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Home , Book of Lamentations, Hosea

The

Messengers of God’s Love What Is a ? • Have a special connection with God and understand his desire; crafted and

proclaimed their exhortations to their community

Image in public domain public in Image • Not necessarily someone who could tell the future The Prophets: A Radical Redemption • Time and again we see that God’s people lost sight of their covenant relationship with God. • They needed someone to call them back to

God.

© Cody /Wheeler Shutterstock.com Cody © God creates or enters into a Covenant and it is good.

Humanity falls into Peace and God’s healing return to the people. idolatry, resulting in

disease, war, and grief. Image in public domain public in Image

God sends teachers, The people return to kings, prophets, or following the Covenant. others who lead the people to . Prophets and God’s Covenant • At the heart of the message of the biblical prophets is a return to following God’s Covenant. – The message included a continued honoring of the principles of the Covenant,

which were laws that fostered communal identity and domain public in Image practices that brought about God’s desire for peace; justice; human dignity; respect for creation; love of God, neighbor, and self; liberation from sin and bondage; and much more. – This was to be done in “new” ways based on the ways the community had grown and matured over time. What do Prophets have in Common?

• They understood that God wanted his People to come back to him with their whole selves. • They lived good, moral lives themselves.

• They obeyed God. domain public in Image • They knew that God wanted his People to treat ALL people with justice.

The Marks & Roles of the Prophets

• Call Narrative: – Mysterious setting • Keep the people and the – God initiates king faithful to the – Resistance to the call covenant – God reassures – Spiritual Warrior: make – Mission is given & sure the king and accepted people were obeying • Popularity the Law of – Most of the prophets were not popular with – Messenger of God: the officials of the state Spoke the words of or the people because God they told the truth – Social Revolutionary: about their sinful Spoke out against actions social injustices • Ex,

Diversity among the prophets • God used a variety of people of different backgrounds to convey His message which was coming at different times in history and to a variety of different people How Are the Prophets Different From One Another?

18 books of the that contain the sermons, dreams and visions of the prophets of God. Prophets were messengers of God that worked to keep the people (king) faithful to the covenant.

• Each has a book of the named after them. • Major Prophets have longer books. • Minor Prophets have shorter books.

Minor Prophets • Major Prophets • • • • Hosea • • Jeremiah • • • • • Zechariah • • •

How Are the Prophets Different From One Another?

• They do not have books of the Bible named after them. • They are major characters in the stories in the two Books of and the two (no written record of these prophets outside of these books). . Samuel . . . .

• Other people who lived prior to the monarchy are considered prophets because they also spoke for God. These include Moses, , and .

Message of the Prophets • Form: – An Oracle • A message given in the words of God; Prefaced with “Thus says the Lord”, Uses the pronoun “I” – Paraphrase by the prophet • Expression: – Prophecy of Doom This message was a warningHow? of the disaster that would follow if the King and the people did not change their evil ways – Prophecy of Encouragement This message offered hope for the future if the King and the people changed their evil ways. Message of the Prophets

•Unfaithfulness to God’s Covenant – Idolatry • Worshipping false gods • Putting faith in others rather than

– Social Injustice • Oppressing the poor Why? • Adultery • Lying • Cheating • Stealing • Murder • Any practice that took away the human rights of another Delivery of the message

• Mostly oral messages

• Sometimes the message was acted out – Ex. Is Ezekiel

Time Periods Early Prophets from Early Prophets from Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Exilic Prophets Post-Exilic Prophets LIST OF THE PROPHETS

. Former prophets include Samuel, Elijah & Elisha

• Latter or Writing Prophets are divided into major and minor prophets, and these distinctions refer to the length of the writings of the latter prophets, not the importance of the prophet or his message.

• Major prophets: The major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah ,Ezekiel and The book of the prophet Isaiah is the longest prophetic book and was probably written by three different writers, Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah and third Isaiah. The book of Lamentations is included in this section.

• Minor prophets: Include Micah, Amos, Hosea, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, Jonah, Obadiah, Malachi, Zephaniah, Joel & Nahum

• Baruch and Lamentations are prophet related writings

CHART OF OLD TESTAMENT KINGS & PROPHETS

Early Prophets from Israel Jonah • The is unique in that is not full of visions, but records a small portion of the life of Jonah who is known as the reluctant missionary. We learn from 2 Kings14:25 that Jonah preached during the time of Jeroboam II around 749 B.C. – 790 B.C.

• proclaims a coming judgment upon Nineveh's people. But they repented and judgment was spared.

Early Prophets from Israel

Amos • The tells of how Amos, who was shepherd, preached about how Judah would not escape punishment for her sins, and he preached many other prophecies about other nations. • He was preaching around the same time as Joel and Hosea around 786 B.C. – 726 B.C

• He warned Israel of its coming judgment. Israel rejects God's warning. Early Prophets from Israel Hosea • The is about the prophet Hosea. He preached his message to Israel from about 786 B.C. to 726 B.C.

• Story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife, . Represents God's love and faithfulness and Israel's spiritual adultery. Israel will be judged and restored.

Early Prophets from Judah

Isaiah • The is one of the longest and most important books in the Old Testament. • Isaiah began prophesying around 759 B.C. • Looks at the sin of Judah and proclaims God's judgment. Hezekiah. Coming restoration and blessing. Early Prophets from Judah Micah • The is about the prophet Micah who preached around the time of Isaiah and Hosea around 740 B.C. – 700 B.C.

• Description of the complete moral decay in all levels of Israel. God will judge but will forgive and restore. Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Nahum • He was preaching around 630 B.C. around the same time as Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.

