REVIEW of THE PROPHETS by ABRAHAM J HESCHEL

8/7/2019 REVIEW of THE PROPHETS by ABRAHAM J HESCHEL

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REVIEW of THE PROPHETS by ABRAHAM J HESCHEL

Pieter Uys

Heschel examines the minds of the Israelite prophets, mainly

those of the 7th and 8th centuries BCE, by considering the

totality of thoughts, impressions and emotions of the prophet's

soul. He thus investigates the interface of theology and of

psychology which is restricted to consciously revealed motives.



Besides identifying the decisive features of the prophet's consciousness,

Heschel highlights their uniqueness in history and attempts to illuminate the

essentials of prophetic religion. Between the introductory chapter and the

concluding chapters on history, punishment and justice, the individual prophets

and their particular circumstances are covered in turn.

This brings history to the fore as political and social conditions in the Northern

Kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah and the surrounding nations such as Ammon,

Edom and Moab are at issue. After the reign of King Solomon, the Israelitekingdoms and their neighbors were always caught between the powers of

Mesopotamia and the Nile.

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Assyria became a world power in the 8th century BCE. Around 760 a weak and

divided Egypt was united by and experienced a 100 year revival under the

Napatan 25th dynasty. After the fall of Nineveh in 612 followed the rule of

Babylonia. The area between Sinai and the Euphrates became the battleground

of clashing superpowers.

Amos, in his concern for Israel's neighbors, made it clear that God cares for all

people. Hosea proclaimed that Israel is The Lord's consort, warned against

political promiscuity, and affirmed divine tenderness and mercy. The sorrow in

God's anger is revealed by the first Isaiah who warned against foreign alliances

while denouncing obstinacy and pride. Micah distilled the essence of true

worship: do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with the Divine.

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Gentle by nature, Jeremiah had to convey messages of wrath and suffering that

caused him overwhelming anguish. The first Isaiah and Habakkuk spoke of

ultimate redemption through an outpouring of the Spirit whilst the second

Isaiah proclaimed God's eternal love for Israel, His concern for all mankind and

the idea of Israel as a light to the nations.

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Heschel identifies the major trait of the prophets as a profound sensitivity and

revulsion to evil. Their loathing of violence and their sympathy for the weak

may appear extreme as the soul of the prophet strongly resonated with the cry

of the afflicted. Driven by compassion, they were fiercely intolerant of

injustice and indifference as their harsh words reveal.

The prophets knew that religion could distort that which the Lord requires.

A coalition of indifference and established authority was their adversary. They

repudiated mankind's subservience to might, holding up the moral law in the

place of force. The theme that might is not right is central to their message.

Unlike the lofty philosophers they focused on the mundane, the way people

treat one another. The prophets also emphasized linear as opposed to cyclical

time, promising ultimate salvation.

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The author shows that the prophets were torn between compassion for

mankind and empathy with God, acting as advocate for the one to the other.

They constantly intervened, imploring mercy for the people whilst denouncing

the abusive practices of the mighty in explosive language and admonishing the

whole nation for its lack of compassion. "The opposite of freedom is not

determinism, but hardness of heart," they implied.

In the chapter on history, it is observed that people worship power and are

easily impressed by force. Opposed to that, the moral law is inconspicuous.

History may thus be considered the sphere where God is defied and justice

defeated. Oppression of the human being is an affront to the Creator, while

concern for justice is an act of love.

The waning religion of the West is being replaced by a hydra-headed

ideological monstrosity that goes by the names of Postmodernism &

Multiculturalism. It is the offspring of the counter-enlightenment philosophies

of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,

Heidegger en Wittgenstein. It denies the existence of truth, gives primacy to

power and promotes indifference to suffering. Its doctrine of moral relativism

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leads to an inversion of right and wrong. Its slogan of “diversity” has

penetrated deeply into the culture whilst its dictatorial nature manifests

through Political Correctness – a form of mind control. It is amoral and

nihilistic.

What sets the prophetic act apart from artistic, intellectual and mystical

experiences is its moral aspect. The prophetic warning against calling good evil

and evil good, reveals a penetrating insight into the human psyche. The

prophets knew of mankind’s proclivity for the irrational and their words

resonate down the centuries, warning us of the inversion of right and wrong,

of good and evil.

A psychological factor that has contributed to undermining the values of the

West is the deeply entrenched belief that God is a cruel tyrant that has

predestined some human beings for eternal torment. Such tragic ignorance of

the nature of God has brought about unimaginable suffering.

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This sadistic view runs like poison ivy from the works of church fathers like

Augustine through reformers like Calvin and is still being used to terrify people.

Fear-based religion often results in splitting the psyche (all those televangelists

caught with their pants down) or spiritual morbidity (of which one result is the

frenzied urge to convert others and another is the torture and murder of

“heretics” as one sees mainly in Islam today) or hedonism or fanatical atheism.

But that is not what the prophets proclaimed.

This is the essence:

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to

love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” MICAH 6:6-8.

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EXCERPTS FROM

THE POET OF IGNORANCE by ANNE SEXTON

“There is an animal inside me,clutching fast to my heart,

a huge crab.The doctors of Bostonhave thrown up their hands.

They have tried scalpelsneedles, poison gases and the like.[ … ]I have tried prayer but as I pray the crab grips harder and the pain enlarges.

I had a dream once,perhaps it was a dream,that the crab was my ignorance of God.But who am I to believe in dreams?”

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While justice is a strict standard associated with the divine name Elohim, the

ineffable Tetragrammaton represents the quality of mercy. Mercy overrules the

concept of an absolute moral law. In the Ark of the Covenant, the position of

the Mercy Seat is above the scrolls of the law.

It emerges that judgment is never final, always conditional and that the door

of repentance remains open. In history justice suffers defeat but the prophets

predicted future peace and salvation. Over and over they emphasized that

kindness took precedence over wisdom, wealth and might. More than strict

justice only, righteousness encompasses loving concern. Above all, the

prophets proclaimed the divine pathos, revealing the Creator not as a stern

judge but first and foremost as Father.

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A compelling and unique work, The Prophets succeeds in solving many riddles

and clearing the cobwebs of confusion on both the mental and emotional level.

Written in graceful prose, Heschel's concepts are easy to grasp and his words

speak to the heart.

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REVIEW of THE PROPHETS by ABRAHAM J HESCHEL

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