Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. – Genesis 49:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 9, 2018): Genesis 49

It happened one Sunday morning. I was speaking to those who had gathered when I noticed the doors closing to the Sanctuary. Something was happening, and later I found out that that something was me. I don’t remember what I said, but from the reaction of the people afterwards, they felt I was speaking a prophecy. It was unexpected, and the doors closed to make sure that the attention was on what I was saying. But the reality is that it was unintended. I am not a prophet, at least not in the manner of speaking what will come. I can make some educated guesses. I can watch political trends, and I believe in revealing the word of God that he has spoken to us through the Bible, but that is really about it. If I prophesied in any significant way on that Sunday as in telling the future, it was God, not me.

But then, that is the way that prophecy often happens. It is an unintended by-product of our walk and conversation with God. As our relationship deepens, we begin to see things, or maybe make connections that just were not there before. The prophet sometimes speaks unintentionally, and maybe it is in those unintentional moments that we really begin to see the presence of God.

Having said that, there are also plenty of biblical examples of prophets who knew they were prophesying and spoke the prophecy with purpose. Jeremiah and Ezekiel spoke with a very definite message for the people of their times. They purposefully spoke a prophecy of hope to a people who were beaten, defeated and exiled, by Babylon. The people needed to hear a word from God, and these prophets spoke firmly saying “thus saith the Lord.”

The first of these purposeful prophetic moments is found at the end of the life of Jacob. Here he consciously speaks the word of God over his children. And he connects their behavior during his life with the future of their descendants. Evidently, Jacob believed that the sins of his sons would have a lasting effect on the nation to which he was giving birth.

Jewish tradition teaches that God’s Spirit had blessed Jacob in this moment, revealing the great secrets concerning the end times. But that God’s Spirit visited and left Jacob just as quickly. And after the Spirit left, Jacob could no longer remember the prophecy. The story is taken as being just a legend, and yet maybe there is some truth. While Jacob was consciously talking to his sons about the future of the nation, it is likely that the words belonged to God. And that some of the secrets of this prophecy were lost forever because the sons were not paying close enough attention to the words that God was speaking.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 50