The beacon lights of prophecy, an interpretation of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deutero-Isaiah

Preface

These lectures are intended primarily for the preacher and layman, not the professional biblical scholar. Questions of literary criticism are consequently either passed over altogether or dealt with very briefly. The main conclusions of modern biblical scholarship are assumed and occasionally stated, but not discussed. What is aimed at is a vital interpretation of the prophetic movement and especially its six greatest literar>^ representatives.

The standpoint here represented differs in one regard from the current view. It is here held that eschatology preceded literary prophecy instead of the reverse. There is, therefore, no valid ground for eliminating the Messianic passages from the w^ritings of the preexilic prophets. These men were not merely preachers of repentance. They were heralds of the coming kingdom of God. They believed profoundly in a marvelous and not distant manifestation of Jehovah in doom and redemption. This manifestation was to be final and to mark a new era in the history of mankind. Only as this fact is recognized, can the intense passion of the prophets be fully understood. It was not simply historical forces and temporal conditions with which they dealt. The religious leverage of their message is to be found in their eschatological outlook.

I am deeply indebted to the Rev. Lucius H. Bugbee, D.D., for reading the manuscript and making a number of valuable suggestions.

Albert C. Knudson.

Chapter I PAGE

The History and Nature of Prophecy i

Importance of Hebrew prophecy, p. i — The rank and file of the prophetic order, p. 2 — The prophetic bands in the time of Samuel, p. 2 — The prophetic guilds in the time of Elijah, p. 6 — Deterioration of the prophetic order, and rise of the false prophets, p. 7 — Preliterary prophets, p. 10 — Relation of Moses to prophecy, p. 11 — Samuel, p. 12 — Nathan, Gad, and Ahijah, p. 15 — Elijah, p. 16 — Elisha, p. 19 — Literary prophets, p. 19 — Cause of the rise of literary prophecy, p. 20 — Relation of the literary prophets to their predecessors and the political developments of their own time, p. 21 — Classification of the literary prophets, p. 26 — Nature of prophecy, p. 28 — The Hebrew terms for prophet and their relation to the idea of prediction, p. 28 — Prophecy as compared with divination, p. 31 — Fundamental difference between the prophet and diviner, p. 36 — Clairvoyant quality of the prophetic mind and possible reasons therefor, p. 39 — Comparison of Hebrew prophets with Greek philosophers, p. 45 — ^Function of prophet and priest contrasted, p. 49 — Differences between prophet and apocalyptist, p. 50 — The eschatological element in the teaching of the literary prophets and its importance, p. 52 — The prophets not merely preachers of repentance but heralds of a new kingdom, p. 55.

Chapter H

His present distinction due to the work of modern critics, p. 56 — His home and its influence upon his mental

PAGE

development, p. 60 — Relation of his message of doom to Judah, p. 61 — His occupation and its bearing on his intellectual life, p. 63 — His prophetic call, p. 65 — Significance of his message of doom, p. 67 — Analysis of the book, p. 71 — The impending ruin as described by- Amos, p. 72 — The popular trust in ceremonialism and Israel's election, p. 77 — Moral evils of the day, p. 81 — Righteousness the one requirement of Jehovah, p. 82 — Amos 9. 8-15 not the work of a later hand, p. 84.

Chapter III

The importance of Hosea, like that of Amos, a modern discovery, p. 89 — Political conditions during his time, p. 92 — His home, p. 94 — His relation to the priesthood, p. 96 — The story of his marriage and its interpretation, p. 97 — Relation of his marriage to his prophetic call, p. 102 — Teaching and structure of chs. 1-3, p. 104 — Analysis of chs. 4-14, p. 106 — The prophet's message of doom and its significance, p. 107 — The moral evils of his day, p. no — The corrupt worship, p. iii — Hosea's denunciation of foreign alliances, p. 115 — His antipathy to the monarchy, p. 116 — Israel's cardinal sin, p. 117 — Jehovah's love for Israel, p. 119 — The prophet's message of hope, p. 121.

