The main themes of the Old Testament prophecies

Reproof and consolation are the universal direction of the content of any prophecy. However, the content of the prophetic books is not limited to this. In the prophetic and other books of the Old Testament that contain the words of prophecy, one can see an incredible variety of rebukes and consolations relating to various topics.

It is impossible to make an exhaustive list of all the prophetic themes in the Old Testament. The Bible is the word of God, which is as inexhaustible as the life itself that He created. At the same time, the depth and infinity of meaning, as well as the variety of topics of just one book of the Bible, are no less than in its entire corpus.

However, for those who are beginning to study the prophecies of the Old Testament for the first time, it will be useful to experience the variety of prophetic topics.

The following are 26 major themes often found in Old Testament prophecies (with one example for each topic).

God Himself

"Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. I live! saith the Lord God; Because My sheep were forsaken, My sheep were made to be plundered, and without a shepherd, the food of every beast of the field, and My shepherds, seek not My sheep, and shepherds feed yourselves, but do not feed My sheep, ~ therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I ~ am against the shepherds, and I will seek my sheep out of their hand, and I will give them no more to feed the sheep, and the shepherds shall no more feed themselves, and I will pluck my sheep out of their jaws, and they shall not be their food. For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I myself will find my sheep, and I will examine them. As a shepherd trusts his flock in the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock, so will I examine my sheep, and will release them from all the places where they were scattered, in a day of clouds and darkness. And I will bring them out of the nations, and I will gather them out of the countries, and I will bring them into their land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, on the left, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the earth. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their corral will be on the high mountains of Israel; there they will rest in a good paddock and graze in the rich pasture, on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my sheep, and I will give them rest, saith the Lord God, I will seek out those who are lost, and I will bring back those who are driven away, and I will bind up those who are wounded, and I will strengthen the sick, and I will destroy those who are fat and violent. I will feed them in righteousness" (Ezekiel 34:7-16).

God as the Creator of all things

"For your Creator is your husband; The Lord of hosts ~ His name; and thy Redeemer ~ the Holy One of Israel: He shall be called the God of all the earth. For as a woman forsaken and sorrowful in spirit the Lord calls thee, and as a woman of youth who was rejected, saith thy God. For a little time I have forsaken thee, but with great mercy I will receive thee. In the heat of wrath I hid My face from thee for a time, but with everlasting mercy I will have mercy on thee, saith thy Redeemer, the Lord. For this is to me like the waters of Noah: just as I swore that the waters of Noah would come no more to the earth, so I swore not to be angry with you, nor to reproach you. The mountains will be moved, and the hills will be shaken, ~ but my mercy will not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace will not be shaken, says the Lord who has mercy on you" (Isaiah 54:5-10).

God as Master

"How then do you say, Jacob, and say, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my work is forgotten from my God'? Don't you know? Have you not heard that the eternal Lord God, who made the ends of the earth, is not weary and faint? His mind is unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary, and gives strength to the weary. Young men grow weary and faint, and young men fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength: they will lift up their wings like eagles, they will flow ~ and not be weary, they will walk ~ and not be weary" (Isaiah 40:27-31).

The Anointed One

"The kings of the earth are rising, and the princes are taking counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. Let us break their bonds, and cast off their fetters." He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh, and the Lord shall mock them: then shall he say unto them in his wrath, and with his wrath shall cause them to confusion: I have anointed my King over Zion, my holy mountain; I will proclaim the decree: The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son; I have begotten thee this day; ask of me, and I will give the nations for thy inheritance, and the boundaries of the lands for thy possession; Thou shalt smite them with a rod of iron; you will break them like a potter's vessel'" (Psalm 2:2-9).

God's People