He Gave Us Prophets: The Purpose of PredictionsSample

Example #3: Jeremiah 31

What certainty or confidence could Old Testament believers have when they heard a prediction? How confident could they be that God would fulfill the predictions made by the prophets?

To answer this question it will help to review the kinds of predictions we find in Old Testament prophecy.  One axis along which we may place Old Testament predictions is their variation between covenant blessings and judgments. Prophetic predictions may be classified as announcing God’s blessings in nature and war and His judgments in nature and war. All prophetic predictions fall somewhere along the range of greater and lesser judgments and blessings. You will recall that many kinds of small blessings and judgments were announced by the prophets, but the greatest judgment was the threat of exile and the greatest blessing was restoration after exile. This basic approach to prophetic predictions helps us see at a glance the basic message that the prophets gave to their original audiences.

At this point, however, we need to add a third dimension to our organization of prophetic predictions. Old Testament prophets not only told their listeners about greater or lesser blessings and judgments, they also indicated, in one way or another, the level of God’s determination to carry through with these judgments. On one end of the spectrum, the prophets told their listeners that God had a very low level of determination to carry through with a particular scenario. On the other end of the spectrum, they indicated that God was very highly determined to carry through with the predictions. It’s very important to remember that when the prophets speak of God having high or low levels of determination to carry out a prophecy, they are speaking of Him in very human terms. In terms of God’s eternal, unchangeable plan, God would always accomplish all that He desired. But when God was interacting with human creatures and working out His plan in providence, He sometimes revealed that His determination was very high, and other times He revealed that His determination was very low.