2 Kings 17:13 - Exposition

Yet the Lord testified —rather, and the Lord testified— against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers . A "seer" is, properly, one who sees visions; a "prophet," one inspired to pour forth utterances. But the words were used as synonyms (see 1 Samuel 9:9 ). Ever since the revolt of Jeroboam, there had been a succession of prophets in both countries whose office it had been to rebuke sin and to enforce the precepts of the Law. In Judah there had been Shemaiah, contemporary with Rehoboam ( 2 Chronicles 11:2 ; 2 Chronicles 12:5 ); Iddo, contemporary with Abijah ( 2 Chronicles 13:22 ); Azariah, with Asa ( 2 Chronicles 15:1 ); Hanani, with the same ( 2 Chronicles 16:7 ); Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Jehoshaphat ( 2 Chronicles 19:2 ); Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, with the same ( 2 Chronicles 20:14 ); Eliezer, the son of Dodavah, also contemporary with the same ( 2 Chronicles 20:37 ); Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, contemporary with Joash ( 2 Chronicles 24:20 ); another Zechariah, contemporary with Uzziah ( 2 Chronicles 26:5 ); Joel, Micah, and Isaiah, besides several whose names are unknown. In Israel, the succession had included Ahijah the Shilonite, contemporary with Jeroboam ( 1 Kings 14:2 ); Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Baasha ( 1 Kings 16:1 ); Elijah, and Micaiah the son of Imlah, with Ahab ( 1 Kings 22:8 ) and Ahaziah ( 2 Kings 1:3 ); Elisha, with Jehoram, John, Jehoahaz, and Joash (2Ki 3:11-13:14); Jonah, with Jeroboam II . ( 2 Kings 14:25 ); Hosea and Amos, with the same ( Hosea 1:1 ; Amos 1:1 ): and Oded ( 2 Chronicles 28:9 ), contemporary with Pekah. God had never left himself without living witness. Besides the written testimony of the Law, he had sent them a continuous series of prophets, who "repeated and enforced the teaching of the Law by word of month, breathing into the old words a new life, applying them to the facts of their own times, urging them on the con- sciences of their hearers, and authoritatively declaring to them that the terrible threatenings of the Law were directed against the very sins which they habitually practiced." The prophets continually addressed them in the Name of God, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. This was the general burden of the prophetical teaching, both in Israel and in Judah, both before the captivity of Israel and afterwards (see Hosea 12:6 ; Hosea 14:2 ; Joel 2:12 , Joel 2:13 ; Amos 5:4-15 ; Isaiah 1:16-20 ; Isaiah 31:6 ; Jeremiah 3:7 , Jeremiah 3:14 ; Ezekiel 14:6 ; Ezekiel 18:30 , etc.).