There were messages of judgment from the great prophets as well as messages of hope and a new beginning. God never forgets his children, and he never forgets his promises. He will set the world right and bring truth and righteousness for everyone to see. The prophets wrote that the Servant of the Lord would bring God’s blessings to the whole world. This Servant of the Lord was promised to us, and he would be prophet, priest and king called the “anointed” (Isaiah 61; Psalm 2). “To anoint” means to pour special oil on a man’s head to make him king. We get the word “Messiah,” from the Hebrew word for “anointing”. The Arabic word “Masih” also comes from this word. This name means the one who is selected by God, chosen for prophecy and special acts of God’s will.
Let us close this lesson on the prophets of God with two more messages they left for us:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [father of King David]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Isaiah 11.1-5
See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come. Prophet Malachi, Malachi 3.1
After the prophet Malachi, there were no messages written by prophets given for 400 years. The last words were that a great one was coming, the Messiah. Who would he be? What would he do? What kind of kingdom would he make forever? What is this peace and salvation promised through him? Why would suffering be necessary? The words of the Prophets of God show us that God was working to keep these promises, and we know that God keeps his promises.