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Rich Nelson Uncategorized

49: Zechariah – Introduction & The lampstand, flying scroll and chariots – Zechariah 4:1-5:4, 6:1-8

Get Ready

Zechariah prophesied to the returned Israelites along with Haggai. His book has been called the most “messianic” book in the Old Testament because it contains eight references to the “Anointed One” in its relatively short content.

Author

Most scholars agree that Zechariah, the prophet, wrote this book. He identifies himself as the son of Bechariah and also a descendant of Iddo, a priest, in the introduction. We also know that his ministry, from 520-475 BCE, overlapped that of Haggai. He is referred to as a “young man,” [2:4], so he probably was born in Babylon and was part of the first group of returning Jews in 538 BCE.

Some authorities believe that the significant differences between the two major parts of the book mean the second section was written by an unknown person several years after the temple was rebuilt. (See “Structure,” below, for details on the two sections.)

Context

The Jews who returned to Palestine after their Babylonian captivity faced a very uncertain future. They knew they had to rebuild Jerusalem’s defenses for security against the people the Babylonians had transplanted to Canaan over the previous seventy years. They also knew they had to rebuild the temple so they could restore sacrificial worship of the Lord. And they had to take care of themselves and their families.

The combination of scarce building materials and ongoing harassment by the local inhabitants made this work difficult. Many of the Jews focused on their own homes and their own livelihood and security (which was not all that prosperous or secure – see the previous book, Haggai).

Structure

As noted earlier, Zechariah has two distinct sections:

  • In the first section [chapters 1-8] the prophet encourages the Jews to complete rebuilding the temple. Zechariah presents eight different visions that call the people to finish the task. This section also includes a vision in which a high priest named “Joshua” is crowned – a preview of Jesus’ role as both prophet and priest in God’s kingdom.
  • The second part [chapters 9-14] presents the prophet’s vision of the coming Messiah and the prosperous future of Israel under his reign. Among the details in this prophecy is the picture of the Messiah entering Jerusalem: Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey, [9:9]. Matthew would use Zechariah’s prophecy 400 years later to describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion [Matt 21:5].

Most scholars believe the second set of prophecies was more than 40 years after the first. The difference in subject matter, as well as Zechariah’s age, would explain the differences in language and style.

Major Themes

Zechariah presents two major messages and links them as he links the priestly and prophetic functions in his prophecy (in fact, he may have been a priest as well as a prophet).

The first message concerns the Israelites’ sin and their need to repent – especially their failure to complete rebuilding the temple and restoring sacrificial worship. In other words, he prophesied about the importance of the function of priests in maintaining the people’s relationship with God.

The second message focuses on God’s promises for the future of the Jews. There are four parts in this prophecy:

  • God will strengthen Israel and defeat all the enemies of the nation.
  • The Jews will ultimately acknowledge that Christ died for them: When they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn, [12:11].
  • God will eliminate idolatry and kill those who worship idols.
  • God will establish his reign over the entire world at Jerusalem.

Zechariah’s language and images link him to both the prophet, Daniel, and the Apostle, John, author of Revelation. In his vision, Christ will return as the righteous warrior and ruling judge on the “Day of the Lord” – images of the end times used by the other two prophets.

Get into the Word:

1. Who wrote this book? How does he identify himself? What else do we know about the prophet? When was his ministry? Why is there some disagreement about the author of this book?

2. What was the situation for the Jews when this book was written? How long had they been in their homeland? What major tasks did they face in Palestine? What made these projects difficult for the Jews? What did they end up doing about the tasks? What were the consequences of these decisions?

3. How is this book organized? What are the primary parts of the book? What does each part deal with? When was each section probably written? How might this affect the style and language of each primary section?

4. What are the major messages of this prophecy? How does the prophet present God’s word to the Jews? What sin does the prophet focus on? How should the people deal with this problem? Why is this so important to God? Why should completing the temple be important to the people?

5. What is the second major theme of this prophecy? What aspects of Israel’s future does the author describe? What images does he use? What other Biblical writers used similar images? How do you suppose the prophet’s audience responded to these images? How do you respond?

Bible Trivia:
Zechariah uses three different images that figure in Jesus’ last days:
The donkey colt that Jesus rode into Jerusalem the week before his death and resurrection [Zech 9:9, Matt 21:5].
The thirty pieces of silver as wages for a shepherd [Zech 11:12-13] and Judas’ payment for betraying Jesus [Matt 26:15, 27:5-8].
The description of the savior as “the one whom they have pierced,” [12:11] pointing to Jesus’ crucifixion.

49: The lampstand, flying scroll and chariots – Zechariah 4:1-5:4, 6:1-8 

Get Ready

Are you a fan of “modern” art, with highly symbolic subjects depicted on the canvas? Or do you prefer your paintings to be more representational or “realistic” and the subject looks like it does in a photograph? Which style is easier for you to understand – to “see” what the artist is trying to convey?

The Word

4The Lampstand and the olive trees
The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 He said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!'” 

8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.

“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which pour out the oil through the two golden pipes?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” 

5The flying scroll
Again I looked up and saw a flying scroll. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to the writing on the other side. 4 I have sent it out, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name; and it shall abide in that house and consume it, both timber and stones.” 

6The four chariots
And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains – mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, 3 the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses.
4 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel answered me, “These are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” 7 When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried out to me, “Lo, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is involved in this vision? What are they talking about? How does the prophet describe things in the vision? Can you visualize what the prophet is describing?

2. How does the angel explain the meaning of this vision? How does this message relate to the unfinished task the Jews are supposed to be working on? What is really going to get the job done?

3. How does the angel complete the explanation of the vision? How does this affect the message of the vision?

4. What is the subject of the next vision? How does the prophet describe this thing? Why do you think it is the size Zechariah describes? How does the angel explain this vision? Why does he call it a “curse”? Who is affected by this vision? What did they do [see Notes]?

5. What does the prophet see in the next vision? What detail does he give? How does the angel explain this vision? What does this vision represent? What other prophets have used similar images to describe God’s judgment?






Get Personal

How do you respond to God’s “To Do” list? How has God helped you be aware of his plan for you life? How does he help you stay “on task”?

Notes . . .

4:1. Angel — in the Old Testament angels both conveyed and interpreted messages from God [check Gabriel in Dan 8:16].
4:2. Lips — a pinched area on the edge of the lamp bowl which would hold a wick with the end of the wick resting in the oil.
4:3. Olive trees — in ancient times a lamp often represented a deity and trees represented worshippers [the anointed ones” in v. 14].
4:6. Zerubbabel — was the Jewish governor of Palestine under the Persian emperor.
4:7. Top stone — probably “chief” or “most important” stone – Zerubbabel would place the corner stone from the former temple, which would start the rebuilding process (which v. 9 confirms).
4:10. Plummet — the meaning of this word is unknown; but Zerubbabel completed rebuilding the temple in 516 BCE.
Seven eyes — seven signified completeness – God’s vision sees everything, everywhere.

5:1. Flying scroll — “flying” here means unrolled or spread out (like a flag “flying” in the breeze).
5:2. Length . . . width — 30 feet long was not unusual, but 15 feet wide would have made it very unwieldy. 
5:3. Curse — summons to a legal proceeding – the Jews had broken their oath to rebuild the temple and were “stealing” time to build their own houses [similar to Malachi 3:8-10].
5:5-11. The woman in a basket — this vision represents the removal of sin from Israel.
6:1. Chariots — often represented the four winds or spirits of God. The angel confirms this in v. 5 [also compare with Jer 49:36-37, Dan 7:2-3, and Rev 61-8]. There is a similar vision of horsemen in the first vision [1:7-17]. The significance of the colors is not explained, but the impression is that they cover the entire world.
6:8. North country — Babylon (which was northeast of Jerusalem) was the seat of idol worship and the source of the major attacks on Israel.

Memory Verse
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts, [4:6].

Next Lesson
Malachi 3: The coming messenger and tithing.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

48: Haggai – Introduction & the Command to rebuild the Temple — Haggai 1:2-2:9, 20-23

Get Ready

Haggai is an unusual book for a couple of reasons. First, it is not about sin and God’s judgment – of the Jews or any other nation (although the Jewish people are not doing what God wants them to) – it is God’s call to do the “right thing.” Second, it is a prose narrative, not poetry.

Author

The prophet identifies himself, his intended audience and the date in the first verse: In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

We also know that Haggai worked with Zechariah, the prophet who follows him in the Old Testament [from Ezra 5:1]. Some scholars interpret Haggai’s reference to Solomon’s temple [2:3] to mean that he actually saw the temple before the exile, which would make him at least seventy years old.

Context

Haggai’s ministry comes at a crucial time in Israel’s history. The Jews returned to Palestine beginning in 538 BCE, when the Persians defeated the Babylonians and instituted more humane policies regarding exiles and captives. They built an altar and restored sacrificial worship (which had been impossible in Babylon). They also began to reconstruct the temple, but the harsh working conditions and the constant harassment of the people then living in the region caused them to let the work languish, while they focused on planting and harvesting crops and maintaining their livestock – and on building their own homes.

After sixteen years of inaction, God calls Haggai in 520 BCE. to renew the effort and complete the temple. Haggai focuses his message on the leaders of the Jews: Zerubbabel, who was the grandson of the last ruling king of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest in exile.

Structure

Haggai packs four prophecies into the two relatively brief chapters of his book:

  • In the first prophecy God tells the Jewish leaders they need to complete the temple if they want to be successful in their land [1:2-11]. Haggai describes Zerubbabel’s and Joshua’s obedient response in verses 12-15.
  • In the second prophecy God tells the leaders that even though the new temple is not as impressive as Solomon’s and the pagans continue to harass the workers, God will protect them and provide the resources to complete the temple. He also promises that “the latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former,” [2:9] – a reference to the glory that Jesus brings to the temple when he is there.
  • The third prophecy is God’s rebuke of the Jews who ignored God’s house and his commands – which led to the poor crops and “blight and mildew and hail,” [2:17].
  • The final prophecy is God’s promise to “shake the heavens and the earth,” and defeat the nations that oppress his chosen people.

