Crossway recently surveyed over 6000 Christians regarding their Bible reading habits. The results of the survey indicate more than 40% of Christians struggle to read the prophets; and less than 10% of believers regularly read the prophetic books. This study affirms a struggle I’ve heard many Christians express. That is, many Christians simply struggle to read the prophetic books—whether it’s Isaiah, Habakkuk, or Malachi.
There are many reasons why this is the case. But one I know many struggle with, including myself, is the pervasive theme of judgment. This theme makes it difficult to enjoy the prophets, because they reveal an attribute of God most of us aren’t comfortable with; that God is a holy, righteous judge. Because of Israel’s unrelenting sin during the ministry of the prophets, God just seems angry. However, God’s righteous judgment of sin isn’t the only theme in the prophetic books.
Less than 10% of believers regularly read the prophetic books.
In fact, we must ask ourselves: what was God’s intent for those original hearers with the prophetic oracles? This will inform how we read them today. And upon closer inspection and careful reading, we learn that God sent the prophets to call his people to repentance. Grasping this points us to the grace of God, even in his uncompromising judgment of sin. So as we read the prophets we are given a window into the heart of God, which while intolerant of sin calls on people to turn to him and find grace.
My hope for this article is that I’ll convince you to spend more time reading the prophetic books in the year ahead, and beyond, by looking at the ministry of Jeremiah. I pray that you’ll see that “the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Jeremiah 33:11).
God’s Warnings Demand Repentance
We encounter this goodness and “steadfast love” throughout the prophetic writings, even amid some of the most difficult judgment passages. In Jeremiah 6:11-15 God rails against sin, promising to pour out his wrath on his people without exception. And the whole situation feels especially hopeless because the false prophets had been lying to God’s people, saying “peace, peace.” Only, “there is no peace.” Not while God’s people are locked in a sinful free-fall, spiralling into idolatry and all sorts of immorality.
God is more concerned with our turning to him more than our condemnation.
Yet, in the same chapter we read repeated calls for repentance. God desires for his people to hear his warning and repent, avoiding his wrath (Jeremiah 6:8, 10). Repentance, God promises, will result in “rest for their souls” (Jeremiah 6:16). Judgment oracles, therefore, function as warnings that exhort God’s people to walk in faith and repentance. God is more concerned with our turning to him more than our condemnation.
As he says through Ezekiel: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn away from his way and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23).
God’s Patience Delays the Exile
Furthermore, God gave those warnings over decades. Countless prophets came and went before Israel eventually went into exile. Jeremiah’s ministry extended over the reigns of three kings (Jeremiah 1:1-3). According to Feinberg, this was from 626 BCE to 586 BCE. God pleaded with his people for over four decades, calling them to repent.
God pleaded with his people for over four decades, calling them to repent.
In addition to the warnings of judgment demonstrating God’s grace and desire for Israel to repent, the lengthy ministry of God’s prophets is evidence of his patience. God is long-suffering with sinful people; Paul says as much in one of his epistles (Romans 3:25). Adam and Eve should have died at the fall, in Genesis 3. Yet the story that starts there is a long, winding story of mercy. That story climaxes at the cross, when God’s judgment is poured out on another. God’s judgment is often deferred. It’s delayed. Those who repent know this sweetness, resting in God’s grace towards sinners.
God’s Grace on Full Display in Jeremiah’s Ministry
God’s prophetic judgment of sin is a call to repent, for which God graciously leaves much time. Furthermore, we know that Jeremiah wasn’t the only prophet sent to Israel, with that purpose. “From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers” (Jeremiah 7:25-26). True, these verses are an indictment. However, the ministry of God’s unnamed prophets is another demonstration of his long-suffering mercy.
The ministry of God’s unnamed prophets is another demonstration of his long-suffering mercy.
It’s why the prophet can accuse Judah of not listening to God’s servants (Jeremiah 25:4). Thus a chapter on he says: “If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth” (Jeremiah 26:1-6; see also Jeremiah 35:15). Jeremiah’s ministry wasn’t exceptional but part of a sequence of prophetic appeals for repentance and faith.
So, Start Reading
True, reading the prophetic books today can be a challenge. There is a lot of judgment and wrath. However, a better reading reveals how God’s many exhortations in the prophets are reminders of his grace and patience. God sent them so that his people would repent. This repentance is both made possible by and is a response to his grace. For that reason alone we should spend more time with the prophets in 2024.
God’s many exhortations in the prophets are reminders of his grace and patience.
Reading the prophets is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the character of God, even those parts that make us uncomfortable. There is a mixture here, even a combination. God is gracious, yet he will also judge sin; he isn’t indifferent to immorality or idolatry. The prophets exhort us to turn back to him, and find grace; to have rest for our souls.
