Throughout the time of the monarchy, prophets had the freedom to rebuke kings and princes in the name of the Lord (see 1 Samuel 13:13, 14; 1 Kings 20:41-43). They reminded the rulers that their sovereignty wasn’t unlimited, that the Lord’s rule and judgment were above the king’s rule. The prophets’ ability to speak plainly, pointing out the sins of the people and their rulers, was of great importance in the history of Israel. This set them apart from so-called prophets in other nations. “A striking contrast to the prophets’ threats of doom, hurled against kings and princes, was the anxiety often shown by Assyrian diviners ‘to explain away for their masters’ comfort the threatening signs which they cannot deny having observed.’ “ 6Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 2:259. GP 24.4
This independence of the biblical prophets made it possible for the prophet Nathan to rebuke King David for his crime against Uriah the Hit- tite (see 2 Samuel 12:1-13). Nathan’s prophetic authority was also the reason why David didn’t build the temple (see 7:12-17), and it was Nathan’s intervention that secured Solomon’s accession to the throne (see 1 Kings 1:11-14). GP 25.1
After the division of the nation of Israel into the northern kingdom, also called Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah, in 931 B.c., Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, built two centers of worship for his people in the north, one in Bethel and the other in Dan. He reasoned in his heart, ” ‘If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah’ ” (1 Kings 12:26, 27). As Jeroboam was officiating as priest at the dedication of the new altar at Bethel, a prophet of God protested, ” ‘O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you” ‘ ” (1 Kings 13:2). GP 25.2
This prophecy was fulfilled literally about three hundred years later when Josiah, the king of Judah (639-609 B.c.), demolished the altar at Bethel. “Josiah looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things” (2 Kings 23:16, NIV). GP 25.3
When King Ahab and his wife Jezebel introduced the cult of Baal in Israel, the northern kingdom, Elijah and other prophets led the fight against it (see 1 Kings 18; 20:13-43). Jezebel had some of them killed because of their opposition (see 1 Kings 18:4, 13, 22; 19:10-14; 2 Kings 9:7). Then, having failed to persuade one of their citizens, Naboth, to sell them his vineyard, Ahab and Jezebel had him falsely accused and put to death. But no sooner was Naboth dead than the prophet Elijah appeared proclaiming in the name of God, ” ‘ ” ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood’ ” ‘ ” (1 Kings 21:19). This prophecy was fulfilled when, on the day that King Ahab died in battle, “someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken” (1 Kings 22:38). GP 25.4
The voice of the prophets was the voice of supreme authority, expressing the viewpoint and will of God. Their words not only rivaled the decisions of the kings and the counsel of the priests, the prophets frequently defied and even condemned the words and deeds of priests, false prophets, princes, and kings (see Isaiah 3:12, 14, 15; Jeremiah 2:26; Micah 3:1-3, 11; Zephaniah 3:4). GP 26.1