All four prophecies were delivered in the fall of 520 BCE.

Major Themes

Haggai focuses on the importance of understanding God’s priorities and putting our effort into the work that God has called us to accomplish.

God inspired Cyrus, the Persian emperor, to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. But once they got to Palestine, the Jews laid the foundation for the temple but then left it unfinished so they could do work that they thought would make their lives better. They neglected what God considered important in order to do work that was easier and benefited themselves (or so they thought).

But God tells them, through Haggai, that the poor results of their efforts – “the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still yield nothing,” [2:19] – are due to the unfinished work on the temple.

Zechariah followed Haggai’s efforts and continued to push the people to do the “right thing.” The Jews completed rebuilding the temple in 515 BCE. It stood until the Roman army destroyed it, along with the city of Jerusalem, in 70.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? When did he write it? Who was he speaking for? Who was he speaking to? Who else was involved in this ministry?

2. Where were the people Haggai was concerned with at the time of his prophecy? What was the military situation of the Jews when he was preaching? What was the political situation? 

3. What was the spiritual situation of the Jews at this time? What were they working on? How was the work progressing? What had been happening to their lives as a result of their efforts? How did the Jews feel about this situation? How did God feel about it?

4. How did God respond to the Jews’ lack of work on the temple? What did he tell the people through the prophet? How did the leaders react to this message? What did they do to get the work going again?

5. How is this book organized? How many individual prophecies are there? What are the messages Haggai delivers to the Jewish leaders? Why do you think God chose these specific messages? How would you respond to them if you had been involved?

6. What is the major theme of Haggai’s prophecies? Why was rebuilding the temple so important to God? What was the error in the Jews’ approach to rebuilding the temple? Why do you suppose they did not give it the attention that God wanted? What did they choose to work on instead of the temple?

Bible Trivia
Haggai means “festive” in Hebrew.

48: The command to rebuild the temple – Haggai 1:2-2:9, 20-23

Get Ready

When you think about your “To Do” list or priorities for your life do you focus on doing things right or on doing the right things? How do you identify what is important and urgent versus what is important but less urgent versus not important but urgent?

The Word

 1In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 4 Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes. 

7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. 9 You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the soil produces, on human beings and animals, and on all their labors. 

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of the prophet Haggai, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord ‘s message, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month.

The Future Glory of the Temple

2In the second year of King Darius, ‎in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say,
3 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts. 

God’s Promise to Zerubbabel

20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month:
21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall fall, every one by the sword of a comrade. 23 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is speaking as this book opens? Who is the intended audience? When is this happening? Who is the real speaker?

2. What is the speaker talking about? What are the different “houses” in this message? What is the people’s situation? How well are they doing with food, clothing, earnings? Why is this a problem for them? Do you think they realize what is actually happening?

3. How do the leaders respond to God’s message? What do they do? What do the people do in turn? How does God respond to the people’s efforts?

4. Who is involved in the second prophecy? What is God’s message in this prophecy? Why would the people think the temple is not as good as the first one? What does God say about this situation? What resources will he provide the people? How will this temple compare to the first one in the future?

5. Who does God speak to in the last prophecy? What is the message God wants to convey? What does God promise will happen? Who will benefit? Who will suffer? What image does God use?












Get Personal

Are there times when you are not sure what God wants you to do with your time or talents? How does he help you to understand his priorities for your life? How does he help you stay focused when things get boring or difficult or seem not important?

Notes . . .

1:1. Darius, Zerubbabel, Joshua — Darius was the king of Persia after Cyrus; Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah in 578 BCE, before the Babylonian destruction of the nation and Jerusalem; Joshua was the Jewish high priest when the Jews returned to Palestine (his grandfather was executed by Nebuchadnezzar when Judah fell).
1:4. Paneled houses — the Hebrew word also means “covered” or “roofed” – the peoples’ houses were finished while God’s house was incomplete.
1:5. Consider how you have fared — God reminds the people that their efforts on their

own behalf have not produced what they had hoped: You have sown much and harvested little . . . [also in vv. 7-9]. The reason is the peoples’ misplaced priorities: My house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses.
2:3. Who is left — some of the Jews who returned had actually seen Solomon’s temple before it was destroyed by the Babylonians [Ezra 3:12].
2:23. Signet ring — a ring with a seal inscribed in it, used to impress the wax that sealed the scroll and identify the sender and demonstrate the message’s authenticity.

Memory Verse
The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts, [Haggai 2:9].

Next Lesson
Zechariah 4-5: The lamp stand, olive trees and flying scroll.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

47: Zephaniah – Introduction & Coming judgment & Day of the Lord — Zephaniah 1:1-18

Get Ready

This book returns to the more common prophetic format: proclaiming God’s word and judgment on sin and predicting the certain punishment for sin. It also ends with a proclamation of God’s grace and restoration of his people.

Author

Most scholars agree that Zephaniah (the name means “the Lord preserves”) wrote this book. He introduces himself at the beginning [1:1], and, in addition to the usual custom of identifying his father, traces his lineage back four generations to King Hezekiah, one of the few rulers of Judah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” He prophesied during the reign of Josiah, another of the “good” kings of the southern kingdom (640-609 BCE).

Context

Zephaniah is another of the prophets from the period at the end of Judah’s existence as an independent nation (the others are Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk). He preached that the kingdom would fall just as the northern kingdom of Israel had fallen one hundred years earlier. He also told the people God would judge them for the same reason: idolatry and ignoring God’s commandments.

The recent kings of Judah, Manasseh and Amon, had allowed – and in some cases encouraged – the Israelites to worship the false, fertility gods of the surrounding nations. King Josiah led a brief revival when the Law of Moses was rediscovered in the temple, but his son and grandson took the nation back into idolatry. Zephaniah’s prophecy was born out when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BCE and took the captive Jewish leaders to Babylon.

Structure

This book’s organization is straightforward. Zephaniah alternates his focus on Judah and then on Judah’s enemies.

  • The first chapter presents God’s judgment on Judah and describes the “Great Day of the Lord,” in which the judgment will take place.
  • Chapter 2 opens with a call for the righteous to seek the Lord, so they perhaps “may be hidden on the day of the Lord’s wrath,” [2:3], then presents God’s judgment on Judah’s enemies, including Gaza, Ashkelon, Chereth, Canaan, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria (and Nineveh).
  • The last chapter describes the sin and wickedness of Jerusalem, followed by God’s punishment of the nations and their eventual restoration.

Zephaniah closes his prophecy with a “Song of Joy” that God “will save the lame and gather the outcast, and will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth,” [3:19].

Major Themes

Zephaniah focuses almost exclusively on God’s judgment. He deals with five primary aspects of judgment in this book:

  • Judgment is based on God’s righteousness and humans’ sin. The two are not compatible at all. Therefore the people can not have a relationship with God.
  • Judgment is inevitable. Humans’ failure to repent and even attempt to follow God’s law means that judgment will come.
  • Judgment is near. Zephaniah says judgment “is near, near and hastening fast,” [1:14]. God had told Habakkuk he was “rousing the Chaldeans” to execute his judgment on the Israelites, which would happen within thirty years of both prophets’ words.
  • Judgment will be total. Zephaniah’s prophecy begins with God declaring “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth . . . I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,” [1:2-3].
  • Judgment will be universal. God “will cut off humanity from the face of the earth,” [1:3]. He will judge all the nations and all people, and “neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath,” [1:18].

As part of this judgment Zephaniah provides a picture of the “Great Day of the Lord,” [for more see Notes on Joel]. Among the images he uses:

  • Cries, wailing and crashing from the merchants as they perish.
  • Punishment of the complacent who think their wealth and position will protect them.
  • “A day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry,” [1:15-16].
  • People will walk like they are blind and “their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung,” [1:17].

In the midst of this terrible picture of judgment and destruction
Zephaniah provides two glimpses of God’s grace:

  • Those who “seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands . . . may be hidden on the day of the Lord’s wrath,” [2:3].
  • The promise that “The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more,” [3:15].

Ultimately, Zephaniah gives us a picture of a God of love.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? What else do we know about the author? What kings was he associated with? Why do you think he included this information when other prophets did not?

2. When did the prophet carry out his ministry? What was the military and political situation at the time? What was the spiritual situation of the nation? Who were the primary leaders of the nation? What type of leaders were they? What did they do?

3. How is this book organized? What are the primary sections of the book? What are the major subjects of the prophecy?

4. What nations are involved with this prophecy? Who is the primary nation in this judgment? What other nations does the prophet identify? What do these nations have in common? 

5. How does the author close this prophecy? Why do you suppose he shifts to this subject at the end? How do you think the readers felt about this ending?

6. What is the major focus of this prophecy? How does the author approach this topic? What aspects of the subject does he deal with? What images does he use to help the reader/listener understand what is about to happen? 

7. How do you respond to these images? Which image had the strongest effect on you? What did it tell you about God’s judgment? How do you think the Israelites responded to this picture of judgment? 

8. When will this judgment be carried out? What phrase does the prophet use for this time? What images does he use to describe this time?

9. What does the prophet focus on at the end of this book? What advice does he give the people? What promise does he relay about the future?

Bible Trivia:
There are many other references to the “Day of the Lord” in both the Old and New Testaments. Here are a few:

  • Isaiah 13:6-10
  • Jeremiah 46:10
  • Joel 1:15-20
  • Joel 2:1-2, 31-32
  • Joel 3:14-16
  • Amos 5:18
  • Obadiah 15
  • Acts 2:20
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
  • 2 Peter 3:10

47: Coming judgment & Day of the Lord — Zephaniah 1:1-18

Get Ready

When you think about the future, do you tend to focus on a big picture (the world, your country, the region in which you live) or do you focus on yourself or your family? Does thinking about the future make you optimistic or apprehensive?

The Word

1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah. 
2 I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. 
3 I will sweep away humans and animals;
will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.
I will make the wicked stumble. I will cut off humanity from the face of the earth, says the Lord. 
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests; 
5 those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens;
those who bow down and swear to the Lord,
but also swear by Milcom;
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him. 
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guests. 
8 And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who dress themselves in foreign attire. 
9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud. 
10 On that day, says the Lord,
a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. 
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
for all the traders have perished; 
all who weigh out silver are cut off. 
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people 
who rest complacently on their dregs,
those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm.” 
13 Their wealth shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. 

