Download - Latter Prophets
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Assyrian Crisis 8th
century
Decline of Assyrians &
Rise of Babylonians 7th
Babylonian Exile late
6th
century
Post-Exilic Community
Late 6th
and 5th
c
Amos Zephaniah Jeremiah Haggai
Hosea Nahum Obadiah Zechariah
Isaiah of Jerusalem Habbakuk Ezekiel Third Isaiah
Micah Second Isaiah Joel
Malachi
Jonah
I. Background Information to Latter Prophetsa. What is a Prophet?i. Common conception of a prophet is not the same idea as biblical prophetii. Biblical prophets more concerned with encouraging people to follow the way of
the Torah
iii. More forthtellers than foretellersb. Prophecy as a Social Phenomenon
i. Every human culture gives evidence of techniques or abilities to communicatewith a spirit world
ii. Spirit world realm beyond ordinary everyday world of time and space1. Communications may be through
1) Innate talent e.g. shamans2) Manipulation e.g.3) Priests4) Soothsayers5) Fortune tellers6) Spirit mediums7) Augurs
ii. Biblical Prophetic Writings indicate similar awareness1. E.g. the hand of the Lord upon him indicates a shamanlike possession2. Prophets found themselves in court of the Lord (1 Kings 22)3. Emphasis on more shamanlike response
c. Prophetic Behavior Often controversiali. Prophets carried messages from divine realm to earthly realmii. Considered more reliable than omens, lots, or auguries
d. The Job of the Prophet
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i. Through power of words (blessings and curses) a more discursivecommunication with the Lord was sought
ii. Institutionalized prophets1. Cultic prophets2. Royal prophets3. Sons of the prophets
e. A Maverick Minority with Divine Authorityi. Those mentioned in the Bible as compared to the entire profession that
flourished in ancient Israel
ii. Biblical prophets were mediators to spirit world AND advocates of the Mosaiccovenant between the Lord and Israel
iii. Interceded to God on behalf of Israeliv. Denounced veneration of other godsv. Demanded justice on earth as made explicit in Torahvi. Brought messages of warning if covenant abuse continued
f. Some Important Ideas to Keep in Mindi. Daniel is included as a prophetic book in the Christian OT but it is in the
Kethuvim for Jews.
ii. Oraclesrefer to a saying announcing a message from the Lord, Thus says theLord
iii. The prophets were spokespersons for the Lord to address specific situations inthe life the nation especially in light of the requirements of Israels covenant
with god
iv. The prophets were more concerned with correct practice, behavior, orthopraxisv. they were frustrated with the people touting their beliefs but not living up to
them (correct belief needed to be followed up with correct behavior (walk the
talk idea) (see Amos below)
vi. What is the relationship between the Mosaic Covenant and the Latterprophets?
1. They do not mention the Torah but they do defend the generalprinciples of faithfulness to Yahweh and social justice that the torah also
defends.
II. Prophetic Speech and Prophetic Literaturea. Call narrativeb. Visionsc. Symbolic actionsd. Dramatic encounters with kingse. Persecution of the prophetf. Poetryg. Prophetic Oraclesh. Announces a message of the Lordi. Oracle of judgment most common
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j. Admonitions to repentancek. Future deliverancel. Woe oraclem. Covenant lawsuitn. Lament of the individualo. Doxologies
III. Prophetic Poetrya. Rich in imageryb. Refers to ancient mythsc. Uses poetic devices such asd. Alliteratione. Assonancef. paronomasia
IV. Prophetic Themes: Covenant, Judgment, Redemptiona. These are the predominant themes throughout prophetic writingsb. Biblical prophets saw themselves as covenant advocates or mediatorsc. Covenant
i. Israel is a chosen peopleii. Divine expectations for Israel are more rigid
iii. Lords attitude is hesedor steadfast love, devotion, faithfulnessd. Judgment
i. Rebellion of Israel leads to punishmentii. Prophets still call for repentance in spite of inevitable punishment
iii. Perhaps a remnant will be savede. Redemption
i. Prophets looked to future time of restoration or new beginningii. Sometimes prophets envision an age of universal peace
V. Assyrian Crisis: Eighth Century: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah of Jerusalem & Micaha. Amos
i. Attacks Israels ruling class because despite having great wealth, the powerfulexploit the poor
ii. Stressed that ethical conduct is more important than correct ritualiii. From the south yet pronounced judgment on the Northern kingdomiv. Visions he uses: plague of locusts, bowl of summer fruit, wall and plumb linev. Day of Yahweh will be a day of great suffering if the people do not change their
ways
b. Hoseai. The Problem
1. The Sin of Jeroboam2. The Sin of Jehu
ii. The Symptoms of the Problem
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2. A Time of Judgment3. A Time of Salvation
iii. The Remnant1. Divine Judgment2. Salvation3. Their Character
a. Humbleb. Committed to Godc. Ethical Treatment of Others
b. Nahumi. Ninevehs Doom Declared - The Judgeii. Ninevehs Doom Described - The Judgment
iii. Ninevehs Doom Deserved - The Justificationc. Habbukuk
i. Habakkuks Question (1:2-4)1. Why does evil go unpunished?2. Why do the wicked prosper?3. Why doesnt God do something?
