The Town Crier

“But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.” (2Ch 28:9 AV)

 

Israel, or the ten northern tribes, were returning from battle with their brethren in the south.  Judah (the two southern tribes) had gone after the gods of their neighbors and fell into the sins of their brethren to the north.  God sent the northern ten tribes (Israel, Samaria, or Ephraim) to invade the south because the south has fallen out of grace with God.  In so doing, the north inflicted far more injury than allowed by law.  This is the meaning of the last phrase of our above verse.  Their rage reached up to heaven.  In part, they were enraged because they were spurned by Judah earlier.  The king of Judah hired 100,000 northern mercenaries to join with his forces against Edom.  God rebuked him so he sent those forces back up north.  This was an insult because those 100,000 troops were expecting to gain spoil in the war.  In their rage, the northern forces kidnapped and enslaved 200,000 Judeans.  According to O.T. law, this was a big no-no.  Hence the arrival of the prophet.  The prophet preaches a message of national repentance for the ten northern tribes.  His message was clear.  Just because God used you as a chastening rod for the south does not suggest they are without fault.  The warning was dire.  Release your enslaved brothers and sisters or be destroyed.

In my mother’s wall, for a very long time, was a piece of artwork called the town crier.  I don’t know what the style of artwork was called, but it was brass plate relief overlaid by glass painted black.  It was a very stunning piece.  I remember it so well that I could go back to my childhood home and show you what walls upon which this artwork hung.  The town crier’s job was to verbally publish extremely important news that could not wait until the paper came out.  He would start in the town square, ring a bell, and announce the news.  He would do so in a very loud voice to be heard by all that passed by.  The town crier would then walk the city streets ring his bell, and bellow his news.  For the most part, the news was not good.  For the most part, his job was to announce some edict or judgment from the authorities which the town needed to be made aware of.  Many ears did not appreciate the news of the town crier, but the news he had was extremely important; like it or not.  This artwork made an impression on me as the more I learned about the duties of the town crier and the more I learned of the risks inherent with the job, the more impressed I was with this man of principle.  I don’t know if this artwork had any impression on me that led me into the ministry, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

That one little phrase is the Spirit’s burden for today.  Oded was not popular with anyone.  Judah and Israel both were in disobedience.  No one escaped the condemnation of the prophet.  The crowd he was speaking to did not care to hear what he had to say.  But they needed to hear it anyway.  A nugget to consider is not only the words but the actions of the prophet.  He did not wait until the returning troops and nation settled into their wrong behavior.  As they returned, the prophet was there.  Amid their sin, the prophet was there.  When they were in the process of erring rather than waiting until the error was complete, the prophet was there.  Another nugget would be the small word ‘but’.  It means contrary.  The prophet was there to be contrary to the actions of those who were coming his way.  He was not there to win a debate.  He was there to declare a truth.  But the prophet of the LORD was there.  Lastly, he was a prophet of the LORD.  He was not there for his own sake.  He was not there for his own benefit.  He was not even there solely for truth’s sake.  He was there because he was a prophet of the LORD.