So, what is a prohet?

If you don't read anything else today, you need to read Scot McKnight's post on What's a prophet?

Here's a snippet to whet your appetite:

First, a prophet, taking Jeremiah as a paradigm, is one who has been in the cabinet room with God (Yahweh).…

Second, a prophet is someone who has been personally sent by God.…

Third, it’s not fun to be a prophet.…

Go there to fill in the blanks, but the last line sums it all up: "If you’re having fun in your prophetic utterances, it’s not prophecy."

Yep. Being a prophet means interceding with God on behalf of the people and going to people and rebuking them for their sins. Look at Jeremiah especially. There's a reason he's called the weaping prophet!

And then, go pick up the books he recommends, especially Heschel's book! If you are looking for more, you could do much worse than Michael Widmer, Standing in the Breach. I excerpted extensively from it a few years ago.