He who spoke through the prophets

I’ve been reading through the Bible chronologically this year, and I just finished Obadiah – the first stand-alone book of the prophets – and am still in the midst of the story of Elisha. Which means I just finished reading about Elijah. (And, oh my goodness, it’s hard to get over the shock when he simply explodes onto the scene, after a king after king after king who did not remove the high places and walked in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat. All of the sudden: Elijah! Confronting hundreds of false prophets, running faster than a chariot drawn by horses, slaughtering crowds, running from an angry king, abiding in the desert, walking boldly up to the same angry king and proclaiming his doom, disappearing in a chariot of fire. Wow.)

Anyway, reading the words of Obadiah and Elijah and Elisha has me thinking about that line in the Creed which describes the Holy Spirit, saying “He has spoken through the prophets.”

I talked at Pentecost about how sometimes it seems like the Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity we know the least about, and how part of the reason for this is that He is always pointing towards Jesus, and when He does, we look.

But I think that this one line in the Creed – He has spoken through the prophets – shows me who the Holy Spirit is. All of the sudden there are scores of passages I might read where I know I will hear His voice. This is where I learn what His voice sounds like.

And, I find, the amazing thing is: those Old Testament passages point toward Jesus too. The Holy Spirit speaks a message of salvation, of promise, even all those years ago. It’s the same voice. And we’ve seen and see the fulfillment of His words in Jesus.

But His words are still, always, more than I expect. More wild, more severe, more beautiful, more comforting than I expect. He is holy. And He deigns to speak to us, to show us Himself. Because He loves us.

If Elijah is amazing, it is because the Lord he serves is even more so.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell