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In the Hebrew Bible, the Minor Prophets are collected in one volume called The Twelve.
Jesus said of John the Baptist, he was prophet, "yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet...For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. " Matthew 11:9, 13
For this reason John was selected as the centerpiece as the last prophet before the Messianic Age, carrying on the ministry of Malachi, Zechariah and all the previous torchbearers, preparing the way of Jesus.
The beheading of John the Baptist
by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1869)
Name: צְפַנְיָה "Concealed is Yahweh"
Date: End of the 7th century B.C.
Place: Judah
See Marvin A. Sweeney "A form-critical reassessment of the Book of Zephaniah," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 53 no 3 Jl 1991, p 388-408 for more on Zephaniah
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,” Zeph. 1:2-3
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the LORD, before his fierce anger. Jer. 4:23-26
1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth
and devastate it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter its inhabitants—
4 The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens languish with the earth.
5 The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers;
all the merrymakers groan.
8 The joyful timbrels are stilled,
the noise of the revelers has stopped,
the joyful harp is silent.
9 No longer do they drink wine with a song;
the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate;
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine;
all joy turns to gloom,
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth. Isa. 24:1, 4-11
Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away. Hos. 4:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Gen. 1:1-2
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah... during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah Zeph 1:1
Was the prophet enlisted by Josiah to help rally Judah behind his reforms?
Marvin Sweeny notes that Zephaniah;s structure provides the paradigm for many prophetic writings in the Bible. Noting its themes of judgment and promise. Judgment on the nations beginning with Israel and Judah, then ultimate promise of restoration.
“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[a]
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.
12 But I will leave within you
the meek and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust in the name of the LORD.
13 They will do no wrong;
they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[b]
before your very eyes,”
says the LORD. Zeph 3:9-20
Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite people;
the word of the LORD is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.
7 That land will belong
to the remnant of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The LORD their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[a]
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults of Moab
and the taunts of the Ammonites,
who insulted my people
and made threats against their land.
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the LORD Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab will become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,
for insulting and mocking
the people of the LORD Almighty.
11 The LORD will be awesome to them
when he destroys all the gods of the earth.
Distant nations will bow down to him,
all of them in their own lands.
Cush
12 “You Cushites,[b] too,
will be slain by my sword.”
Assyria
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry
that lived in safety.
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
All who pass by her scoff
and shake their fists.
Zephaniah 3
Jerusalem
1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!
2 She obeys no one,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.
5 The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,
yet the unrighteous know no shame.
Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;
they are deserted and empty.
7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’
Then her place of refuge[c] would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon[d] her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly in all they did.
8 Therefore wait for me,”
declares the LORD,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.[e]
I have decided to assemble the nations,
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath on them—
all my fierce anger.
The whole world will be consumed
by the fire of my jealous anger. Zeph. 2:4-3:8
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD,
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
the very names of the idolatrous priests—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
and who also swear by Molek,[b]
6 those who turn back from following the LORD
and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”
7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,
for the day of the LORD is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 “On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c]
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.
10 “On that day,”
declares the LORD,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district[d];
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing,
either good or bad.’
13 Their wealth will be plundered,
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine.”
14 The great day of the LORD is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 “I will bring such distress on all people
that they will grope about like those who are blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD’s wrath.”
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole earth will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.
Zephaniah 2
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
Judah Summoned to Repent
1 Gather together, gather yourselves together,
you shameful nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the LORD’s fierce anger
comes upon you,
before the day of the LORD’s wrath
comes upon you.
3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the LORD’s anger. Zeph. 1:2-2:3
Name: חַגַּי "Solemnity, feast"
Date: 538 B.C.
Place: Jerusalem
Haggai prophesied during the time of Ezra when Judah was returning from exile (538 B.C.). The heart of his message was God's exhortation for the people to rebuild the Temple. He was also a contemporary of the prophet Zechariah (Ezr. 5:1, 6:14).
Haggai's was a call to service among God's people. The rebulidng of the Temple and walls of Jerusalem by the returning exiles was a move of God.
Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. Haggai 1:12-15
This sort of volunteerism has not been seen since the building of the tabernacle (Ex. 25:1-8). In building the first Temple, Solomon commissioned the King of Tyre for materials, and put Israelite laborers to work (1 Kings 5).
