Expectation of the Chosen People: 17 Books of Prophecy

The prophets were messengers from God to his people. In ancient times, great kings would enter into covenants, or unbreakable agreements, with lesser kings. The parties would seal the agreement by cutting an animal in half and saying that this should happen to them if they broke the agreement. This is where the phrase "cutting a deal" originated. Now if the lesser king started to fail to keep the terms of the agreement, the great king would send an emissary to call the lesser king back to faithfulness. This is exactly the role of the prophets of the Old Testament. God sent them to call Israel back to repentance when they became unfaithful.
Now the word "prophesy" generally means "forthtell." But it also means to "foretell." The prophets not only warned Israel of the judgment and mercy to come, they spoke of God's ultimate judgment and mercy. There are some 300 Messianic prophecies which foretell the coming of the Redeemer. God prepared the world for his coming through the prophecies which foretold his deity, humanity, birth, life, death, resurrection and redemptive mission. He will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); he will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); he will be "cut off" at the beginning of the Christian era (Daniel 9:25); he will be born as a child, yet called "God" (Isaiah 9: 6).

Isaiah describes the Messiah's redemptive mission this way:

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (53:4-6)