Prophetic Confirmation
In Deuteronomy 18:14-22, God told Israel not to consult soothsayers and diviners. These were Canaanite practices. God would raise up a prophet for Israel like Moses. This meant these prophets would all agree and not contradict each other. The genuine prophet, or his prophecy could be accompanied with a miraculous sign so Israel would know it was true. The specific sign was the prediction of an event that came to pass. Not many prophecies in the Bible have this. This sets these prophecies apart from others.
Three of the prophecies combine with Deuteronomy 18:14-22 to produce numeric features following the pattern of The Proclamation. A fourth prophecy concerns God turning His face away from Israel.
The first of these prophecies concerns the birth of Samson (Judges 13:15-24). The prophet
in this case was the angel of the lord, and he told Manoah and his wife they would have a special child. Out of ignorance and superstition, Manoah proposed to give the angel a burnt offering. As offerings were only supposed to be for the lord, and as this was something only Levites were supposed to do, the angel redirected their attention to God. (Judges 13:16) He did not stop them from giving an offering, even though they were not Levites because he understood their need for some sort of sign of approval. Acceptance of Manoah's offering would be this sign. The angel ascended to heaven on the fire of their burnt offering. Manoah was suddenly fearful of dying, but his wife was more perceptive. If she died, there would be no way for the angel's prophecy to come true. She understood their offering had been accepted. (Judges 13:23) This miracle confirmed the angel's prophecy that Manoah and his wife would have a son.
The second prophecy is Samuel pointing out Israel's wickedness after their victory over the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:11, 12:17). To prove they were wicked, Samuel called on God to send thunder and rain, and God sent thunder and rain exactly as he asked. This confirmed Israel's wickedness in rebelling against God in asking for a king. They had turned aside from what was real for a king who was actually a vain thing and could not save (1 Samuel 12:21).
The third prophecy is the angel Gabriel giving Mary a sign to confirm his words she would have a virgin birth. The sign was that her relative Elizabeth, despite being infertile for decades, was now with child in her old age. (Luke 1:36-63) Mary already believed the angel's words, but since she had been given a sign, she went and confirmed it was true. This was added proof that she herself would have a virgin birth.
The fourth prophecy gives the result of that great wickedness
, where men preferred to be rule by men and not God. God hides His face from their evil deeds. (Deuteronomy 31:14-17) This is paired with its fulfillment in Isaiah 8:13-17.
That three prophecies combine with Deuteronomy 18:14-22 to produce numeric features, and the fourth with one of the great prophets of the Bible sets them further apart. They are marked to stand together. Two prophecies are of saviours from God. One prophecy is of a saviour asked for by men and from men. And a fourth prophecy is of the result of that human saviour. The contrast could not be greater. The saviour men asked for is judged great wickedness
even at the point of victory and deliverance from the enemy.
Well did the psalmist warn against trust in human government.
Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
"Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us."
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
"I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
I will tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
kiss his feet, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:1-121)
Believers are not to trust in men, institutions, ideologies or governments. Nor are they to trust in experts because experts are also men. Experts, consultants, professors, doctors, lawyers, philosophers, politicians are just some of the titles soothsayers and diviners now hide behind. No matter how learned they are, if they reject or contradict the Bible they are not like Moses and ultimately not much different than a soothsayer or diviner.