I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” Haggai 2:7-9
One might ponder how the second Temple could match, let alone surpass, the physical and spiritual glory of the frist Temple. Ezra's troupe did not have nearly the resources and skilled men as Solomon had in constructing the first Temple. Not to mention, the glory of the Lord had departed the Temple (Eze. 10), and there was nothing comperable to the glory of God filling the first Temple at its dedication (I Kings 8). What could Haggai have meant???
Jesus entered the temple courts... Matthew 21:12a
Name: חֲבַקּוּק "Embrace"
Date: Late 7th century B.C.
Place: Jerusalem
“See, he is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous will live by his faith..." Habakkuk 2:4
This passage, quoted by Paul in the NT, brings up the questions: 1) Who is the righteous person(s) spoken of? 2) Who is the wicked person(s) whom Habakkuk refers to? and 3) Is this the faith of an idvidual or the faith of Jesus Christ?
The Wicked: Many are under the assumption that the "wicked" parties of Habakkuk are the Chaldeans. It should be noted that the Chaldeans are God's answer to the wickedness that haunted the prophet (1:2-4, cf. with 5-11) but in the next breath he says that Chaldeans are the wicked.
O LORD, you have appointed [the Chaldeans] to execute judgment;
O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked [Chaldeans]
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
The Righteous: This begs the question: are the people of Judah the righteous ones? We know the Chaldeans are a wicked, destructive people. But it was the unjust Jews whom to whom they were sent to punish. All the while, the "righteous" are spoken of.
Given the structure and content of Habakkuk, there have been different proposals as to the intended composition of the author: 1) prophetic composition of liturgy 2) exposition of some sort of visionary experience or 3)Ancient wisdom text on the subject of theodicy.
“Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
I am raising up the Babylonians..." Habakkuk 1:5-6a
Then the LORD replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay..." Habakkuk 2:2-3a
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Selah
Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when you rode with your horses
and your victorious chariots?
You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.
Selah
You split the earth with rivers;
the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.
In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.
You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
Selah
I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments. Habakkuk 3:1-3, 8-9, 11-13, 16-19
Name: עבדיה "Worshipper / servant of Yahweh"
Date: 586-553 B.C.
Place: Jerusalem
Besides its historical content, the canonicity of Obadiah is another matter up for discussion. The prophet’s namesake, as we mentioned earlier, was common in Israel. The prophet’s language and concentration could easily be mistaken for that of other, more prominent, biblical authors. Where do these rarefied twenty-one verses of prophetic utterance find their place among the larger canon of the Bible?
Among several Obadiahs mentioned in Scripture, there are two probable persons based on an exilic/postexilic timeframe. The first conjecture is Obadiah the Levite, who oversaw renovation efforts in the Temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Ch. 34.12). As previously mentioned, this would make him a contemporary of Jeremiah, whose ministry began during Josiah’s rule but before his famed reformation (approx. 626 B.C., see Jer. 1.2). The second conjecture names Obadiah son of Joab, one of the returning exiles who accompanied Ezra (Ezr. 8.9).
The premise most agreed upon by scholars is that Obadiah was a postexilic prophet, condemning Edom for its participation in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 B.C.). According to Chisholm, “when the Babylonians invaded and ransacked Jerusalem, the Edomites gloated over Judah’s defeat and participated in the looting. To make matters worse, they even hunted down refugees from Judah and handed them over to the Babylonians.
Obadiah describes the outcome of two brothers on either side of God’s calling, enduring many centuries after their time on earth (see vv. 10-14). In the NT Paul explains that Edom and Israel’s enmity, and the apparent rejection of the former and selection of the latter, was inconsequential of the actions of either nation’s ancestor (see Rom. 9.10-13). As a matter of fact, God’s choosing of Jacob over Esau defied human custom and the character of Jacob whom he chose to bless. Paul discourses on the quarrelsome brothers and the election of Israel to elucidate that because Israel spurned its election, that God would bring salvation to Gentiles out of his desire to have a people of his own (see Rom. 11.25-32). “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy,” Paul says (Rom. 9.16).
Name: נַחוּם "Comfort"
Date: 630 B.C.