ii. Gods Answer (1:5-11)1. God is doing something.2. He is raising up a foreign nation, the Babylonians, to come and destroy
Judah.
iii. Principles1. God sometimes seems to be inactive, but He is involved.2. God is holy. He does not approve evil.3. God hears and answers prayers.4. God sometimes gives unexpected answers.5. God is Just and God is Good.6. The righteous live by faith and faithfulness.
iv. Message of Habakkuk1. Trust in God when living in the midst of a wicked society because God is
in control.
VII. Babylonian Exile late 6th c: Jeremiah, Obadiah, Second Isaiah, Ezekiela. Jeremiah
i. Jeremiah was rejected and condemned as a traitorii. Yet, in his prophesying to the exiles he offered them hope by saying that even if
the holy city and all other national religious symbols were destroyed, God would
still be present with those who serve him
iii. Temple Sermon (Jer 7) is mentioned in Intro; harsh words of judgment1. Worship was central to Israel's religious life. A good deal of the Torah,
as well as later writings, define proper worship. This includes the proper
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rituals, the authorized personnel, and the implements used in worship.
Much of Samuel, Kings, and especially Chronicles, deals with defining
and justifying notions of formal religion by illustrating them out of the
life of Israel and Judah. Most of the time this meant promoting a form
of worship centered in Jerusalem on Mount Zion.
Jeremiah was one of the few prophetic voices challenging the
orthodoxy of Zionist theology, which defined the "right" shape of
worship to the religious and political establishment. In his temple
address, as recorded in chapter 7, he brought an opposing perspective
to bear on the function of the temple and worship on Mount Zion. From
the parallel passage in Jeremiah 26 we learn that the sermon was given
in 609 B.C.E. at the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign.
Jeremiah delivered these words in the temple courtyard.
2. 2 Hear the word of YHWH, all you people of Judah who enter thesegates to worship YHWH. 3 Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the Elohim of
Israel: Reform your ways and your activity, and then I will let you live in
this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words--This is the temple of
YHWH, the temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH. 5 But if you reform
your ways and your activity, genuinely act justly with each other, 6 do
not oppress the resident-alien, the orphan or the widow, shed innocent
blood here, or go after other gods (which can only hurt you), 7 then I
will let you live in this place, here in the land that I gave your parents in
perpetuity a long time ago. 8 Right now you are putting your faith in
misleading words (This is the temple of YHWH!) but to no avail. 9 Would
you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal,
go after other gods you do not know 10 and then come and stand
before me in this temple, the one called by my name, and say 'We are
safe'--only to keep on doing these travesties?! 11 Has this house, the
one called by my name, become a den of thieves in your opinion? Right
now it appears that way to me," says YHWH. 12 "Then go now to my
place that was once in Shiloh. That's where I first housed my name. See
what I did to it as a result of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13
Now, because you have done these things," says YHWH (and though I
spoke to you persistently you would not listen, when I called you, you
would not answer) 14 "therefore I will do to the house now identified
with me--the one in which you trust, the place I gave to you and to your
ancestors--just what I did to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of my sight,
just as I cast out your cousins, all the descendants of Ephraim." (7:1-15)
3. It is rather easy to see why Jeremiah was not welcomed with a warmhug and a handshake after that speech. He roundly condemned the
Judean people for putting their faith in the temple. But why?
Two reasons. First, Jeremiah claimed that the people were immoral,
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and given their immorality, nothing could save them, not even their
sacred temple. Second, it seems the people viewed the temple almost
superstitiously. They thought that the temple conferred automatic
security. Official Jerusalemite theology claimed that Yahweh lived in the
temple, and as long as he was there nothing tragic could ever affect
Judah. Historical precedent backed them up in this belief. When
Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem in 701, Yahweh miraculously
delivered the city, no doubt, they thought, because he lived there.
iv. Book of Comfort (Jer 30-33)1. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be
like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypta covenant that they
broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 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 within them, and I will write it on their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer
shall they teach one another, or say to each other, Know the LORD, for
they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the
LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Jer 31:31-34
2. Jeremiahs Book of Comfort which comprises chapters 30-33 waswritten to give hope to Gods people in exile in Babylon. Gods prophet
had warned of wrath for the peoples sinfulness for years. The days he
warned of had dawned. During a series of deportations, many Jews
were exiled to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Eventually
Jeremiah himself would be forced to flee Jerusalem and was taken by
friends to refuge in Egypt. The Book of Comforts tone is a shift from his
earlier proclamations. Now words of comfort come to the exiles. Words
of hope and restoration.
b. Obadiahi. The Inevitability of Destruction (1-9)ii. The Reason for Destruction (10- 14)
iii. The Day of the Lord (15-21)iv. Obadiah - Conclusion and Application
1. Pride deceives and leads to more sin.2. Sin follows a downward path.3. God will keep His word.4. God will punish sin.5. God will protect His own.
