"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as My prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5).
Do
you know any prophets? Some people see things so distinctly, analyze
them so correctly and wisely that they speak with authority to those
listening to them. Some secular writers, poets and playwrights speak
prophetically to the people of their generation. Sometimes God might
speak through them, as well as through people He calls to be His
servants.
Jeremiah was set apart by God as His "prophet to the
nations". His message was not mainly for individuals, but for Israel as a
nation. This reminds us that God sometimes uses individuals to address
an entire nation, and sometimes even all of humanity, or the world.
Jeremiah watched the course of great empires of his time and saw the
hand of God in all that happened.
God still rules over the
nations of the world and He works in the wide-ranging activities of
humanity, no matter how inconspicuous He sometimes chooses to be. If we
want to know where He is at work and in which direction He is leading
humanity, we need prophets to explain this to us. Without them we would
probably stay just where we are. And we might not notice what God is
doing, like the people in Jeremiah's time. Listen to God's prophets.
Hear what God is saying through them and determine how and where He is
at work among the nations of the world.
Not everyone speaking in the Spirit is a prophet, but only if he should have a lifestyle of the Lord's character.
~ The Didache ~
Saint James Assembly of Faith
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