Place: Elkosh
The great city of Nineveh, Assyria's capital was spared God's judgment when they heeded the preaching of Jonah. Assyria has repented of its repentance and resorted to extreme cruelty to Israel during the seige of Samaria (740-722BC).
A. The Assyrian power rose with Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)
B. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah’s father]), and Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt)
C. Esarhaddon’s son, Ashurbanipal (669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but his decline and that of Assyria’s soon followed
D. In 616 B.C. Nabopolassar expanded his kingdom, and in 612 B.C. he joined with the Medes and Scythians to destroy Nineveh
E. Assyria’s army was defeated in 609 B.C. at Haran
F. What was left of Assyria’s army went to Carchemish (just west of the Euphrates River and north of Aram)
*Timeline taken from David Malick, An Introduction to the Book of Nahum, accessed on www.bible.org
The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. Nahum 1:7-8
In 612 B.C. Nabopolassar joined with the Medes and Scythians to destroy Nineveh. Nahum's words came eerily true as Nineveh fell following a long seige when a flood of surrounding waters breached its walls.
Nothing can heal you;
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty? Nahum 3:19
Name: יוֹנָה "Dove"
Date: 770-750 B.C. (Best estimate, date is uncertain)
Place: Israel, Ninevah
The Book of Jonah has inspired music, art and poetry throughout the ages, and more recently, television and movies.
In view of the biblical canon, Jonah is a relative anamoly for the following reasons:
a) The people and events described in the text cannot be solidly linked to any particular period of Israel's history.
b) Jonah is a narrative about a prophet whereas the other prophetic books contain mainly prophetic utterances. This brings into question whether or not Jonah should be considered a prophetic book.
"I propose a perspective, or interpretative strategy, whose justification lies in its ability to make good sense of the book in terms of its explicit concerns and its scriptural preservation... My proposal... is that the book of Jonah revolves around a basic, perennial problem: How is revelation (or fundamental theological confession) rightly to be understood and appropriated?" (R.W.L. Moberly: "Introduction to Jonah", emphasis mine)
The canonical approach of Moberly was to draw out the deep biblical truths and didactic teachings embedded in this narrative account.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." Jonah 4:1-2
"Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:8b-10
Accordsing to Walter Bruggerman, Jonah's complaint to God denotes four possible implications of God's mercy on sinners as follows...
Selfishness
Jonah didn’t want to go in the first place and felt like he was wasting his time—an attempt to limit God’s mercy (keeping it to himself!)
Disproprtionate Mercy
Protest against God’s unfairness—mercy should not be allowed to Gentiles, especially a people as wicked as the Ninevites.
Unfulfilled Prophecy
Jonah would look foolish to predict disaster only for his words to not come true (he would fail the “prophet test” of Deuteronomy 18:21-22)
The Costliness of Mercy
Allowing Ninevah (the capital of Assyria) to stand could mean disaster for Israel if they decide to invade down the line.
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, LORD my God,
brought my life up from the pit. Jonah 2:1-6
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Jonah 1:11-12
He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:9
Name: הוֹשֵׁעַ "Salvation of / is Yahweh"
Date: 755-715 B.C.
Place: Samaria, capital of Israel
Hosea the 8th century prophet, accroding to the Talmud, "was the greatest of the four prophets of his time, and he taught Amos, who in turn taught Isaiah, who taught Micah Pesachim 87a.
Hosea prophesied at a critical time in Israel's history. Following the dividing of the kingdoms, Jeroboam led northern Israel immediately into idolatry. He set up golden calves and unauthorized altars to keep the people away from Jerusalem. God's favor wasl lifted from the king and the people of Israel. 1 Kings 12-14 And the Kings coprus records no righteous kings in Israel's history, they all "did evil in the eyes of the Lord."
The idolatry and injustice of Israel was, in fact, cheating on God, but the people were none the wiser. Hosea's vivid living prophecies and scathing rebukes signified God's displeasure.
The Hebrew name Hosea would be "Joseph" in English. it is an interesting parallel from Hosea the minor prophet to Joseph the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The former married a "wife of harlotry (Hos. 1:2, NASB)", the latter wed the humble "handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38, KJV)". The former bore children designated to be bastards, named "Not Loved" and "Not My People." The latter had the distinction of rearing up the unique Son of God, the Messiah of Israel. In both cases, this was God's good providence for these men and for his people Israel.
