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"The witness of the prophets"

Text: Hosea 12:10

THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHETS

God had done much for His people. He had delivered them from Egypt. He had been with them through the Wilderness and then caused them to inherit Canaan, the Promised Land. God’s special set of servants were called prophets.

“I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”
Hosea 12:10

1. “I have also spoken by the prophets”

a) The prophets did not speak of their own authority.

b) The Person who was speaking was the LORD God Himself.

c) He spoke to His people by the prophets.

i) They carried messages from God.

ii) They were His spokesmen.

2. “And have multiplied visions”

a) This was how God communicated with His prophets.

b) He would give them vision of what He would do.

i) A vision of locusts (Amos 7:1)

ii) A vision of fire (Amos 7:4)

iii) A vision of a plumb line (Amos 7:7)

c) This enabled the prophet to understand what God was planning to do.

3. “I have given symbols”

a) The word “symbols” is better understood as “similitudes”.

b) It suggests that the very means of communication used by the prophets came from God.

c) Similitudes would include the following:

i) Use of comparison

ii) Use of contrast

iii) Use of parables

4. “Through the witness of the prophets”

a) They were preachers and teachers.

b) They were also intercessors.

c) They bore witness by their lives.