Summaries of the Messages of the Prophets

Here are the summaries in one place of the spade work I've been doing on the messages of the Prophets:

I. From the Northern Kingdom (700s BC)

1. Hosea
Clearly, the dominant theme of Hosea is that Israel has been cheating on God with other gods and other nations like Egypt and Assyria. Intertwined with this "prostitution" are other indicators of the chaotic and pathetic state of Israel. It is a place of violence. It is a place of stealing. It is a place where daughters get pulled into the prostitution associated with serving other gods like Ba'al.

2. Amos
Two or three themes dominate the prophecies of Amos. Most of them have to do with the oppression of the ordinary person, the "poor." The wealthy are targeted as oppressors. They use unjust scales. They take bribes. They take advantage of those without power. Meanwhile, the affluent think they're ok because they offer their sacrifices. God doesn't care.

Yes, there is also the theme of serving other gods, but this is not in isolation from the concrete actions of Israelites toward each other. The other gods are associated with the violence of the surrounding peoples. The other gods are associated with temple prostitution, for example.

The theme of the violence of the surrounding peoples, including violence toward women, is also mentioned.

3. Jonah
(Not written to or from the northern kingdom, but Jonah was from there) Jonah is about hope for salvation instead of judgment. It is about God's willingness to hear repentance and God's love even of foreigners.

II. Pre-Exilic Southern Kingdom (late 700s BC)

4. Joel
Joel would seem to be about hope in the midst of oppression because of judgment.

5. Isaiah 1-39
Clearly, a great deal of Israel 1-39 is about judgment on the oppressors of Judah and Israel. The rest might be said to be heavily about the oppressors within Israel. Thus the theme of social justice features large. Along with all of this is the hope of salvation and a righteous Davidic king.

The proper worship of Yahweh is associated with all these things. Turning to other nations is turning to other gods, and to worship other gods in Israel is to weaken Israel. Isaiah 6 gives us a sense of the pure worship of Yahweh. Worshiping Yahweh is another strong theme of these chapters.

6. Micah
Micah has a fair amount of hope but also predicts judgment on Israel for its wrongdoing. This wrongdoing includes a lot of injustice, from violence to concrete wrongs to others to the need for social justice. All these things are associated with the worship of the true God and not idols.

III. Lead-up to Exile (late 600s/early 500s BC)

7. Nahum
Nineveh is being judged for its violence and oppression of other nations (what goes around comes around).

8. Habakkuk
A lot of hope in the midst of judgment, judgment for violence and concrete wrongs to others. A reiteration of loving God.

9. Zephaniah
General judgment of Judah's leaders for injustice and corruption, promised judgment on those who are oppressors, hope for the righteous and humble. All this goes with serving the true God.

10. Obadiah
Obadiah is against the violence and oppression Edom had done against Israel.

IV. Beginning of the Exile (early 500s BC)

11. Jeremiah
The overwhelming theme of Jeremiah is judgment for Israel's past sins. There is some strong hope also in the middle, especially around chapters 29-31. The core reason for judgment is that Judah has abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They are serving other gods and ignoring Yahweh's laws. These factors cannot be separated from concrete wrongdoing to others and the lack of justice in the land.

12. Ezekiel
Like Jeremiah, Ezekiah is primarily full of judgment on Israel for its past sins, the greatest of which are going after other gods. The need to serve God is thus primary.  There are also clear messages of hope, especially at the end of the book. Israel's sins also included its oppression, its violence, its failure to bring justice to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner. It also has themes that are unique or less common in the other prophets, purity and the need for Sabbath observance.

V. After the Exile

12. Isaiah 40-66
These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

13. Haggai
Haggai is full of hope both for a restored temple and a restored ruler.

14. Zechariah
The predominant theme of Zechariah would seem to be hope. We find traces of the other themes as well: social justice, against idols and other gods, ending concrete wrongs to others.

15. Malachi
Malachi clearly calls Israel to love God appropriately. They are only serving God superficially and half-heartedly. There is a smidge of mention of other gods. Equally is the call for "social justice" and not wronging others. Finally, there is hope for future restoration.

Messages of the Prophets

The messages of the prophets correlate significantly with their historical context. The end of the exile was a time of hope, so it is no surprise that we find increasing themes of hope as we move from Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the second half of Isaiah to Haggai and Zechariah.

Those toward the beginning of the exile, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, are very gloomy, bringing a message of judgment. More than anything else, turning away from God to other gods is the primary reason given, with mention of child sacrifice and prostitution associated with those other gods. The same emphasis is in Hosea in the context of the destruction of the northern kingdom.

At the same time, certain other critiques persist throughout this three-hundred-year period. The corruption and arrogance of its rulers and upper class. The violence, oppression, and injustice within Israel is another recurrent theme. Leaders take bribes. They use skewed scales. They perpetrate concrete wrongs against the people of Israel. 

Another theme is injustice. When the prophets talk about justice, they usually are referring to injustice toward the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner. God seems very concerned both with the abuse of power and its easiest targets. When imminent destruction or restoration does not dominate, this theme is strong, although it is always present.

The late 400s seem to have been a time of religious malaise in Judah. The priests and people only seem to be going through the motions of serving God. The same themes of social justice and stopping concrete injustice persists.

Messages of the Prophets: Ezekiel

This will complete my evidence gathering in the Prophets.

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Ezekiel 1 -- he sees the glory of the LORD in hyper-symbolic fashion. He is in Babylon. 

