October 2021
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 05
A M O S
Having already spoken separately to the northern and southern kingdoms, on God’s instruction, Amos now addressed them together. “The whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt”. The whole company had, to different degree, been neglectful and/or disobedient regarding their attention to keep the covenant they (or at least their forefathers initially) had made in the very early days of their journey from Egypt. The ones who had been alive when they entered the land had confirmed that covenant, and every seven years since then they had heard the Torah publicly read to them at the Feast of Tabernacles in “Shmita” years. No-one could plead ignorance of the Torah.
“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” That is an interesting question. The premise is that since they were all aware of what God required of them, no-one could behave in a manner of disobedience without others being aware, and by default, if not corrected, become complicit in the disobedience. (A personal note here. In the ‘about the author’ page of these reflections, I mentioned an old Sunday school teacher’s advice to ‘nail your colours to the mast’. Firstly as a schoolboy, and later in my military service, I heeded that advice in declaring myself “a christian”. From that moment, both at school and in the Air Force, I didn’t need to remind myself about the behavioural expectations that confession entailed. I was surrounded by people who took every opportunity to let me know what was expected of me because of that confession of faith.) The series of questions which follow indicate that while things happen, or do not happen, in nature, there is nothing that happens in Israel outside the sovereignty of God. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets”. God has (present tense) His hand on Israel for good. That is His desire and purpose in His dealings with them. But they still have to make personal choices, as do we, by heeding or ignoring His commands, His statutes, and the many warnings delivered by the prophets.
The end of chapter 3 of the text, is prophetic of an event which occurred just 35 years after this warning was given. It begins “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear”. It is a graphic picture of a time following such a calamitous event. It speaks directly to the inhabitants of Samaria, the region of the northern kingdom which would be taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. It is like ‘picking up the pieces’. But there is more to this. “I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel.” That is a place of great significance to Jews up to this very day. Abram set up an altar there. Jacob had his dream about the ladder there. That is where the ark of the covenant was originally set up. Bethel served the first generation of Israelites as an early point of communication with God upon their entry into the Holy Land. It was the focal point of their worship. But as the religious, cultural, and political life of the Israelites increasingly centred on Jerusalem, Bethel faded in importance to them. However, after Solomon’s death, the northern kingdom of Israel was established under king Jereboam. He established two centres of worship. He erected a golden calf in each. Bethel was one of them in the south of the kingdom and Dan the other in the north. This idolatrous corruption sealed its fate. By the time of Yeshua’s birth, Bethel had completely faded away as a place of importance. It is not mentioned anywhere in the Apostolic Scriptures.
Who, or what, are the “cows of Bashan”? It is uncomplimentary to say the least. “Bashan” is the easy part. It was an area to the north west of the country near Mount Hermon. It was fertile land and the source of significant wealth and prosperity. It speaks of a life of luxury. “Bring wine, and let us drink” is the clue to that. Words spoken by the wives of the landowners. It was the women living selfishly in their opulence who are the subject of this criticism. They are charged with “oppression of the poor and crushing the needy”. Taking advantage of their position. Lauding it over the disadvantaged. Very different to the behaviour commanded in the Torah, which specifies the way of righteous living, and to which they had willingly agreed.
There is a strong note of sarcasm from the prophet here. “Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes very three days (the commandment specifies three years!). . Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven .. for this you love, you children of Israel”. The note of anger at their behaviour is palpable. What more could be said to get their attention? There had been mixed seasons of harvest says the LORD. Rain in one place and not the other. They had gone hungry. They had wandered from city to city to get food and water. “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places.”. No meat. No bread. “Yet you have not returned to Me” says the LORD. It was a recurring theme as the prophet spelled out the warning.
It goes on. But there is already enough said to give us a monumental lesson. They had been promised that in response to obedience to live righteously, to which they had agreed, they would be abundantly blessed. I believe we can gain insight into God’s ways here, even for ourselves today. The ultimate blessing of course is eternal life, but there is a life to be lived on earth too. And that should be where our relationship with God is evident. God is slow to anger, and abounds in mercy. BUT He expects us, as He did them, to turn to Him and seek His forgiveness as we repent of our sin. That is what He wanted of them. He wants no less of us.
