Whenever there is a violation in a sports game, a referee blows a whistle or throws a flag and then issues a penalty. In a store, security officers are present to enforce rules, just as the highway patrol cruises the freeway in search of law violators.

Like these modern-day rule-enforcers, the prophets in the Bible had a simple job; when people were not obeying God, prophets would encourage obedience to the law, which God gave to Israel as a framework for a relationship with Him. The main purpose of a prophet was not to tell the future, but rather to correct those who were not living according to the law and outline the consequences for their actions.