Daily Prophets
Day One
Prophets were the first Spiritual Counselors in the Bible. They were employed by God to speak to the Kings and the People Israel in ways that they could hear. God knows that God’s voice would be too strong, powerful and fearful for most people to hear. God also knows that people in power (for that matter all of us) think we know better and get blinded by our power/thoughts so God sends Prophets/Spiritual Counselors to help them/us see and hear Truth. The Prophets spoke in strong and sweet voices depending on the way the King and/or the People Israel could hear. It is a fantastic model for Spiritual Counselors and for people who want to grow spiritually each and every day. They speak in God’s name for the betterment of Israel, not themselves. They did not profit from their work and they truly were servants of God and advocates for the souls of the Kings and the People Israel. Each day I am going to take a section from one of the Prophets and speak to how it impacts me and, hopefully, you.
When David wanted to build a House for God and the Ark of the Covenant, God came to the Prophet Nathan and said to him:
“Go and say to My servant David: Thus said the Lord: Are you the one to build a house for me to dwell in. From the day that I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in house, but have moved about in Tent and Tabernacle. As I moved about wherever the Israelites went, did I ever reproach any of tribal leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel: why have you not built Me a house of cedar?” (II Samuel 7:5-7)
I am struck by God’s words to Nathan. God is instructing Nathan to remind King David that not all is in his hands to decide. God is telling David, through Nathan, not to take too much on. It is a reminder to and for all of us to ‘stay in our lane’ and do not take on too much. I think God is telling all of us to stop being greedy. God is also saying that the people who came before David did God’s biding. God goes on to remind David that God took David from the pasture “to be ruler of My people Israel”. David’s job is to establish a home for God’s people so they can be secure and “shall tremble no more”. (Ibid.8-10).
I could say that Nathan has great courage to tell King David that he is doing the wrong thing. He stands up to King David for the sake of God and the People Israel. I do not think it is courage that motivates him, however. Yes, it is a courageous act to stand up to power! Yes, it is a courageous act to say No to the King. Yet, it wasn’t courage that motivated Nathan, I believe. As we will see with all of the Prophets, it is the deepest sense of loyalty to God, loyalty to morality, loyalty to following the call in and of their own soul that motivates Nathan and the other Prophets. No one asks for this job, to be a Prophet. Rabbi Heschel says, in his book The Prophets (pg xiv) “He is endowed with a mission, with the power of a word not his own that account for his greatness-but also with temperament , concern, character and individuality… He speaks from the perspective of God as perceived from the perspective of his own situation.”
What the Prophet teaches us is to stand up for God no matter what. Do it in our own particular manner of being and do it. Nathan does this in these verses. As we begin this year of 2021, I hear the call of the Prophet Nathan to all of us: Stay in your lane. Stop trying to be someone else, stop trying to do too much, seek too much and not be greedy. We can help establish a home, a city, a state and a country where all people can be secure and “tremble no more”. You have your unique way as I have mine. Lets make a Covenant with God and those around us to live in a grain of sand more each day of 2021. God Bless, Rabbi Mark