idea is that this bond or covenant between God and Israel has been broken on numerous occasions. To return to Ezekiel 16, the child grows into adulthood and becomes very unfaithful to her Husband.
Explain the fourth of these.
The prophets speak of a time coming when God will make everything right again. To return to Ezekiel 16,
Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, so that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord GOD declares. (Ezekiel 16:60-63)