The Great Day of the Lord

14The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
the warrior cries aloud there. 
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness, 
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 
17 I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust, 
and their flesh like dung. 
18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord wrath;
in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed;
for a full, a terrible end he will make
of all the inhabitants of the earth. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is speaking in this passage? Who is receiving or relaying this message?

2. What is the subject of this prophecy? What is going to happen to the world? To the birds and animals? To the people?

3. Who is the first target for this prophecy? What city will be judged? What types of people does God identify for this judgment? How does the prophet describe these people? Why are they being judged?

4. Who does God promise to punish? What type of people are singled out here? Why do you think they are subject to punishment?

5. What are the next subjects of judgment? What will happen in this situation? What types of people are involved at this point? Why are they included? What will happen to them?

6. What subject does the prophet present next? How does he describe this event? What images does he use? What is the impression he gives of this event? Who will be affected by it?







Get Personal

How do you respond to the concept of a righteous God? How do you feel about judgment? How has God helped you understand righteous judgment in your relationship with him?

Notes . . .

1:1. Son of — the usual practice was to identify the father, but Zephaniah goes back to his great great grandfather and identifies himself as part of the royal line.
King Josiah — became king when he was 8, started significant reforms when he was 20. When he was 26 Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a copy of the Mosaic Law in the temple, which spurred further reforms [2 kings 22-23]. Unfortunately the reforms did not survive under his sons.
1:5. Host of the heavens — many cultures in the ancient world believed that celestial objects were gods, or were the dwelling places of gods.
Milcom — also translated “Molech,” a pagan god associated with child sacrifice.
1:6. Idolatrous priests — Israelite (Levitical) priests who combined worship of the Lord with worship of pagan gods, or who ignored God altogether and led worship of pagan idols.
1:8. Foreign attire — probably because such officials sought protection from Egypt or  

Assyria,rather than trusting God for security.
1:9. Leap over the threshold — the superstitious believed that stepping on the threshold would anger the god of the household.
1:10. Fish Gate . . . Second Quarter . . . Mortar — three districts in Jerusalem that would suffer great damage that would harm the people and their livelihood.
1:12. Dregs — residue or sediment in the bottom of a container – such people were living on what was left of their former wealth.
1:13. Wealth shall be plundered — this passage echoes God’s curse on those who refuse to obey his commandments: You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house, but not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but not enjoy its fruit, [Deut 28:30-31].
1:14. The Great Day of the Lord — see Notes on Joel.

Memory Verse
I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth, [Zephaniah 3:19].

Next Lesson
Haggai 1: The command to rebuild the Temple.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

46: Habakkuk — Introduction & The prophet’s complaint, God’s reply — Habakkuk 1:1-2:5

Get Ready

This brief book is unusual for an Old Testament prophecy for two reasons: first, it is presented as a dialogue between the prophet and God; second, the prophet is complaining that God is not dealing with the people’s sin – the prophet is calling on God to judge and punish the Israelites.

Author

All we know is the prophet’s name. He provides no details about his life or ministry and there are no references to him in any other Old Testament book.

But there is a significant reference in the New Testament. Paul’s understanding of the Gospel, set out in his letters to the Roman and Galatian churches, that “the righteous will live by faith,” [Romans 1:17, also Gal 3:11], is a direct quote from Habakkuk [2:4]. The writer of Hebrews also quotes this verse [Heb 10:38]. And Paul uses another image from the prophet in his sermon in Antioch of Pisidia: “Look, you scoffers! Be amazed and perish, for in your days I am doing a work, a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you,” [Acts 13:41, from Hab 1:5].

Context

Most scholars put Habakkuk in the time just before the end of the southern kingdom and destruction of Jerusalem (587 BCE). This makes him a contemporary of three other prophets: Jeremiah, Nahum and Zephaniah.

As the Assyrian Empire declined and the Babylonians (also Chaldeans) took their place, Judah experienced a period of relative security. But the Jewish leaders used this time to enrich their own situation at the expense of the poor. This is the “wrongdoing” that Habakkuk decried in his complaint to God [1:3-4]. In response God tells the prophet he is “rousing the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous nation,” to punish Judah for its sins [1:6]. The Babylonians destroyed the nation and took the Jews into captivity in 587 BCE.

Structure

Unlike the other prophets, Habakkuk gives us a dialogue between himself and God. There are three major parts:

  • Chapter 1 opens with Habakkuk’s complaint about the injustice and wickedness he sees in the nation of Judah. God then tells the prophet he will punish the kingdom with the Babylonian army, which leads Habakkuk to question God’s plan to use a more evil power to punish the evil in Judah.
  • In Chapter 2 God replies to both aspects of the prophet’s complaint and tells him to “write the vision, make it plain on tablets,” [2:2]. God says that the Babylonians are not his instrument of judgment because they are righteous – in fact they will fall just as surely as Judah, and “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,” [2:14].
  • Habakkuk responds to this promise in Chapter 3 with a prayer of praise for God.

Major Themes

At first glance Habakkuk is similar to many other Old Testament prophecies: the people have sinned, God will judge – and punish – the sin.

Indeed, the leaders of Judah did not follow God’s commandments. Habakkuk saw violence, trouble, destruction, strife and contention. “The law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous – therefore judgment comes forth perverted,” [1:3-4]. He wanted to know why God appears to tolerate this sin, or worse, why he seems to ignore it and ignore Habakkuk’s cries for him to act: “How long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?” [1:2].

So God told the prophet he would punish Judah, using the Babylonian army.

But this raised an even greater question: How can a holy God decide to use such an evil people to judge and punish the Israelites? Does this mean God is actually condoning the Babylonian actions? God replies to the prophet’s question by assuring him that sin – regardless of who commits it – will be punished, but not necessarily as a person expects: “There is a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come and not delay,” [2:3]. God concludes his response by reminding Habakkuk, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silent before him!” [2:20].

Habakkuk responds to God’s assurance with a prayer of praise for God’s glory and power: “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise,” [3:3]. He ends his prophecy with a declaration of faith: “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights,” [3:18-19].

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about this author? Where else do his writings appear? Why do you suppose he is quoted as he is? Why is this writer important to us today?

2. When did the prophet do his work? Where did he prophesy? Who else was conveying God’s word at this time? What was the political and military situation at the time? Who were the major powers? What effect did this have on the Israelite kingdom?

3. What makes this book unique among the prophets? How do you think his readers responded to this literary approach? Does it make the message easier to understand or more difficult?

4. How is this book organized? What are the primary sections? What subject does each section deal with? What is the common thread through each section?

5. What is the primary message of this book? What kind of sin does this prophecy deal with? How does the prophet describe his situation? What is the major concern the writer has about the situation? What does God seem to be doing about it? Why is this a problem for the prophet?

6. How did God respond to the prophet’s complaint? How was he going to judge the sin of Judah’s leaders? Who was going to be involved? Why did this lead to even more concern about God’s apparent response to sin? How does God answer the prophet on this question? Does this satisfy Habakkuk’s concerns?

7. How does the prophet react to God’s answer about Babylon? Why do you think he responded as he did? How do you think you would respond if you had been the one challenging God? 

Bible Trivia
Some Biblical scholars think that Habakkuk probably was a priest or a temple singer or musician, because the prayer in chapter 3 is, “according to Shigionoth,” [3:1], and it is addressed “To the leader: with stringed instruments,” [3:19.

46: The prophet’s complaint & God’s reply – Habakkuk 1:1- 2:5

Get Ready

How good are you at waiting? Are you the type of person who can relax and let things develop at their own pace, or are you the type who expects things to happen right away? Is it harder to wait for something good to happen or for something bad to stop happening?

The Word

1The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 
4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous —
therefore judgment comes forth perverted. 
5 Look at the nations, and see! Be astonished!
Be astounded!
For a work is being done in your days
that you would not believe if you were told. 
6 For I am rousing the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth
to seize dwellings not their own. 
7 Dread and fearsome are they; 
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. 
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more menacing than wolves at dusk; their horses charge.
Their horsemen come from far away; 
they fly like an eagle swift to devour. 
9 They all come for violence, with faces pressing forward;
they gather captives like sand. 
10 At kings they scoff, and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress, and heap up earth to take it. 
11 Then they sweep by like the wind; 
they transgress and become guilty; their own might is their god! 
12 Are you not from of old, O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgment;
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment. 
13 Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, 
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous,
and are silent when the wicked swallow
those more righteous than they? 
14 You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler. 
15 The enemy brings all of them up with a hook; 
he drags them out with his net,
he gathers them in his seine; so he rejoices and exults. 
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his seine;
for by them his portion is lavish, and his food is rich. 
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net,
and destroying nations without mercy? 

2God’s Reply to the Prophet’s Complaint
I will stand at my watchpost, 
and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint. 
2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 
4 Look at the proud! 
Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. 
5 Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure.
They open their throats wide as Sheol; 
like Death they never have enough. 
They gather all nations for themselves, 
and collect all peoples as their own.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. How does the prophet begin this book? Who is he talking to? What is he talking about? How does he describe his situation? Why does he think this is such a problem?

2. How does God respond to the writer’s complaint? What is God going to do about the wrongdoing the prophet had described? How does God describe the nation he intends to use to judge the Israelites?

3. How does the prophet respond to God’s plan? Why is this plan such a shock to the author [see Notes]? How does he describe what he thinks will happen? What images does he use when he questions God?

4. What does the prophet do after he asks his questions? How do you think his readers felt about such an action? How would you feel if you had been there?

5. How does God respond to the question? What does he tell the prophet to do first? What does he tell the prophet to do with the answer? How do you think the prophet felt about this direction? What ultimately happened to the Babylonian Empire?














Get Personal

Have you experienced God’s promise but then had to wait for it to be realized? How has God helped you to understand the role of faith in your walk with Jesus?

Notes . . .