2:5 -- Israel is a rebellious people

2:10 -- lament, mourning, woe

3:7 -- Israel is hardened and obstinate

Chapter 3 -- God is trying to use Ezekiel to turn Israel from its sin (hope)

4:6, 17 -- sins of Israel have brought judgment

5:6 -- rebelled against God's laws (love God)

5:9 -- idols (love God)

6:3 -- high places

6:11, 13 -- detestable practices, idols

7:4 -- detestable practices

7:19 -- their silver and gold will become useless, mighty will fall (24)

8:3, 10 -- Lord jealous of idols in Jerusalem

8:14 Tammuz

9:9 -- land full of bloodshed and injustice (concrete wrongs to others), bringing judgment

Chapter 10 -- the glory departs from Israel

11:2 -- people plot evil and give wicked advice

11:12 -- they have not followed God's laws

11:17 -- God will bring them back (hope)

11:21 -- idols (love God)

Chapter 12 -- judgment is coming

Chapter 13 -- against false prophets; 13:20 magic charms, encouraged the wicked (13:22)

14:3-4 -- idolatry among the leaders, but God wants them back, 6 (love God, hope)

14:13 -- unfaithfulness

Chapter 15 -- judgment

Chapter 16 -- Israel has been unfaithful, served other gods, sacrificed your children to other gods (love God)

16:36 -- gave your children's blood to idols

16:39 -- your fine jewelry

16:49 -- did not help the poor and needy (social justice)

Chapter 17 -- judgment on the covenant-breaking king of Judah (covenant was with Babylon)

18:5-9 description of the righteous person -- no idols, no adultery, no oppression, social justice, feeds hungry, clothes the naked, no stealing, honest judging

18:10-13 description of unrighteous person -- opposite, violent, adultery, oppresses poor, idols...

Chapter 19 -- a lament

20:8, 28 -- Israel served idols

20:12-13, 16, 20, 24 -- desecrated God's Sabbaths (love God)

20:24 -- Israel did not obey God's laws

20:41 -- God will restore them (hope)

Chapter 21 -- because of your sins (e.g., 24)

22:3-4 -- you shed blood, turn to idols (concrete wrongs, love God)

22:6-12 -- use power to shed blood (violence), dishonor parents, oppress foreigner, mistreat fatherless and widow (social justice), desecrate Sabbaths, sexual immorality, exploit poor

22:29 -- poor, foreigner denied justice (social justice)

Chapter 23 -- Israel has been unfaithful, idols, sacrificed their children (37, 39), defiled sanctuary and didn't keep Sabbaths (38), shedding blood (45)

Chapter 24 -- seige of Jerusalem, for its bloodshed (7)

Chapter 25 -- judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia

Chapter 26-28 -- judgment against Tyre

28:16 -- violence

28:18 -- dishonest trade

28:25 -- but Israel will be restored (hope)

Chapter 29-32 -- judgment on Egypt

30:13 -- against idols

33:25 -- eat meat with blood still in it, idols, shed blood, adultery (26) (concrete wrongs, love God)

33:31 -- greedy for unjust gain (social justice)

34:4 -- have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, search for lost, but have oppressed (social justice, oppression)

34:23 -- restore David (hope)

Chapter 35 -- judgment on Edom

36:8, 24 -- Israel will come home (hope)

36:18 -- violence, idols (love God)

Chapter 37 -- the dry bones will live again (hope)

Chapters 38-39 -- judgment on Babylon. restoration of Israel (hope)

Chapters 40-46 -- restored temple and its practices (hope)

44:7 -- You brought uncircumcised into my sanctuary

45:9 -- End your oppression and violence (concrete wrongs toward others)

Chapter 47-48 -- a river will flow from the temple, the land will be restored (hope)

Summary

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiah is primarily full of judgment on Israel for its past sins, the greatest of which are going after other gods. The need to serve God is thus primary.  There are also clear messages of hope, especially at the end of the book. Israel's sins also included its oppression, its violence, its failure to bring justice to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner. It also has themes that are unique or less common in the other prophets, purity and the need for Sabbath observance.

Messages of the Prophets: Jeremiah

Jeremiah prophesied just before and in the earliest days of the exile, early 500s BC.

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1:16 -- judgment because Judah has served other gods

2:5 -- worthless idols (love God)

2:11 -- You have changed gods (love God) 

Chapter 2 -- other gods

2:34 -- lifeblood of the poor (social justice)

3:6 -- other gods (love God)

Chapter 3 -- judgment for not serving God (other gods)

5:1-2 -- do not deal honestly with each other (social justice)

5:19 -- destruction because you have served other gods

5:27-28 -- leaders are fat and rich; they don't protect the fatherless or the poor (social justice)

6:6 -- Jerusalem full of oppression (concrete wrongs to others)

6:10 -- they do not listen to God (love God)

6:13 -- they are greedy for gain (social justice)

6:28 -- they act corruptly

7:5 -- They need to act justly: not to oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, not to shed innocent blood or serve other gods to their own harm (SOCIAL JUSTICE) 

7:9 -- They steal, murder, commit adultery, commit perjury, follow other gods (concrete wrongs, love God)

7:18-19 -- serving other gods is harming yourself (love God)

7:22 -- sacrifices, who cares

7:30 -- idols in God's house (love God)

Chapter 8 -- judgment coming

9:4-5, 8 -- deception and lying in Israel; they set traps (concrete wrongs to others)

10:15 -- idols are pointless (love God)

11:7-8 -- Israel did not obey God, did not keep covenant (love God)

11:13 -- worshiped other gods (love God)

Chapter 12 -- judgment, 6 liars

13:27 -- shameless acts in relation to other gods (love God)

14:20 -- sinned against Yahweh (love God)

Chapter 15 -- judgment

16:11 -- Israel is being judged because it served other gods, did not keep Law (love God)

16:18 -- idols (love God)

17:2 -- idols (love God)

17:21-22, 27 -- keep the Sabbath (love God)

18:11 -- evil ways, judgment coming

19:4 -- blood of the innocent (concrete wrongs to others)

19:5 -- burn their children in the fire to Ba'al (love God)

19:13 -- other gods (love God)

20:13 -- the needy

21:12 -- the oppressor (oppression)

22:3 -- rescue the oppressed, the robbed, do not hurt the foreigner, fatherless, or widow, do not shed innocent blood (social justice)

22:13 -- kings made the people work for nothing (oppression)

22:16 -- defending cause of the poor and needy, no dishonest gain or shedding of blood (social justice, concrete wrongs)

23:2-3 -- leaders have scattered flock of Israel

Chapter 23 -- God will bring them back (hope)

23:10. 14 -- land full of adulterers, false prophets

Chapter 24 -- mixed judgment and hope

25:6 -- don't serve other gods (love God)

25:12 -- judgment coming but you'll come back in 70 years (hope)

26:4 -- keep the Law

Chapter 26 -- repent or disaster is coming

27:9 -- don't listen to false prophets and mediums (love God)

