Why are OT prophets so harsh?

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I know they’re not all that harsh and that many of them end on a hopeful note and that life isn’t all pink but they seem to be very harsh and I don’t quite get why. How is Israel supposed to know they’re legit and not just fake prophets? How would knowing that their pain is caused by their sins help a group of exiles in any way/ what is the larger point? Does anyboy know any good resources exploring the OT prophets further? Cheers.
 
 
…they seem to be very harsh and I don’t quite get why. How is Israel supposed to know they’re legit and not just fake prophets? How would knowing that their pain is caused by their sins help a group of exiles in any way/ what is the larger point?
The point is to rouse the people to see the seriousness of their sins and the dire consequences their abandonment of God and His commands will bring if they do not repent and return to God.
 
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I do not believe this is at all a good idea to have. For one, we don’t have evidence indicating that this is true. It also makes it seem like there’s differences and not agreement among the Trinity as opposed to being the same Being, the three are in agreement.

The Old Testament was one that was very important. The Jews were to inspire the morality of the nations around them. The law was very strict for a great reason. Likewise there was strictness among the prophets. One should be upright and not evil.
 
Because the Israelites were behaving badly.
They knew God’s law and rebelled anyway.
Tough love
 
They prophets need to be harsh. The Jews in those times were stubborn people and they wouldn’t listen unless they got scared, and were talked to in a stern way.
 
Best book i would recommend is Trent Horn’s book:

‘Hard Sayings: A Catholic Approach To Answering Bible Difficulties’

Description:
Have you ever read something in the Bible that made you just scratch your head? Has a skeptic ever challenged you to defend a seemingly scandalous verse of Scripture?

You’re not alone. The Bible contains more than a few “hard sayings” (John 6:60): ancient idioms, apparent contradictions, myth-like events and figures, and passages that seem to be embarrassingly out of step with modern culture or science.

How can a Catholic reconcile such things with his own faith, and with what the Church teaches about the inspiration and inerrancy of Sacred Scripture?

Don’t worry. As Trent Horn (Answering Atheism) explains in Hard Sayings, God’s revelation in the Bible is not something Catholics need to be ashamed of or read with a mental reservation. Trent examines dozens of the most confounding passages in Scripture and offers clear, reasonable, Catholic explanations to unlock their true meaning. He also provides basic principles for reading and interpreting Scripture that the wisdom of the Church has developed over the centuries.

“Trent Horn’s impressive command of Catholic and skeptical sources makes Hard Sayings an invaluable resource for all who wrestle with Bible difficulties. It reveals the sanity of the Catholic approach to Scripture and how critics who attack supposed contradictions are really missing their mark. Hard Sayings neither pulls punches or shies away from hot-button issues. It provides a solid rational approach to difficulties without becoming rationalistic. This book should be required reading for every bible study leader and every Christian who takes the Bible seriously.” —Gary Michuta

“What a desperately needed book! Whether you’re a skeptic who thinks the ‘dark passages’ disprove God, or a faithful Catholic who trusts the Bible but still has a hard time swallowing these verses, this book is a light switch to cast away those shadows.” —Brandon Vogt, Content Director at Word on Fire, author of RETURN: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church

“Horn’s arguments are clear and concise, drawing widely from the best of current scholarship to address the Bible’s most difficult passages. More impressively still, he manages to make this content accessible to the ordinary believer while not oversimplifying the issues involved.” —Matthew J. Ramage, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology at Benedictine College, Author of Dark Passages of the Bible
 
Continued…
“Isn’t the Bible just error-riddled traditions handed down full of contradiction and believed by irrational faith?” This is a common conception of the Bible in our “Enlightened Age.” Trent Horn clears away the fog and misconceptions with his new book Hard Sayings. He addresses the challenges from every quarter responding as deftly as a surgeon. From Darwin vs. Genesis to “1001 Bible contradictions” there is no Bible “difficulty” he is afraid to address. He sets the record straight giving a reasoned confidence and trust in the written word of God. A must read for everyone who loves and trusts Sacred Scripture. " —Steve Ray

“The Bible is the written Word of God. But it is not always easy to understand. As with many things in a fallen world, difficulties arise. Trent Horn masterfully aids readers in overcoming these difficulties by answering objections to key passages and ideas of the Bible. This book is a helpful, popular tool for apologists, evangelists, and ordinary believers.” —Mark Brumley, President of Ignatius Press


I have found this book really informative and has answers to all your questions 🙂
Not only that but i had the same questions as you and found my answers in this book.

God Bless!
 
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You asked quite a number of questions here, and I think you are wise to want to look deeper into this from a better source than an internet forum. I’ll try to just give the answers without the reasoning behind them, if that’s okay, and you can do more research on your own.

The chastisements sent by God were only as harsh as they had to be in order to convert the Hebrews. The prophets were doubted because of willfull ignorance, the same way people doubt God today. The larger point was to convert the Hebrews, and the warnings were legitimate warnings on God’s part, and did not come true if the people repented.

I haven’t read any books specifically on this topic, but you may find some of the responses to Marcionism by the early Church Fathers helpful, though I haven’t read any myself.
 
Prophets were not speaking their personal opinions, but transmitting the Word of God.

Harsh?

Is fraternal correction harsh, or extremely charitable?

Without even offering an answer expressing my personal opinions, I offer that this is something we each have to consider and come to grips with, personally.

Pax et bonum!
 
Jeremiah 25:32-33

See! The disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A mighty tempest rises
from the far ends of the world.
Those slaughtered by YHWH that day will be scattered across the world from end to end. No dirge will be raised for them. No one will gather them or bury them.
They will stay lying on the surface like dung.


That, indeed, is harsh. But no less so is Jesus’ warnings about what He has in store for us:
Luke 12:49 & 21:34-35

I have come to bring a fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!
. . . that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.


Isaiah’s harsh prophecy for Jewish women (3:17-24) has already been fulfilled, and, if YHWH chose to treat His own people like that, then we should not be surprised at what He has in store for the rest of humanity.
 
Hi!

There are several situations that demonstrate this.

When people claim to represent Yahweh and make predictions they usually are like the diviners/soothsayers who are seeking to separate you from your money. They paint a rosy universe where you will meet with fantastic things or if they see you as an easy mark they will take you into a dark path so that you would continue to come to them for the candles and readings and potions…

The harshness did not come from the prophets nor from Yahweh God; the harshness came as consequence of Israel’s disobedience and abandonment of Yahweh God for those who are not gods at all.

Have you noticed how people don’t rise up to protest black people killing black people, etc.? They rise up when police kill, mostly, black people. Those who are suppose to represent law and justice are held at a higher standard.

So it is for the People of God, then and now.

Further, the Old Covenant was one based on the human (temporal) economy–so we will see these experiences retold in their gruesome details; the New Covenant ushers in the Messiah, Who Brings us into the Spiritual relationship; God’s Wrath is still there but no longer manifested through the temporal economy.

Jesus Reveals that God is Spirit and True Worshipers must Worship in Spirit and Truth.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
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