Latter Prophets

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Assyrian Crisis 8th

century

Decline of Assyrians &

Rise of Babylonians 7th

Babylonian Exile late

6th

century

Post-Exilic Community

Late 6th

and 5th

c

Amos Zephaniah Jeremiah Haggai

Hosea Nahum Obadiah Zechariah

Isaiah of Jerusalem Habbakuk Ezekiel Third Isaiah

Micah Second Isaiah Joel

Malachi

Jonah

I. Background Information to Latter Prophetsa. What is a Prophet?i. Common conception of a prophet is not the same idea as biblical prophetii. Biblical prophets more concerned with encouraging people to follow the way of

the Torah

iii. More forthtellers than foretellersb. Prophecy as a Social Phenomenon

i. Every human culture gives evidence of techniques or abilities to communicatewith a spirit world

ii. Spirit world realm beyond ordinary everyday world of time and space1. Communications may be through

1) Innate talent e.g. shamans2) Manipulation e.g.3) Priests4) Soothsayers5) Fortune tellers6) Spirit mediums7) Augurs

ii. Biblical Prophetic Writings indicate similar awareness1. E.g. the hand of the Lord upon him indicates a shamanlike possession2. Prophets found themselves in court of the Lord (1 Kings 22)3. Emphasis on more shamanlike response

c. Prophetic Behavior Often controversiali. Prophets carried messages from divine realm to earthly realmii. Considered more reliable than omens, lots, or auguries

d. The Job of the Prophet


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i. Through power of words (blessings and curses) a more discursivecommunication with the Lord was sought

ii. Institutionalized prophets1. Cultic prophets2. Royal prophets3. Sons of the prophets

e. A Maverick Minority with Divine Authorityi. Those mentioned in the Bible as compared to the entire profession that

flourished in ancient Israel

ii. Biblical prophets were mediators to spirit world AND advocates of the Mosaiccovenant between the Lord and Israel

iii. Interceded to God on behalf of Israeliv. Denounced veneration of other godsv. Demanded justice on earth as made explicit in Torahvi. Brought messages of warning if covenant abuse continued

f. Some Important Ideas to Keep in Mindi. Daniel is included as a prophetic book in the Christian OT but it is in the

Kethuvim for Jews.

ii. Oraclesrefer to a saying announcing a message from the Lord, Thus says theLord

iii. The prophets were spokespersons for the Lord to address specific situations inthe life the nation especially in light of the requirements of Israels covenant

with god

iv. The prophets were more concerned with correct practice, behavior, orthopraxisv. they were frustrated with the people touting their beliefs but not living up to

them (correct belief needed to be followed up with correct behavior (walk the

talk idea) (see Amos below)

vi. What is the relationship between the Mosaic Covenant and the Latterprophets?

1. They do not mention the Torah but they do defend the generalprinciples of faithfulness to Yahweh and social justice that the torah also

defends.

II. Prophetic Speech and Prophetic Literaturea. Call narrativeb. Visionsc. Symbolic actionsd. Dramatic encounters with kingse. Persecution of the prophetf. Poetryg. Prophetic Oraclesh. Announces a message of the Lordi. Oracle of judgment most common


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j. Admonitions to repentancek. Future deliverancel. Woe oraclem. Covenant lawsuitn. Lament of the individualo. Doxologies

III. Prophetic Poetrya. Rich in imageryb. Refers to ancient mythsc. Uses poetic devices such asd. Alliteratione. Assonancef. paronomasia

IV. Prophetic Themes: Covenant, Judgment, Redemptiona. These are the predominant themes throughout prophetic writingsb. Biblical prophets saw themselves as covenant advocates or mediatorsc. Covenant

i. Israel is a chosen peopleii. Divine expectations for Israel are more rigid

iii. Lords attitude is hesedor steadfast love, devotion, faithfulnessd. Judgment

i. Rebellion of Israel leads to punishmentii. Prophets still call for repentance in spite of inevitable punishment

iii. Perhaps a remnant will be savede. Redemption

i. Prophets looked to future time of restoration or new beginningii. Sometimes prophets envision an age of universal peace

V. Assyrian Crisis: Eighth Century: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah of Jerusalem & Micaha. Amos

i. Attacks Israels ruling class because despite having great wealth, the powerfulexploit the poor

ii. Stressed that ethical conduct is more important than correct ritualiii. From the south yet pronounced judgment on the Northern kingdomiv. Visions he uses: plague of locusts, bowl of summer fruit, wall and plumb linev. Day of Yahweh will be a day of great suffering if the people do not change their

ways

b. Hoseai. The Problem

1. The Sin of Jeroboam2. The Sin of Jehu

ii. The Symptoms of the Problem


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2. A Time of Judgment3. A Time of Salvation

iii. The Remnant1. Divine Judgment2. Salvation3. Their Character

a. Humbleb. Committed to Godc. Ethical Treatment of Others

b. Nahumi. Ninevehs Doom Declared - The Judgeii. Ninevehs Doom Described - The Judgment

iii. Ninevehs Doom Deserved - The Justificationc. Habbukuk

i. Habakkuks Question (1:2-4)1. Why does evil go unpunished?2. Why do the wicked prosper?3. Why doesnt God do something?

