Study Notes Ed Underwood

Jonah: Grace for SinnersShould I not be even more concerned about Nineveh? (God to Jonah, 4:11)

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther)

The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

Jonah was the prophet of Israel’s last chance. After the ministry of Elisha, God gave the northern kingdom one more opportunity to repent, seeing whether prosperity would accomplish what affliction had not (2 Kings 14:23-29). God blessed the reign of Jeraboam II with prosperity and peace. During these years Assyria was in a period of mild decline. God tested the faith of Israel and her prophet during this period of plenty. Both failed the test. Jonah rebelled against his assignment of mercy, and the nation failed to heed the warning from Jonah’s experience. Amos and Hosea will soon prophesy the doom of Israel. Failing to share the blessings of God, their self-centered ways harden their hearts beyond repentance.

The Book of Jonah confronts God’s people with His concern for all creatures, even cattle (4:11). It reminds those who already belong to God of His love for all nations and His desire to deliver them from their sin. Jonah is honest if nothing else. “He hopes all along that somehow God won’t be consistent with His own well-known character (4:2). But God is consistent throughout, in contrast to Jonah’s hypocritical inconsistency. What happens to Nineveh and to Jonah happens precisely because of what God is like. The audience of the book is thus invited implicitly to revise their understanding of what God is like, if they indeed share Jonah’s selfish view.” (Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, p 434)

“The overriding theme of the book is the sovereign God’s grace toward sinners, illustrated in His decision to withhold His judgment from the guilty but repentant Ninevites.” (Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Theology of the Minor Prophets,” in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 432) Jonah reminds us that God is always pursuing those who are not yet His people with His mercy and grace:

Jonah: Don’t begrudge God’s grace!

Jonah is an unusual book because of its message and its messenger. Like Obadiah and Nahum, it revolves around a gentile nation. God is concerned for the Gentiles as well as for His covenant people Israel. The message, however, is for God’s people. This is obvious in the emphasis on the lessons to the prophet rather than to the recipients of the prophecy. The lesson for God’s people is clear: Recipients of God’s mercy should not begrudge God’s mercy to others.

I. THE DISOBEDIENCE OF THE PROPHET: Jonah tries to run from God, but God runs him down. (1-2)

A. JONAH REBELS AND RUNS: The call of Jonah, the disobedience of Jonah, and the judgment on Jonah are recorded in the first chapter. Jonah does not want to see God spare the notoriously cruel Assyrians. Instead of going five hundred miles northeast to Nineveh, Jonah attempts to go two thousand miles west to Tarshish (Spain). But the Lord runs him down with a great storm and a great fish. (1)

B. JONAH REPENTS: While inside the fish, Jonah utters a psalm of thanksgiving from memory of several praise psalms. When he is finally willing to obey and be used by God, he declares that “salvation is of the Lord” (2:9). After he is cast up on the shore, Jonah has a long time to reflect on his experiences during his eastward trek of five hundred miles to Nineveh. (2)

II. THE OBEDIENCE OF THE PROPHET: Jonah now learns a lesson in compassion and obedience. (3-4)

1. NINEVEH REPENTS: Jonah obeys his second commission to go to Nineveh. His skin bleached out from his stay in the fish, Jonah becomes a walking object lesson from God (Luke 11:30). His one-sentence sermon brings incredible results! Because of His great mercy, God “relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them.” (3)

2. JONAH POUTS: In the final chapter, God’s love and grace are contrasted with Jonah’s anger and lack of compassion. He is unhappy with the good results of his message because he knows God will now spare Nineveh. God uses a plant, a worm, and a wind to teach Jonah a lesson in compassion. In the end, Jonah is forced to see that he has more concern for a plant than for hundreds of thousands of people. Note: To “not know their right hand from their left” is idiomatic. It’s speaking of people who have no moral compass, are mentally and morally unaware of God and therefore ready to respond to God’s exposure of their sin and their need to turn to Him. (4)

JONAH AND YOU: Grudging God’s mercy is an affront to His character and leads to disobedience. When we gather in holy huddles and view non-Christians as the enemy, deserving of God’s wrath, we become modern-day Jonahs.

1. Jonah connected God’s love for all nations with the blessing of His people. He prospered Israel so that they would love others in His name. How do you view the prosperity of America—as your birthright or as your blessing to use for the glory of Christ?

2. Howwouldyoucompletethissentence?Theperson/peopleIfeelaremostundeservingofGod’smercy

is/are . What do you think Jesus wants you to do with that attitude?

3. What are some ways you as a part of our faith community could help us demonstrate our concern for those who are outside of the grace and mercy of God?