Chapter 27 -- judgment coming but there is hope

Chapter 28 -- judgment is coming

Chapter 29 -- judgment is coming but also hope (29:11), 

29:13 -- committed adultery with neighbor's wives, uttered lies (concrete wrongs to others)

Chapter 30 -- hope is coming (30:18)

Chapter 31 -- Hope for restoration, including the blind and the lame (31:8), will write laws on the hearts of Israel (31:33)

32:15, 43 -- hope that Israel will come back

32:30 -- judgment is coming because of Israel's persistent evil

32:34-35 -- set up idols in the temple (love God)

33:7, 11 -- hope that God will bring them back after judgment

33:15 -- hope for restoration of Davidic line

34:8-9 -- Zedekiah gives freedom to Hebrew slaves, although they change their minds 11, therefore judgment 17 (oppression, social justice)

35:14, 15 -- Israel has disobeyed God, served other gods and been wicked (love God)

36:7 -- Israel has wicked ways, judgment on Jehoiakim

Chapter 37-38 -- story of Jeremiah's imprisonment and time with Zedekiah

39:10 -- some poor left in Judah when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem

39:18 -- some who trusted Yahweh escape destruction

40:3 -- destruction came because Israel did not obey God (love God)

41:7 -- the poorest get to stay in land

Chapter 41 -- story of the assassination of Gedeliah

Chapter 42 -- don't go to Egypt, or you will die -- Jeremiah taken to Egypt

Chapter 43 -- more of the story, destruction on Egypt    

44:3, 15, 19 -- worshiped other gods, disregarded the prophets (love God)

44:23 -- have not obeyed God

Chapter 45 -- judgment coming, Baruch

Chapter 46 -- judgment on Egypt but hope of restoration for Israel

Chapter 47 -- judgment on the Philistines

Chapter 48 -- judgment on Moab

Chapter 49 -- judgment on Ammonites, Damascus, Elamites, and others, but some will be restored (hope)

Chapter 50-51 -- judgment on Babylon, with Israel restored (hope)

Chapter 52 -- the destruction of Jerusalem, most of this is taken from 2 Kings 25

Summary: The overwhelming theme of Jeremiah is judgment for Israel's past sins. There is some strong hope also in the middle, especially around chapters 29-31. The core reason for judgment is that Judah has abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They are serving other gods and ignoring Yahweh's laws. These factors cannot be separated from concrete wrongdoing to others and the lack of justice in the land.

Messages of the Prophets: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai

With this post we will only have Jeremiah and Ezekiel left. The prophets of this post are mostly just before the exile, with Haggai just afterwards.

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1. Nahum

About the fall of Assyria in the late 600s BC. 

Chapters 1-2 -- the oppressor will be judged and Judah will have peace (oppression)

3:1 -- Nineveh was a city of blood, with piles of dead (3:3)

3:4 -- Its prostitution and witchcraft

3:19 -- its endless cruelty

Summary: Nineveh is being judged for its violence and oppression of other nations (what goes around comes around)

2. Habakkuk

As Babylon approached in the late 600s/early 500s BC

1:2 -- the Lord is against violence

1:3-4 -- injustice in the land

2:6 -- the piling up of stolen goods (concrete wrongs to others)

2:8 -- Against Babylon for plundering other nations (violence and oppression)

2:9 -- unjust gain

2:17 violence of Babylon

2:18-19 -- idols are pointless (love God)

Chapter 3 -- the Lord will bring deliverance (hope)

Summary: A lot of hope in the midst of judgment, judgment for violence and concrete wrongs to others. A reiteration of loving God.

3. Zephaniah

Time of Josiah, late 600s BC

1:4 -- against the worship of Ba'al (love God)

1:9 -- against violence and deceit

1:13, 18 -- against the wealthy who prosper at the expense of the people (social justice)

2:3 -- seek the Lord in humility (hope)

2:11 -- other gods (love God)

Chapter 2 -- judgment on the nations for their oppression

3:1 -- woe to oppressors

3:1-5 -- injustice, dishonest leaders, corruption, arrogance

3:15 -- hope for restoration

Summary: General judgment of Judah's leaders for injustice and corruption, promised judgment on those who are oppressors, hope for the righteous and humble. All this goes with serving the true God.

4. Haggai

Dates to late 500s BC, after Judah has returned from captivity, before temple rebuilt in 516BC.

Chapter 1 -- rebuild the temple (hope)

Chapter 2 -- glory of the new temple will be greater than that of the first (hope)

Summary: Haggai is full of hope both for a restored temple and a restored ruler

Messages of the Prophets: Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah

My wandering through the Prophets continues. Here are most of the rest of the pre-exilic prophets. 

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1. Joel

Is the locust plague literal? Is it an allegory for the invasion of the Assyrian armies that destroyed the northern kingdom in 722BC? They are perhaps symbolized as a locust invasion from the north (2:20). Both? 3:4-8 may be a later prose interpolation.

Joel 1-2 -- Description of the invasion and devastation. This is the Day of the Lord (2:11). This is God's judgment.

2:12 -- There's a sense that the Day will stop if Israel will return to the LORD. There is hope because God is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy (2:13).

2:28-32 -- God will pour out his Spirit on his people and bring them back to life again (hope)

3:2-3 -- God is against the nations that scattered Israel, traded boys for prostitutes and sold girls for wine. (oppression)

3:17 -- Against foreign invasion (oppression)

Summary

Joel would seem to be about hope in the midst of oppression because of judgment.

2. Obadiah

10 -- against the violence Edom had done against Israel (oppression)

3. Jonah

Jonah is about hope for salvation instead of judgment. It is about God's willingness to hear repentance and God's love even of foreigners.

2:8 -- against idols (love God)

4. Micah

1:7 -- Israel has served other gods (love God) and gathered from the wages of prostitutes.

2:1-2 -- Part of the evil for which Israel is being punished: coveting and stealing the fields of others, defrauding people (concrete wrongs to others)

3:1, 10 -- Embrace justice. Not bloodshed. Taking of bribes, doing wrong for money (3:11) 

Chapter 4 -- hope for restoration

4:6 -- God will gather the lame

Chapter 5 -- hope for the future, no more idols (5:13) or witchcraft (5:12) love God

6:6 -- sacrifices, who cares?

