The MAJOR & MINOR Prophets - The 16 Writing Prophets Of The Hebrew Canon

groaned with breaking heart Sign of the Wailing Prophet: cried out, wailed, clapped hands and struck thigh Sign of the Signpost made a sign to point the way Sign of the 'HDWK RI (]HNLHO¶V :LIH the prophet was not to mourn

21:12-17

All are given to the sword

11

21:19-27

7R ZHOFRPH %DE\ORQ¶V VZRUG

12

24:15-24

Destruction of the Temple, death of sons and daughters To speak when Jerusalem falls

13

24:25-27 33:22

14

6LJQ RI (]HNLHO¶V 6LOHQFH unable to speak Set face against Mt. Seir

35:1

(GRP¶V doom

15

36:1

Prophesy to the mountains of Israel

,VUDHO¶V UHVWRUDWLRQ

16

37:15-28

Reunion of Israel and Judah as one nation under future King David

17

Sign of the Two Sticks joined them together in his hand

Symbolic acts, proverbs, allegories and parables. Living in a priestly family, Ezekiel had been immersed into worship symbolism, such as offering sacrifice, wearing priestly garments, using Tabernacle ritual and honoring the Holy Place. Just as PowerPoint presentations enhance a modern VSHDNHU·V PHVVDJH acting out his preaching and prophesying enabled Ezekiel to give vivid meaning and application to his message. Actually, he did not think up the seventeen ´HQDFWHG SURSKHFLHVµ LQ the above chart: God was the author. But here we see the intertwining of the dual personalities of priest and prophet as the ideal conduit to convey a difficult message for reception. God took ad YDQWDJH RI KLV SURSKHW·V sensory gifting, empowering Ezekiel more than any other prophet in this type of presentation. Proverb, allegory and parable were tools that Ezekiel used well, both in predicting the future and in explaining past and present events. 1. The proverb is a saying using natural things to illustrate the spiritual. Examples: ´7KH IDWKHUV KDYH HDWHQ VRXU JUDSHV DQG WKH FKLOGUHQ·V WHHWK DUH VHW RQ HGJHµ ´$V LV WKH PRWKHU VR LV KHU GDXJKWHUµ 2. The allegory is a symbolical narrative, each detail stresses a figurative meaning. As when Paul gave his historical narrative of Hagar and Sarah (Galatians 4:21-31). 3. The parable is a true-to-life comparison with one lesson to teach, and left to the listener to interpret. Sometimes Jesus used parables to conceal spiritual meaning from the disinterested and to expose truth to those who were sincere (Matthew 13:10-11), and of course, at other times to make spiritual truth understandable to the common person. (]HNLHO·V SXUSRVH ZDV QRW WR hide spiritual meaning with parables, but rather to use graphic illustrations to make the meaning clear to the Israelites: everyone must understand his message! Some of the people had become so set and entrenched in their thoughts about God and His ways that they had spiritually entrapped themselves. While Daniel battled the hard, encrusted minds of the idolatrous, royal Gentiles, Ezekiel worked with the calloused hearts of the backslidden children of

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