He Gave Us Prophets: Literary Analysis Of The ProphetsSample

Judgment Oracles: Micah 6:1-16

So we’ve seen then that the prophets had typical speeches that covered both the blessings of God and the curses of God. But many times we find in the prophets what we might call mixed speeches. Now these mixed speeches come in many different forms and we can only touch on a few of them. But what we have to remember is that these mixed speeches had the potential both for referring to the blessings of God and the curses of God. 

First, we may speak of judgment-salvation oracles where judgment is threatened against some and blessings are offered to others within the same speech. Isaiah 57:14-21 is a good example of a mixed speech with words of judgment for the wicked and salvation for the righteous. 

In addition, many times the prophets call people to repentance warning of judgment and offering blessings to those who repent. An example of a call to repentance can be found in Isaiah 55:6-13. There the prophet calls God’s people to turn from their evil ways. 

At other times prophets will call their listeners to war. Again, these calls are mixed because they may be calls to victory or to defeat. For example, in Hosea 5:8-11 we find a call to war, to prepare to be attacked by the judgment of God. 

Another example of mixed speeches is the prophetic disputation. Prophets entered into disputations or arguments with other prophets. For instance, in Micah 2:6-11 the prophet argued against the views of the false prophets. Disputations announce either blessing or judgment to come. 

Finally, the prophets declared mixed messages in the genre of parables. Parables may be the positive announcement of God’s grace or the negative announcement of His judgment. Isaiah 5:1-7 is a powerful example of a parable in the prophets. There, the prophet Isaiah likened Israel to a vineyard.

There are many kinds of mixed oracles that we find throughout the prophets, yet as we come upon them, we should always be alert to the fact that these speeches may serve either to announce covenant blessings or curses.

Click here to watch He Gave Us Prophets: Literary Analysis of the Prophets, lesson six in the series He Gave Us Prophets. thirdmill.org