Preparing to Read Mark · Unit 11 of 16
When kings and people turn away from God, who speaks the truth?
Bible readings: 1 Kings 16–19, 21; Amos 5; Isaiah 1 (selected passages)
In the previous stage, we saw that after Solomon’s death, Israel’s kingdom divided into northern “Israel” and southern “Judah.” Both had their own kings and faced political and spiritual crises. At this point another important group appears increasingly often in Scripture: the prophets.
1. A Prophet’s Main Role Is Not “Predicting the Future”
Today, many people’s first association with “prophet” is predicting the future. In the Bible, however, a prophet’s more fundamental role is to speak to kings and people on God’s behalf.
“The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart as holy. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”
— Jeremiah 1:4–5
Prophets do speak about the future, but often because they are warning the people: continued unfaithfulness to God will bring judgment; if they turn back, God still calls them to return to him.
A prophet’s basic task is to bring God’s message to people in their own time, not merely to predict a distant future.
2. Prophets Remind the People of Their Covenant with God
Israel was not a people without a history. God had made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai and given them the law. The prophets therefore often reminded the people that they already knew how God required them to live.
When kings and people worshiped other gods, oppressed the vulnerable, or maintained religious ceremonies without truly following God’s ways, the prophets exposed these failures.
3. King Ahab of the North and Baal Worship
Ahab was an important king in the northern kingdom’s history. Scripture particularly notes that he and his wife Jezebel promoted Baal worship, worsening idolatry in the north.
“Ahab also made an Asherah. What he did provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, more than all the kings of Israel before him.”
— 1 Kings 16:33
The prophet Elijah appeared in this setting. He was not a king and had no army, yet he dared to deliver an unwelcome message directly to the king.
4. Elijah on Mount Carmel: Whom Will Israel Follow?
The encounter between Elijah and Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel is one of the most famous scenes in Kings. The real issue was not a spectacle, but whom the people of Israel would acknowledge as their God.
“Elijah came forward and said to all the people, ‘How long will you remain divided between two loyalties? If the LORD is God, follow the LORD; if Baal is God, follow Baal.’”
— 1 Kings 18:21
At the story’s end, God answered Elijah’s altar with fire, and the people acknowledged that the LORD was God. The event brought Israel back to its most fundamental question: would they remain faithful to the God who had made a covenant with them, or turn to worship other gods?
5. Prophets Also Rebuke Social Injustice
The prophets were not concerned only with whether people worshiped idols. They cared equally about how the rich treated the poor, whether rulers abused their power, and whether society was marked by oppression and injustice.
King Ahab wanted the vineyard of a man named Naboth. When Naboth refused to sell it, Jezebel abused her power to arrange his death, and Ahab took his land. Elijah confronted Ahab directly over this.
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Have you murdered a man and also taken his property?’”
— 1 Kings 21:19
This shows us that, in the prophets’ message, worshiping God cannot be separated from how we treat other people.
6. Elisha Succeeds Elijah
After Elijah, Elisha continued his prophetic work. Second Kings records many events involving Elisha: helping a poor widow, healing the Aramean commander Naaman, and aiding people amid warfare.
“Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Before I am taken away from you, ask what you want me to do for you.’ Elisha replied, ‘May the spirit that moves you move me in double measure.’”
— 2 Kings 2:9
Elijah and Elisha show that prophets are not simply people who stand in religious places and speak. They enter directly into the realities of kingship, war, poverty, and everyday life.
7. Later Prophets Left Writings
The deeds of Elijah and Elisha are recorded mainly in Kings. Later, the Bible also preserves many books named after prophets, including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah.
These prophets lived at different times and faced different circumstances, but their messages often share several themes: turn away from idols, keep the covenant with God, practice justice, and heed the warning that persistent unfaithfulness will have grave consequences.
8. Amos: God Wants More Than Religious Ceremonies
During one prosperous period in the northern kingdom, society was nevertheless marked by stark inequality and oppression. The prophet Amos severely rebuked those who worshiped while also practicing injustice.
“Let fairness surge like great waters, and righteousness flow like a mighty river.”
— Amos 5:24
This does not mean that sacrifice or worship has no value. Rather, if religious activities make no difference at all to how people treat others, that worship has lost the substance it should have.
In the prophetic message, faithfulness to God is expressed not only in worship but also in justice, mercy, and everyday living.
9. Hosea: Marriage as an Image of Israel’s Unfaithfulness
The prophet Hosea uses a powerful marriage image to describe God’s relationship with Israel: God remains faithful to his covenant, while Israel turns to other gods like an unfaithful spouse.
“Come, let us return to the LORD! He has torn us, but he will also heal us; he has wounded us, but he will also bind our wounds.”
— Hosea 6:1
The prophets’ warnings are therefore not simply declarations that “God is angry.” They are calls for the people to return within a covenant relationship that already exists.
10. Isaiah: Worship, Sin, and Future Hope
Isaiah, a prophet in southern Judah, likewise rebuked false worship and injustice. He pointed out that performing religious ceremonies while refusing to change one’s life was not what God wanted.
“Wash yourselves and become clean. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil; learn to do good. Seek fairness and rescue the oppressed.”
— Isaiah 1:16–17
Yet the prophets’ message was not only rebuke. Even amid judgment, they increasingly spoke of an important hope: God had not abandoned his plan and would still bring restoration in the future. This thread of hope becomes increasingly significant as the story continues.
11. Why Do Prophets So Often Clash with Kings?
Because kings do not determine the prophets’ message. Their responsibility is not to make rulers comfortable, but to judge the conduct of kings and people according to God’s requirements.
In Scripture, then, the true question is not “How powerful is the king?” but “Is the king faithful to God?” Even a king remains under God’s covenant and law.
Kings may hold political power, but prophets remind everyone that Israel’s true king is still God.
12. The Warnings Grow More Severe
As north and south persisted in turning away from God, the prophetic warnings grew more severe: if the people continued to break the covenant, the nation itself could face destruction. Eventually Assyria conquered the north, Babylon conquered the south, and many people were taken from their homes into exile.
13. Key Points from This Stage
- Prophets communicate God’s message to the kings and people of their time, rather than merely predict the future.
- Prophets call Israel to remain faithful to its covenant with God, abandon idolatry, and value justice and mercy.
- Prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah brought warnings and calls to the people in different periods.
- When the people persistently refused to return, the prophets warned of national judgment while also preserving hope for future restoration.
14. Where Does the Biblical Story Go Next?
The prophets warned the people again and again, but neither north nor south fully turned back. Israel would now face its greatest national crisis since the exodus: the loss of land, kingdom, and temple.