Many years ago, having just moved into the neighborhood, I found myself looking up at my neighbor from the ditch I had been mowing. I had never met the old man until that moment. He looked pretty stern so I shut off the lawnmower and greeted him. His opening words to me were, “We don’t mow lawns that short around here son. You need to raise it up 2 or 3 inches.” Something about him said that he knew more than I did about lawns so I did what he told me to and have been doing so ever since.
The Old Testament prophets are like your older, wiser neighbor coming over and telling you you’re doing things the wrong way. And like a good neighbor, they show you how to do it the right way. And because they’re older and wiser, they’re not afraid to tell it like it is. These men, whom God refers to as, “my servants the prophets,” were men who had a great fear of God but were fearless of men. Sometimes they were heeded. Sometimes they were not.
Throughout the summer we will do an overview of the mighty prophets of God in the series we are titling: “Fear God. Face Men.” We hope you can join us.