ii. Gods Answer (1:5-11)1. God is doing something.2. He is raising up a foreign nation, the Babylonians, to come and destroy

Judah.

iii. Principles1. God sometimes seems to be inactive, but He is involved.2. God is holy. He does not approve evil.3. God hears and answers prayers.4. God sometimes gives unexpected answers.5. God is Just and God is Good.6. The righteous live by faith and faithfulness.

iv. Message of Habakkuk1. Trust in God when living in the midst of a wicked society because God is

in control.

VII. Babylonian Exile late 6th c: Jeremiah, Obadiah, Second Isaiah, Ezekiela. Jeremiah

i. Jeremiah was rejected and condemned as a traitorii. Yet, in his prophesying to the exiles he offered them hope by saying that even if

the holy city and all other national religious symbols were destroyed, God would

still be present with those who serve him

iii. Temple Sermon (Jer 7) is mentioned in Intro; harsh words of judgment1. Worship was central to Israel's religious life. A good deal of the Torah,

as well as later writings, define proper worship. This includes the proper


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rituals, the authorized personnel, and the implements used in worship.

Much of Samuel, Kings, and especially Chronicles, deals with defining

and justifying notions of formal religion by illustrating them out of the

life of Israel and Judah. Most of the time this meant promoting a form

of worship centered in Jerusalem on Mount Zion.

Jeremiah was one of the few prophetic voices challenging the

orthodoxy of Zionist theology, which defined the "right" shape of

worship to the religious and political establishment. In his temple

address, as recorded in chapter 7, he brought an opposing perspective

to bear on the function of the temple and worship on Mount Zion. From

the parallel passage in Jeremiah 26 we learn that the sermon was given

in 609 B.C.E. at the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign.

Jeremiah delivered these words in the temple courtyard.

2. 2 Hear the word of YHWH, all you people of Judah who enter thesegates to worship YHWH. 3 Thus says YHWH of Hosts, the Elohim of

Israel: Reform your ways and your activity, and then I will let you live in

this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words--This is the temple of

YHWH, the temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH. 5 But if you reform

your ways and your activity, genuinely act justly with each other, 6 do

not oppress the resident-alien, the orphan or the widow, shed innocent

blood here, or go after other gods (which can only hurt you), 7 then I

will let you live in this place, here in the land that I gave your parents in

perpetuity a long time ago. 8 Right now you are putting your faith in

misleading words (This is the temple of YHWH!) but to no avail. 9 Would

you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal,

go after other gods you do not know 10 and then come and stand

before me in this temple, the one called by my name, and say 'We are

safe'--only to keep on doing these travesties?! 11 Has this house, the

one called by my name, become a den of thieves in your opinion? Right

now it appears that way to me," says YHWH. 12 "Then go now to my

place that was once in Shiloh. That's where I first housed my name. See

what I did to it as a result of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13

Now, because you have done these things," says YHWH (and though I

spoke to you persistently you would not listen, when I called you, you

would not answer) 14 "therefore I will do to the house now identified

with me--the one in which you trust, the place I gave to you and to your

ancestors--just what I did to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of my sight,

just as I cast out your cousins, all the descendants of Ephraim." (7:1-15)

3. It is rather easy to see why Jeremiah was not welcomed with a warmhug and a handshake after that speech. He roundly condemned the

Judean people for putting their faith in the temple. But why?

Two reasons. First, Jeremiah claimed that the people were immoral,


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and given their immorality, nothing could save them, not even their

sacred temple. Second, it seems the people viewed the temple almost

superstitiously. They thought that the temple conferred automatic

security. Official Jerusalemite theology claimed that Yahweh lived in the

temple, and as long as he was there nothing tragic could ever affect

Judah. Historical precedent backed them up in this belief. When

Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem in 701, Yahweh miraculously

delivered the city, no doubt, they thought, because he lived there.

iv. Book of Comfort (Jer 30-33)1. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new

covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be

like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by

the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypta covenant that they

broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the

covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says

the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their

hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer

shall they teach one another, or say to each other, Know the LORD, for

they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the

LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Jer 31:31-34

2. Jeremiahs Book of Comfort which comprises chapters 30-33 waswritten to give hope to Gods people in exile in Babylon. Gods prophet

had warned of wrath for the peoples sinfulness for years. The days he

warned of had dawned. During a series of deportations, many Jews

were exiled to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Eventually

Jeremiah himself would be forced to flee Jerusalem and was taken by

friends to refuge in Egypt. The Book of Comforts tone is a shift from his

earlier proclamations. Now words of comfort come to the exiles. Words

of hope and restoration.

b. Obadiahi. The Inevitability of Destruction (1-9)ii. The Reason for Destruction (10- 14)

iii. The Day of the Lord (15-21)iv. Obadiah - Conclusion and Application

1. Pride deceives and leads to more sin.2. Sin follows a downward path.3. God will keep His word.4. God will punish sin.5. God will protect His own.