1:1. Oracle — the Hebrew word also means “burden.”
1:2. How long — the prophet implies that God is ignoring the corruption and injustice in Judah, and ignoring his complaint about the situation. Compare Habakkuk’s description of Judah’s sin with Amos’ picture of wrongdoing in the northern kingdom a century earlier [Amos 2:6-8].
King David also used this phrase to preface some of his prayers for deliverance from his enemies: How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? [Psalm 13:1-2, also check Psalm 22].
1:3. Why do you make . . . — Habakkuk challenges God to do something about the sin, (compare this with Job’s complaint [19:7]). 
1:6. Rousing the Chaldeans — God’s

answer is a shocker! He is going to use the Babylonians (Chaldeans) for his judgment of Judah – Ezekiel called them “the most terrible of nations,” [28:7]. Ironically, Abraham left “Ur of the Chaldeans,” [Gen 11:31], in response to God’s call.
1:13. Those more righteous — Habakkuk cannot understand why God would use a more heinous nation to judge the less evil actions of Judah.
2:1. I will stand — in an aside, the prophet says he will wait for God’s response to his question.
2:2. Vision . . . appointed time . . . wait for it — God’s tells Habakkuk the answer is in the future and he – like us today – must wait in faith, because “it will surely come.”
2:5. Wealth is treacherous — the Babylonians’ military success lulled them into complacency (which allowed the Persian army to take Babylon without a fight).

Memory Verse
The righteous live by their faith, [Habakkuk 2:4].
Memory Verse 2
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silent before him! [Habakkuk 2:20].

Next Lesson
Zephaniah 1: The Great Day of the Lord.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

45: Nahum — Introduction & God’s wrath & good news for Judah — Nahum 1:1-15

Get Ready

Nahum is the second of three prophets to focus on Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire and the most powerful city in the world at that time. But Nahum prophesied that Nineveh’s sins brought it under God’s judgment and the city and the empire would disappear.

Author

This prophet identifies himself as “Nahum of Elkosh,” [1:1], which is all the information we have about him. Scholars put his home, Elkosh, in northern Judah, but there is no consensus on its exact location (although Capernaum, the site of Jesus’ ministry activities, does mean “village of Nahum” in Hebrew). Nahum was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah.

Context

Nahum is another of the prophets working near the end of the southern kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians, whose capital was Nineveh, defeated the northern kingdom in 722 BCE. They continued to dominate the region and exact tribute from Judah for another century.

In 612 BCE, the Babylonian armies attacked Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire collapsed. As they had humiliated the smaller nations of the Middle East, the Assyrians were humiliated by Babylon – as Nahum prophesied. Since Nahum refers to the destruction of Thebes (661 BCE) as a past event, he probably wrote this book between 660 and 612 BCE.

Nahum’s prophecy of Nineveh’s destruction because of its sins should have served as a potent warning to the leaders of Judah. But they did not return to following God, and the Babylonians began their attacks on Jerusalem before 600 BCE, and destroyed the city and the temple in 586 BCE.

Structure

Nahum presents his “oracle concerning Nineveh” in three sections:

  • The opening is an extended praise of God that describes his power and his “wrath” [see Note under Micah] and judgment of sin [1:2-11].
  • In the brief second section Nahum conveys God’s promise of restoration and ultimate victory for Judah [1:12-15a]. The prophet does not follow the usual order, which puts God’s promise to Israel at the end of the prophecy.
  • The final section predicts the ultimate destruction of Nineveh, the “city of bloodshed, utterly deceitful, full of booty – no end to the plunder,” [3:1]. The prophet provides quite a bit of detail on Nineveh’s sins as well as the coming ruin: “There is no assuaging your hurt, your wound is mortal,” [3:19].

Major Themes

Nahum focuses almost exclusively on God’s judgment against sin. The judgment is inevitable and the destruction will ultimately be complete. Even though the prophecy is about the coming destruction of a pagan city and empire, Nahum is actually speaking to the Israelites – he wants them to repent and return to God?

This makes the book one of the most negative and pessimistic in the Bible. Except for the four verses of promise to Judah [1:12-15a], the prophet describes God’s overwhelming power over all aspects of creation and then gives us considerable detail – often graphic – about Nineveh’s coming destruction. Among the images he uses:

  • Crack of whip and rumble of wheel
  • Flashing sword and glittering spear
  • Piles of dead, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end
  • Infants dashed in pieces at the head of every street
  • Devastation, desolation and destruction
  • The fire will devour you, the sword will cut you off

Even though God had used the Assyrian Empire to carry out his judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel, this did not excuse that nation from judgment for its own sins – a long history of cruelty and oppression of people throughout region for more than a century.

Nahum underscores the seriousness with which God deals with sin. In this the prophet prepares us for the seriousness of God’s ultimate solution to the problem of sin. We really should not be surprised that Christ went to the cross. For us.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? Where did the author come from? What other prophets were working at the same time? What else do we know about the prophet?

2. When did this prophet do his work? What was the political and military situation at this time? Who was the major power in the region? What was Judah’s relationship with this nation? 

3. What happened to this empire? Who was involved in this change? How did Judah respond to this situation? What eventually happened to the southern kingdom?

4. How is this book organized? What are the primary sections of the prophecy? In what respect is this book different than other Old Testament prophets?

5. What is this book about? What is the prophet’s primary message? Who is the prophet actually speaking to? Why is he speaking to this group? 

6. What is the overall tone of this book? What images does the prophet use to describe what will happen to Nineveh? How do you think the intended audience responded to these images? How do you feel about them?

7. What does the prophet say about sin? About God’s response to sin? About our response to sin and our relationship with God?

Bible Trivia:
Even though it is a pagan city, Nineveh is the subject of three Old Testament prophecies. Jonah actually (and finally) went and preached to Nineveh, and the people did repent, which led God to defer his judgment. Nahum then preached about the city. And he was followed by Zephaniah, who also predicted the coming destruction [Zeph 2:4-15]. The Israelites ignored the meaning of the three prophecies, as well as the disappearance of the Assyrian Empire.

45: God’s consuming wrath & good news for Judah –Nahum 1:1-15

The Word

1An oracle concerning Nineveh.
The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. 
2 A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and rages against his enemies. 
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
and he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither,
and the bloom of Lebanon fades. 
5 The mountains quake before him,
and the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who live in it. 
6 Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and by him the rocks are broken in pieces. 
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of trouble;
he protects those who take refuge in him, 
8 even in a rushing flood.
He will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue
his enemies into darkness. 
9 Why do you plot against the Lord?
He will make an end;
no adversary will rise up twice. 
10 Like thorns they are entangled,
like drunkards they are drunk;
they are consumed like dry straw. 
11 From you one has gone out
who plots evil against the Lord,
one who counsels wickedness. 
Good News for Judah
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many, 
they will be cut off and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more. 
13 And now I will break off his yoke from you
and snap the bonds that bind you.” 
14 The Lord has commanded concerning you:
“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the cast image.
I will make your grave, for you are worthless.” 
15 Look! On the mountains the feet of one
who brings good tidings,
who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, O Judah,
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the wicked invade you;
they are utterly cut off.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. How does the prophet begin his book? How does he identify himself? What is this book about? Who is this book about?

2. How does the author describe God? What attributes of his character does Nahum mention? What images does he use to describe God’s power? What is God’s relationship with the natural world? Why do you suppose he focuses so much on God’s power?

3. How does Nahum describe God’s response to sin? How does this affect the people involved? How does God respond to those who seek him? What about those who ignore or oppose God? What image does the prophet use to describe those who “plot against the Lord?” What will happen to them? 

4. What message does God have for the Israelites? What will happen to Judah’s enemies? What will God “break off” from them? What will happen to the Assyrian name [see Notes]? To the Assyrian gods? To their value as a nation?

Get Personal

How has God helped you understand the concept of sin and its effect on your relationship with him? What has he taught you about forgiveness? How does this affect your walk with Christ?

Notes . . .

1:1. Nineveh — in Nahum’s time the capital of the Assyrian Empire. It was originally built by Nimrod, a great grandson of Noah [Gen 10:11].
Nahum — his name means “comfort” in Hebrew.
1:2. Jealous — God describes himself as jealous in the Ten Commandments: You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments, [Exodus 20:5-6, also check Joshua 24:19-20 – and the Note under Micah].
1:3. Whirlwind and storm — a fairly common symbol of God’s power (also used in reference to pagan gods as well).

1:4. Bashan and Carmel — two areas known for their verdant, fertile gardens and pastures – one was east of the Sea of Galilee, the other on the Mediterranean coast.
1:6. Who can stand — perhaps a rhetorical answer to the Assyrian commander who asked King Hezekiah, Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? [2 Kings 18:35]. God killed 200,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp that night and they retreated from Jerusalem.
1:13. Yoke . . . bonds — symbols of the military and political oppression of Assyria.
1:14. Your name — Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king, had ordered that his name be memorialized throughout the empire.
1:15. Mountains . . . messenger — an echo of Isaiah: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, [52:7].

Memory Verse
The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble;
he protects those who take refuge in him,
even in a rushing flood, [Nahum 1:7-8].

Next Lesson
Habakkuk 1: The prophet’s complaint and God’s reply.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

44: Micah — Introduction & The ruler from Bethlehem — Micah 5:2-15

Get Ready

Micah (which means “Who is like Jehovah?”) has two significant passages. The first is the prophet’s prediction of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, which he calls “one of the little clans of Judah.” The second passage identifies the three things the Lord requires of us [6:8].

Author

In the first verse the author identifies himself as “Micah of Moresheth.” His home was a small village in the southern part of Judah. He does not tell us his “day job,” but his denunciation of greed and oppression probably marks him as poor and used to hard work. At the same time, he demonstrates familiarity with Jerusalem and Samaria, the capital cities of Judah and Israel.

Micah does put his work “in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,” who reigned in Judah from 750 to 687 BCE.

Context

The period of Micah’s prophecy included two very significant events. Assyria defeated the northern kingdom in 722 BCE, which fulfilled his prophecies against Israel [1:2-7]. The victors removed the Israelites from the land and brought in settlers from other parts of the empire. 

The destruction of Samaria just to the north should have gotten the attention of the people of Judah. 