Chapter IV

Reasons for Isaiah's preeminence among the prophets, p. 125 — His home and family, p. 127 — His prophetic call, p. 128 — The historical background of his ministry, p. 131 — Interview with Ahaz, p. 135 — Scenes illustrating the prophet's opposition to rebellion against Assyria, p. 136 — Isaiah's attitude toward Assyria, p. 141 — Analysis of the book, p. 143 — Moral and religious condition of Judah, p. 146 — Points of resemblance between Isaiah and the two preceding prophets, p. 147 — Isaiah a religious

CONTENTS

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teacher, not a practical statesman, p. 150 — Inviolability of Jerusalem, p. 155 — Doctrine of the remnant, p. 156 — The Messianic prophecies, p. 157 — Interpretation of Isa. 7. 14-17, p. 160.

Chapter V Jeremiah the Prophet of Personal Piety 165

Teaching and influence of Jeremiah as compared with that of the preceding prophets, p. 165 — His prophetic call, p. 169 — Political background of his ministry, p. 172 — The Scythian invasion, p. 174 — ^Jeremiah's relation to the Deuteronomic reform, p. 176 — His experiences during the reign of Jehoiakim, p. 179 — Reign of Zedekiah and fall of Jerusalem, p. 182 — Origin and analysis of the book of Jeremiah, p. 184 — Jeremiah's message of doom, p. 185 — Moral and religious conditions during his time, p. 188 — His conception of human nature and of the need of a radical change of character, p. 189 — Message of hope, p. 191 — The Messiah and new covenant, p. 193 — ^Jeremiah's self-revelations, p. 195 — His suffering, p. 196 — His attitude toward God, p. 198.

Chapter VI Ezekiel the Prophet of Individualism 202

The priestly element in Ezekiel 's work and its significance, p. 202 — Relation of his teaching to that of Jeremiah, p. 205 — His life, p. 207 — Prophetic call, p. 207 — Absolute sovereignty of Jehovah, p. 210 — Ezekiel's sternness, p. 211 — His commission, p. 213 — His visions, p. 215 — Was he a cataleptic? p. 216 — His symbolical actions, p. 219 — Evidence that he had an active ministry and was not merely a writer, p. 221 — Analysis of the book, p. 224 — Ezekiel's message of doom as compared with that of the preceding prophets, p. 225 — The sins of Israel, p. 226 — Message of hope, p. 228 — Significance of chs. 38-39, p. 229 — Interpretation of chs. 40-48, p. 230 — Israel's future according to chs. 34-37,

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p. 231 — Anticipations of Pauline teaching, p. 234 — Doctrine of individualism, p. 235.

Chapter VII Deutero-Isaiah the Prophet of Universalism 240

Reasons for detaching Isa. 40-66 from the rest of the book, p. 240 — Relation of Deutero-Isaiah to Isaiah, p. 241 — Authorship of chs. 56-66, p. 243 — Deutero- Isaiah's home and ministry, p. 244 — Conflicting views concerning his date and the theme of his book, p. 246 — Objections to a post-exilic date, p. 250 — Eschatological element in Deutero-Isaiah, p. 253 — His message almost exclusively one of hope, p. 255 — Restoration of the exiles and inauguration of a new era in the history of the world, p. 259 — Jehovah as sole deity, the eternal and transcendent Creator of heaven and earth, p. 262 — Jehovah as a God of grace, p. 265 — Cyrus, p. 266 — Israel outside of the servant-passages, p. 267 — The Suffering Servant, p. 269 — Deutero-Isaiah's universalism, p. 274.

Index of Scripture Passages 278

Xll

Chapter 1 The History And Nature Of Prophecy

Prophecy is the supreme gift of Israel to the world. There is nothing comparable to it in the religious history of mankind. Other peoples have had their great religious teachers: the Hindus their Buddha, the Persians their Zoroaster, the Arabians their Mohammed. But nowhere do we find a succession of men extending over several centuries of time, who entertained such lofty conceptions of religion, devoted themselves with such passion and power to the realization of these conceptions, and contributed so much to the permanent moralization and spiritualization of religion, as did the prophets of Israel. These men occupy a unique place in religious history. To them more than to any other group of men the world is indebted for its richest and noblest spiritual treasure.

In the following chapters we are to study six of the greatest of these prophets. But preliminary to these special studies, it is necessary that we give some account both of the history and nature of prophecy in general. We begin with the history.

z

History of Prophecy

Prophecy in the Old Testament is by no means a simple phenomenon. It contains different and even discordant elements. First, we may distinguish the rank and file of the prophetic order. These prophets come into special prominence at two important crises of the nation's history — during the Philistine wars of the eleventh century and the Syrian wars of the ninth century. But they are frequently referred to by the canonical prophets, and appear as late as the time of Nehemiah (6. 10-14). It is probable, then, that they formed a continuous institution in Israel, at least from the eleventh century before Christ down into the postexilic period.

