The Books of the Prophets constitute a vital section of the Old Testament,
and played an important role in the life and worship of the Hebrew people.
Of the prophetic books the four longer (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and
Daniel) are termed "major," the remaining twelve "minor." The third and
fourth windows of the west wall are given over to these two groups of men,
respectively.
Isaiah is the first in the order of the "major" prophets. His public
ministry, which spanned more than forty years and the reigns of four kings,
addressed itself to all of those grand themes which we associate with
Hebrew prophecy; God's judgment upon Israel for her sin, the promise of a
Holy One to come, and the embracing of the Day of the Lord, an ideal closely
parallel to the New Testament concept of the Kingdom of God. In our window,
Isaiah, like Daniel to his right, holds in his hands the pen and scroll,
emblematic of his prophetic office. Above his head are the words "Thus
saith the Lord God of Israel," the custom-honored pronouncement formula of
the prophets. Present, also, are the symbols of fruit and the pruning hook,
favorite emblems of the prophets by which they described God's judgment on
sinful man. (Isaiah 18:5)
The figure of the prophet Daniel became larger than life for the Jewish
people of the Maccabean period(c.150B.C.). During a time of persecution
they took heart from his loyalty to the God of Israel. In the face of
tyrannical pressures, Daniel became for them not only a symbol of Israel's
faithfulness to her spiritual ideals in time past, but also of God's
expectations for and demands upon Israel in the present. Daniel's words,
"Let thy gifts be to thyself" (Daniel 5:17), are his reply to the Babylonian
king, Belshazzar, and imply his (and Israel's) dependence upon none but God
alone. The lion, which these words surround, is the familiar symbol of
Daniel, taken from his fearful incident with these animals in their den.
The quatrefoil pictures a third major prophet, Jeremiah, with his faithful
scribe, Baruch, viewing the city of Jerusalem which he loved and upon which
he sadly pronounced his frequent words of doom.
The inscription at the bottom of this window reads: "In memory of
Harry R. Hank."