Prophecies are also
instructions given by the prophet to the king in answer to prayer. When
Jehoshaphat found his nation surrounded by a number of enemy forces, he began
to pray, citing God’s promises (2 Chron. 20:1-13). Then God’s Spirit came upon
Jahaziel and the people were given the following encouragement and
instructions:
To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of
Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of
Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye
still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with
you. (2 Chron 20:16-17)
The next day
Jehoshaphat encouraged the people by saying, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his
prophets, so shall ye prosper” (2 Chron. 20:20). As we read further in the
chapter, they were given a tremendous victory over the enemy without having to
right (2 Chron. 20:21-28). But would they have had this victory had they not
acted on the instructions that the prophet laid out for them? A look at Obed’s
prophecy to King Asa can help us answer this:
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Obed: And he went out
to meet Asa and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The
Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of
you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chron. 15:1-2)
Obed’s prophecy was
meant to strengthen and encourage as well as to warn and rebuke. There was
nothing profound in Obed’s prophecy nor was there any detailed futuristic information.
Yet, the Bible describes this word to Asa as a prophecy: “And when Asa heard these words, and
the prophecy of Obed the prophet, he took courage” (2 Chron. 15:8a)
Not only was this “prophecy”
conditional, but sadly, Asa did not receive a consistent fulfillment because he
failed to keep the conditions. After
showing lack of faith in God and running to pagan nations to assist in war, God
sent another prophet (seer) to Asa and told him that the former prophecy would
no longer be applicable to him (2 Chron. 16:9-10). This new prophecy is a
drastic change from what was first given to Asa. However, it was due to Asa’s
failure to remain obedient and keep the conditions of the first prophecy. (Troy
J. Edwards, Is the Future Set in Stone? A
Biblical Study of God’s Relation to Time and Knowledge of the Future [Vindicating
God Ministries, 2019], 184-85)