To some degree it did. King Hezekiah led a reformation that destroyed the places of idol worship and returned the people to following God’s commandments. He followed Isaiah, the prophet, and even withstood an invasion attempt by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. The invasion failed when God killed almost 200,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp.

After Hezekiah died, however, the leaders of Judah thought that having the temple in Jerusalem was enough to protect them from the suffering the same fate as Israel. In the end they were wrong.

Structure

There are three sections in this book. Each section begins with a judgment and ends with a  promise.

  • The first section [chapters 1-2] is the judgment against Samaria and Jerusalem, particularly against greed and corruption. The powerful “devise wickedness and evil deeds” and then “they perform it because it is in their power,” [2:1]. Micah singles out taking people’s property and inheritance. The section ends with God’s promise to gather the people and “set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture,” [2:12]. 
  • The middle section [chapters 3-4] is a judgment against wicked rulers and religious leaders “who hate the good and love the evil,” and “who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing in their mouths,” [3:2, 5]. This section ends with another promise of restoration: “I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away, and those I have afflicted,” [4:6].
  • The final section [chapters 6-7] is like a court case God is bringing against the people: “Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. . . . for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel,” [6:1-2]. The sin here is corruption: “wicked scales and dishonest weights,” [6:11]. The section – and the book – ends with Micah saying God “will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from days of old,” 7:19-20].

Chapter five is an interlude in which the prophet predicts “the one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old,” [5:2] will come from Bethlehem. This interlude also describes the role of “the remnant of Jacob” and the ultimate judgment “on the nations that did not obey,” [5:15].

Major Themes

Micah is like most of the Old Testament prophets: his message is a mixture of judgment and denunciation of sin with promises of God’s love and loyalty to his chosen people.

God does not excuse or overlook sin. He rescued the Israelites from slavery and called them to demonstrate his love and holiness to the world by their example. When the people ignore his commandments and worship idols he calls them to account through his prophets. Actions have consequences and sin leads to punishment. But God’s love is steadfast. Restoration will follow punishment. Reconciliation will follow estrangement. Fellowship will lead to obedience.

Micah goes farther than any other prophet in describing how the future ruler will accomplish God’s purposes and lead his people. He predicts his birth in Bethlehem; he describes him as “from of old, from ancient days;” he says the ruler will provide for the people and give them peace and security – and will ultimately defeat the Assyrians. Both the gospels of Matthew [2:6] and John [7:42] refer to this prophecy of Jesus’ birth.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book?  What does his name mean? When did he write it? What else do we know about the author?

2. What was the political and military situation when the prophet did his work? What significant events happened during his ministry? What effect did this have on the other kingdom?

3. How did the kingdom of Judah respond to the events? What did the king attempt to do? Who did the king follow? How did he deal with the Assyrian attackers? What happened to the opposing army? What was the long-term effect of his actions?

4. How is this book organized? What does each major part deal with? How are the parts similar to each other? How do they differ?

5. What does the interlude between the judgments deal with? What is significant about this passage? Why do you suppose the prophet put it where he did? How did he know the location?

6. How is this author like most of the other Old Testament prophets? What is the primary theme of this prophecy? What does he say about God’s response to sin? What does he say about God’s love? What does he say about God’s promise for the future?

Bible Trivia:

Micah begins his book with the last words of another prophet with a very similar name, Micaiah: “Hear, you peoples, all of you!” [1 Kings 22:28].

And . . .

Micah’s closing words: “You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old,” [7:20], are paraphrased by a much later prophet, Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist): “Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor, Abraham,” [Luke 1:72-73].

And . . .

Jesus echoes Micah in his prediction of family division [7:6]: “A man against his father, and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household,” [Matt 10:35-36]. 

44: The ruler from Bethlehem and the remnant — Micah 5:2-15

Get Ready

How do you feel about the safety and security of your family? Do you have a home security system? Do you always lock your doors when you leave? Do you have anti-virus protection on your computer and cell phone? Do you stop your mail when you go on vacation?

The Word

52 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days. 
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel. 
4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; 
5 and he shall be the one of peace.
If the Assyrians come into our land and tread upon our soil, 
we will raise against them seven shepherds
and eight installed as rulers. 
6 They shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword;
they shall rescue us from the Assyrians
if they come into our land or tread within our border. 

The Future Role of the Remnant

7 Then the remnant of Jacob,
surrounded by many peoples, 
shall be like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not depend upon people
or wait for any mortal. 
8 And among the nations the remnant of Jacob,
surrounded by many peoples,
shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through, treads down
and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver. 
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
and all your enemies shall be cut off. 
10 In that day, says the Lord,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots; 
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds; 
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you shall have no more soothsayers; 
13 and I will cut off your images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands; 
14 and I will uproot your sacred poles from among you and destroy your towns. 
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is actually speaking in this passage? What is the speaker talking about? Who is the speaker referring to? How does the speaker describe this person? What role will the person have? When?

2. What is this “ruler” going to do? When will this happen [see Notes]? Who will the ruler lead? How will the ruler lead these people? Where will he get his authority?

3. What does God say about possible enemies? What will happen to them? 

4. What is the “remnant of Jacob?” How does God describe their situation? What image does he use? Why does he use such an image for his people? How do you think Micah’s readers responded to this image of their future?

5. What will God do with the remnant in the future? What will he eliminate? Why [see Notes]? What difference will this make to the people? How will God change the people’s worship practices? 







Get Personal

How has God helped you understand his promises of spiritual security? How has he taught you to trust him for protection?

Notes . . .

5:2. Bethlehem of Ephrathah — Bethlehem is a town south of Jerusalem; Ephrathah is a village in the same area. They identify the hometown and clan of King David. (Bethlehem is not listed in either Joshua’s or Nehemiah’s lists of Israelite towns.)
Little clan — David’s family was not well known when God chose him to be king, either.
Ancient days — David was born 300 years before Micah prophesied; but this phrase suggested “the ruler” is from an even older time.
5:3. The time — this reference is not to Jesus’ birth, but to the end time when God, through Christ, will gather all his people together: The rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. Isaiah also links Jesus’ birth and his return in power [check Isaiah 9:6-7 and 61:1-2].
5:5. Assyrians — King Hezekiah had “defeated” (actually God did it) the Assyrian army during Micah’s ministry. Unfortunately, many leaders took that as a sign Jerusalem would never be conquered.
5:6. Nimrod — a great grandson of Noah, “a mighty hunter before the Lord,” [Gen 10:9].
5:7. Remnant of Jacob — the returned Jews (“rest of his kindred” above) who are descended from Jacob.

5:10. Cut off your horses — God had told the Israelites not to rely on a standing army for protection [Deut 17:16], but to trust his power. Similarly, those who trust God will not need walled cities or strongholds [v. 11].
5:12. Cut off sorceries — God will also eliminate false worship (sorceries, soothsayers, images, pillars, idols, poles) from the restored nation.
5:14. Sacred poles — poles used in worshipping the goddess, Asherah, a fertility goddess in pagan Palestine.

Doctrine Note: 
God’s anger and wrath . . .

These two words are used throughout the Bible to refer to God’s response to sin. However, it is important to remember these are human words attempting to describe a spiritual reality. Human anger is an emotional response to not getting our way – usually by being either harmed or ignored by another person. It is a selfish response. Sin is essentially setting ourself apart from God, breaking or ignoring the relationship of love God offers us. We are rejecting God, not the other way around.

Memory Verse
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? [Micah 6:8].

Next Lesson
Nahum 1: The consuming wrath of God and promise for Judah.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

43: Jonah — Introduction & Jonah's attempt to flee from God — Jonah 1:1-2:10

Get Ready

Jonah is a most unusual prophet with a most unusual story. He refuses to obey God, tries to run away, repents, then gets mad at God for blessing an enemy. And his book is a “fish story” that Jesus believes is true. Do you?

Author

There is general agreement that the prophet, Jonah, wrote this book. He identifies himself as the “son of Amittai” [1:1]. We also know that he prophesied in the northern kingdom when Jeroboam II ruled Israel [2 Kings 14:25], and that he lived in Gath Hepher, a small Israeli village.

Some modern critics argue the book was written much later as an allegory against the strong exclusivity of the Jews following their return from captivity. They do so largely because they do not accept the miracles involved in Jonah’s story. But these miracles (primarily the “large fish” [1:17] and the “bush” that grew fast then withered just as quickly [4:7]) are no harder to believe than the other miracles by which God protected his chosen people.

Context

Jeroboam ruled Israel from 793 to 753 BCE, as a vassal state of the Assyrian empire, which controlled much of the region for more than 200 years. Nineveh was its capital. This at least partly explains Jonah’s attempt to avoid going to the capital city of a hundred-year-old enemy. Further, God wanted to give this city and its people a chance to repent and avoid judgment.

Nineveh was more than 500 miles north of Israel on the Tigris River. Its walls supposedly were 50 feet wide and 100 feet high and roughly eight miles across inside. This made it a large and imposing city for someone from essentially small-town Israel.

Structure

Unlike most prophetic books, Jonah is a narrative – the story of the prophet’s encounter with God. There are four primary sections:

  • In chapter 1 God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, and preach repentance to the people. Jonah tries to avoid this assignment by taking a ship in the opposite direction, but a violent storm leads to his being thrown overboard and then “rescued” by a giant fish.
  • Chapter 2 is Jonah’s prayer of repentance and thanksgiving for the rescue.
  • Chapter 3 recounts Jonah’s visit to Nineveh with his warning to repent within forty days or “Nineveh shall be overthrown!” [3:4]. The king leads the people in repentance and God “changed his mind about the calamity that he said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it,” [3:10].
  • In Chapter 4 Jonah expresses his anger at God for blessing Nineveh and sulks outside the city. God responds by growing a bush to shade him for a day and then destroying the bush the next day and bringing wind and heat on Jonah. God reproves Jonah for being mad at the bush and having no compassion for the people of Nineveh.

Major Themes

This book presents two messages. The primary teaching is that God is the God for all the people of the earth, not just the Jews. The second message is that God can use people who resist him to demonstrate his power and his love (God can also use people who may not even be aware of him).

