It was a great and distinct honor to be a prophet of the living God. That’s
why there were so many false prophets in Israel. Prophets anointed
kings, performed miracles, and predicted the future. But at the same
time, a prophet’s assignment could also bring great danger, difficulty and even death.

The prophet was called to speak God’s undiluted,
uncompromising, unvarnished message to an often rebellious people.
This frequently brought reproach, fierce opposition, harsh criticism,
and even execution to the man of God. For this reason not just anyone
could be a prophet. There were at least two major qualifications that a
person had to possess in order to be a true prophet of God.

The Prophet Must Be Called: Unlike the offices of king and priest, the
office of a prophet was not inherited by being born into a prophetic
family or tribe. The son of a prophet did not automatically receive a commission as a prophet.

Rather, God individually selected and called
each prophet to a specific work that God wanted accomplished. The
divine call is what made a man a true prophet, and the lack of this call is
what made so many false prophets. Here are just a few examples of the
divine call of a prophet.

Moses received the call at the burning bush (Exod. 3:4).
• Isaiah responded to the divine call through a vision he had of the Lord
high and lifted up in the temple (Isa. 6:1-8).
•Jeremiah was called by God as a prophet while still in his mother’s
womb (Jer. 1:5).
• Ezekiel was called by God near the Kebar River in Babylon (Ezek. 1:1; 2:2-3).
• Amos remembers his call in Amos 7:14-15.

The Prophet Must Be Courageous. In light of the rigors and responsi-
bility of this office, the prophet had to be a special kind of person. The

prophet had to be a bold, fearless individual. He had to be able to han-
dle both persecution and praise, both accolades and antagonism. Leon

Wood summarizes the courage needed by a prophet:
A person had to be an outstanding individual to qualify as a
prophet. Prophets had to be people of outstanding character,

great minds, and courageous souls. They had to be this by nature
and then, being dedicated to God, they became still greater
because of the tasks and special provisions assigned them. Thus
they became the towering giants of Israel, the formers of public

opinion, the leaders through days of darkness, people distin-
guished from all those about them either in Israel or the other

nations of the day.

Let’s look at some of the tasks God assigned to his prophets:
• Samuel’s first task as a prophet was to inform the high priest Eli that God
had rejected his house (1 Sam. 3:4-18).
•Nathan had to confront King David about his sin with Bathsheba
(2 Sam. 12:1-12).
• God gave David a choice of three punishments for his sinful census
(2 Sam. 24:10-17).
• Elijah warned King Ahab of a terrible drought and famine
(1 Kings 17:1).
• Jonah called the wicked city of Nineveh to repentance (Jon. 1:2; 3:1-2).