Sustenance of the Prophet
The prophetic ministry is separated from the institution of the Levitical priesthood in the old testament, as they were not involved in temple sacrifices and rituals, as such they were not included in the Levitical payroll. The office of the prophet comes with power, prestige and attracts lots of followership, due essentially to the unique divine services rendered to the people of God by the prophet, which ultimately supplies the needs of the prophet.
Now Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) was sick; and he was told, “The man of God has come here.” And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’” So Hazael went to meet Elisha and took a gift with him of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, asking, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die.”
2 Kings 8:7-10
The mission of all true prophets in the Old and the New Testament are diverse but with common thread running through. They contend with all form of oppression, moral and spiritual decay, false doctrine, and hypocrisies while simultaneously calling men and nation to repentance.
• To reveal the good plan of God both future and present
• To call men and nations to repentance from wickedness
• They declare unpleasant truth to men and nations.
• To encourage and inspire people to walk in the path of righteousness and truth.
• To warn men and nations on imminent dangers of divine judgement due to disobedience and stubborn resistance to repentance.
• To teach and preach righteousness and reconciliation with God.
• To bring hope and comfort to the oppressed people
• To bring healing to the nations, through intercession, teaching and preaching of the word of God.
The personality traits of true prophets as well as their moral characters must be impeccable as people’s acceptance of their message rest on the integrity of their personality. True prophets are humble, truthful, kind-hearted, brave, selfless, non-covetous, honest, perseveres and uphold the truth irrespective of the threat to their well-being.
God through the prophets in the Bible had laid a solid moral and spiritual foundations for the whole world. Their words of inspirations, correction, and revelation are evergreen, drawing our heart closer to God and given us a lively hope and comfort in times of trouble. However, we must not be carried away by the signs and wonders rather our lives should be transformed by the divine message and commandments which was delivered to us from the mouth of prophet.