God chose Abraham and the nation of Israel to “be a blessing” so that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” [Gen 12:2-3]. He did not choose Israel because it was a righteous nation (it would demonstrate its unrighteousness many times), or because it was a strong or powerful nation. He chose Israel to be the example of his love for humankind. He wanted people to see his character in the character of Israel.

Even though Assyria ruled the entire region and had exacted tribute and taxes from Israel, God wanted to give the Assyrians one last opportunity to repent. Even today, God offers everyone an opportunity to repent. It does not matter what the person has done in the past; it only matters that God loves all people. 

God chose Jonah to deliver his message to the citizens of Nineveh. But Jonah could not get past his experience as a Jew subjected to Assyria’s harsh rule, and he refused to do what God had asked. Which is the second great insight from this book: God can accomplish his purposes regardless of whether we agree with him or not, regardless of whether we cooperate or not, regardless of whether we obey or not.

Jonah initially refuses and tries to escape from God’s direction, then reluctantly obeys, then gets angry at God and at a plant. But God continues to demonstrate his power and his love.

There is another aspect of Nineveh’s repentance: the pagans responded to Jonah’s message and were saved from God’s judgment. The Israelites back in the northern kingdom were continuing to ignore God’s message and his laws.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? Where did he prophesy? Where did he live? What was the situation during his work and life? Why do some people question whether Jonah actually wrote this book? Is this book that much different than other Old Testament books?

2. When did the author do his ministry? Who was the king at this time? What was the political situation of Israel at this time? How might this explain the prophet’s response to God’s call? What else do we know about Nineveh? Would this affect Jonah’s actions?

3. How is this book organized? What are the major sections of Jonah’s story? What makes it unique as a prophetic book? Why do you suppose the author chose this format? Does it make it easier or more difficult to understand the book’s message?

4. What actions make Jonah stand out from the other prophets? What other figures in the Old Testament argued with God or tried to avoid doing what God had asked them to do? How did God respond to them? What were the consequences of their actions?

5. What are the major themes of this book? How is this different than most of the prophetic books? How does this book give us a “preview” of the Gospels? How do you suppose the Israelites felt about the message of God’s love for the Assyrians? How might you have felt if you had been involved?

6. How did Jonah first respond to God’s call? How did God react to this situation? How did God change the situation? How did Jonah respond the second time? How did he feel about the assignment God gave him? How did God deal with this response?

Bible Trivia:
Jonah is one of only two books in the Old Testament that is not about the Jewish people or nation of Israel. The other book is Job.

Bible Trivia – Part 2:
Jesus clearly accepted the story of Jonah in the large fish as true: he says “for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth,” [Matt 12:40].

43: Jonah tries to run away from God – Jonah 1:1 – 2:10

Get Ready

Do you ever compare your life to some one else’s? Do you feel you have received more blessings than the other person? Or perhaps more judgments? Or more difficult tasks to accomplish? Do you tend to focus on what you have received or what you have had to do?

The Word

1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.” 

7 The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so. 

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.
14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 

17 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

2Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God
from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
“I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 
3 You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me; 
all your waves and your billows passed over me. 
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight;
how shall I look again upon your holy temple?’ 
5 The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head 
6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever; 
yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God. 
7 As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 
8 Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. 
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!” 
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is involved in this situation? What does God tell Jonah to do? How does Jonah respond to God’s command? Where does he try to go? Why do you suppose he reacted this way? How might you have reacted?

2. What happens to Jonah after he leaves Israel? How do the sailors react to the situation? How does the captain? What do they try to do? How well does this work? What does Jonah tell the sailors when the lot identifies him as the person responsible for the storm? How do they respond?

3. What does Jonah say the sailors must do? Why would they hesitate to do this? What causes them to  finally act? How do they try to protect themselves from God’s anger?

4. How did God respond to the sailors’ action? What happened to the storm? How did the sailors feel about this?

5. What did God do to (or for) Jonah? How did Jonah respond to God’s actions? What did he say to God about his situation? How does he feel about what God did? How do you think you might have felt in Jonah’s place? What does he say about what happened to him? What does God do at the end?






Get Personal

Has God given you a task you really didn’t want to carry out? How did you respond to God at first? How did God help you understand the need to follow his direction? What happened when you carried out the task? How did it affect your walk with Christ?

Notes . . .

1:1. Jonah — a prophet during Jeroboam’s reign, which Amos and Hosea were also prophesying at that time. Both prophesied that Assyria would destroy the northern kingdom.
1:2. Nineveh — the capital of the Assyrian empire, more than 500 miles north of Israel.
Wickedness — Nineveh was the center for worship of the goddess Ishtar.
1:3. Tarshish — the location is not known for certain, some equate it with Sardinia while others believe it is in southern Spain or north Africa.
Fare — would have been a large amount of money, given the distance.
1:5. His own god — the sailors would accept “divine” help from anyone’s god. The captain even wakes Jonah so he can call on his deity [in v. 6].

1:7. Cast lots — a common method of discerning divine intent in the ancient world, including the Old Testament [for example: Lev 16:8; Josh 18:6; 1 Sam 14:42].
1:11. What shall we do to you? — since it is Jonah’s god who caused the storm, he would be the sacrifice to cause God to stop it.
1:17. Large fish — the Hebrew word can refer to any size creature of the sea. God saves Jonah from drowning.
Three days and three nights — Jesus called this the “Sign of Jonah” [Matt 12:39].
2:3. You cast — Jonah realizes that God, not the sailors, put him in the ocean.
2:7. I remembered the Lord — Jonah repents from his disobedience.

Memory Verse
Deliverance belongs to the Lord! [Jonah 2:9].

Next Lesson
Micah 5: The ruler and the remnant.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

42: Obadiah — Introduction & Edom will be humbled — Obadiah 1-21

Get Ready

This book is unique in the Old Testament in at least two respects. It is the shortest book – 21 verses in a single chapter. And it is focused on a nation other than Israel, it is about Israel and (like most of the prophets) it includes a prophecy about God’s promise to restore Israel.

Author

We know his name, which means “servant of the Lord,” and the Old Testament gives us several possible authors [such as 1 Kings 18:3; Ezra 8:9; Neh 12:25], but none of the candidates fit the situation completely. The prophet does not provide any other details about himself. 

Context

There is a little more to work with here. Although the enmity between Israel and Edom lasted for centuries and there were several incidents, most scholars agree that the “slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,” [v.10] was Edam’s participation in the Babylonian siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem (605-586 BCE). Obadiah probably prophesied (and wrote this book) during the early part of the captivity. (NOTE: Some scholars believe the incident Obadiah refers to is the capture of Jerusalem by Joash, the king of Israel [2 Kings 14] or by the Philistines and Arabians [2 Chron 21].)

The two nations – and the mutual hatred – began with Abraham’s twin grandsons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob tricked Esau, the older son, out of his birthright and blessing. Even though the brothers eventually reconciled, their descendants settled in different areas – Jacob’s (renamed “Israel” by God) children settled in the northern part of Canaan while Esau’s kin settled south of the Dead Sea and were known as the Edomites.

This means the feud lasted more than a thousand years. One of the better known incidents is the Edomites’ refusal to allow Moses and the Israelites to cross their country during the exodus from Egypt [the details are in Num 20:14-21 – other incidents are recorded in 1 Sam 14:47, 2 Sam 8:13-14, and 1 Kings 11:17-22].

Structure

Even though this is a short book there are four distinct sections after the brief introduction:

  • God’s judgment against Edom – “you shall be utterly despised,” [2-9].
  • The list of Edom’s sins against Israel, [10-14].
  • God’s promise of action against Edom – “your deeds shall return on your own head [15-18].
  • God’s promise to restore Israel, [19-21].

Major Themes

Obadiah reminds the captured Jewish people that God will keep his promises, even if the people do not keep their commitments.

God promised Abraham “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing,” and “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse,” [Gen 12:2-3]. Obadiah applies this promise to Edom for its actions against Israel.

Jeremiah’s prophecy against Edom [49:7-22] is very similar to Obadiah’s statement of God’s judgment in vv. 2-9. Most scholars believe that Jeremiah followed Obadiah and thereby validates his prophecy by including it in his broader prophecy.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about the author? When did he probably write this book? What was the situation for the at Israelites the time? How does this help us understand why this prophecy is included in the Old Testament?

2. What was the incident that the prophet is writing about? What nations were involved in this incident? Why did this incident happen? What are the other possibilities about when this incident happened?

3. How did this relationship begin? When did it start? Why do you suppose it has lasted so long? What other incidents occurred between Edom and Israel.

4. How does Obadiah organize his prophecy? What is the ultimate outcome of this prophecy? What will happen to Edom? What will happen to Israel? How would we phrase God’s promise to Edom in today’s English?

5. What is the primary theme of Obadiah’s prophecy? What is the basis of this prophecy? How do you suppose the Jews felt about his prophecy? How might you have felt if you had been with them?

6. What other prophet wrote about Edom? How does his prophecy compare with Obadiah’s writings? Which probably came first?

Notes . . .

Twelve different men in the Old Testament are named Obadiah:

  • The governor of Ahab’s palace [1 Kings 18:3-7,16].
  • A descendant of David and the head of a family [1 Chron 3:21].
  • A son of Izrahiah, of the tribe of Issachar [1 Chron 7:3].
  • A descendant of King Saul [1 Chron 8:38].
  • A Levite, a son of Shemaiah [1 Chron 9:16].
  • A Gadite captain who joined David at Ziklag [1 Chron 12:9].
  • A leader of the tribe of Zebulun during the reign of David [1 Chron 27:19].
  • A leader of Jehoshaphat commissioned to teach the Book of the Law [2 Chron 17:7].
  • A Levite who supervised workmen repairing the Temple during the reign of King Josiah [2 Chron 34:12].
  • A son of Jehiel, a descendant of Joab [Ezra 8:9].
  • A priest who sealed the covenant after the Captivity [Neh 10:5].
  • A prophet of Judah (also called Obad). The fourth of the “minor” prophets, O

42: Edom will be humbled – Obadiah 1-21

Get Ready

What do you think constitutes a “fair” or “good” punishment? Should the punishment “fit” the crime or original action? Should there be a range of possible punishments? Should the consequences of an action be more preventative than punitive? Should “what goes around come around?”