Groups or bands of prophets first appear in the time of Samuel (i Sam. 10. 5-13). They then apparently moved about the country devoting themselves to a rather extravagant type of religious life. They carried musical instruments with them, and by means of music and song seem to have worked themselves up into a state of frenzy. Indeed, so conspicuous a feature of their life was this physical excitement that they were called madmen (2 Kings 9. 11 ; Hos. 9. 7), and the verb "prophesy" came to be used in the sense of "rave" (i Sam. 18. 10). They were thus ecstatics, resembling to a certain extent modern dervishes and the ancient Greek worshipers of

Dionysus. They also bore some resemblance to the prophets of Baal as described in i Kings 1 8. 25-29. The latter fact has led to the theory that prophecy was not an independent institution in Israel but was borrowed from the Canaanites. In support of this view it is claimed that the Hebrew word for ''prophet," nabij, was of foreign origin. But this claim is without adequate foundation. There is, it is true, no verbal root in Hebrew from which nabi could have been derived; but this is also true of many other Hebrew words, such as those for "blood" and "priest," which no one thinks of regarding as loan-words. Then, too, the name nabi is applied to a number of persons before the time of Samuel, such as Abraham (Gen. 20. 7, 17), Moses (Deut. 34. 10), Miriam (Exod. 15. 20), and Deborah (Judg. 4. 4). This does not necessarily mean that these persons were called prophets in their own time. We may have here simply the view of a later writer. But his view would be significant as representing the thought of his own day. It is also in harmony with Amos 2. iif. and Jer. 7. 25, where it is implied that there was a continuous succession of prophets from the time of Moses down. Further, there is no indication anywhere in the Old Testament that Hebrew prophecy was ever looked upon as having any connection whatsoever with the Canaanites. Everything points in the opposite direction. The prophets, for instance, are in several cases (Amos 2. II ; 2 Kings lo. 15^.; and Jer. 35) brought into close relation with the Nazirites and Rechabites, both of whom represented reactions against Canaanitic institutions rather than dependence upon them. Likewise, the prophetic dress, the hairy mantle, points back to the wilderness period. It is, then, in the highest degree probable that prophecy in Israel goes back to the very beginning of the nation's history.

But while prophecy did not originate in the time of Samuel, it seems to have received a new impulse and to have undergone a marked development in his day. For one thing, it took on the character of a group movement. Previously, it seems to have been confined to individuals. Here and there a person was seized with the Spirit of God (compare Judg. 5. 12; 6. 34; 14. 6, 19). But in the time of Samuel whole groups of men were thus affected. The prophetic spirit became contagious. The reason for this new development was probably the national and religious crisis brought on by the victories of the Philistines. The ark had been captured, Shiloh desecrated, and the land in large part subdued. It was natural that this critical state of affairs should awaken intense excitement, and that whole bodies of men should now be swept away by the same spirit of ecstasy which had heretofore laid hold only of individuals. Then, too, this group movement tended to make the prophets more aggressive. Previously they seem to have waited for people to call upon them, simply answering such questions as were asked. Now they take the offensive. They enter into the life of the people and seek to direct the course of events. They thus become a new and significant factor in the history of the nation.

Furthermore, it seems not improbable that a change took place at this time in the content of their teaching. Previously they had dealt chiefly with the present; now they begin to deal more and more with the future, and not only with details of the future, but with the whole future development of the kingdom of Jehovah. In a word, their message becomes eschatological. To some extent this outlook into the future is inherent in the very nature of religion, and so must have been at least implicit in the work of Moses. But the ecstatic character of the prophetic movement in the time of Samuel naturally tended to bring it into prominence. For ecstasy thrives on the contrast between the real and the ideal, and on the expectation of the speedy realization of the ideal. Traces of this early eschatology are probably to be found in Num. 23 and 24 ; 2 Sam.

