St Joseph Seminar 3 Joseph the Prophet

1. A. Joseph in the Old Testament and the New

(i) Joseph, Son of Jacob in Egypt saved God’s people by bringing them into Egypt to save them from a famine. St Joseph took the Holy Family to Egypt to save them and then brought them back to Nazareth fullfilling the Word of the Lord, “Out of Egypt I have brought my son (Amos 11:1). But Joseph of Egypt was a sage, a wise man and is not recognized by the Bible as a prophet.

2. B. What is a Prophet 

(i) A prophet is someone in the OT who knows the mind and will of God. A good example is prophet Micaiah Ben Imlah of 1 Kings 22. He could see and hear what was going on in the council of God (where God discussed matters with the Angels) and reported this back on earth. Mostly prophets do not have visions like this but receive “the word of the Lord,” a living and powerful word from God that God wants passed on. The Call of Jeremiah explains this well

(ii)The Call of Jeremiah and the Word of the Lord (All texts: RSV)

(iii)Herein this text we see Jeremiah’s encounter with God, his objection (I am only a youth), God’s reassurance (Do not be afraid, I am with you…) and then his mission – to set you over nations etc.

Jer.1

[1] The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilki'ah, of the priests who were in An'athoth in the land of Benjamin,

[2] to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josi'ah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

[3] It came also in the days of Jehoi'akim the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedeki'ah, the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

[4] Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

[5] "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." ...