The role of prophets in the history of Israel is a significant theme throughout the Old Testament. Prophets were chosen by God to deliver His messages to the people, often calling them to repentance and warning them of impending judgment. Despite their divine commission, prophets frequently faced opposition, persecution, and even death at the hands of their own people.

Biblical Instances and References:

1. Rejection and Persecution of Prophets:
The pattern of rejecting and persecuting prophets is evident throughout the biblical narrative. Jesus Himself highlights this tragic history in the New Testament, lamenting over Jerusalem: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!" (Matthew 23:37). This statement underscores the persistent resistance of the Jewish people to the prophetic voices sent by God.

2. The Death of Zechariah:
One of the most poignant examples is the murder of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. As recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, Zechariah was stoned to death by order of King Joash after he rebuked the people for their transgressions: "Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said to them, 'This is what God says: Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has also forsaken you.' But they conspired against him, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD."

3. The Fate of Uriah:
Another prophet who suffered a similar fate was Uriah son of Shemaiah. In Jeremiah 26:20-23, Uriah prophesied against Jerusalem and Judah, which led to his pursuit by King Jehoiakim. Despite fleeing to Egypt, Uriah was captured, brought back, and executed: "There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and this land in words like all those of Jeremiah. King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor and certain other men with him. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people."

4. The Testimony of Stephen:
In the New Testament, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, accuses the Jewish leaders of following in the footsteps of their ancestors by persecuting the prophets. In Acts 7:52, he declares, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him."

5. The Prophetic Tradition:
Despite the hostility they faced, prophets remained steadfast in their mission. Their willingness to speak truth to power, even at the cost of their lives, is a testament to their faithfulness to God's calling. The prophets' experiences serve as a sobering reminder of the cost of discipleship and the resistance that often accompanies the proclamation of divine truth.

The history of the prophets and their treatment by the Jewish people is a complex and multifaceted narrative. It reflects the tension between divine revelation and human resistance, a theme that resonates throughout the biblical text and continues to hold relevance for believers today.1 Kings 18:13
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Kings 19:10
And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 23:34-37
Why, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you whip in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The First Epistle to the Thessalonians the Shorter Epistles ...
... 5892] The Jews had slain ... 5913] of the grace and power of the Spirit and the
prophets"namely, to ... I understand to be meant by the word "body""as often as the ...
/.../tertullian/the five books against marcion/chapter xv the first epistle to.htm

Of the Passion of Jesus Christ; that it was Foretold.
... and in their daily readings re-echo their own condemnation as foretold by the voice
of the prophets; nor do ... The Jews, therefore, being often reproved by ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap xvi of the passion of.htm

A Prisoner who Preached to his Judges
... In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to ... adding a single word beyond
what the prophets and Moses ... message of light not only to the Jews but to ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/a prisoner who preached to.htm

The Restoration of the Jews.
... the declarations which he had made so often before, he ... he issued an edict authorizing
the Jews to return ... had been long before predicted by the prophets, as the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/abbott/cyrus the great/chapter ix the restoration of.htm

The Death of Moses
... what Moses foretold"an ignorant, selfish, often profligate and ... is not a history of
the Jews themselves at ... all invented by priests and prophets afterwards, to ...
/.../kingsley/the gospel of the pentateuch/sermon xviii the death of.htm

Faustus is Willing to Admit that Christ May have Said that He came ...
... apostles, and stubbornly insisted on the Gentiles becoming Jews. ... of the law and the
prophets, that Christ ... Again, you often swear by the Paraclete,"not the ...
/.../faustus is willing to admit.htm

The Twelve Minor Prophets.
... the Hebrew word is the same that so often occurs in ... Meanwhile the Jews, having yielded
to the spirit of ... For this the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were sent to ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxiii the twelve minor.htm

Of the Advent of Jesus; of the Fortunes of the Jews, and their ...
... assertion unless I shall show that the prophets before a ... and God, offended by them,
as often brought them ... the kingdom, who immediately restored the Jews by an ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap x of the advent of.htm

National Privileges
... hearts for ages"as well heathens as Jews"had had ... whose ministers are the clergy,
whose prophets are all ... Hear me, young people"as I have often told you ...
/.../kingsley/twenty-five village sermons/sermon xxii national privileges.htm

Concerning the Passion of Christ, and Its Old Testament ...
... is, Christ, whom"after the slaughter of prophets"they slew ... wanting there, though
the text is often quoted by ... is not only called by the Jews "the carpenter's ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter x concerning the passion of.htm

What is the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal? | GotQuestions.org

What was a prophet in the Old Testament? | GotQuestions.org

What is a prophet in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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