Messiah: Jonah is the only prophet Jesus likened to Himself. Jonah’s experience is a type of the death,

burial, and resurrection of Christ (Matthew12:39-41). The Hebrew idiom, “three days and three nights”

only requires a portion of the first and third days.)

The Book of Obadiah—Servant of the Lord

Obadiah’s message to Israel/Edom: To our enemies, God says—Vengeance is mine says the Lord, as you have done, it shall be done to you! To His people, God says—Entrust yourself to the Perfect Judge —The Kingdom will be the Lords!

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Obadiah 21

“And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s!”

Setting: The prophecies of the Book of Obadiah are directed to the time of 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar’s army laid siege on Judah, destroying Jerusa- lem, Solomon’s temple and deporting the Jews to Babylon. There is only speculation about the prophet Obadiah, very little is known about the one who wrote the shortest Book in the Old Testament (only 21 verses). The purpose probably wasn’t for Edom, but for the comfort of the surviving Judeans. Some have suggested that Obadiah follows the covenant-lawsuit format that would be presented when one nation violates their covenant with another nation. Obadiah describes 3 sentences (vs. 2-9) and 3 pronouncements (vs. 10-14) as well as a promise of vindication and restoration (17-21).

Structure of the Book of Obadiah

Vs. 1-9 Edom’s pride & judgment

Vs. 10-14 Edom’s sin against Judah

Vs. 15-21 Edom’s judgment and God’s restoration of Judah

“The pride of your heart has deceived you... You say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’” (vs. 3)

“For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.” (vs. 10)

“As you have done, it shall be done to you!” (vs. 15)

“Then your mighty me, O Teman, shall be dismayed...” (vs. 9)

Edom’s sin against Judah:

1. 1)  Not defending Judah from Babylon (vs.

   11)

2. 2)  Rejoicing over Judah’s destruction (vs.

   12)

3. 3)  Shouldn’t have looted Judah (vs. 13)

4. 4)  Shouldn’t have slaughtered & delivered

   refugees to Babylon (vs. 14)

Judah’s restoration:

1. 1)  God will restore and reestablish Judah

   but not Edom (vs. 17-18)

2. 2)  Judah will possess all the nations’ land

   (vs. 19-20)

3. 3)  The kingdom will be the Lord’s!

   (vs. 21)

Samaria falls; Shal- maneser of Assyria dies and Sargon II reigns. Israel exiled by Assyria.

Fall of Nineveh (Assyria)

Nebuchadnezzar defeats Egypt at Carchemish; First deportation of Jews to Babylon (Daniel taken)

Second deportation of the Jews to Babylon (Ezekiel taken)

Jerusalem falls to Nebu- chadnezzar; 3rd deporta- tion. Judean refugees flee to Egypt—take Jeremiah

Cyrus of Persia issues His decree allowing Jews to return to Palestine. First return with Zerubbabel (70 years from first exile Jer.29:10; 2 Chro.36:21).

Temple completed 70 years after destruc- tion Jer. 29:10).

2nd return under Ezra (Revival of the People)

3rd return under Nehemiah (The Wall)

Themes & Message of Obadiah

Nahum (to Nineveh/Assyria) and Obadiah (to Edom) are the only two Prophets that are addressed completely to another nation other than Israel or Judah. Edom was the nation that grew from Jacob’s twin brother Esau and the brotherly rivalry continued for 1,500 years. They should have been help- ing their “kin” instead they were making matters worst: 1) gloating over the Israelites’ problems, 2) looting their homes, and 3) murdering the Judean refugees and handed them over to Babylon.

The Edomites were a prideful people. Their capital, Sela, was (what they thought) an impenetrable rock fortress city. It could only be reached by these narrow gorges. Very similar to the city of Petra that is also located in Edom and protected by towering rocks. They had presumptuous, deceitful hearts. They thought, “Who can bring me down to the ground!” God cares deeply about justice and the day will come when injustices is addressed in Edomites. “As you have done, it shall be done to you!” (vs. 15)God’s enemies will be punished. “Vengeance is mine says the Lord!” God is sovereign over all the nations whether they acknowledge it or not.

Edom is mentioned many times by Obadiah’s contemporaries. Jeremiah describes the same events as Obadiah, The LORD says to Edom, "I will certainly make you small among nations. I will make you despised by all humankind. The terror you inspire in others and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you. You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks; you may occupy the highest places in the hills. But even if you made your home where the eagles nest, I would bring you down from there," says the LORD. (Jeremiah 49:15-16). Ezekiel adds, “As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you– you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom– all of it! Then they will know that I am the LORD.'“ (Ezekiel 35:15)

Mt.

