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Prophetic Ways of Transmitting the Word of God

This article titled “Prophetic Ways of Transmitting the Word of God” aims at expounding the role of the Israelite prophets in communicating the Word of God to the people of their times. The purpose of this venture is to draw insights from the prophets to communicate God’s Word to the people of our times. This article consists of three parts. The first part tries to show that by their vocation, Israelite prophets were regarded primarily as official recipients and transmitters of the Word of the Lord (Jer 1:2), for they hear and speak what the Lord has spoken to them (Isa 1:2; 6:8-10). This role of the prophets is very well brought out in Deut 18:18, wherein the Lord himself says: “I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.” This is why the people of Israel expected from the prophets the word (dabar), as they expected instruction (torah) from the priest and counsel (esah) from the wise (Jer 18:18). Therefore if there is no prophet in Israel, there would be “famine of hearing the Word of God” (Am 8:1). The second part discusses the manner in which the prophets carried out their ministry of the Word of God. God entrusted the prophets with his Word not to keep it to themselves but to transmit it to the people. The article argues that the prophets have attempted to perform their ministry of God’s Word through at least four modes, namely through their words, deeds, life and writings. First of all, the prophet is a man of the Word. Whatever he speaks is initiated by God. As he is God’s messenger, he begins always his speech in the divine first person: “Thus says the Lord.” Secondly, prophetic message is more than words. The prophets drama tized their spoken word with symbolic action. A number of reports of symbolic action could be found in the prophetic literature. Thirdly, at times the very life of the prophets of the OT conveyed God’s Word to the people: the unhappy marriage of Hosea, the celibacy of Jeremiah, his exclusion from the Temple, the catalepsy of Ezekiel were still more eloquent than their words and symbolical actions. Finally the prophets transmitted God’s Word not only orally and by their very life, but also through writing scrolls. In its third part, the article explains the sufferings encountered by the prophets while delivering God’s Word. During their ministry, the prophets risked their reputations and their lives by challenging the accepted standards of society. Because of their suffering, at times, some of them felt the temptation to abandon their ministry. The article concludes by inviting us to appreciate the prophetic imagination and creativity which they employed to adapt alternative means of communication in the ministry. In order to make a memorable impression of God’s Word in the minds of our audience, we are invited to discern the most fitting model of transmission for the appropriate situation for our times.