I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets I will bring destruction. In Gilead there is iniquity, they shall surely come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, so their altars shall be like stone heaps on the furrows of the field. Jacob fled to the land of Aram; there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep. By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded. Ephraim has given bitter offence, so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him and pay him back for his insults. (Hosea 12: 10-14)

The prophet is one who is open to God and thereby able to receive the word of God and perceive God's intention.

Such openness is seldom self-cultivated. It is usually the outcome of an extended struggle with God. Prophecy extends this struggle to others.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profane riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet's words."

The prophets do tend to rage. The God of prophets is typically angry, jealous, and ready for retribution.

The English word rage is derived from the Latin rabere. A mad dog has rabies, another derivation. It is a violent madness.

Can God go crazy? Is prophecy an expression of madness? Could prophecy be a form of divine psycho-therapy?

In the one case of full raging human madness I have experienced the cause was - it seemed clear to me - an inablity to otherwise speak the truth. Only under the cover of madness could the false forms of daily life be sufficiently put aside to permit a powerful, troubling, and sometimes frightening telling of the truth.