The prophet speaks the word that God has sent. It is sent for a purpose. It will achieve that purpose. God said so. Selah.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets. 04
A M O S
About the same time that God called Jonah to go to preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh in far away Assyria, He raised up Amos, a sheep breeder from Tekoa, not far from Bethlehem. His mission was to speak out against widespread abominations in surrounding territories and to both Judah in the south, where he lived, and Israel in the north. He was not to know that a mere 35 years later, that northern kingdom would be invaded by the Assyrians and the principal citizens taken away captive. To that extent, his calling was both timely and urgent. It was “two years before the earthquake”. The Jewish historian Josephus (Antiquities IX 10:4) tells us that a significant earthquake happened in about 755 BCE. (also mentioned by the prophet in Zechariah 14:5), when king Uzziah usurped the priest’s office and went into the sanctuary to burn incense.
“Thus says the LORD: ‘For three transgressions, and for four, (of ‘Name’) I will not turn away its punishment, BECAUSE ..…” That was the message Amos took to the various places named, which God had told him to proclaim. EIGHT regions in and around the land with whom God was offended because of their unacceptable behaviour. The same type of language is used in Proverbs 30: 18,21,29. Opportunities for them to change, a number of times, had been ignored. Warnings remained unheeded. The metaphor used here is that three times fills the cup of iniquitous behaviours to the brim and four makes the cup overflow! There is a moment when enough is enough. The consequences can no longer be withheld. Didn’t we read, right in the beginning of our Bible “My Spirit will not always strive with man.” (Genesis 6:3) just before Noah was told to build a big box that floated on water!! “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” we are told (Hebrews 10:31). The task God assigned to Amos was to declare the consequences.
Damascus had “threshed” Gilead. A threshing sledge dragged over any ground is undiscerning. Chops up everything over which it is dragged. So had the Syrians, people of Damascus, treated the inhabitants of Gilead (Golan Heights). The gate bar of their great city would be broken and the inhabitants taken captive to Kir by the Assyrians. That happened just 25 years later.
Gaza was a city of the Philistines. As were Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron. They had taken captive many Israelites and sold them into slavery to the Edomites. In Zephaniah 2:4 we also read of this judgement. God declared that He would send fire to destroy its palaces. And He did. During the reign of Hezekiah, about 50 years later.
Tyre also took Israelites captive and sold them into Edom contrary to a covenant of “brotherhood” (which they broke) made earlier between the king of Tyre and Solomon, when he was buying timber for the construction of the Temple. Their punishment was the same as Gaza. That happened at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Edom is destined for perpetual desolation for turning against the Israelites on their journey to the Land of Promise. This is also prophesied to happen when Yeshua returns, at the time of the great battles of Armageddon.
Ammon. Guilty of horrendous behaviour as they fought with the Israelites to ‘enlarge their territory’ at the expense of the tribe of Gad. Their main city Rabbah would be attacked, even through dissent from within (“kindle a fire”) and its palaces would be destroyed. It has been suggested that this actually took place at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar as he took Judah captive.
Moab. Descendant of Lot. There is no other reference to this burning of bones, but the LORD knew. We do know that Moab had a major role in corrupting the Israelites on the counsel of Balaam. But God only forgets what He chooses to forget.
Judah, the southern kingdom. Charged with laxity and disobedience in regard to Torah. This prophecy was fulfilled at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The Temple was burned together with the whole of Jerusalem.
Israel, the northern kingdom. A list of misdemeanours as long as your arm! This was one of the first places to feel the wrath of God. Just 35 years after Amos delivered his message, Shalamanezer 5th, came, in 722 BCE., and took captive the whole kingdom. Now often referred to as the “lost tribes”.
So it was that the faithful, and unlikely, prophet Amos delivered the message of God. As we read the list above, we should get a clear lesson ourselves. God is not to be trifled with. What He says, He does. But not without adequate and timely warning. The writer to the Hebrews said “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after death, the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27) Our Bible contains the record of God’s dealings with his people, and those who opposed them. The record is clear and unambiguous. Yeshua said “If you love me, you will keep My commandments”. (John 14:15) The Israelites confirmed their agreement in covenant with God, and broke it. God’s judgement is there for us to see as proclaimed by Amos.