6:8 -- do justice and love mercy (social justice), not dishonest scales (6:11)

7:2 -- violence (concrete wrongs to others)

7:3 -- judges accept bribes (social justice)

7:8 -- hope for restoration (7:18-20)

Summary

Micah has a fair amount of hope but also predicts judgment on Israel for its wrongdoing. This wrongdoing includes a lot of injustice, from violence to concrete wrongs to others to the need for social justice. All these things are associated with the worship of the true God and not idols.

Messages of the Prophets (Isaiah 40-66)

In a previous post, I looked at themes in the first half of Isaiah. Here is a quick look at the second half, which relates to the late 500s BC.

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II. Chapters 40-55 have sometimes been called "Second Isaiah." They relate especially to the time around Cyrus conquering Babylon (ca. 539-38BC).

Chapter 40: hope of return from exile; Yahweh is great (love God)

40:18-20 -- idols are a burden on the poor (other gods; social justice)

Chapter 41 -- Yahweh is great; idols are not (love God, other gods, hope)

41:17 -- God cares for the poor (social justice)

42:3-4 -- God brings justice

42:7 -- God frees the captives (social justice)

Chapter 42 -- idols are pointless (love God)

Chapter 43 -- hope to return from captivity

Chapter 44 -- God is the redeemer, the only true God; idols are pointless (hope, love God)

Chapter 45 -- God is great and bringing Jews home (hope)

Chapter 46 -- God is great; idols are pointless; redemption is coming (love God, hope)

Chapter 47 -- Judgment on Babylon the oppressor (judgment, oppression)

48:1 -- half-hearted service to Yahweh; idols are pointless 14 (love God)

Chapter 49 -- hope for return from Babylon

Chapter 50 -- judgment was because Israel was unfaithful (love God)

Chapter 51 -- God is bringing salvation (hope)

Chapter 52 -- God news is on the way (hope)

Chapter 53 -- The suffering servant, past Israel has paid the penalty so present Israel can be redeemed (hope)

54:8 -- God judged them but is now going to save them (hope)

Chapter 55 -- hope is on the way

III. Chapters 56-66 are sometimes called "Third Isaiah." They picture a time after Israel's return but probably before the temple was rebuilt in 516BC.

56:2 -- keeping Sabbath (love God)

56:3-6 -- foreigner and eunuch should be included (social justice)

Chapter 57 -- those who serve idols, prostitutes, adulterers, sacrificers of children (love God)

57:15 -- God revives the lowly in spirit (humility before God)

58:3, 6, 9 -- exploitation of workers, set the oppressed free (oppression)

58:13 -- honoring the Sabbath (love God)

59:3, 7 -- blood, false dealing (concrete wrongs against others)

Chapter 60 -- hope of restoration

61:1 -- good news to poor, captive, to blind (social justice)

Chapters 61-65 -- hope of restoration (and judgment of wrongdoers)

Summary

These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

Messages of the Prophets: Isaiah 1-39

Isaiah divides into (at least) two parts. The second half clearly relates to the late 500s BC. The first part relates to Isaiah's own time (700s BC). 

Isaiah 1-12 Hope and Judgment for Israel

1:4 -- corruption (concrete harm to others)

1:11 -- sacrifices, who cares

1:15 -- against their violence

1:17 -- "Seek justice" which is to defend the oppressed, taking up the cause of the fatherless, and pleading the case of the widow (social justice)

1:23 -- you partner with thieves; you love bribes; you don't defend with widow and orphan (concrete wrongs to others; social justice)

Isaiah 2 -- hope for restoration

2:6 -- don't follow the practices of those who worship other gods and idols

Chapter 2 -- those following other gods in the east are full of silver and gold (7, 20). They are arrogant (11, 17). They will be humbled (12). humility

Chapter 3 -- judgment, you have been arrogant and plundered the poor (social justice)

Chapter 4 -- hope for restoration

5:7 -- judgment because "he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress." (violence, social justice)

5:11-17 judgment on the rich who live lavish lives (social justice)

5:18 -- deceit in practice

5:23 -- "who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." (wrong others, social justice)

Chapter 6 -- the holiness of God, judgment is coming (love God)

Chapter 7 -- trust in the Lord for deliverance (hope)

8:19 -- hope, don't consult the dead or use mediums (other gods, evil powers)

Chapter 9 -- hope, coming justice and righteousness in a ruler

9:19ff -- judgment

10:1-2 -- unjust laws, oppressive decrees, deprive the poor of their rights, withhold justice from the people, make widows their prey and the fatherless (social justice)

Chapter 11 -- hope for a Davidic king and restoration of the northern kingdom; social justice, vs. 4, "with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth."

Chapter 12 -- hope for salvation

Isaiah 13-26 Judgment of the Nations (oppressors)

Chapter 13 -- judgment on the oppressor Babylon, vs. 11 -- "I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless." humility

Chapter 14 -- continued judgment of Babylon, judgment of Philistines

14:30 -- the poor/needy will find pasture and safety (social justice)

Chapter 15 -- judgment on Moab (wealth they have accumulated too, social justice)

Chapter 16 -- continued judgment on Moab the oppressor and arrogant; instead a Davidic king of justice will rule (5) 

Chapter 17 -- judgment on Damascus and Israel -- worship other gods (8)

Chapter 18-20 -- against Cush and Egypt (other gods, the dead), 3

Chapter 21 -- against Babylon and Edom

22:11 -- Jerusalem turned away from Yahweh (love God)

Chapter 23 -- against Tyre, vs. 9, arrogance and wealth, 17-18 (social justice, humility)

Salvation Coming (24-25)

24:5 -- Praise of God begins, against lawlessness of the earth, breaking of covenant, Yahweh will reign, 23 (love God)

25:4 -- God is a refuge for the poor, will bring down the proud, 11 (social justice), will bring hope

26:5-6 -- God brings down the proud, brings justice to the oppressed and the poor

26:21 -- against bloodshed (oppressors)

The Woes (28-35)

Chapter 27 -- hope for salvation, no more idols (9), will love God (13)

28:6 -- spirit of justice coming, also 17

Isaiah 29 -- worship in form but not in heart (love God)

29:19-21 -- the humble and needy will rejoice; the false witness and oppressor disappear (social justice, oppression)

Chapter 30 -- going to other nations is going to other gods; there is hope

Chapter 31 -- don't go to other nations which is turning to other gods, trust in Yahweh (other gods, love God)

32:1 -- a king of righteousness/justice is coming, vs 16

Chapter 33 -- woe to the destroyer (oppression), come justice (5), go arrogant (humility)

Chapter 34 -- judgment on the nations (oppressors)

Chapter 35 -- hope of salvation; blind will see, deaf will hear, mute will speak (5)

Historical Interlude (36-39)

These chapters are inserted from 2 Kings as a bridge to the second half of Israel.