The Word

The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!” 
2 I will surely make you least among the nations; 
you shall be utterly despised. 
3 Your proud heart has deceived you, 
you that live in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is in the heights.
You say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” 
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down, says the Lord. 
5 If thieves came to you, if plunderers by night
— how you have been destroyed! —
would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? 
6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures searched out!
7 All your allies have deceived you,
they have driven you to the border;
your confederates have prevailed against you;
those who ate your bread have set a trap for you —there is no understanding of it. 
8 On that day, says the Lord, I will destroy the wise out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau. 
9 Your warriors shall be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone from Mount Esau will be cut off. 
10 For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 
11 On the day that you stood aside,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you too were like one of them. 
12 But you should not have gloated over your brother on the day of his misfortune;
you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah on the day of their ruin;
you should not have boasted on the day of distress. 
13 You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their calamity;
you should not have joined in the gloating over Judah’s disaster on the day of his calamity;
you should not have looted his goods on the day of his calamity. 
14 You should not have stood at the crossings to cut off his fugitives;
you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress. 
15 For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head. 
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
all the nations around you shall drink;
they shall drink and gulp down,
and shall be as though they had never been. 
17 But on Mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy;
and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them. 
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau;
for the Lord has spoken. 
19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 
20 The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah 
shall possess Phoenicia as far as Zarephath;
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the towns of the Negeb. 
21 Those who have been saved shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau;
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is actually speaking in this prophecy? How does the speaker begin the prophecy? What nation is the subject of this prophecy? What is about to happen?

2. What does God promise to do to the nation? What will its future status be? How does he describe the attitude of the people? What does he say about their country? What will happen to their current security? What will happen to the things they prize?

3. What about the nation’s allies? How firm are their commitments to each other? What will happen to the leaders and soldiers of Edom?

4. Why is God judging the nation so harshly? What sins have they committed? Against whom? How does God describe the actions of the Edomites? What actions should they have not taken? What was their attitude toward Israel? Why was this such a bad thing? 

5. What is ironic about God’s judgment on Edom? How did he decide what the judgment should be? What sort of drink is God talking about? Why will “all the nations” have to drink this? 

6. What will happen to the Israelites? Where will this take place? What will happen to Edom? What will happen to the people that are dis-possesed of their homeland? Who will ultimately be in charge?












Get Personal

How do you feel about God’s promises to the Israelites? How do you feel about his promises to Christians? His promises to you? How does God help you to have confidence in his promises?

Notes . . .

3. Clefts — Edom was a very rugged mountainous land.
5. Grape-gatherers — Edom was known for its hillside vineyards.
6. Esau — the ancestor of Edom, [see above].
7. Those who ate your bread — a meal often sealed a treaty or agreement.
9. Teman — this location is unknown, it is a stand-in for Edom here.

10. Jacob — another name for Israel, [see above]
11. Cast lots — possibly to divide the spoils among the victors.
15. You shall drink — a reference to God’s “cup of wrath,” [Psalm 75:8, Isaiah 51:17].
19. Those . . . shall possess — this process will punish Israel’s enemies and re-establish the boundaries of Israel under King David.

Memory Verse
As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head, [Obadiah 15].

Next Lesson
Jonah 1: Jonah tries to run away from God.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

41: Amos — Introduction & Locusts, fire, a plumb line & ripe fruit — Amos 7:1-8:12

Get Ready

Amos prophesied during one of the few times of peace in the divided kingdom, but he spoke out strongly against the injustice and inequality of a society that used its prosperity to oppress the poor and ignore God’s commandment to love their neighbor and care for the “widows and orphans.”

Author

The prophet Amos identifies himself as the author of this book [1:1]. His name means “burden bearer” in Hebrew. Amos was a farm worker – he herded sheep and “dressed” sycamore trees [7:14] from Tekoa, a village south of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Sycamore figs were inferior to ordinary figs but a common food of the poor, so Amos was familiar with the poverty that he spoke against in his prophecy.

Context

Amos also tells us he prophesied when Azariah was king in Judah and Jereboam II was Israel’s ruler, which puts his ministry around 760 BCE. He prophesied primarily in the northern kingdom, Israel, even though his home was in Judah.

Jereboam’s reign was largely peaceful and prosperous once he captured Damascus. However, the peace and prosperity led to the injustice and insensitivity to the poor that Amos spoke against. Jereboam also set up religious sites at Bethel and Gilgal as alternatives to the temple in Jerusalem, which was not available to the northern kingdom citizens. He also included pagan fertility rites that polluted the worship of God, partly as a political gesture to appease the nations that surrounded Israel.

Structure

After a brief introduction, this book has three major sections:

  • The first section includes God’s judgment of the nations that surround Israel – Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon and Moab – then against Judah, and lastly against Israel itself [1:2-2:16].
  • The second section is a series of sermons judging Israel – for apostasy and idol worship, for refusing to repent and follow the law, for exploiting and ignoring the poor, and for amassing great wealth while cheating others [3:1-6:14].
  • In the last section the prophet presents a series of visions of God’s judgment on the nation, all portending disaster [7:1-9:10]. The possible consequences include locusts (again), a firestorm, and famine.

The book ends with Amos’ prophesy [9:11-15] that God will restore Israel following the period of judgment (which is similar to many of the other prophets: God’s grace will follow his judgment if the people repent).

Major Themes

Many scholars refer to Amos as the “Prophet of Righteousness,” because he insists throughout his book that righteous actions are the mark of true faith (which also makes him the Old Testament precursor to James).

Amos prophesied during a time of prosperity and peace in Israel; but it was also a time of economic disparity and injustice. The wealthy were very wealthy and took advantage of the poor. They sold “the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals,” [2:6], and “afflicted the righteous, took a bribe, and pushed aside the needy in the gate,” [5:12].

In response to this maltreatment God said, “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings, I will not accept them,” 5:21-22]. The Israelites were going though the ritual motions called for in the law, but their daily actions toward one another demonstrated their hearts were far from obedience.

God’s judgment ends with the call to “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” [5:25].

Amos concludes his book by reminding the people that God is constant even though they are not. God will “raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,” [9:11]. God will be faithful to his covenant even thought the Israelites have broken it.

Get into the Word:

1. Who is the author of this book? What do we know about the author? What was his occupation? Why might this be important to his message to Israel?

2. When did the prophet do his work? Who were the rulers at this time? What was the political and military situation at this time? Why was this unusual? How was the king involved in the people’s sin? Why did the king make these concessions to idol worship?

3. What are the major parts of this book? Who are the nations included in the judgments in the first section? Why do you suppose the prophet included these kingdoms? Why is God judging these nations?

4. What does the second part of the book deal with? What sins is God judging Israel against? Why do you think the prophet focuses on these sins?

5. What does the prophet present in the last major section of the book? What will happen to the kingdom? What will happen to the people? Why will the nation be destroyed?

6. What is the overall theme of the prophet’s work? What does he say about “correct” actions? What New Testament writer takes a similar view? 

7. How were the people actually acting toward each other? What did God say in response to the people’s action? What did he say about the people’s offerings for sin? What kind of action did God want from the people?

8. How does the book end? What vision does the prophet give the people about their ultimate future? What does this say about God? How do you suppose the people felt about this vision?

Notes . . .

A very literate farmer . . .

Amos was a farmer and shepherd, but his book shows he was also an eloquent writer.

He links God’s judgments against Israel’s neighbors, as well as Israel itself, with a common introduction: “Thus says the Lord: for three transgressions . . . and for four . . .” Amos then identifies the sinful action and God’s response. The effect of the repeated opening builds until first Judah and then the nation of Israel is the accused.

Amos also uses an elaborate play on words to describe the coming judgment of Israel. The Hebrew word for “summer

fruit” sounds like the word for “end.” In chapter 8 Amos links a vision of ripe summer fruit with the coming end of the kingdom, which was “ripe” for judgment (the Assyrians defeated Israel within thirty years).

God’s Name . . .

Old Testament writers used “YHWH” to represent God’s name [Exodus 3:14-15], but they felt it was too holy to actually pronounce. So they used “adonai” (“Lord”) as God’s personal name or “’elohim” as a general name. The NRSV uses “Lord” in the first case and “God” in the second. When Amos puts YHWH with adonai, the NRSV uses “Lord God.”

41: Locusts, fire, a plumb line & ripe fruit –Amos 7:1- 8:12

Get Ready

How do you feel about your current financial situation? Does it seem like your resources are “just enough” for your needs, or “not enough” to get by, or perhaps “more than enough?” How do you respond to receiving some “extra” money or needing to make an unanticipated expenditure?

The Word . . .

7This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings). 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
“O Lord God, forgive, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” 
3 The Lord relented concerning this; “It shall not be,” said the Lord. 
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord God, cease, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” 
6 The Lord relented concerning this; “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God. 
7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; 
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” 


[. . . Amaziah the priest complains to the king . . .] 

8This is what the Lord God showed me a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,
“The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. 
3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the Lord God;
“the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!” 
4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 
6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” 
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon, 
and darken the earth in broad daylight. 
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, 
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day. 
11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land; 
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord. 
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro,
seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is involved in this prophecy? Who is speaking? What are the two individuals talking about? Why is this so important to the prophet?

2. What is the first image of God’s judgment? Why is this an appropriate symbol? How does the prophet react to this image? How does God respond?

3. What is the second image God presents to the prophet? How does he react to this concept of judgment? What is God’s response this time?

4. What does God present next? Why is this symbol appropriate to Israel’s situation? What does God say he will do with the plumb line? What will happen to the king? How does the prophet respond this time?

5. What does God show the prophet next? How does this image fit with Israel’s situation? What does God say he will do regarding the people? Who does God direct his judgment against? What have these people done? Who have they harmed? What images of their sins does the prophet use in this judgment?

6. What other disasters will God bring on Israel? What is the ultimate judgment God has for the people? Why is this so terrible?