• The is about the prophet Nahum and his message to Judah (Nahum 1:15). Nahum’s announcement was a “comfort” and a “consolation” to the inhabitants of Judah, as it predicted the downfall of Assyria, a savage and cruel enemy of Israel and Judah.

• While the book of Jonah records Nineveh’s reprieve, Nahum predicts its destruction. Nineveh has gone into apostasy (approx. 125 years after Jonah) and will be destroyed.

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets

Zephaniah • The is about the prophet Zephaniah who was a descendant of King Hezekiah. He prophesied during the reign of in Judah around 630 B.C.

• The theme is developed of the Day of the Lord and His judgment with a coming blessing. Judah will not repent, except for a remnant, which will be restored. Late Pre-Exilic Prophets

Habakkuk • The is about the prophet Habakkuk who preached to Judah around 628 B.C. to 608 B.C. He had a complaint against God. He wanted to know why their nation should be destroyed by a more wicked nation.

• Near the end of the kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk asks God why He is not dealing with Judah's sins. God says He will use the Babylonians. Habakkuk asks how God can use a nation that is even worse than Judah. • Habakkuk 2:4 … But the just shall live by his faith. (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Joel • The is about the prophet Joel. • It proclaims a terrifying future using the imagery of locusts. Judgment will come but blessing will follow. • The book focuses its prophetic judgment on the southern kingdom of Judah with frequent references to and the temple worship (Joel 1:13– 14; 2:23, 32; 3:16, 21). Joel’s familiarity with this area and the worship in the temple suggests that he lived in Judah, possibly even in the city of itself.

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Joel Dating the writing of the book of Joel remains one of the most difficult tasks for Old Testament scholars because unlike most prophetic writers, Joel gave no explicit indication of his time period. In particular, Joel refrained from mentioning the current ruling kings. One of the most compelling arguments for dating the writing of the book of Joel explains this omission by suggesting the prophecy occurred in the aftermath of Judah’s only ruling queen, Athaliah (d. 835 BC). Upon her death, she left only her young son, Joash, to rule. But because Joash was too young to rule, the priest Jehoida ruled in his place until he came of age. So if Joel prophesied during this caretaking period, it would make sense that he mentioned no official king. Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Joel The book of Joel also makes ample mention of priests, temple rituals, and nations, such as Phoenicia, Philistia, Egypt, and , that were prominent in the late ninth century BC. All of this points to a date of approximately 835 BC or soon after, making Joel one of the earliest writing prophets, as well as a contemporary of the prophet Elisha Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Jeremiah • The records how God made this young man into a prophet though he was reluctant at first. He lived about 100 years after Isaiah and he prophesied for about 60 years from 626 B.C. – 566 B.C. • Called by God to proclaim the news of judgment to Judah, which came. • God establishes a New Covenant. :33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets

Lamentations • The Book of Lamentations is a collection of 5 poems that express grief over the defeat and destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews. • Lamentations has traditionally been ascribed to Jeremiah, probably on the grounds of the reference in 2 Chronicles 35:25 to the prophet composing a on the death of King Josiah, but there is no reference to Josiah in the book and no reason to connect it to Jeremiah.

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets

Lamentations • The language fits an Exilic date (586–520 BCE), and the poems probably originated from Judeans who remained in the land. Scholars are divided over whether they are the work of one or multiple authors.

• One clue pointing to multiple authors is that the gender and situation of the first-person witness changes – the narration is feminine in the first and second lamentation, and masculine in the third, while the fourth and fifth are eyewitness reports of Jerusalem's destruction; conversely, the similarities of style, vocabulary, and theological outlook, as well as the uniform historical setting, are arguments for one author.

Late Pre-Exilic Prophets Obadiah • The is about the prophecies of the prophet Obadiah. It is believed that he preached around the time Judah was overthrown around 586 B.C.

• A proclamation against Edom, a neighboring nation of Israel that gloated over Jerusalem's judgments. Prophecy of its utter destruction.

Exilic Prophets Ezekiel • The covers the prophecies made by Ezekiel. Ezekiel had been carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar around 597 B.C. and started prophesying 5 years later.

• He ministered to the Jews in Captivity in Babylon. • Description of the end of times.

Exilic Prophets

Daniel • The is about the life of Daniel and the dreams he interpreted. Daniel was part of the first group of Jews taken into captivity around 606 B.C.

• Many visions of the future for the Gentiles and the Jews. Post-Exilic Prophets

Haggai • The has two chapters in which the prophet Haggai delivers a message from God to the Jews after their return to Jerusalem by the order of Cyrus around 520 B.C.

• The people failed to put God first, by building their houses before they finished God's temple. Therefore, they had no prosperity.

Post-Exilic Prophets

Zechariah • The is about the prophet Zechariah who also came back with Zerubbabel, and he worked with Haggai • Zechariah encourages the Jews to complete the temple. • Many messianic prophecies.

Post-Exilic Prophets

Zechariah • Zechariah made several prophecies about the coming Messiah:

• His atoning death for the removal of sin (3:8-9; 13:1) • As builder of the house of God (6:12) • His universal reign as King and Priest (6:13; 9:10) • His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (9:9) • His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (11:12) • His Deity (12:8) • His pierced hands (12:10; 13:6) • A smitten shepherd (13:7)

Post-Exilic Prophets Malachi • The last book of the O.T. is Malachi. It talks about the prophet Malachi and his message. He was the last of the O.T. prophets who prophesied about 100 years after Haggai and Zechariah around 450 B.C. – 425 B.C. • God's people are lax in their duty to God. Growing distant from God. Moral compromise. Proclamation of coming judgment. What Paul says about What was written Earlier :4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.