7. 8-16; and Gen. 49. 8-12. But the clearest evidence of its existence is furnished by the later written prophecies. These prophecies contain eschatological conceptions which were manifestly not original with the canonical prophets themselves. They also contain allusions to eschatological ideas current among the people (Amos 5. 18 ; Isa. 28. 15). The origin of these conceptions must, then, be found in the period anterior to the eighth century before Christ, and, if so, it is most naturally to be looked for in the early prophetic circles.

During the two centuries intervening between Samuel and Elijah we have no reference to the prophetic bands. Nevertheless, during this period they seem to have grown in importance and influence. In the time of Elijah we find four hundred of them at the court of Ahab (i Kings 22. 5fif.). The pious chamberlain, Obadiah, hid one hundred of them from the wrath of Jezebel (i Kings 18. 13). They were located at various places throughout the land — Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and Samaria. From being itinerant bands they had now become settled colonies. They were known as "sons of the prophets," which means that they formed guilds or corporations. They lived together, had their meals in common, and some of them at least were married (2 Kings 4. 1-7, 38-41). They seem also to have been under the direction of men of superior spiritual endowment, such as Elijah and Elisha. This no doubt tended to moderate their ecstatic excitement and to direct their energies along higher and more fruitful lines.

One naturally wonders what the members of these prophetic guilds busied themselves with from day to day. They seem to have been supported by the gifts of others (i Kings 14. 3; 2 Kings 5. 15; 8, 9ff.; Amos 7. 12; Mic. 3, 5), so that they must have had most of their time to themselves. No doubt they devoted considerable attention to music and song and such other exercises as would prepare them to receive the word of Jehovah; for their chief function was to declare the divine will wherever and whenever it was called for or needed. It is probable also that, like the Christian monks, they interested themselves in literature. The history of the nation would naturally have its important lessons for them. They therefore cherished the traditions handed down from the past. Then, too, they probably devoted themselves with special interest to the future, the development of the kingdom of God, the plan of Jehovah. This, indeed, seems to have been their peculiar sphere, the main theme of their reflections.

Like all similar institutions, the prophetic guilds were exposed to the danger of corruption.

This grew partly out of the fact that they were dependent for their support upon the gifts of others. They were consequently in danger of delivering such messages as would serve their own selfish ends. To those who supplied their wants they cried, 'Teace," but against those who refused to do so they prepared war (Mic. 3. 5). This seems to have been a serious evil in the time of the canonical prophets, though, judging from the story of Gehazi (2 Kings 5. 2off.), it was probably not unknown in earlier times. Then, again, there was danger of formalism and professionalism. Prophecy had had its origin in intense earnestness. The ecstatic excitement of the early prophets had been, in large part at least, an expression of genuine enthusiasm. This was no doubt also the case with the later prophets in seasons of peril and special urgency. But at other times their excited demeanor was probably cultivated in an artificial way and so came to be chiefly neurotic in character with little if any spiritual element in it. The prophetic order thus deteriorated, losing the moral power it once possessed.

Hence when we come to the eighth century we find a sharp cleavage in the ranks of the prophets. A foreshadowing of this cleavage appears in the case of Micaiah and the four hundred prophets who gathered about Ahab (i Kings 22. 5ff.).

But not until a century later did the cleavage become serious. It then gave rise to what are known as the false prophets, who are referred to again and again in the prophetic books. These prophets are commonly opposed to the canonical prophets, but this does not mean that they embraced all of the lower rank of prophets. Many of the rank and file of the prophetic order were true prophets of Jehovah, and were ready to seal with their blood their loyalty to the truth (2 Kings 9. 7; 21. 10-16; Jer. 26. 20-23). As over against these, however, there were large numbers who fell under the baneful influences of professionalism, divining for money, and still others who unconsciously yielded to the dominant national spirit, allowing themselves to be blinded by the hopes and wishes of the people.

