The above sub-heading is quoted from one of the oldest known Christian hymns NOTE 1, and focuses on a fact about prophets that's easily overlooked - even by frequent Bible readers. It's easy to think about the Old Testament prophets as solo performers, but they often performed in bands. When we think about prophets, prominent individuals come readily to mind, like Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha, and also those who wrote familiar Bible books, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Thirty-seven prophets are named in the Old Testament, but even that's just a fraction of the prophets who were present in ancient Israel. Most prophets grouped together in companies of anything up to a hundred, and we don't know their names.
Stir
During one of many crises Moses faced as the Israelites'
wandered in the desert, God told him to bring together seventy respected men so they could be endowed with spiritual powers
like Moses'. They assembled around the sacred tent (the Tabernacle) and all began to prophesy. But two of them (named Eldad
and Medad) didn't make it to the meeting and started prophesying NOTE 2 in the middle of the camp. This
caused something of a stir at the time, but it's the first recorded example of prophets coming together as a group
NOTE 3.
Trance
The next recorded example of a company of prophets is in the first book of Samuel. Samuel stands out as a mighty prophet,
but he didn't stand alone. The Israelites asked for a king, and the Lord pointed Samuel to a descendant of Benjamin, a tall,
powerfully built man named Saul. The king to be came looking for Samuel and ran into a bunch of prophets who were prophesying
ecstatically, and Saul was so moved by the encounter that he too fell into a trance NOTE 4 .
Caves
Elijah is probably the best known of all the Old Testament prophets, confidently standing up to one of the worst of Israel's
kings, and cruellest of their queens NOTE 5. During their reign they led the nation into idolatry to such an extent that God's
worshippers went into hiding. But one of King Ahab's courtiers, named Obadiah, hid at least a hundred prophets in caves to
protect them from Jezebel - and he kept them supplied with food NOTE 6. So, there were plenty of prophets around in Elijah's
time. At one stage in his lifetime another prophet stepped up when we might have expected Elijah to remain centre stage.
That prophet's name was Micaiah NOTE 7, and I wonder whether he may have been among the prophets who Obadiah hid to save them
from Jezebel. Where was Elijah at that time? We'll look into that later.
Exceptional
Was Elisha one of those hidden prophets? Possibly. But it's certain that, when he took up Elijah's mantle (literally) he was
already prepared for the job. He also had a substantial crowd of prophets working with him. The Bible's account of Elisha's
"school of the prophets" is the most detailed description of such a company. They worked together, camped together, and ate
together NOTE 8. Their support probably contributed to the exceptional nature of Elisha's ministry. He had prayed for a "double
portion" of the Spirit that powered Elijah and he performed exactly twice as many miracles as his former leader had (count them -
and don't overlook the final miracle that occurred at his grave).
Daughters
In New Testament times, prophets were so common that only a few of them are named. We can't ignore the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in which, of the 120 people involved, we are confident that both men and women were in that
upper room, but we can name only a few of them. Paul envisaged at least one of the churches in his care to have so many prophets
that they needed to take turns to speak NOTE 9. The start of his own apostolic ministry came when he was commissioned
by a room full of prophets and teachers NOTE 10. On one of his journeys he was welcomed into the home of
Philip the Evangelist who had a ready-made prophetic Group consisting of his four daughters NOTE 11.
Run
Prophets came together in groups throughout the Bible story, but what happened when they didn't? Jonah is an obvious example of a
prophet who went astray when he acted alone - but he was contemporary with other prophets, and comes into the Bible story in another
book than the one named after him NOTE 12. But Elijah also ran away on his own, and with good reason. He fled following his greatest
triumph - his do-a-miracle playoff against the prophets of Baal. He may have been was safe while surrounded by cheering admirers,
but when they dispersed, he risked Jezebel's revenge - so he ran to the desert. Another notable runaway was the prophet who
Elisha sent to anoint Jehu as king NOTE 13. Elisha told him to "anoint Jehu then run", so he ran for all he was worth (it was wise advice).
But there was an earlier prophet who failed to make a safe getaway after delivering his message. This unnamed prophet travelled from the
kingdom of Judah to the newly separated kingdom of Israel to prophesy the future desecration and destruction of King Jeroboam's
idolatrous altar in Bethel. He did the job he'd been sent to do, pronouncing an amazing prediction that would be fulfilled
fifteen generations later. He'd been told to speak his message then get off home quickly, but he hung around. That left him
open to deception, distraction, and being killed by a lion NOTE 14. In modern Britain we are unlikely to be killed by lions, but we need to take note of the apostle Peter's warning:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"NOTE 15
Prophets bloom best in bunches. It's wise to keep in mind that we are backed up by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit, and we care able to
resist the devil. But it's even wiser to keep in touch with other prophets, to allow our companions to test and
monitor our pronouncements, and to encourage each other along the way as we pursue this challenging calling.