The Prophet

The prophets in the Old Testament are an interesting group of characters. They tended to be eccentric people who were generally disliked by kings and the people. This was primarily because their messages warned of judgment to a nation who turned from their God. Yet, what binds these people together is the reality that God literally put His very Words in their mouths and on their pens. The role of the prophet was to speak for God to the nation. Central to this claim is the glorious truth that the God who is speaks and makes Himself known. Moses was a significant prophet because He saw God face to face. And God makes an amazing promise to Moses, that one day He would raise up another prophet like Moses, whose message would come from the very face of God. While other prophets came and went, the people spent centuries looking for The Prophet. In the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus prophetically exposes her brokenness and need, and she recognizes that He is this promised prophet. In this story we see the entire purpose of God's prophetic revelation through Jesus---to bring God's love near and make God's redemption known.