Prophets of this type naturally contradicted the gloomy messages of the canonical prophets, announcing peace when there was no peace and encouraging hope when there was no hope. Hence they are called false prophets. This, however, does not mean that they were intentional deceivers. They were, rather, self -deceived. This was possible because true prophecy had in the course of centuries undergone a change. At the outset it was both national and ethical. Later it became almost exclusively ethical. But this change was not accepted by all the prophets;

many reacted against its apparently antinational tendency, and in so doing were perfectly sincere. While, then, they were really prophesying ''out of their own heart," and following their own spirit without having seen anything (Ezek. 13. 2ff. ), they themselves thought they were declaring the true word of Jehovah. It was so in the case of the four hundred prophets who encouraged Ahab to go up to Ramoth-Gilead against the Syrians — a fact which Micaiah himself acknowledges in an indirect way by ascribing their message to a lying spirit which Jehovah had placed in their mouth (i Kings 22. 22). It was probably so also in the case of Hananiah, who, in opposition to Jeremiah, incited revolt against Nebuchadrezzar, predicting that within two years the Babylonian yoke would be broken (Jer. 28). "If," says Ezekiel, "the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, Jehovah, have deceived that prophet" (14. 9). It is impossible, then, to regard all the so-called false prophets as impostors. They, rather, represent a lower t3^pe of prophecy, which, like true prophecy, began with the fusion of national and ethical interests, but which, unlike true prophecy, allowed the national to predominate over the ethical.

From the rank and file of the prophetic order we now turn to those individual prophets who stand out conspicuously in the history and literature of Israel. These men are usually divided into two classes — the literary and preliterary prophets. The former correspond to our canonical prophets; the latter are the distinguished prophets of earlier times, of whom we have accounts in the historical books of the Old Testament. We take up the latter first.

Of the preliterary prophets there are two of special importance — Samuel and Elijah. To them we shall devote chief attention. But before taking them up we need to consider the relation of Moses to prophecy. He is himself referred to as a prophet in Hos. 12. 13, and in Deut. 18. 15, 18 is spoken of as a representative of the highest type of a prophet. There can also be no doubt that he was imbued with the true prophetic spirit. In view of this, one might be inclined to class him with the preliterary prophets. But to do so would be to misrepresent his true historical position. The traditional view which distinguishes him from the prophets is justified. It was he who laid the foundation of Israel's national and religious life. Before his time the Israelites seem to have been polytheists. They worshiped nature gods. Moses established among them the worship of one God, Jehovah, who in a marvelous way had delivered them from the Egyptians and thus proven himself to be not only

II a God of nature but the God of history. Such a wonderful God naturally demanded from his people complete surrender and absolute obedience. His worship, therefore, was in essence ethical from the outset (Amos 2. 10; 5. 25; Hos. 2. 15 ; 9. 10; Jer. 2. 2ff.). It was also imageless, and the conditions of the time made it centralized. We have consequently in the work of Moses the germ of the whole subsequent religious development in Israel. He was the great creative personality in her history. He opened up the fountain from which the later stream of prophecy flowed forth. Or, to use a figure borrowed from Cornill, the prophets simply put out at interest the pound they inherited from Moses. His work was the presupposition of theirs.

The figure of Samuel stands out conspicuously in the prophetic narratives of the Old Testament. But it is not easy to determine exactly in what his significance lay. Some have tried to reduce him to a "seer of a small town, known only as a clairvoyant, whose information concerning lost or strayed property was reliable." But his reputation in later times makes it incredible that he should have been such an humble personage. Moreover, there are indications in the very earliest narratives (i Sam. 9. i to 10. 15; 11. 1-16) that in his own time he was widely known and had a mission to the nation as well as to individuals. Saul's uncle, for instance, only needs to hear his name mentioned in order to be at once interested in what he had said to his nephew (i Sam. 10. I4f.). The very fact also that Samuel anointed Saul to be king is evidence that his own interests were by no means local and private (i Sam. 9. II ; 10. i). Accordingly it is probable that the later representations of him and his work (2 Sam. 3. 19^.; 7; 8; 10. 17-27; 12; 15) have a substantial historical basis. In any case, the times in which he lived were critical. The very existence of the nation was at stake. And under those circumstances it was he who first saw the need of a monarchy as the one way of saving Israel politically, and who pointed out the new king. He thus introduced a new era in the history of Israel. He brought in a new form of government, and in the person of the king gave an outward and visible expression to the religious unity of the people.

Much stress has been laid upon an annotation found in i Sam. 9. 9, which originally belonged after verse 11. We here read that "Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer : for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer." From this it is inferred that the name "prophet" was not applied to Samuel in his own day. He was then called a seer. And it is true that he is to be distinguished from the members of the prophetic bands of his day. He was a different kind of person. None of their wild frenzy belonged to him. He was a calm, clear-sighted man. But it does not follow from the above annotation that he was not called a prophet (nabi) by the people of his own time. All that can be justly deduced from this verse is that in the annotator's day it was customary to say *'Let us go to the prophet," and not ''Let us go to the seer." But that the expression, ''Let us go to the prophet," was not used in Samuel's time is nowhere stated. The probability, as we have already seen, is that the name nabi was in current use before his day, and was on occasion applied to him as well as to other seers.