We should very carefully remember who God is.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 03
J O N A H
Can anyone imagine what Jonah must have thought when he found himself back on dry land? Did he even know exactly where he was? Questions questions. And we will never know the answers.
What we do know is that Jonah had an experience he would never forget, and God had an important mission for him to accomplish. So “the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, (archeologists have determined that it covered an area of about 8 sq. km. and God said it had a population of over 120,000 people) and preach to it the message that I tell you’”.
This is an artistic (Austen Henry Layard 1853) impression of what that city might have looked like on the banks of the Tigris river at that time. The city was said to be devoted to “the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh’” and was later mostly abandoned by the 12th century CE. The Islamic State (ISIS) bulldozed the site during their occupation of Mosul between 2014 and 2017 causing considerable damage to the ancient monuments there in their arrogant, brutal, and futile attempts to rewrite history.
We already know that God had earlier told Jonah to “cry out against it. For their wickedness has come up before Me”. And we also know that God had said that He would tell Jonah what to say to them. I speculate that Jonah 3:3 possibly indicates that Jonah first had a reconnaissance walk around that “great city” (three days) to find good places to stand and preach. One can only imagine that the Spirit of God was so powerfully evident in Jonah that he immediately had the attention of his audience wherever he proclaimed “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” It is amazing to me that the reaction to those words was “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them”. In my minds eye, I can only think that there must have been more to the message than that surely. How many times in our own lifetime have we heard such doomsday proclamations without even a momentary ripple of reaction from people who hear such. That is why this as much more of a “God message” even though Jonah was the messenger. Cast your mind back to the time you had that personal encounter with God. The time when you came to faith in Yeshua. (In my case the messenger was Billy Graham, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that what he proclaimed was directly from the Holy Spirit of God to me.) However that may have occurred, it is (usually) the Holy Spirit of God operating through some human agency, or directly through His written word, or even a dream or vision which God uses to get your attention. Everyone who gets such a call makes a response, “Yes” or “No”. No middle ground. The people of Nineveh responded in such a manner that their king became aware (presumably he did not hear Jonah’s message personally) of the situation and also responded likewise. He ordered the people to fast and “let man and beast be covered in sackcloth (a sign of mourning and repentance), and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” And they did.
“Then God saw their works, (note this was not what they said, but what they DID) that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” Wouldn’t it be a lovely story if it ended ‘And Jonah was delighted!’ Jonah had tried to avoid this mission. He had been thrown out of a boat. He spent three days and nights in a fish’s belly. He did what God asked of him. He risked his life to even go to that place of evil and violence. He told the people of Nineveh they would be ‘overthrown’. And all that was true. But he was angry. “It is better for me to die than to live”. It was all about Jonah.
There are some extremely important lessons for us in this story of Nineveh and Jonah. The gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, both record declarations by Yeshua about Himself regarding those who seek ‘signs’, of his deity and His person. “No sign will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah” He said. Keep in mind that these signs are intended for the primary audience, the Jews. But believing gentiles may also find appropriate ‘signs’. The first and most obvious is in Matthew’s account. It refers to the 3 days and 3 nights Jonah was in the belly of the fish, and Yeshua being in the grave after His cruel death on a Roman cross. (making the Easter crucifixion timing look unlikely, a major stumbling block for Jews). It is a sign we ‘christians’ have difficulty explaining. The broader message of the sign of Jonah was in the anger of Jonah when God showed love and mercy to the people of Nineveh, Gentiles no less. It is just like the anger of the Pharisees and Saduccees when fellow Jews declared their faith in Yeshua. Even today. Luke makes a broader evaluation of the “sign of the prophet Jonah”. It is the message of compassion, mercy and grace of God to those who heed His word, turn from their wicked ways and seek His forgiveness. Thankyou LORD.
Be blessed as you consider for yourself the lessons God has for you in “the sign of the prophet Jonah”.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Image Reference: Artist's impression of Assyrian palaces from The Monuments of Nineveh by Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1853
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 02
J O N A H
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before ME”.