Summary

Clearly a great deal of Israel 1-39 is about judgment on the oppressors of Judah and Israel. The rest might be said to be heavily about the oppressors within Israel. Thus the theme of social justice features large. Along with all of this is the hope of salvation and a righteous Davidic king. 

The proper worship of Yahweh is associated with all these things. Turning to other nations is turning to other gods, and to worship other gods in Israel is to weaken Israel. Isaiah 6 gives us a sense of the pure worship of Yahweh. Worshiping Yahweh is another strong theme of these chapters.

Messages of the Prophets: Malachi

Malachi seems to go with Zechariah 8-14 as a third oracle. Some wonder if our current division is a less than optimal dividing of the canon. This stretch of the Hebrew canon is called the "Twelve Scrolls." What if the twelfth scroll should have begun at Zechariah 8? 

Similarly, malachi is Hebrew for "my messenger." It thus isn't immediately clear whether it is someone's name or an anonymous reference to an unknown messenger of Yahweh.

1:4 -- God's permanent judgment on Edom (for its part in Israel's captivity) (oppression)

1:6-8 Israel's lack of honoring God by offering him second-rate sacrifices (love God) ... who cares about sacrifices?

1:14 -- giving less than the best to God

2:1-9 -- the problem with Israel's priests, and they have caused Israel to stumble. They have shown partiality, 2:9 (social justice)

2:11 -- marrying women who worship foreign gods (other gods)

2:14-16 -- divorcing the wives of their youth (concrete wrongs to others)

3:1-4 -- God will restore proper worship (hope)

3:5 -- "I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty." (social justice)

3:6-12 Not tithing. Not giving God his due. (love God)

3:17 -- restoration of righteousness (hope)

Chapter 4 -- coming judgment and restoration (hope)

Summary:

Malachi clearly calls Israel to love God appropriately. They are only serving God superficially and half-heartedly. There is a smidge of mention of other gods. Equally is the call for "social justice" and not wronging others. Finally, there is hope for future restoration.

Messages of the Prophets: Zechariah

I'm going very out of order, but for various reasons, I wanted to look at Zechariah today, which dates to the last part of the 500s BC.
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1:4 -- turning to the LORD is for Israel to turn from its evil ways.

1:16 -- words of hope to Jerusalem throughout the latter part of Zech. 1. (hope)

Chapter 2 -- return to Jerusalem and judgment of those who scattered it (hope)

Chapter 3 -- promise of a Branch, cleansing of the high priest Joshua and Israel's sin (hope)

Chapter 4 -- two olive branches (Joshua and Zerubbabel?), restoration of the temple (hope)

5:3 -- every thief will be banished, houses of those who swear falsely in Yahweh's name, God was going to cleanse the iniquity of all who live in the land (5:6). (concrete wrongs to others)

Chapter 6 -- a crown for Joshua the high priest (hope)

7:9-10 -- what is true justice -- it is mercy and compassion. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor. This was part of the law and why Judah was destroyed (7:12) (social justice)

Zechariah 8-14 is often called "second Zechariah." In scholarly circles, this section is often dated to the late 400s, thus about 100 years after Zechariah himself. It becomes a sort of appendix to "first Zechariah." These chapters have been happy hunting ground for dispensational prophecy teaching, although the context may rather be the malaise of late fifth century Judaism at the time of Malachi.

Chapter 8 -- restoration of Jerusalem, the world will come too (hope)

8:17 -- Do not plot evil. Do not swear falsely (concrete wrongs to others)

9:1-8 Destruction of Israel's enemies (judgment on oppressors)

9:9-17 Coming of the king (Jesus on Palm Sunday), God coming to remove Israel's enemy (hope)

Chapter 10 -- restoration of Israel (hope)

10:2 -- the deceitfulness of idols, false comfort (other gods, putting Israel in jeopardy)

10:3 -- false shepherds of Israel

10:5 -- protection from Israel's enemies (hope)

Chapter 11 -- God rejecting the "shepherds" of Israel (11:8), selling it to others for slaughter, especially the oppressed (11:7) (social justice)

• God removed one shepherd of Israel called his "Favor" because of the oppression of Israel (11:10).
• God removed another shepherd called "Union," the bond between north and south in Israel (11:14). Gives them instead a shepherd who doesn't take of them, doesn't care for lost or injured or healthy.

Chapter 12 -- begins the second oracle in second Zechariah. Hope for restoration. God will bring grace on them and supplication, and they will weep for restoration.

13:2 -- God will banish idols on that day. Prophets will be banished; the shepherd will be struck; the sheep will be scattered.

Chapter 14 -- defeat of Jerusalem, but Yahweh will stand on the Mount of Olives and break it open, splitting it in two (earthquake). Living water to Dead Sea. Yahweh will be king of whole earth. The peoples of the world will worship Yahweh.

HOPE!

Summary:

The predominant theme of Zechariah would seem to be hope. We find traces of the other themes as well: social justice, against idols and other gods, ending concrete wrongs to others.

Messages of the Prophets 2 (Hosea)

What were the main messages of the prophets? I started with Amos. Now on to Hosea.

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Chapters 1-3 In these chapters, Hosea is given the object lesson of an unfaithful spouse to illustrate Israel's infidelity to God. (other gods)

• However, this unfaithfulness has manifested itself in concrete ways. First, there is the violence that Jehu committed when he obliterated all the relatives of King Ahaz (1:4).
• Chapter 4 also indicates that this faithlessness to Yahweh shows itself in murder, stealing, and adultery (violence)
• Turning to other gods includes daughters turning to prostitution and adultery (4:13).
• Involves turning to wooden idols (4:12; other gods). 

