Prophets in times of crisis and the call of Paul

1Called when things go wrong

Prophets were rarely called in calm times. They were sent when a nation was sliding into injustice, when an enemy army was coming, or when a whole city had turned to evil. Their task was to speak God's word into the crisis: to warn, to call people back, and to offer hope. In this lesson you study three prophets of the Bible, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah (whom the Qur'an also honours as Yunus), and then the man who began as an enemy of the first Christians and became their greatest missionary: Saul, known as Paul.

2Three prophets in three crises

Isaiah was called in Jerusalem as the powerful Assyrian empire threatened Judah, and as the rich oppressed the poor. He describes a vision in the Temple:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1)

"Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I live amongst a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”" (Isaiah 6:5–8)

Jeremiah was called as a young man, decades before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. He felt too young for the task:

"Now the LORD’s word came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you. Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says the LORD." (Jeremiah 1:4–8)

Jonah was sent to Nineveh, capital of Assyria, Israel's enemy. At first he ran the other way:

"Now the LORD’s word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." (Jonah 1:1–3)

After a storm and three days inside a great fish, the call came a second time and Jonah obeyed. Nineveh listened: "The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least." (Jonah 3:5), and "God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it." (Jonah 3:10).

3Jonah (Yunus) in the Qur'an

"And lo! Jonah verily was of those sent (to warn) When he fled unto the laden ship, And then drew lots and was of those rejected; And the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy; And had he not been one of those who glorify (Allah) He would have tarried in its belly till the day when they are raised; Then We cast him on a desert shore while he was sick; And We caused a tree of gourd to grow above him; And We sent him to a hundred thousand (folk) or more And they believed, therefor We gave them comfort for a while." (Qur'an 37:139–148)

The Qur'an also tells of his prayer from the darkness: "And (mention) Dhu'n-Nun, when he went off in anger and deemed that We had no power over him, but he cried out in the darkness, saying: There is no God save Thee. Be Thou glorified! Lo! I have been a wrong-doer." (Qur'an 21:87). Dhu'n-Nun means "he of the fish". Muslims see in Yunus a prophet who made a mistake, turned back to Allah in repentance and was restored, and whose people believed.

4The pattern of a call story

5The call of Saul, who became Paul

Saul of Tarsus was a strict Jewish teacher who persecuted the first followers of Jesus. On the road to Damascus everything changed:

"But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he travelled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.”" (Acts 9:1–6)

Blinded, Saul was led into the city. God told a disciple named Ananias to "go to the street which is called Straight" and find Saul (Acts 9:11). Ananias was afraid, because of Saul's reputation, but the Lord answered that "he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). Saul's sight was restored and he was baptised. Later he described his call himself: God "who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him amongst the Gentiles" (Galatians 1:15–16).

His mission took him across the Roman world, founding churches and writing letters that are now part of the New Testament. Paul is not mentioned in the Qur'an, and Islam does not count him among the prophets; for Christians he is the apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

Discuss. Jonah was angry when Nineveh, his enemy, was spared. What does his story teach about God's mercy, and about how Rwandans today can respond to people who have wronged them?