Jonah lived in a small village about 3 Km from Nazareth, about 1000 Km west of Nineveh. Jonah, man of God’s choosing, packed his bag, and went in the opposite direction to Joppa, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea about 300 Km west of Nazareth, Joppa is about where the word “Palestine” ends, on the map. But even Joppa wasn’t Jonah’s intended destination. He bought a ticket for a sea voyage to Spain!! Nineveh is where the modern city of Mosul is today in North East Iraq on the River Tigris.
The question that intrigues me is Why did God send Jonah to Nineveh? And, apart from the amazing outcome, (which is good enough reason in itself) there does not seem to be any other logical reason for that assignment. And that is exactly what Jonah thought too! Nineveh was a ‘large’ city in hostile Assyria. Less than 40 years later, it was those very people (the Assyrians) who invaded, and took captive the principal citizens of that northern kingdom of Israel where Jonah lived. But regardless of that, there are significant lessons for us to learn from this fascinating story. The prophetic books of Scripture are mostly regarding God’s message to the people called by His name, Israelites. Those prophecies contain warnings and promises in relation to their behaviour and lifestyle. This one is about the wickedness of the enemies of those people. There is another reason why this story is important for us. Yeshua, when asked by the Pharisees and Sadducees for a sign about Himself from heaven, said there would be “no sign given to them except the sign of the prophet Jonah”. (Matthew 16:4) So we have to look for the lessons in that “sign”.
“The word of the LORD came to Jonah”. We are not told how that came about, but Jonah was sure what that word was, because “Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD”. He was obviously very scared to engage in that assignment. Try to imagine what modern equivalent might be considered comparable. Perhaps being told to go to Mecca during ‘The Hajj” and preach the gospel to the pilgrims there? Whatever, Jonah boarded the ship, going in the opposite direction, and breathed a sigh of relief. Until the storm came and threatened the lives of those on board. It is a graphic story requiring little imagination. As the storm grew in intensity, through their own processes they discovered that Jonah was the probable cause “For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them”. And at Jonah’s suggestion, he was thrown overboard. Immediately, just as he had told the sailors it would, “the sea ceased from its raging”. The result of that perilous event was “Then the men (sailors) feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows”. A direct result of Jonah making a confession of faith, in spite of his attempt to disobey God’s instruction. God’s purposes will not be obstructed by anyone, but they may be delayed. God’s time and man’s time are not the same. God is timeless.
“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights”. Jonah was as good as dead. No chance. Finished. In great despair Jonah cried out to the LORD. Who wouldn’t ?
Is this the “sign” that Yeshua spoke about to those Pharisees and Saducees? “Three days and three nights” sounds quite compelling. It certainly knocks a big hole in an “Easter” crucifixion. It also speaks volumes about the hopelessness of anyone consigned to “Sheol” (the world of the dead). Jonah himself, in his plea to the LORD said “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried”. He continued “I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple”. It mirrors the experience of Yeshua at the hands of His Roman executioners. One of His exclamations from that Roman cross was “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.” A cry of sheer desperation. There is a compelling lesson for all of us right here. How many of us, armed as we are with full knowledge of God’s call on our lives, as Jonah was in his day, and much later as the Apostle Peter was in Matthew 16 when asked “Who do you say that I am ?”, choose a path of disobedience to the call of God.
“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.” Is that the cry that we as believers should be making to the LORD? There are very few of us who do not, from time to time, need to be reminded of the purpose for which God called us to Himself. Jonah, out of desperation, called upon the LORD to have mercy on him. “So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land”. And so it was that Jonah was able to again hear that call of God, and fulfil the assignment to which God had called him. May that be our experience too.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Image Reference: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Reflections on the Writing Prophets
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 01
The Minor Prophets - Chronology
Background
After the death of Solomon about 930 BCE the nation of Israel became divided. (1 Kings 12) Ten tribes in the northern part, united under king Jeroboam 1 to form that which continued as “Israel”. Over the next 200 years, they had a succession of 19 kings, every one of which the Bible describes as a “Bad” king, because they continued to “do evil in the sight of the LORD” with idolatry. Two tribes under king Rehoboam, took the name “Judah” (the major tribe). Over the next 330 years they had a succession of 20 kings, of which only 8 are described as “Good” kings in that they followed the ways the LORD had prescribed for the people. The other 12 were just like the northern kings.