5:3 -- Israel is corrupt

5:4 -- prostituting with other gods, turned to outside nations like Assyria (5:13)

6:6 -- I desire mercy, not sacrifice 

6:8-9 -- violence

7:1 -- thieving going on, stealing going on (violence)

7:11 -- turn to outside nations

7:14 -- self-cutting part of engagement with other gods

8:1 -- people have rebelled against God's law (not serving God)

8:4 -- overthrowing their kings

8:4 -- serving idols (other gods)

8:10 -- oppression will come from their dancing with Assyria

8:13 -- they offer sacrifices (who cares?)

9:1 -- they have been unfaithful to God (not serving God)

9:9 -- corruption

9:17 -- have not kept God's law (not serving God)

10:2 -- served other gods

10:4 -- kings making agreements with other nations

11:2 -- went after other gods

12:1 -- violence

13:1 -- serve Ba'al (other gods)

14:1 -- Israel's sins (not serving God)

Summary

Clearly, the dominant theme of Hosea is that Israel has been cheating on God with other gods and other nations like Egypt and Assyria. Intertwined with this "prostitution" are other indicators of the chaotic and pathetic state of Israel. It is a place of violence. It is a place of stealing. It is a place where daughters get pulled into the prostitution associated with serving other gods like Ba'al.

Hosea may allude to Adam. It may allude to the exodus (11:1-2). It may allude to the golden calf story. It clearly refers to God's law. It may allude to the story of Israel asking for a king. It has pretty clear rhetoric about idols and thus implies the aniconic nature of the worship of Yahweh. These seem to imply awareness of significant parts of Scripture in the 700s BC.

Messages of the Prophets 1: Amos

I have hunches about the foci of the prophetic writings in the Old Testament. But before I say they're so, I thought I should do some grunt work.  Here's the first bit of spade work in the two prophets to the northern kingdom, 700s BC.

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Amos

1:3 -- against violence of Damascus toward Gilead (violence)

1:6-10 -- against violence of Gaza and other Philistine cities toward Israel (violence)

1:11 -- against Edom for betraying Israel with Philistines, taking Israelites as slaves, slaughtered the women of the land (violence)

1:13 -- against Ammon, ripping open pregnant women (violence)

2:1 -- against Moab, sided with Edom (violence)

2:4 -- against Judah, did not keep God's decrees, followed other gods (other gods)

2:6 -- against Israel, selling the innocent, needy, poor deny justice to the oppressed, father and son use same temple prostitute to another god

2:12 -- against Israel, faithlessness to Yahweh (other gods)

3:9-10 -- Israel oppresses its people, plunder and loot it (social justice)

3:14 -- other gods

3:15 -- disproportionate luxury of the rich (social justice)

4:1 -- Israel crushes the needy and poor while enjoying drinks (social justice)

4:4 -- who cares about sacrifices

chapter 4 -- faithlessness to Yahweh in general

5:11 -- levy tax on the poor while they are in stone mansions (social justice)

5:12 -- oppress innocent, take bribes, deprive the poor of justice

5:22 -- who cares about sacrifices

5:24 -- "Let justice roll down..."

6:4 -- disproportionate wealth (social justice)

7:9 -- other gods

8:4-6 -- oppression of the poor, dishonest scales (social justice)

Summary

Two or three themes dominate the prophecies of Amos. Most of them have to do with the oppression of the ordinary person, the "poor." The wealthy are targeted as oppressors. They use unjust scales. They take bribes. They take advantage of those without power. Meanwhile, the affluent think they're ok because they offer their sacrifices. God doesn't care.

Yes, there is also the theme of serving other gods, but this is not in isolation from the concrete actions of Israelites toward each other. The other gods are associated with the violence of the surrounding peoples. The other gods are associated with temple prostitution, for example.

The theme of the violence of the surrounding peoples, including violence toward women, is also mentioned.

Leadership: Tongues and Prophecy 8

Previous posts in this series:

• Corinth: AD50
• The Synagogue
• First Tier Apostles
• Paul, the Apostle
• Developing House Church Leadership
• Elders and Overseers
• Chaotic Worship

2. Paul has nothing but positive things to say about prophecy at Corinth. When he sets downs rules to bring order to the congregation, his controls on prophecy are that prophets speak one at a time, with there being only two or at the most three (1 Cor. 14:29-32). Further, he makes it clear that prophesies are to be evaluated by other prophets.

On the other hand, he is much more regulative when it comes to tongues. The whole thrust of 1 Corinthians 14 seems to elevate prophecy over tongues (14:1-2). Prophecy is presumably one of the greater gifts (12:31), second on his list in 1 Corinthians 12:28 (tongues is eighth).

The tone of 1 Corinthians 14 is generally dissuasive from the use of tongues in worship. It is true that he twice adds the exception, "unless someone interprets" (14:5 and 13). However, notice that these are quite the minority of the chapter. The rest of 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 argues repeatedly against the use of tongues in worship. Even when he says he speaks in more languages/tongues than all of them (14:18), this is the lead up to a "but" [2]

In the end he says not to forbid speaking in tongues in the worship service as long as there is an interpretation (14:39-40). If there is an interpretation, like prophecy, they should speak one at a time, two or at the most three (14:27-28). Of course these instructions were written to the Corinthian congregation with a view to their specific issues.

Today, there are churches where everyone there seems spiritually uplifted even when there is no interpretation. And there are churches today where the church would split if tongues were spoken. The recontextualization of Scripture calls for spiritual discernment in different times and places. Paul's bottom line is that everything be done decently and in order (14:40).

3. The main point is that the early church--at least some of Paul's churches--were rather charismatic. Prophecy was far more an element of the early church than many of us realize today. When Ephesians 2:20 says that the church was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, it is not likely thinking about the Old Testament prophets but the New Testament ones.