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c. Ezekieli. Offered a view of responsibility that was a challenge to the peoples moral

understanding:

1. Now that the nation is gone, Yahweh will no longer punish the peoplecollectively; each person will be responsible only for his or her own sin.

ii. Post-exilic; 592-570s BCEiii. Controversy about canonicityiv. Exhibits extraordinary behaviors, symbolic actions than any other prophetv. Like Jeremiah, his career reaches a turning point with the fall of Jerusalemvi. 1-24 oracles denouncing sins of Judah and Israel

vii. 25-32 oracles against foreign nationsviii. 33-39 oracles of hope

ix. 40-48 idealized plan for Temple reconstructiond. Second Isaiah 40-55

i. Historical clues set this block apart from earlier chaptersii. Speaking near the end of Babylonian Exile

iii. Theme of hope replaces mood of doomiv. Long, complex poemsv. Continues themes of Holiness of the Lord, Monotheismvi. Known for its Servant Songs which serve to

1. Develop Israels identity of itself2. Develops understanding of suffering3. Influences later Christian thought

VIII. Post-Exilic Community: Late 6th and Early 5th c: Haggai, Zechariah, Third Isaiah, Joel, Malachi,Jonah

a. Haggaii. Haggai - Messages

1. The work of the Lord should never be procrastinated (1:3)2. Misplaced priorities hinder the work of God (1:4,9)3. The goal of Gods work is His glory and pleasure. (1:8)4. God sometimes uses natural disasters for spiritual discipline (1:6,10,11)5. Obedience and reverence are prerequisites for spiritual blessing (1:12-

14)

6. It is never too late to start obeying God (1:12-15)b. Zechariah

i. Four Ethical Messages1. The Message of Rebuke 7:1-72. The Message of Remembrance 7:8-143. The Message of Restoration 8:1-174. The Message of Return 8:18-23


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c. Third Isaiah 56-66i. Set apart more distinctly due to literary styleii. Unified by common historical setting

iii. Post-exilic Jerusalemiv. Most in classical prophetic style except for concluding oracle which exhibits an

apocalyptic flavor (66:22-23)

d. Joeli. Destruction - 1:1-2:11; Call for Repentance 2:12-17; Deliverance - 2:18-3:21ii. Destruction

1. Extent of Destruction by locusts (2-7)2. People's response to the present devastation (8-20)

a. Mourning (8-12)b. Fasting (13-14)c. Suffering (15-20)

3. Description of future devastation and the Lord's army (2:1-11)iii. Call for Repentance 2:12-17

1. Exhortation - Repent2. Positive Motivation - God May Relent

cf. Isa 55:8

iv. Deliverance - 2:18-3:21: God's response to repentance1. Pity - 18 God is a God of mercy.2. Plenty - 19-27 God is generous with His blessings.3. Plenty4. Restoration of crops (19a) and cessation of shame (19b)5. Invasion averted (20)6. Praise and exhortation (21-24)7. Effects of locust invasion reversed (25)8. Restoration of crops (26a) and cessation of shame (26b-27)

e. Malachii. Six questions / Six answers

1. How have you loved us?2. How have we despised your name?3. How have we wearied Him?4. How shall we return?5. How have we robbed Thee?6. What have we spoken against Him?

ii. The Answers1. God affirms love for Israel2. focuses on the neglect of priests and people who brought second rate

sacrifices

3. showed how their bad relationship with God carried over into thecommunity through the practice of divorce and remarriage to foreigners


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4. people mistook Gods patience for lack of divine justice5. their tithes and offerings were affected by their attitudes6. shows their arrogance and shortsightedness in neglecting a God

honoring lifestyle

f. Jonahi. Jonah is set around at the time of King Jeroboam the second, fairly early on in

the history of Israel.

ii. It tells the story of Jonah being sent to the people of Nineveh, but it isn't reallyabout the message Jonah gave.

iii. In fact, all we know about what he taught to Nineveh is one sentence:1. "Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown."

iv. There are two fairly obvious themes in Jonah:1. the repentance of Nineveh2. the repentance of Jonah

v. In the course of the book we see both repenting, and we see both beingforgiven.

vi. Jonah: disobeys, prays, obeys, and learnsvii. The book of Jonah shows us three things:

1. God forgives repentant individuals.2. God forgives repentant nations3. God calls out to all who will listen, not just those from a particular

background.

Latter Prophets

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