The Prophet that is Owuor- Balaam’s donkey Elijah’s ravens

Touch not the anointed of God is a phrase that has been adapted by many to excuse the behavior of many leaders serving in the church. It has become quite common to hear that we should give without questioning how the money is used, or that we should not question the conduct of our pastor. The most common has been that anyone who speaks ill of the prophet has committed the unpardonable sin. While this is laughable since even Jesus didn’t accord himself this privilege, it is saddening the level of bondage perhaps even despondency that many have been brought to by the same people who were expected to give them hope. Hoping to find Jesus, we find that we are being directed to personalities and people. As Ravi Zacharias will put it, Jesus is lost in the very places He was expected to be found. While I previously highlighted the danger of exalting a person to or beyond the place of Christ, I deemed is necessary to address the attitude of those who have God’s calling upon their own lives.

It appears to me that the bulk of preachers today have strategically positioned themselves, uniquely segregating themselves from the congregation. It is common to hear how a pastor epitomizes the OT priest and how they deserve to be honored since they stand in the place of God to the people. Verses like preachers deserving a double honor are not rare (1Tim 5:17) . The congregants have inevitably been filled with a certain kind of fear that hinders any opposition to the word given. Many, including those who disagree with the preachers have resulted to being quite lest they face the wrath of God for ‘attacking’ his representatives.

 Now as many have written to tackle this issue most excellent reader, I will hope to address an area that is probably less looked into. There are definitely those who have tackled this by looking at how the canonization and sufficiency of scripture requires no further inerrant revelation of God apart from the scriptures. This is to mean that the office giving exclusive link only to a few people is no longer in operation. Others looking into the same have argued from the priest-hood of all believers i.e. at the death of Jesus, the curtain of the temple was split into two meaning that we no longer need any intermediary between man and God. In Hebrews, the writer insists on reminding us that in the times past God used prophets but now has chosen to use His Son. Jesus thus becomes the mediator and deliverer of God’s message to His people.

I have, however, chosen to steer away from these two and investigate a different issue. Previously, I was accused of obliterating the men of God and everything about them. My intention, however, was to help us dethrone the MOG idea in our minds/ hearts. I did not wish to decimate MOGs themselves. I will hope to grant the possibility of Men of God in our current context. I. e. that I believe that in a sense, we still have MOGs in existence. I am trying here to prevent you from making the equally fatal flaw of not appreciating that God has pegged the spread of his word on people, some of whom He has ordained to be more outstanding than others. Being so disillusioned by false teachers and ministers we almost have no room for any men that God uses/ will use. I mean what are the possibilities that they will also not lead us down south?

However, the question I hope to address is of whether speaking for God makes one special. Put differently, does speaking on behalf of God to the people give you any special standing before God or his people? What should be our attitude as preachers? Did the OT and NT prophets/ apostles consider themselves or each other as occupying a place of honor by virtue of speaking for God? How does the Bible view them?

It must be agreed that the Old testament prophets and NT apostles wielded a lot of power. They could part seas, call fire from heaven or even control the rainfall patterns. It would then seem that speaking for God would allow someone have some considerable power above the people. That notwithstanding, I am always curious as to how they treated themselves or how the Bible viewed them. Moses seems to me to be the greatest of the all these guys. With a portfolio that includes seeing God (or a part of Him), negotiating with God and parting of the red sea, he is a man who brings with him great power and prowess. In fact, we find that when his own siblings speak against Him (Numbers 12:1), they were punished with leprosy and needed him to intercede on their behalf for their healing. What is most astonishing though about Moses is that, the Bible regards him as the humblest of men that have lived on earth. What a sharp contrast. It seems that the more of God he wielded, the more he decreased. It is no wonder that Korah and sons thought it possible to overthrow such a man of God. Despite his power, he was approachable and definitely within reach. He never considered himself as important or even require that the congregation view him as such

Elijah who comes in a close second perhaps ushering in the age of the prophets is also in every sense a man of God. Arriving in the scene from nowhere (1Kings 17), he declares drought upon Israel, calls fire to consume a wet sacrifice, he calls fire upon a regiment of soldiers including daring that if he is a man of God then fire will consume them. This same Elijah, however, runs away from Jezebels threat. Many in this scripture are quick to condemn his act as a lack of faith without seeing what is glaring true i.e. He understood that he was just a mere mortal. Furthermore, James 5:17 reminds us that Elijah was a man like the rest of us, hoping to help us see that the point was never Elijah but the God who was in him

Jesus, the real God-man, crowns this for us in a very magnificent way. Paul reminds us in Phil 2:5 that while existing in the form of God, he did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage (HCSB). The apostles and the church fathers too all seemed to want to glorify Christ and lessen themselves. Paul continually reminds us of how he denied himself of his rightful privileges as an apostle so as to maintain the fidelity of the gospel. As John the Baptist says, we must decrease for God to increase. We have to see it as a privilege and a wonder that God would choose feeble vessels like us

What is important here is to notice how these men separated the power of God at work in them and their own feeble selves. Perhaps the allegory of a lizard crossing a bridge on the back of an elephant illustrates this best. We can never really like the lizard say that we indeed shook the bridge. It seems to me to be a no-brainer that if one claims special attention because of speaking God’s word, he is most probably a heretic. As a wise man always tells me, for so long as the temptation to consider yourself important for speaking on God’s behalf holds, be reminded of Balaam’s donkey and when you feel important for helping or giving aid, remember Elijah’s ravens. The bottom line here is that God can use anything to achieve his purposes.