I easily forget what I write---especially months or years ago. When I was adding to my Biographical Bible Blog the other day, I came across these two paragraphs that introduce the Major Prophets.
If
they were active in ministry today, the Major Prophets, with the possible
exception of Daniel, would be regarded as seriously demented. They were not
merely those who appear at outdoor festivals with placards declaring The End is
Near! Such activity would have been far too tame. Isaiah walked around naked
for three years. The weeping Jeremiah wore a yoke around his neck and broke
clay jars and was mocked and ridiculed day and night. Ezekiel lay on his side
for more than a year (and that is the least of his apparent antics). Indeed,
were they making their rounds today, the prophets would be deemed certifiable.
They hear the voice of God and
comply with the directives no matter how bizarre they appear to be. And for all
the indignity they endure, their reward is mockery. God in past times had often
made strange demands on the patriarchs and judges and kings, but they witnessed
the results in military victories and eye-popping miracles. Such was not
typically the case with these prophets. Zealous in their faithfulness to God,
they fueled their engines on high-octane humiliation.
