Andrew Stepp | OT Prophets …providing Thanksgiving meal boxes to the participants of the Getting Ahead program at Main Street Ministries. These are the items that are still needed: .14 Large Bags/Boxes of Stuffing Mix .20 Cans/Boxes of Chicken/Turkey Broth .22 Foil Roasting Pans(to accommodate an 8- 10 lb. turkey) . Who here can name them? …in order? . Do you know the difference between Nahum, Obadiah, and Micah? . “I’m cool with Moses and Joseph and stuff like that, but the prophets not just Old Testament, they’re like totally, way- ridiculous, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me Old Testament….” . They ALL happen during a unique time period that we tend to ignore/avoid, or only teach selectively (e.g. Daniel and Rack, Shack, and Benny) Major Prophets Minor Prophets (The 12) . Hosea ▪ Nahum . Isaiah . Joel . Jeremiah ▪ Habakkuk . Amos . Ezekiel ▪ Zephaniah . Obadiah ▪ Haggai . Jonah NOTE: ▪ Zechariah Minor = “shorter,” NOT less . Micah important! ▪ Malachi Major = “longer” . Less than 2 percent of Old Testament prophecy is messianic. Less than 5 percent specifically describes the new-covenant age. Less than 1 percent concerns events yet to come in our time. The prophets did indeed announce the future. But it was usually the more immediate future of Israel, Judah, and other nations surrounding them that they announced rather than our future. One of the keys to understanding the Prophetic Books, therefore, is that for us to see their prophecies fulfilled, we must look back on times that for them were still future but for us are past. Those years were characterized by three things: 760-460 BC (Amos-Malachi) (1) unprecedented political, military, economic, and social upheaval; (2) an enormous level of religious unfaithfulness and disregard for the original Mosaic covenant (3) shifts in populations and national boundaries, including enormous shifts in the balance of power on the international scene. Pre-Exilic Pre-Exilic Exilic Post Exilic (Israel) (Judah) Jonah Isaiah Lamentations Haggai Amos Micah Ezekiel Joel Hosea Nahum Daniel Zechariah Habakkuk Malachi Zephaniah Jeremiah “I’m glad you asked… ” Prologue Part One: Growth of a Great Nation Part Two: Division and Exile Part Three: Restoration +/- Part Four: A Global Kingdom . I Kings 11-12 – The Story of the United Kingdom of Israel dividing into two nations = Israel (North) and Judah (South) . Let’s just track Israel: . The Kingdom in the North . Capital is Samaria (Omri) . They worshipped Yahweh! (…but that’s what they named their 2 golden calves ) . …And they worshipped a LOT of other gods. 211 years . 20 kings, none godly . Read about his reign in 2 Kings 14:23-29 . Probably one of the most successful Kings of Israel . Reigned 41 years . Expanded Israel’s Territory almost to the extent of David and Solomon’s kingdom . Defeated the Arameans, Damascus . Luxury, Amusement, exported olive oil, wine, and horses densely populated (+/-350,000 population) . Yahweh was worshipped at Dan and Beth-el … 2 golden calves. “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam…” (2 Kings 14:24) . All three prophets to Pre-exilic Israel are during his reign. JONAH . 2 Kings 14:25 – a little historical shout-out . “Through a very reluctant prophet, God shows compassion for one of Israel’s hated enemies.” . Not a collection of prophetic oracles like all the rest, but a prophetic narrative about God’s compassion and Israel’s ego- centric, entitled contempt for others, especially their enemies. Functions like a parable You’re drawn into the story and caught off guard by the ending. Jonah makes a beautiful confession of Yahweh’s character…but it is the exact reason he is angry. “In a period of rare economic prosperity and political strength for Israel, Yahweh announces their doom because she has failed to keep covenant with him.” . Issues at hand: Religious syncretism, social injustice, false security in religion and materialism. For Israel, prosperity = Yahweh’s blessing . “What Amos saw and spoke most clearly at the peak of this period was that everything was in fact the opposite of what it seemed.” . Their “blessing” was a result of their corrupt practices, not Yahweh! . 2:6-16 . 5:1-17 . 9:1-14 . Well, let’s just let Hosea speak for himself… . 1:1-2 – “When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” “Awkward Face” . God’s faithfulness vs. Israel’s Unfaithfulness . God’s love for his adulterous bride. Hosea wears his heart on his sleeve! Note all the striking metaphors: . Yahweh = lion, leopard, bear, eagle/vulture, trapper, husband, lover, parent, pine tree. Israel = adulterous wife, stubborn heifer, snare and net, heated oven, half-baked bread, senseless dove, faulty bow, headless stalk, a baby refusing birth; she will disappear like mist, dew, chaff, smoke; she will float away like a twig on water. Ch. 14 – If you would only say… 2 Kings 5: 1-31; 17:1-6 This is the point of the class! Jonah = 4 chapter (1 day) Amos = 9 (2 days) Hosea = 14 (2 days) .