The type of prophet in Israel varied and developed according to changes in the social and intellectual situation, and in the spiritual climate too.. Roughly there were three stages. At first the prophecy was almost identified with patriotic fervour, as in the case of Deborah and Efisha: even Samson 1s said have been endowed with the spirit of Jehovah. And we canna: doubt it was by inspiration that the national life was saved. But we have also to admit that his function of prophecy was easily open to abuse. We read for instance at the end of the first book of Kings that the prophet "edelkiah promoted an enterpe: se of King Ahab, and that he was supported in the policy by 400 of hie colleagues while only one was against it—Micaiah who proved to be right. It is all very well to talk of "false prophets, but this can only be settled at the bar of history. The question is how to know the measure of their falsity when they and their hearers are aglow with patriot-isin, The situation was repeated on more serious scale in the time of Jeremiah, when the majority of the prophets declared he was wrong, and no doubt, in the case of many, sincerely thought so. Need 1 remind you that our Saviour was likened to Jeremiah by some of His contemporaries, no doubt because He had the same passionate devotion to his country while His interpretation of patriotism was equally a lonely one.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.