God's relationship to Israel is described in the OT as that of a doting Father or a faithful Husband. Hence the oft-used term "House of Israel" representing an extended multi-generational Hebrew family. And "Children of Israel" as the members of the house were identified by the name of their Patriarch.
For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54:5
“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.'" Ezekiel 16:8
Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the LORD. Jeremiah 31:20
Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son..." Exodus 4:22
Like no other biblical author, Hosea illustrates the disrepair in the family of God.
The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. Hosea 3:1-5
...or Abusive Husband?
An objective reading of Hosea, and like texts, wherein God is portrayed as a Father or Husband to Israel (see Jeremiah 2-4; Ezekiel 16, 23; Isaiah) could give the impression that God is a cruel, chauvinistic and vindictive monster to his household. This is a serious indictment of a God whom Christians will vehemently contend is all good and loving.
This calls a serious scholarly approach to the Bible's "ambivalent metaphors of God as (abusing) husband, (authoritarian) father, and (angry) warrior," and, "Jerusalem as (defenseless) daughter."
Do we write off these a simply metaphors? Some have done so, advertantly or inadvetantly, to maintain certain theological paradigms.
Sharon Moughtin-Mumby in her disseratation on Sexual and Marital Metaphors argues that:
these books have inherent within themselves the ultimate response to their own dreadful language: their astonishing tendency to undermine themselves, unraveling their own assumptions and rhetoric, leaving themselves all but impotent, (p. 275). 1
Patricia K. Tull responds:
Yet one wonders whether most readers would be able to pick up on this subtle undermining of its own arguments, and whether these metaphors' effects are not potentially as harmful in creating a world void of gender justice as feminist interpreters have contended. 1
(1) Claassens, L. Juliana M. Source: Interpretation, 63 no 4 O 2009, p 421-422.
Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God, will save them.”
After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. hen the LORD said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God. Hosea 1:4-9
When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Hosea 1:2-3
“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst. Hosea 2:2-3
Name: מַלְאָכִי "My messenger"
Date: 5th century B.C.
Place: Jerusalem
Hebrew superscript: The Burden of the Word of the Lord (cf. with Zec. 9:1). God's last word until John the Baptist. Their is a seriousness conveyed of Malachi's message. After all is said and done from Moses to Nehemiah with so much grace given, God finds a nation that consistently fails to recgnize and keep its covenant. This sets the tone for a decisive word from God. As one preacher said, "God was so mad after Malachi that he didn't talk to anyone for 400 years."
“I have loved you,” says the LORD.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” Mal. 1:2-3
At this juncture Israel is no longer able to recognize the covenant blessings and steadfast love afforded to them. Edom was crushed at every attempt to pick itself up, but on account of God's promise to Jacob, Israel had the provision for its exiles to return and to see the Temple and walls restored.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty... See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6
God's last word on the Old Covenant is that it seemingly broken beyond repair. God must withdraw but promises to send a messenger (fulfilled in John the Baptist) to announce the Messenger of a New Covenant (Jesus Christ).
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty. Mal. 3:8-12
“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
“By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
“Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the LORD Almighty. Mal. 1:6-9
Name: עָמוֹס "To carry; borne by God"
Date: 760 B.C.
Place: Written in Southern Kingdom for Northern Kingdom audience
Textual, syntax and semanticallyTextual: 9 times Adonai is not mentioned in the LXX (Greek translation of OT) 1:8, 6:8, 7:1, 4(2x), 6, 8:1, 8:3, 8:11)Amos 4:2 NIV—Sovereign LORD “Lord God” Lord Jehovah”
Amos 4:3 (LXX) changes “breaches”/”breaks in the wall” to an adjective “naked”“and you shall be brought out naked…and you shall be cast out”
Textual/Syntactical: Destination- of “cows of Bashan” “Mount of Remman”Semantical: “Cows of Bashan”- (metaphor)Wealthy women—upper classes of women1. Women who have usurped men in society and oppress lower class people2. if it is to refer to women, it is the only place in Scripture where cows are referred to as women3. both male and female
Amos 4:2 “hooks”/”fishhooks”—focus is not on hook, but on act of fishing; impending judgment.