In every age, there is a tension between the church as structured and the church as prophetic. In the first century, the apostles provided the ultimate structure, followed by elders as they became established. Apostles had a clear lineage in the sense that the Twelve could trace their leadership identity to Jesus. Even those apostles who were not from the Twelve could trace their apostleship to a resurrection appearance from Christ. [3] They were the closest thing to an establishment at that time.

By contrast, prophets could come from anywhere. The Spirit could speak through either gender. The Spirit was the great equalizer, regardless of nation or tongue or social background.

Accordingly, false prophets soon became a concern. The latest books of the New Testament deal extensively with false prophets and false teachers (e.g., 2 Peter 2 and Jude). It is no surprise that books like 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are concerned about church structure and the qualifications for a church leader.

Nevertheless, there is nothing in the New Testament that suggests the prophetic role came to an end at some point. 1 Corinthians 13:8 is not saying that prophecy as a function will cease one day but that any individual prophecy has a date stamp on it. 1 John 4:1 exhorts John's community to test the spirits, and it warns that false prophets will abound. But the ongoing validity of prophecy is assumed within the church.

That is not necessarily to say that we should have a "prophecy time" in our worship services. The form leadership and the use of spiritual gifts take will inevitably change from context to context. What persists are the functions of leadership and the gifts, not necessarily the form in which they are expressed or exercised.

[2] This verse reminds me of the girl that told a guy, "I like you, but I don't want to go out with you," and the guy only heard, "I like you."

[3] Although in the case of Paul, many no doubt disputed that he was truly an apostle.

The Separatist Spirit

1. Family is a funny thing. I don't have any sisters that annoy me (no doubt I was an annoying child). But I do know families where some of the siblings love each other but don't really enjoy being around each other very much.

I say that to make it clear that, although I was only eight when he died, I loved my grandfather. He was a bit scary to me--I knew better than to go into his office in the back of his house. But he let me shoot his B-B gun (I shot out a light rather than hitting the target), and I believe he loved his grandchildren.

2. As I've learned more about him, there is much that I admire about him. He was a church planter, an entrepreneur of sorts. At various times he owned a grocery store. He worked as a butcher sometimes. He could fix cars.

As I said, he was also a little rough. He came from the old school where you preached against stuff. You preached against hellovision, going to the moving picture theater, and you made sure that people knew that they were to dress a certain way. You preached against wedding rings and buying on Sunday.

He was an "against" kind of guy. He believed in shunning and shaming, in giving people a "good letting alone." As Freud would have it, one of my aunts married someone very similar who once told my father that he would pray for his soul if he stayed with the Wesleyan Church when it was merging in 1968. Even my Dad once asked me what I was against--a revealing artifact of his upbringing.

3. My grandfather was thus a "come-outer." I've blogged through a book on the holiness movement at the turn of the twentieth century. There were a lot of come-outers in that gang. There's a certain personality that gets an adrenaline rush from shouting at what's wrong with, whatever, and then walking out of the room. Although I hate to say it, there were LOTS of those types in the holiness movement of early twentieth century.

Mind you, they weren't the part of the holiness movement that grew. They were the part that split and split and frequently died. One thing I learned from that book was that the more even-tempered Nazarenes--often a target of the separatists--were the part of the holiness movement that really grew. It is the largest holiness denomination still today.

I have some of that fire in my veins. I can feel it. I'm channeling a little of my grandfather in this post. But it's not the part of me that "grows Ken."

I loved my grandfather. But I have little admiration for splitters as splitters. We all like to think ourselves prophets, but how many of us really are? The Prophets preached more for people than against sin as a violation of the rules. Could it be that a certain kind of person hides behind the prophets as an excuse to express anger at... whatever they can justify being angry at?

I have little admiration for those with a separatist spirit. The spirit of Christ is more a spirit of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5), at least until the very end when it's clear there will be no reconciliation. The Wesley way is to see mercy as the primary over judgment (Jas. 2:13). The Wesley way seeks for points of agreement to build on far more than excuses to rent their clothes over the disagreements.

4. Aren't there verses about separating? Of course there are. I'm sure my grandfather knew them all. He liked them. Separatists love them. They hide behind them. Did you know that you can use the Bible as an excuse to kick against Christ?

If you put all the verses on reconciling and separating on the scales, which has the greater weight in God's eyes? I fear that some people are delighted when they have an excuse to excommunicate. I have little respect for such people. I had no respect for the Evangelical Theological Society in those years that they seemed to delight in figuring out who they could vote out next year. College presidents that delight in kicking faculty out leave most people with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Worst of all is the grandstander, the person who isn't even condemning primarily for cause but as an opportunity to draw attention to themselves. Clever politicians do that from time to time. They use a moment of protest to shove themselves into the spotlight and gain attention and power. Many would say that MacCarthy did that with regard to communism, that he saw the issue as a way to thrust himself into the spotlight. The best thing to do is to ignore them. That type feeds off conflict.

The most noble separations I know of--Luther and Wesley--happened because the parent body they were trying to reform kicked them out. Even with regard to the Wesleyan Methodist Church, I've always respected the fact that Luther Lee went back into the Methodist Episcopal Church, after the Civil War was over and the issue of slavery was over. I'm proud of the fact that the Pilgrim Holiness Church resulted from a series of mergers, as did the Wesleyan Church.

5. This is the spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christ is the spirit of reconciliation. In the new covenant, we don't get unclean by touching a sinner. There's a fair amount of old covenant thinking involved here, the same traditions that led the old separatists to fight over new moons and sabbaths, over women wearing that which pertaineth to a man or trimming the edges of a beard. We're not touching the unclean thing. We're stoning Achan's children and livestock because Achan has touched them.

Are there times when we need to separate ourselves? Absolutely. We need to separate ourselves when we need to protect ourselves from bad influences. There is also a point where two parties disagree so much that they are hindering each other's mission and work. That is a good time to part company as Paul and Barnabas did, to agree to disagree and part amicably. But that's different from renting our clothes and putting ashes on our heads. "I thank God that I'm not like other men."

I doubt there will be a split in the Methodist church at this point. I suspect at this point we will more see individual churches leave. But if there had been a separation, I hope it would have happened by the one side simply saying that they believed the disagreement was just too significant for the two to work profitably together. Not storming from the room in "righteous indignation," but separating in peace because it had become clear that the two parts just had significantly different missions that worked against each other. I hope the churches that end up leaving will do it that way. We agree to disagree and withdraw to better accomplish our sense of the mission.