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c. Ezekieli. Offered a view of responsibility that was a challenge to the peoples moral
understanding:
1. Now that the nation is gone, Yahweh will no longer punish the peoplecollectively; each person will be responsible only for his or her own sin.
ii. Post-exilic; 592-570s BCEiii. Controversy about canonicityiv. Exhibits extraordinary behaviors, symbolic actions than any other prophetv. Like Jeremiah, his career reaches a turning point with the fall of Jerusalemvi. 1-24 oracles denouncing sins of Judah and Israel
vii. 25-32 oracles against foreign nationsviii. 33-39 oracles of hope
ix. 40-48 idealized plan for Temple reconstructiond. Second Isaiah 40-55
i. Historical clues set this block apart from earlier chaptersii. Speaking near the end of Babylonian Exile
iii. Theme of hope replaces mood of doomiv. Long, complex poemsv. Continues themes of Holiness of the Lord, Monotheismvi. Known for its Servant Songs which serve to
1. Develop Israels identity of itself2. Develops understanding of suffering3. Influences later Christian thought
VIII. Post-Exilic Community: Late 6th and Early 5th c: Haggai, Zechariah, Third Isaiah, Joel, Malachi,Jonah
a. Haggaii. Haggai - Messages
1. The work of the Lord should never be procrastinated (1:3)2. Misplaced priorities hinder the work of God (1:4,9)3. The goal of Gods work is His glory and pleasure. (1:8)4. God sometimes uses natural disasters for spiritual discipline (1:6,10,11)5. Obedience and reverence are prerequisites for spiritual blessing (1:12-
14)
6. It is never too late to start obeying God (1:12-15)b. Zechariah
i. Four Ethical Messages1. The Message of Rebuke 7:1-72. The Message of Remembrance 7:8-143. The Message of Restoration 8:1-174. The Message of Return 8:18-23
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c. Third Isaiah 56-66i. Set apart more distinctly due to literary styleii. Unified by common historical setting
iii. Post-exilic Jerusalemiv. Most in classical prophetic style except for concluding oracle which exhibits an
apocalyptic flavor (66:22-23)
d. Joeli. Destruction - 1:1-2:11; Call for Repentance 2:12-17; Deliverance - 2:18-3:21ii. Destruction
1. Extent of Destruction by locusts (2-7)2. People's response to the present devastation (8-20)
a. Mourning (8-12)b. Fasting (13-14)c. Suffering (15-20)
3. Description of future devastation and the Lord's army (2:1-11)iii. Call for Repentance 2:12-17
1. Exhortation - Repent2. Positive Motivation - God May Relent
cf. Isa 55:8
iv. Deliverance - 2:18-3:21: God's response to repentance1. Pity - 18 God is a God of mercy.2. Plenty - 19-27 God is generous with His blessings.3. Plenty4. Restoration of crops (19a) and cessation of shame (19b)5. Invasion averted (20)6. Praise and exhortation (21-24)7. Effects of locust invasion reversed (25)8. Restoration of crops (26a) and cessation of shame (26b-27)
e. Malachii. Six questions / Six answers
1. How have you loved us?2. How have we despised your name?3. How have we wearied Him?4. How shall we return?5. How have we robbed Thee?6. What have we spoken against Him?
ii. The Answers1. God affirms love for Israel2. focuses on the neglect of priests and people who brought second rate
sacrifices
3. showed how their bad relationship with God carried over into thecommunity through the practice of divorce and remarriage to foreigners
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4. people mistook Gods patience for lack of divine justice5. their tithes and offerings were affected by their attitudes6. shows their arrogance and shortsightedness in neglecting a God
honoring lifestyle
f. Jonahi. Jonah is set around at the time of King Jeroboam the second, fairly early on in
the history of Israel.
ii. It tells the story of Jonah being sent to the people of Nineveh, but it isn't reallyabout the message Jonah gave.
iii. In fact, all we know about what he taught to Nineveh is one sentence:1. "Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown."
iv. There are two fairly obvious themes in Jonah:1. the repentance of Nineveh2. the repentance of Jonah
v. In the course of the book we see both repenting, and we see both beingforgiven.
vi. Jonah: disobeys, prays, obeys, and learnsvii. The book of Jonah shows us three things:
1. God forgives repentant individuals.2. God forgives repentant nations3. God calls out to all who will listen, not just those from a particular
background.