Chapter 5—The Inspiration of the Prophets
What is inspiration? An orchestra can give an inspired performance. Artists can be inspired to write music or paint a picture; and athletes may be inspired by their striving for Olympic gold. When used in these contexts, the word inspired means something quite different from what it means when used of the Bible. In the world of arts, inspiration refers to a state of creative fervor preceding the composition of a work. In the Bible, it describes the way the Holy Spirit made sure that the biblical writers correctly conveyed God’s messages to His people.GP 49.1
Athletes may be inspired or motivated to win gold. Inspiration in Scripture, however, was never something prophets desired, nor did it motivate them to strive for glory, honor, or acceptance. For many, it was a painful experience. Jeremiah complained, “LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; / you overpowered me and prevailed” (Jeremiah 20:7, NIV). It seems that he didn’t at all enjoy being a prophet of the Lord.GP 49.2
In 2 Timothy 3:16, the apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God” (RSV). Thus, the inspiration of the Bible is clearly a teaching found in Scripture itself. The Old Testament writers often claim to be recording the very words of God, making such statements as “God spoke to Moses and said to him . . .” (Exodus 6:2); ” ‘The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, / And His word was on my tongue’ ” (2 Samuel 23:2); “The word of the LORD came to me, saying . . .” (Jeremiah 2:1); “God said to . . .” (Hosea 1:6); etc. Some people have attempted to count these and similar statements and have come up with more than two thousand such claims of inspiration in the Old Testament alone. GP 49.3