Hindsight will tell, but I actually respect the fact that there wasn't a split. That's the side I believe Christ would err on, if he could err. If they had split, I would have had to think long and hard about whether I favored my church joining with them. You can believe the same things and yet be of a different spirit, a different flavor. I want to be with the unifiers, not the come-outers.

The peaceful departer is not what I mean by the separatist spirit. I have in mind the church splitter, who didn't get his or her way. There's the Zwingli, who will not be satisfied unless Luther sees every last thing his way. There's the grandstander and the Pharisee, who is purer than other men. And of course there's the ignoramus who thinks he or she has a new revelation from God and is upset that no one agrees with him. Nothing new to see here. 1 Corinthians has a few words to say about the divisive in heart.

6. I'm convinced that most Christians agree with me. The problem, I believe, is that those who don't are usually the most vocal. May the fight in my blood be of some service to the more Christ-like souls who hold their tongues--the peacemakers, the meek, and the pure in heart. Blessed are they... at least Jesus thought so.

Formative vs. Summative Prophecy

There is a psychological dynamic among much of American Christianity that pushes us to want to "call sin sin," to "call out the sinner," to "speak truth to power." But my observation is that much of this dynamic is a pronouncement of judgment, much like Jonah at Ninevah. In other words, it is not proclamation for change. It is just enjoyable venting.

There is something about this dynamic that seems inevitably self-satisfying and low on the moral development scale. We enjoy it. It makes us feel good. It's like a kind of gossip on steriods that we (self-servingly) justify because it looks a little like some prophecy in the Bible.

But truly Christian prophecy is prophecy for change and is as different from this sort of child-level telling off as what God had in mind for Nineveh differed from what Jonah had in mind. God will one day pronounce a summative judgment on all flesh, a final verdict. But especially for Arminians, almost all prophecy on this side of eternity must at least be hopeful formative prophecy, prophecy that longs for change in those to whom we speak.

Perhaps this is the best way to distinguish between the kind of judging we are not to do as believers (e.g., Matt. 7:1) and the kind of judging we must do (e.g., 1 Cor. 5). God is the Judge. He will make the summative verdict. Our judgments, on the other hand, must work toward redemption.

The problem as always is our rationalizations in the face of a lack of self-knowledge. We enjoy pointing out other people's sins and sin ourselves in the process. These are very simple psychological phenomenon and nothing spiritual at all.

There is a vast difference between the rather child-level, psychologically based drive to tell others what to do and where to go (calling sin, sin) and preaching for the redemption of souls and bodies. There is a significant difference between the prophetic drive to stand up for the oppressed that we see in Old Testament prophets and Jesus and the more Jonah-like drive to see the demise of those whose personal sins we want to see God punish today. Christian preaching is not oriented around punishment but around redemption.

Monday Editorial: The Prophetic Model

If you have a background similar to mine, you'll have heard the idea of preaching against sin. It is a commonplace, "People are afraid to preach against sin these days." The charge is one of cowardism and accommodationism. "God hates sin," and we should preach against it.

The biblical model for this charge is the prophet, primarily the OT prophet, but also Jesus, Paul, and Acts. There is Elijah, who kills hundreds of prophets of Baal and anoints Jehu as king, who then slaughters 70 of Ahab's children. There's Jesus speaking out against the Pharisees in Matthew 23.

Preachers often invoke this model when they call out their churches on areas of sin or indict the broader culture for its sin. On the other hand, younger evangelicals seem quite averse to it. Their mantra is more Matthew 7:1--"Do not judge so that you are not judged." Accordingly, the current generation coming through the ranks is more accepting of its own sinfulness--and that of the culture around it--than ever before. Many of them seem to consider it a good sign if their non-believing friends don't perceive any difference between them at all.

We have to wonder if there are two opposite extremes going on here. But I only want to look at the prophetic model today. What is the place of the prophetic model today?

1. What kind of sin did the prophets do something about?
Elijah did something about a set of Baal worshippers--he killed them. We have to be careful about making him a model in this, however. The book of Hosea soundly criticizes Jehu, whom Elijah anointed, for killing the children of Ahab at Jezreel.

Also Elijah as far as we know never once set foot in the southern kingdom to visit the Jerusalem temple. According to Deuteronomy, this is a major issue, indeed the issue more than any other that guaranteed no king from the north would be considered a good king in 1 and 2 Kings.

My point is that Elijah was not a Christian, and we must be careful not to assume he is a model for us in everything he did.

It seems to me that the classic prophets most spoke out against what we would call social injustice today, about the oppressed of society like widows, the poor, and orphans. This was Jesus' major beef with the Pharisees in Matthew. This is what the classic prophets most speak out against. The intertextual echoes of Jesus in Jeremiah when he overthrows the tables of the moneychangers are in this area.

Yet when you here preachers talk about the need to speak out against sin, social injustice is not usually the topic they have in mind, although the issue of abortion would be an exception (preaching in defense of the rights of the unborn).

2. Prophets as foretellers of coming judgment
Jonah didn't go to Ninevah to enact legislation. He went to preach about impending judgment by God. He had no plans to enact the judgment himself. Similarly, Amos and Hosea preached against the sins of the northern kingdom and they preached that God was going to judge the nation.

Paul, in a position of disempowerment, says it is not his job to judge the world (1 Cor. 5). Rather, it is his job and the job of those in the church to judge those in the church. God will judge the world.

All this leads us to ask how Christians should speak out in contemporary culture today. Many operate with an unexamined model that says, "We should pass as many laws as we can to make the world act according to our understanding of Christian behavior." It seems to me, however, that there are some possible factors to this drive though that are unrecognized:

1. To what extent is this a collectivist construct? If you are in my group you must look like me. For my group to be intact, we must force people either to conform to our identity or force them out.

2. To what extent is this a function of repression? Speaking out against sin allows me to vent and to release my pent up repressed frustration. I could go running, but shouting at others is easier.

What do you think is the place for the prophetic model today? How if at all does the NT modify the Elijah prophetic model?