Keen Bible students will know that Almighty God told the Prophet Jeremiah that there is a New Covenant coming. That new and unbreakable covenant will be made with “The House of Israel” and the “House of Judah”. Guaranteed. When it is made, those “houses” will, once again be a united kingdom, reigned over by King Yeshua in whose blood the covenant is already sealed. And it will be ruled with ‘a rod of iron’.
During the times of the divided kingdoms, (1 Kings 12) the LORD raised up many prophets to pronounce warnings to the people in an attempt to get them to live as He had prescribed. Perhaps the best known are Elijah and Elisha. Their ministry and record of their exploits is recorded in the Books of the Kings, but they did not write books which bear their name. But 16 of those prophets were “writing prophets’. It is the length of their writing which has resulted in them being described as “Major” and “Minor”. But they are of equal importance in respect of the tasks God gave them to do. The ultimate sanction of God for continued disobedience was banishment from the land. And in the event, our Bible records that “Israel” was removed from the land in 722 BCE, and “Judah” in 586 BCE.
This series of ‘reflections’ is focussed on the writings of those prophets who are described as “Minor”. It is my choice to look at each one in the chronological sequence of their writing, rather than the order in which those writings appear in our Bible today. Each of these prophets has a clear message for its intended audience. But as is always the case in the study the Scriptures, there is also a message for those who read these words today. God said to Isaiah “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it”. (Isaiah 55:11)
There are 12 “Minor” Writing Prophets (approx dates)
Jonah. One of the better known of the Minor prophets because he spent time in the belly of a big fish! But there is more to Jonah than that. Wrote about 760 BCE when Jeroboam 2 reigned in Israel (2 Kings 14:25)
Amos. The sheep breeder from Tekoa, south of Bethlehem. Wrote when Uzziah was king in Judah, and Jeroboam 2 was king in Israel. About 760 BCE
Hosea. The prophet who married a prostitute! Ministry began about 755 BCE and spanned the reigns of both Uzziah and Hezekiah in Judah and Jeroboam 2 and possibly Hoshea in Israel. Isaiah was also ministering during this time.
Micah. Not much is known about this prophet except that he prophesied about 730 BCE, during Isaiah’s time, and addressed the woes of both Israel and Judah. Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah ruled in Judah during his lifetime.
Nahum. Hard to date. About 660 to 612 BCE. Nineveh was in trouble with the LORD again. Amon and Josiah were kings of Judah. Jeremiah’s ministry just beginning.
Zephaniah. About 612 BCE. Josiah was king of Judah. Very close to the time when the Babylonian exile of Judah began. The days now very short
Habakkuk. Jehoahaz was king of Judah, even though he had two older brothers. The peoples choice, not God’s. About 605 BCE, the year that Daniel was taken captive into Babylon. Jeremiah was still ministering.
Obadiah. About 586 BCE. The major Babylonian exile began. Prophecy against. Edom
Haggai. Prophet to Zerubbabel who led the return from Babylon to Jerusalem. 520 BCE
Zechariah. 520 BCE. Prophecy of encouragement to the returning Judeans.
Malachi. About 430 BCE. Ministers God’s love to the Jews, and encouragement to continue to walk in His ways, pointing out the foolishness of neglecting God’s ways.
Joel. Another timing mystery. Thought to be around 400 BCE, but could be much earlier when Joash was king of Judah. But probably after Nehemiah was governor of Judah. The power of God is emphasised in natural disaster, and is very much seen as a prophet for today!
So that is a brief outline of where we will be looking, as well as Ezekiel and Daniel, for inspiration in our walk with God in this coming series of ‘reflections’. In many respects these are unfamiliar Scriptures to most believers today. But we may be assured that as we search those Scriptures, God has challenge and blessing in store for us.
Shabbat Shalom
RS