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’" Amos 7:14-15
Amos, from the small town in Judah called Tekoa, was not specially trained in religion or prophecy, nor was he highly educated. He was a shepherd and a farmer, with an attentive ear to Yahweh's voice and a keen eye for the poltical social climate of his day.
Amos' oracles give a stirring commentary of the world news and events occuring in his time.
On one hand, he played somewhat the role of a war protestor, rebuking the rulers of the nations for their injustice and inhumane deeds. To put it in perspective, Sadaam Hussein would blush at what was happening in Amos' time!
On the other hand, he was God's herald. He spoke for God, the King of kings, pronouncing judgment on the nations for their gross dissubordination.
This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.
“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,
though they were tall as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.
“I also raised up prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the LORD.
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
“Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the LORD. Amos 2:6-16
שמע דבר
During the time of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-29), the nation of Israel enjoyed relative peace and prosperity.
As it is observable in the United States, prosperity can lead to moral decline, religious hypocrisy and neglect / expoitation of the poor. Similarly, Israel has been rebuked on such charges.
Israel was not exempt from judgment, but received the worst rebuke and the worst sentence. "To whom much is given, much is required," and the Northern Kingdom recieves three summons (signaled by the preface שמע דבר lit. "Hear this word!") from God regarding her carelessness.
The conquest of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria from 740-722BC is declared by the prophet.
"I WIll Not Bail You Out This Time!"
Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:
“Fallen is Virgin Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.” Amos 5:1-2
Overfed Oppressive Upper Class
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,”
declares the LORD.
“Go to Bethel and sin;
go to Gilgal and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three years.
Burn leavened bread as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign LORD. Amos 4:1-5
God's People Scorn Their Calling
Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the LORD has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
“You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.” Amos 3:1-2
“For three sins of Judah,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the LORD
and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,[b]
the gods[c] their ancestors followed,
I will send fire on Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.” Amos 2:4b-5
“For three sins of Moab,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. Amos 2:1b-2
“For three sins of Ammon,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
that will consume her fortresses
amid war cries on the day of battle,
amid violent winds on a stormy day. Amos 1:13b-14
“For three sins of Edom,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,
I will send fire on Teman
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.” Amos 1:11b-12
“For three sins of Tyre,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.” Amos 1:9b-10
“For three sins of Gaza,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses. Amos 1:6b-7
“For three sins of Damascus,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she threshed Gilead
with sledges having iron teeth,
I will send fire on the house of Hazael
that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad. Amos 1:3b-4
Name: מִיכָה "Who is like Yahweh?"
Date: 8th century B.C.
Place: Moresheth Gath, Judah
Micah saw a fulfillement of his own words in 1:6-18 in what biblical historians call the Syro-Emphraimitic Crisis (735-722BC) whcih culminated in the destruction of Samaria and the exile of its people. Here is a biref outline:
o Pekah becomes king of Israel by insurrection, he allies himself with Rezin king of Syria to fight against Assyria
o Pekah and Rezin fight against Judah and siege it when king Ahaz refuses to join them (1 Chronicles 28:6-15) and the LORD is angry with Samaria!
o Ahaz doesn’t listen to God (Isaiah 7) he appeals to King of Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:8-9)
o Pekah and Rezin’s coatlition fails and Samaria finds herself under siege by Assyria, Edom and Philistia—Samaria falls in 722BC
o Micah sees his own prophecy fulfilled as Israel’s people are deported—Israel is relocated to Haran where they mingle with people from Babylon, Cuthah, Hamath, and Avva—their intermarriage eventually produces the Samaritans
o They maintain worship of Yahweh but it is mixed with paganry.
8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath;
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile. Micah 1:8-16
"The latter part of the 1st chapter (1:10-16) reveals the prophet's skill as a communicator. He uses a play on words, showing that he is as clever a punster as he is a strikingly gifted poet!" (Briscoe). Efforts to render these into English may be seen in the translations of Moffat and Phillips. It is "the longest series of sustained puns in the OT, in which Micah describes the advance of the Assyrian army through his section of country" (Jack P. Lewis).
