Feature
Seeking Pastoral
Identity
by John E. Johnson
(Continued from page 2)
The Prophet
The prophet was an individual called from among his peers.(25) God’s calling affirmed that he was a man who belonged first and foremost to God. This is underscored by the title “man of God.” Being called means that he was divinely enabled. Prophecy was not some native faculty, some special genius or innate talent. Moses was an inarticulate stammerer by nature, and Jeremiah complained that he was a novice.
At the heart of his identity, the prophet was a mouthpiece for God, called to speak in the name of God. He was one who could see spiritual realities others could not see. He was authorized to speak authoritatively for God (Ex. 7:1-2; Da. 9:6).
God's prophets were individuals under divine constraint, officers of the heavenly court. They were men God had summoned and impelled. Ezekiel, giving a rationale for his task, explained, “So I prophesied as I was commanded” (Ez. 37:7; cf. Is. 8:11; Je. 20:7; Ez. 11:5; Jo. 1:1; Am. 3:8). The prophet dared not omit a word (Je. 26:2), nor utter falsely (1 Ki. 18:20-40).
The prophets were called to speak the Word of God (Dt. 18:18; Je. 1:9). They were not creating a new doctrine but they realized they were spokesmen for God.(26) The prophet was overwhelmed with a sense of God's message. He had no freedom to go beyond its boundaries (Dt. 18:20). Neither could he shrink from declaring all of it.
Often the message from God was a burden. The prophet was under such compulsion that he was a different person (1 Sa. 10:6-9). He was in discomfort until the message was released. The act of keeping the revelation inside Jeremiah was likened to a “burning fire shut up in [his] bones” (Je. 20:9). Brought on by his refusal to proclaim it to a derisive audience, he mourned, “I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it.”
In speaking God's word, the prophet was called to awaken the mind, care for the soul, and instruct the heart. In particular, he was called to warn people to return to their covenant obligations.
The Priest
The priest, referred to some seven hundred times in the Old Testament and eighty in the New, was identified with sacrifice, intercession, and blessing.
At the heart of the priest's character was holiness (Ex. 39:30; Ez. 44:11). He was called to wholeness, symbolized by his exclusion from the altar if he had any physical impairments (Le. 21:17). All this was necessary, for the priest was invited into the presence of God, where he would inquire of God, wearing the Urim and Thummim. More than anyone else, he came into the closest possible contact with Israel's God.(27)
The one who was invited into the tabernacle was also called to be its guardian, to look after the sanctuary. Among his duties, the priest was called to serve at the altar and officiate in God's “chapel” (Dt. 18:5). Within this context, he was called essentially to care for the soul.(28) Hence, his was a work of interceding for God's people (Jo. 2:17), intervening on their behalf with God, and bringing sacrifice (He. 5:1). Essential to his mission was preparing the people to meet God. The priest was also called to pronounce blessings (Le. 9:22; Nu. 6:22-27; Dt. 21:5).
His role, then, was a beautiful complement to that of the prophet. As the prophet stood to represent God, the priest entered God's presence to represent man. Both functions were and are critical to the spiritual formation of God's people.
The Sage
The sage was also called of God, summoned to be a channel for the wisdom of God. He was the scholar of his day, called to teach students how to integrate truth with life. In particular, he was set apart to exhort people to fear the Lord, the first principle of wisdom (Pr. 1:7). His words were like ox goads (Ecc. 12:11), effective in moving people to action. Like tent pegs, his sayings were driven into the hearts, so that lives would not be blown away by the winds of life's storms.
Solomon was the sage of sages in the Old Testament (1 Ki. 4:29-32; 10:1-9). Others are named, but little is known about them (1 Ki. 4:31; Pr. 30:1; 31:1). Working in a context previously established and defined by the priest and prophet, the sages pointed their hearers to the ethical demands of the Law. They composed Israel's wisdom literature, counseled her kings, and consoled and guided her people.(29) The priest had the Law, the prophet his vision, and the sage his counsel. “The priest guided the repentant to the way of forgiveness in the law; the prophet aroused the sinner to the point of repentance; the wise counseled him not to do the wrong in the first place.”(30)
Through his pastoral ministry, as a student of the word and a professional observer of life, the sage guided people to live out the Law. In training people in the skills of living God's word, the sage provided down-to-earth good sense. “They functioned very much as Christian pastors today in their work between Sundays,” training the people to use what they know of God's way in everyday routines.(31)
