We Believe In Jesus: The ProphetSample

Called by God: Ezekiel 2:1-2

In the Old Testament, God called many people to serve him as prophets. This call was not an invitation; it was a divine summons. God, the divine king, commanded one of his citizens to serve as his ambassador. We see this divine summons every time the Old Testament records the call of a prophet. 

For instance, consider the call of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 2:1-2:

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me (Ezekiel 2:1-2).

Here, we see that when God commanded Ezekiel to stand and hear the commission, he also sent his Spirit to ensure that Ezekiel complied. The calling of a prophet was an exercise of God’s authoritative choice as the heavenly king of his people.

God frequently issued these prophetic calls directly to the prophet—often audibly. God directly called Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, Isaiah in Isaiah 6, Amos in Amos 7, and Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1. 

But at other times, God commissioned prophets indirectly by instructing one prophet to call another. For instance, in 1 Kings 19:16, God commanded the prophet Elijah to commission his successor Elisha. This delegated calling also sheds light on the company of the prophets or the sons of the prophets seen in places like 1 Kings 20, and 2 Kings 2, which were groups of prophets centered around an established divinely-called prophet. But whether the call came directly to the prophet from God, or through an authorized servant of God, the prophet’s call ultimately came at the initiative of the Lord. Without this supernatural call no one could become a prophet, regardless of his or her good intentions, devotion to God, or knowledge of God’s word.