For example --- Gath (1:10) sounds like the Hebrew word for tell, so it's as if he were saying, "Tell it not in Tell City." Also, in 1:10 he writes, "In Beth-le-aphrah (house of dust) roll yourself in the dust." Zaanan (1:11) means "going out," so he is saying, "Those of you in 'Go Out City' will not go out." Etc.
"Imagine an American preacher saying, 'Living in Pittsburgh is the pits,' or 'Los Angeles is not a city of angels,' or 'Wisconsin should only be pronounced Wiscon-sin.' That would get the people's attention. Micah was having a problem getting his message across to the people so he chose this dramatic vehicle to reach them" (Briscoe).
Al Maxey, http://www.zianet.com/maxey/Proph11.htm
Like Jeremiah, among other Hebrew prophets, Micah found himself at odds with other prophets. Prophets, who were no prophets at all; for a meal, they would soothsay and proclaim 'peace, peace' in the name of Yahweh.
Micah, along with contemporaries Amos, Hosea and Isaiah, were the only voice of warning to a people tottering on the edge of calamity.
This is what the LORD says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘peace’
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.
The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God.”
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin." Michah 3:5-8
Name: יואל "One to whom Yahweh is God"
Date: Contested, possibly 9th or 7th century or postexilic period.
Place: Judah
Peter repeats the words of Joel 2:28 as being fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost:
Joel's vision of the last days was an overlapping of heaven and earth. Not a total seperation (deism) and not an inseperability (pantheism). God is God, creation is creation. But the Judeo-Christian model shows God's intimate and powerful interaction with his creation.
“And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
even among the survivors
whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:28-32
Joel's is a call to a cultic fast. There were often times that Israel was made to congregate and assmeble before God for different purposes (feasts, worship, sacrififce, repentance, etc.) (See Lev. 19:1-3; Num. 14:1-5; Joshua 18:1)
Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
Declare a holy fast;
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD. Joel 1:13-14
"Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’” Joel 2:15-17
What the locust swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left
other locusts have eaten. Joel 1:4
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you. Joel 2:25
Raymond Dillard*, in his commentary on Joel, tells of the indestructible and destructive nature of locusts.
"For example, in 1988 the civil war in Chad prevented international cooperation in attacking the hatch, and a destructive swarm spread throughout North Africa devastating some of the poorest nations and threatening Europe as well. It is difficult for modern Western people to appreciate the dire threat represented by a locust plague in earlier periods. Such outbreaks had serious consequences for the health and mortality of an affected population and for a region's economy. Scarcity of food resulting from the swarm's attack would bring the population to subsistence intake or less, would make the spread of disease among a weakened populace easier, would eliminate any trade from surplus food products, and would stimulate high inflation in the costs of food products."
*Accessed online at http://bible.org/seriespage/joel
To you, LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Joel 1:19
God Himself is described as an all-consuming fire (Deut. 4:24)... Te locusts are only the beginning of the destruction.
Name: זְכַרְיָה "Yahweh has remembered"
Date: 520 B.C.
Place: Jerusalem
Chapters 9-14 of Zechariah Apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature, found in the Bible (Daniel, Revelation, Ezekiel 38), and the Pseudopigrpapha (Apocalypse of Peter, etc.). Zechariah contains all the distinctive fearues of Apocalyptic literature.
The Day of the Lord is pronounced throught Scripture. A day of judgment before God ends the world to usher in the age to come.
Then the LORD will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the sound
and the LORD Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling[c] the corners of the altar.
The LORD their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.
How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women. Zec. 9:11-14
Jewish Apocalyptic literature often depicted a Mesisanic Figure who would redeeem Israel and bring judgment on the world. Zechariah exemplies the Messiah's first and second coming.
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you. Zec. 9:9-13
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.* Zec. 12:10-11
Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem Zec. 14:3
*Megiddo is beleived to be the location for the battle of Armageddon (see Rev. 16:16)
Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, was among the chief prophets who gave spiritual headship to Ezra's reconstruction. There were certain distinct roles he played.
He encouraged trhe governor Zerubabbel when faced with opposition Zec. 4.
He confirmed the Lord's sanction on the High Priest Joshua to lead Israel and defended him against demonic attacks Zec. 3.
He exhorted the people to return to God Zec. 1:2-5.