Exactty what relation Samuel sustained to the prophetic bands of his time is not certain. In one passage (i Sam. 19. 18-24) he is represented as standing at their head, but this passage is usually regarded as belonging to a late date and as not strictly historical. That he, however, had some connection with them is a priori probable. He may to some extent have directed their activities, as did Elijah and Elisha later, and so may have used them in furthering his own national purposes. In any case, he must have had some way of bringing his influence to bea^ upon the religious life of his day. For the situation was critical religiously as well as politically. Under the depressing influence of PhiHstine overlordship there was danger of syncretism and apostasy from Jehovah. Some powerful stimulus was needed to guard against these dangers. And if the later traditions concerning Samuel have any basis in fact, there can be no doubt that he to a large extent furnished this stimulus, and along with it quickened the national consciousness to a point where it was ready to accept the leadership of Saul and to present a united front against the Philistine oppressor.

Between the time of Samuel and that of Elijah we have the prophets Nathan, Gad, and Ahijah, and in Elijah's own time Micaiah. These men might be called the minor prophets of the preliterary period. Very little is recorded of them. But from what has come down to us it is clear that they stood as representatives of the morals, customs, and faith of the past. They watched with suspicion the new developments in the monarchy, as Samuel also seems to have done (i Sam. 15). Anything that indicated a declining faith in Jehovah they condemned. For this reason Gad denounced the census taken by David (2 Sam. 24). He saw in it a tendency on the part of the king to trust unduly in his newly won political power. For this reason, also, Ahijah incited Jeroboam tO' revolt and predicted the division of the monarchy, (i Kings ii. 29ft.) This division was a penalty for the worldly and idolatrous tendencies of Solomon's reign. We likewise have the same loyalty to the righteous God of the fathers in Nathan's denunciation of the sin of David (2 Sam. 12). And Micaiah's repeated messages of evil are to be understood as expressions of antagonism to Ahab's violations of established right and faith.

It is in Elijah, however, that this attitude of the preliterary prophets comes to its fullest and most striking expression.

There are three scenes in his life that stand out conspicuously: first, his conflict with Jezebel and the prophets of Baal (i Kings 18. 16-46); second, his journey to Horeb the mount of God (i Kings 19. 1-18) ; and third, his announcement of doom upon the royal house because of the judicial murder of Naboth (i Kings 21). In all of these he testifies his loyalty to the God of Sinai. In his conflict with the queen he reasserts the ancient jealousy of Jehovah, a jealousy that would brook no other god in Israel, and, least of all, a nature-god like the Tyrian Baal. In his denunciation of the murder of Naboth he proclaims again the righteousness of the God of the fathers, a righteousness that guards the interests of all and knows no distinction between high and low, but requires obedience from all alike. And by his journey to the mount of God he declares symbolically that the aim of all his work is to defend and revive the law and faith of Sinai. But while Elijah thus harks back to the founder of Israel's religion, his own teaching was not a mere revival of that of Moses. Altered conditions demanded an altered message. And not only was this the case. Religious thought in Israel during the intervening centuries had not been at a standstill. The prophets had been conservers of the past, but they had also been creators of new conceptions of the future. Sinai had not been to them a Jacob's pillow to sleep upon, but a Jacob's ladder to climb by. Consequently, we are not surprised to find new elements in the teaching of Elijah. Unfortunately, the reports of his words are extremely meager. But, meager as they are, they show the direction of his thought. For one thing, he declares that a great judgment is to come upon the people because of their apostasy. When this judgment has done its work a mere remnant will be left. This was the content of the ''still small voice" that came to the prophet at Horeb (i Kings 19. 9-18). And from the fact that the king calls him the ''troubler of Israel" (i Kings 18. 17) it may be inferred that this message of doom was one that fell frequently from his lips. It is also probable that it did not stand alone but formed a part of a larger conception, that of a plan of God, an idea that was basal in the thought of the canonical prophets.