Bible Handbook

Doubters’ Criticisms of Prophets

• Numbers 12:1-10; Deuteronomy 24:9. Miriam was not pleased with Moses’ wife. Patriarchs and Prophets, 382, 383. BHB 140.9

• Numbers 12:11-16. God punished Miriam. BHB 140.10

• Numbers 22:12, 20. The Lord changed His word. Ezekiel 14:4, 5; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11. Balaam loved worldly honor was the reason. Patriarchs and Prophets, 439-441. BHB 140.11

• 1 Samuel 8:1-5. Samuel’s sons were wicked. BHB 140.12

• 1 Samuel 8:6, 7. In rejecting Samuel because his sons were evil, Israel rejected God. Patriarchs and Prophets, 604, 605. BHB 140.13

• 1 Samuel 15:1-15. Saul changed the testimony. BHB 140.14

• 1 Samuel 15:16-26. Saul was rejected for disobeying the testimony. Patriarchs and Prophets, 632-635. BHB 140.15

• 1 Kings 14:1-4. Jeroboam tried to deceive an old blind prophet. BHB 140.16

• 1 Kings 14:5-16. Received sad tidings as the result. BHB 140.17

• 2 Kings 5:15-24. Gehazi thought Elisha made a mistake. Prophets and Kings, 250-252. BHB 141.1

• 2 Kings 5:25-27. Reproof and leprosy came to him. BHB 141.2

• 2 Kings 7:1, 2. A great man avowed unbelief in Elisha’s testimony. BHB 141.3

• 2 Kings 7:17-20. Testimony fulfilled. Doubter died. BHB 141.4

• 2 Kings 20:1-6. Testimony changed. BHB 141.5

• Jeremiah 18:7, 8. Hezekiah changed. BHB 141.6

• Jeremiah 36:17. Did the secretary write exactly what the prophet said? BHB 141.7

• Jeremiah 36:18. The secretary was faithful. BHB 141.8

• Jeremiah 36:21-24. Those highest in authority did not respect the testimony. Testimonies for the Church 5:678. BHB 141.9

• Jeremiah 38:4-6. The leading men did not think that the testimonies of Jeremiah were a help to the people. Testimonies for the Church 5:79, 76. BHB 141.10

• Jeremiah 43:1, 2. The proud men of the church accused the prophet of speaking falsely. Testimonies for the Church 5:66. BHB 141.11

• Jeremiah 43:3. They claimed that the prophet was influenced by Baruch. Testimonies for the Church 5:63, 64, 684, 685. BHB 141.12

• Jeremiah 29:1. The letters of the prophet are not inspired. Testimonies for the Church 5:67. BHB 141.13

• This objection would cast aside a large number of books of the New Testament which are epistles. BHB 141.14

• 1 Corinthians 1:10-12. Paul received information from the household of Chloe before he wrote the reproof. Testimonies for the Church 5:65. BHB 141.15

• 2 Corinthians 13:3. Corinthians asked proof that Christ spoke through Paul. BHB 141.16

• Philemon 9. Paul was aged. BHB 141.17

• 2 Peter 3:15, 16. Paul’s writings were hard to understand. Those who took advantage of this and sought to “wrest,” or change, them brought destruction on themselves. BHB 141.18

• Acts 7:52; Matthew 23:34-37. The people of God have always persecuted the prophets. BHB 142.1

• Luke 13:33. The world never persecuted a prophet. BHB 142.2

• Jeremiah 39:11-14; 40:2-4. The Babylonians took off the chains with which Israel had bound their own prophet. BHB 142.3

• Hosea 9:8; Mark 6:3, 4. “The prophet is a snare in all his ways.” The people see only the humanity in the prophet, and thus reject the message, as the Jews saw “the carpenter’s son” in Jesus and rejected Him. Many fail to see divinity in the message from God because it is delivered through a human instrument. Testimonies for the Church 5:672. BHB 142.4

• Ecclesiastes 1:9-11; 3:15. History repeats itself. BHB 142.5