Nathan and David

The prophet Micah preaching Glancing through the Old Testament, one is sometimes surprised by the actions and antics of the prophets. In just about every case, the messenger seeks only to deliver the message with great clarity and that is the prime reason for an unusual presentation. Let's look at a few of the prophets' ways which may be equally useful to today's evangelists in attracting an audience and driving home a message.

Drama

An Ox Yoke on two oxen Jeremiah, the so-called "weeping prophet," acts out his message on one occasion, bearing on his shoulders an ox yoke. The will of the Lord, he was saying, was that the King of Judah should submit to and serve a foreign power as an young ox would work in step with its more experienced partner ¹.

Ezekiel Acts

Ezekiel too carried his edict home with dramatic actions. The Lord wanted him to tell the people that Jerusalem was going to be besieged. Ezekiel takes a brick, scratches lines on it to represent the city and then encompasses it, first lying on one side, then the other to represent a besieging army. He watches it intently, shaking his fist and prophesying against it. He shaves off his beard, burns part of it and foretells what will happen ².

Message More Real

John the Baptist In these and other ways drama can make the message more real. On one occasion I was involved in a prison mission in Lancashire. The most vivid event for me was the one evening service in the Chapel of Christ the Carpenter. The church was full (not surprising in a prison), and in came one of the team members, Captain Dennis Oxley, shattering the silence with "REPENT, REPENT" at the top of his very loud voice! Not only that but he also sprinkled everyone within hurling distance with a wet mop! The looks of astonishment turned into curiosity as the rest of the story of John the Baptist unfolded. Another popular medium for the message and one used extensively by Jesus is the parable.

Parables

Eagle in flight Ezekiel tells a lovely story with a hidden meaning. "There was a giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings spread wide. He flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top of a cedar tree, which he carried to a land of commerce and placed in a city of merchants" ³. You can sense with the audience the excitement building as the tale unfolds. Then the prophet adds, "The Lord said to me, Ask these rebels if they know what the parable means. Tell them..." and so the message is shared. Eagles and cedar trees may not be quite as familiar to today's audiences. They might appreciate Toyota cars and a raised ranch style home better.

Nathan's Parable

Lamb Lying in Grass Perhaps the most moving of parables was told by the prophet Nathan to David. "There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. The rich man had many cattle and sheep, while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him."

David Spellbound

David is spellbound by the story that Nathan continues to tell. The wealthy landowner snatches the lamb from the poor man and slaughters it to feed himself and a visitor. By this time, David obviously felt that Nathan's story sounded so realistic that it must be true and vowed revenge upon this greedy and cruel thief. "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die!" ⁴ At this point, the prophet cleverly makes his application in true evangelistic style. "You are that man!" It made its mark, the ploy succeeded totally. In a moment of truth, David accepted from Nathan what he could not have been told in a straightforward manner. Today's evangelists should seek to hit their marks in a similar fashion. Parables are a good way to achieve that.

A lovely story with a hidden meaning.

Notes

¹ Jeremiah 27:1,2,12 ² Ezekiel 4:1-5,17 ³ Ezekiel 17 ⁴ 2 Samuel 12

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