Get Personal

What is your concept of justice and fair treatment? How difficult is it for you to understand the situation of others? How has God helped you “do for others” as you would like others to do for you.

Notes . . .

7:1. King’s mowing — evidently the king was entitled to a share of the grass for military support.
7:2. Finished eating — the locusts would have  eaten all the grass, leaving people and animals to starve.
Jacob stand . . . so small — Amos uses “Jacob” as the name of the kingdom. Even though the kingdom was prosperous at this time, it was helpless against the locusts (and against God’s judgment) and would not survive [also in v. 5].
7:3. Relented — this is another of the few times God responds directly to a human plea [two others are Abraham’s defense of Sodom [Gen18:23-33], and Moses’ intercession after the people’s sin with the gold calf [Exodus 33:12-23].
7:4. Shower of fire — the combination of heat and drought makes wildfires inevitable which would lead to the same result as a plague of locusts [check Deut 32:22].

7:7. Plumb line — a rope or cord with a weight on one end – when held against a wall it would show if the wall was straight and vertical. God could be referring to the Law as the plumb line to determine if the people were upright and righteous. NOTE: some translators argue the Hebrew word actually means “tin,” which would be a very weak covering for a defensive wall [compare the “bronze wall” in Jer 1:18].
7:9. I will rise — God does not give Amos a chance to plead this judgment.
8:1. Summer fruit . . . the end — the Hebrew words also mean “ripe fruit” and “ripe time” or “end time,” respectively; in other words God is saying “the time is ripe for judgment.”
8:11. Famine of hearing the words of the Lord — the locusts and fire would have led to a famine of food, but God’s judgment will mean the people will no longer hear God’s word.

Memory Verse
Let justice role down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, [Amos 5:24].

Next Lesson
Obadiah 1: Edom’s judgment.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

40: Joel — Introduction & The army of locusts — Joel 2:1-32

Get Ready

Joel is a short book with one of the Old Testament’s most potent images: a plague of locusts, which most of his audience would identify with the exodus from Egypt. Locust were the eighth plague that God used to convince Pharaoh to release the Jews from slavery.

Author

There is general agreement that the prophet, Joel, wrote this book. He identifies himself in the first verse as the “son of Pethuel,” but that is all the direct information we have about him. He evidently was familiar with the temple in Jerusalem and its procedures, but he also demonstrates knowledge of farming and herding.

Context

The book provides no indication of when it was written. The author does not refer to any kings of either kingdom, nor to any events that might indicate its historical context. A possible reference to King Jehoshaphat of Judah [3:2] could point to a date shortly after his reign, around 850 BCE. On the other hand, Joel uses the same imagery of the “Day of the Lord” as Zephaniah, who worked near the end of the kingdom and capture of Jerusalem (587 BCE).

The prophet begins with a graphic description of an invasion of locusts that destroyed the country’s agriculture and brought the people very close to starvation, but there is no historical record of any specific plague as disastrous as Joel describes.

Structure

Joel is a short book with two major sections:

  • In the first section [through 2:11] the prophet describes the plague of locusts and its consequences in very graphic detail and urges the people to repent and return to following the Lord. He closes this section with the warning that a hostile army, far worse than the locusts will invade the nation.
  • The second section [2:12-3:21] is God’s direct warning of judgment and promise of restoration and prosperity if the people will repent.

Major Themes

Joel’s message is similar to many of the other prophets: God will judge Israel because the people refused to follow his commandments, but if the people repent God will restore Israel.

Joel uses the disaster of a locust plague sometime in the recent past as the basis of his warning about God’s coming judgment. He tells the Israelites: “If you thought the locusts were bad, they were nothing compared to the destruction God will bring on the nation.”

But the second section focuses on repentance and God’s promises in two different views:

  • In the first view God describes what the people should do: Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning, [2:12] and: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people, [2:15]. God then promises prosperity and protection.
  • In the second view God tells the people to prepare for war: The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake, [3:16]; but he also says he is a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel, [3:16]; and Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations, [3:20]. 

Get into the Word:

1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about this prophet? What might have been his “day job?” When was this book written? Why is there such a range of possible dates?

2. How is this book organized? What are the primary sections of the book? 

3. What is the major image in this book? Why do you suppose the prophet chose this image? How do you think his audience responded to the image? What other incidents in the Old Testament involved this image [see Notes]?

4. What is the prophet’s primary message? What does he warn the people about? What images does he use to describe this coming disaster?

5. What does God say the people should do? How should they deal with this situation? What does God promise he will do in response? Do you think the people believed this promise?

Bible Trivia . . .
Joel uses a well-known image from Isaiah – but in reverse: In Isaiah’s picture of God’s peace the Israelites will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, [Isaiah 2:4]; but Joel says God will call the people to prepare for war and beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears, [Joel 3:10]. It is likely that Joel was aware of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Notes . . .

The Day of the Lord . . .

The phrase “The Day of the Lord” appears throughout the Old Testament. In a few cases it refers to a specific historical event, but most of the uses point to the day of God’s judgment at the end of this present time.

Historical events include the Assyrian defeat of Israel [Amos 5], and Babylon’s victory over Judah and destruction of Jerusalem [Lam 2, Ezek 7]. Prophets also use the phrase in reference to the Medes’ defeat of Babylon [Isaiah 13:6] and Babylon’s defeat of Egypt [Jer 46].

In the future “The Day of the Lord” will involve extreme hardship and suffering for Israel [Zech 14:1-3], but also purification and restoration when the people repent [Isaiah 61:2, Mal 4:5].

Joel focuses on the future event when God will judge Israel and then the other nations and then restore Israel.

The New Testament adds more detail to “The Day of the Lord.”

  • There will be a series of natural disasters, diseases and plagues
    [Rev 6-9].
  • Enemies will attack God’s people and cause great harm before God destroys them, a time of “great distress,” according to Jesus [Matt 24:21,
    Rev 11-18].

  • There will be a time of peace and blessing after Christ returns and defeats his enemies [the “Millennium,” Rev 20].
  • God will destroy the current universe and replace it with a “new heaven and new earth,” [2 Peter 3:10, Rev 21].

Even though a number of prophets, and even Jesus, talk about “The Day of the Lord,” the Bible does not include a timeline or schedule for these events. Many people have tried to find a pattern or calendar of the end times, but Jesus had the definitive answer to such attempts: It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority,” [Acts 1:7].

And Locusts . . .

Locusts have been a sign of God’s anger since the exodus. They were the plague just before darkness and death: The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again, [Ex 10:14]. Locusts were also part of God’s curse for disobedience: You shall carry much seed into the field but shall gather little in, for the locust shall consume it, [Deut 28:38]. 

40: The army of locusts – Joel 2:1- 32

Get Ready

What was the worst possible day of your life? What makes it the “worst possible” day? What makes it memorable for you? Was it bad because of what happened to you? Or to someone you know? Or did it happen to people you did not know? How did you deal with the situation at the time?

The Word . . .

2Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near —
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them in ages to come. 
3 Fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame burns. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
but after them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. 
4 They have the appearance of horses, and like war-horses they charge. 
5 As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army drawn up for battle. 
6 Before them peoples are in anguish, all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge, like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course, they do not swerve from their paths. 
8 They do not jostle one another, each keeps to its own track; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 9 They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses, 
they enter through the windows like a thief. 
10 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened, 
and the stars withdraw their shining. 
11 The Lord utters his voice at the head of his army;
how vast is his host! Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the Lord is great; terrible indeed — who can endure it? 
12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 
13 rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him, 
a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 
16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. 
17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, 
the ministers of the Lord, weep.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'”

God’s response and promise

18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people. 
19 In response to his people the Lord said: I am sending you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you a mockery among the nations. . . .

God’s spirit poured out

28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 
29 Even on the male and female slaves, 
in those days, I will pour out my spirit. 
30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. How does the prophet begin this prophecy? Who is he talking to? What does he tell them to do? Why is this warning necessary?

2. How does the prophet describe what is coming? What symbol does he use? What will happen to the land? What will happen to the people? 

3. How does the prophet describe the army that is coming? What will it do? How will it affect the earth? What will happen in the heavens? Who is leading this army? How big is it?

4. How should the people respond to this impending disaster? Who says so? What should the people do? Who all needs to be involved in repentance? What should the priests and ministers do?

5. What does God say he will do when the people repent? How will he act? What will he give the people? How will this change their reputation?

6. What will God do after the people are restored? Who will receive this gift? What will they do with it? How will
this affect their relationship with God?















Get Personal:

Nobody likes to admit that we have done something wrong, but God calls us to confess our sin and repent? How has God helped you “return to the Lord” after you have failed to follow him?

Notes . . .

2:1. The Day of the Lord — see Notes above.
2:2. Darkness and gloom — darkness is often linked with the Day of the Lord; it is also a symbol of sin and its destructive consequences.
Never been seen from of old — an echo of God’s description of the locust plague on Egypt – the coming “army” will be more disastrous than the Egyptian plague.
2:3. Fire devours — the army will devastate the land like a wildfire destroys a forest.
Nothing escapes — could be another echo of Exodus [10:5], or of God’s curse [Deut 28:49-51].
2:4. Appearance of horses — a locust’s head is shaped like that of a horse. Joel extends the comparison with soldiers in vv. 5-9.
2:11. Who can endure it — the prophet Malachi used a similar question: But who

can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? [3:2].
2:12. Yet, even now — the tone and voice shift as God calls on the people to repent [check Deut 4:30, Hosea 3:4-5, and Amos 4:6-11 for the same appeal].
2:13. Slow . . . abounding . . . — a common description of God [as in Exodus 34:6-7, Neb 9:17, Psalm 103:8, and Jonah 4:2].
2:28. Pour out my spirit — Peter used this passage to explain the phenomenon of Pentecost when the Apostles were speaking in a variety of languages [Acts 2:17-21].
2:32. Everyone who calls — Joel is referring to Jews, but Peter realizes that this promise applies to gentiles as well when he is called to Cornelius’ home [Acts 10:43].

Memory Verse
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions [Joel 2:28].

Next Lesson
Amos 7: Locusts, fire and a plumb line