The Divine's Role In The Israelite Community

In ancient Israel, as with many cultures, the diviner met the need for direct, immediate, and specific guidance concerning the divine’s will. God has made known to Israel a quite different possibility of communicating with the divine, namely through the prophetic office. This role is unique to the Israelite community particularly when considering Israel’s recent past, where they were threatened by the political and spiritual sovereignty of Mesopotamia in the time of Abraham and Egypt under Moses’ leadership. The prophet is called to be the spokesperson for God and for God’s word with Moses as the model prophet. As such, the office of the prophet serves as a mechanism to hold the Israelite community accountable to the covenantal promises as

The reasoning for the prophetic office harks back to Mt. Sinai where the people pleaded, “Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God any longer or see this wondrous fire any more, lest I die.” Since God is not allowed to speak to the people direct, God has to incorporate an intermediary into the relationship with the Israelite community who will proclaim God’s divine word to them. This office will continue through divine election. This differs from other offices within the Israelite community who can achieve their position through, community appointment, professional training, dynastically, or tribal membership as seen in the priestly office. This act of divine appointment by God sanctifies the prophet and therefore attempts to safeguard the office from institutional expulsion. As such, the prophet is to be viewed as a key leader of the Israelite community along with the priests, elders, kings and royal officials. However, the deuteronomist portrays the prophet as holding the most significant office whereas the kingship has limitations to power, the deuteronomist strengthens and affirms the authority of the prophet. The role of the prophetic office includes a wide range of responsibilities such as oracle, foreteller, healer, and incorporates the prophet’s influence in the selection of a king, advisory roles in matters of war and temple construction. The overall authority of the prophetic office is confirmed by the fact that the office is in succession to Moses who is the highest-ranking authority during this period, and who is viewed as the model prophet. Since Moses is the model for the prophet the deuteronomist demonstrates that the function of Moses successors are to uphold the divine truth of the law, and seek its convictions. From the deuteronomic perspective it is of the utmost importance for Israel to heed the voice of the prophet because it is viewed