He Gave Us Prophets: A Prophet’s JobSample

Prophets as Watchmen & Messengers: Ezekiel 3:17, Haggai 1:13

Another term occasionally used for prophets is the Hebrew word tsōpheh (צֹפֶה), or a “watchman,” “one who keeps guard.” This metaphor compared prophets with the service of a normal watchman in ancient Israel. Cities in the ancient world had watchmen who scanned the horizon for expected and unexpected visitors. Prophets did the same by watching out for enemies and watching for the approach of God in blessing and in judgment. For example, in Ezekiel 3:17, God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel in this way: 

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 

In biblical times, advanced warning of an enemy’s approach or a friend’s visit was important to the affairs of a city. God revealed that his prophets often watched for impending doom and approaching blessings so that the people could have opportunity to prepare themselves. Prophets looked out and saw what was coming in dreams and in visions, and then they turned to the people and announced what was on the horizon.

Prophets were also occasionally designated by the Hebrew word mal’āk (מַלְאָךְ) which means “messenger.” In the ancient world of the Old Testament there were no telephones, no e-mail, no televisions. The only way to communicate over long distances was through human messengers, and messengers received a communiqué from one person, often a king or a military general, and would bear that message to its recipients. Very often messengers were used when it was urgent to communicate. The Old Testament designates prophets by this term because they received messages from God and bore those urgent communications to the people of God. For instance, when some Judahites returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile, they were tremendously discouraged. So, the Lord called Haggai, the prophet, and sent him with a message. For this reason, Haggai 1:13 speaks of the prophet in this way: 

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.

The designation of “messenger” makes it clear that prophets did not bring their own ideas to the people of God. On the contrary, they served as Yahweh’s envoys and spoke on the behalf of God.