Zion

in Jerusalem

Obadiah 21 “And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s!”

Mt. Seir capital of Edom

Obadiah 4

Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, even if you were to make your nest among the stars, I can bring you down even from there!" says the LORD.

How was this judgment on Edom realized? Often times in prophecy, there is a near future and distant future—two events. In the 2nd century, the Jews and Edom’s other enemies destroyed the Edomites and their identity as a nation. However, Edom, also symbolizes all of the Gentile powers that domi- nated and opposed Israel. In the last verse of Obadiah, we learn “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s!” (vs. 21). The history of civilization has been a power-struggle between nations and kingdoms. The King of kings and the Lord of lords will destroy all competing nations and will establish His kingdom on the only mountain that matters, not Mt. Seir of Edom, but Mt. Zion of Israel. God’s people will get the LAND again! The Lord Jesus Christ will reign over this Kingdom and it will endure forever. He will reign in solitary glory. Revelation 11:15 declares, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Amos: Burden Bearer

Amos’s message to Israel:

Repent of your idolatry, self-sufficiency, and exploitation of the poor and seek the Lord God of Hosts and live!

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Amos 9:11-15 describes the restoration of Israel and the royal house of David. They will be planted again in the land.

Setting: The Book of Amos was written by a rancher/farmer and by his own confession— “was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet” (7:14). Sent from Judah (Tekoa, 1:1), Amos was called by God to confront Israel during one of its most prosperous and self- sufficient times. Uzziah and Jeroboam had formed an alliance and ruled an areas as large as the empires of David and Solomon. The Jehu dynast was one of the longest dynasties of the North and Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon were relatively weak at this time. Amos probably prophesied from 767-753 BC (40 years prior to the exile of Israel [the northern kingdom] by the Assyrians).

Structure of the Book of Amos

Chapters 1-2 Judgment oracles....

Chapters 3-6 God’s rebuke of Israel....

Chapters 7-9 5 Visions...

Oracles against Israel’s enemies: Damascus Gaza Tyre Edom Ammon Moab

Destruction of Israel (3) Israel’s sin (4)

God’s solution: “Seek Me and Live” and “Hate evil, love good!” (5)

Visions of the Locusts, Fire, Plumb Line + Amos’s encounter with Amaziah (7)

Vision of the basket of fruit (8)

Oracles against: Judah Israel

God’s condemnation of self-sufficiency and injustice (6)

Vision of Destruction and God’s Restoration (9). Restitution of the Davidic monarchy and covenant prosperity.

Jeroboam II began his reign in Israel (north)

Uzziah begin his reign in Judah (south). Amos ministry begins

Amos ministry ends

Samaria falls; Shal- maneser of Assyria dies and Sargon II reigns. Israel exiled by Assyria.

Fall of Nineveh (Assyria)

Nebuchadnezzar defeats Egypt at Carchemish; First deportation of Jews to Babylon (Daniel taken)

Second deportation of the Jews to Babylon (Ezekiel taken)

Jerusalem falls to Nebu- chadnezzar; 3rd deporta- tion. Judean refugees flee to Egypt—take Jeremiah

Cyrus of Persia issues His decree allowing Jews to return to Palestine. First return with Zerubba- bel (70 years from first exile Jer.29:10; 2 Chro.36:21).

Temple completed 70 years after destruc- tion Jer. 29:10).

2nd return under Ezra (Revival of the People)

3rd return under Nehemiah (The Wall)

Themes & Message of Amos

Remember, after Solomon, the kingdom was divided in 930BC into Israel (northern 10 tribes) and Judah (southern 2 tribes [Judah and Benjamin] + the Levites). There were some good kings in Judah, but all the kings of the north were wicked and it was a period of idolatry and defiance. During Amos’s ministry, in 767BC (roughly 40 years before Israel’s deportation), it was no different. Israel was strong militarily and economically, but was bankrupt spiritually. God says that He is “weighed down by” (2:13) by their iniquity, perversity, and idolatry. God describes Israel as His chosen people, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (3:2) but clearly defines her sin, “for they do not know to do right” (3:10) and “the Lord God has sworn by His holiness” (4:2).

Deuteronomy 12 explicitly states that God would choose one place to dwell (Deut. 12:5), and all of Israel was to bring her sacrifice and offerings to this one place (Deut. 12:5-7), and all other shrines, sanctuaries, and high places were to be destroyed (Deut. 12:1-4). Jeroboam (150 years prior to Amos) erected altars in Bethel, Gilgal and Dan that became sanctuaries of idolatry and false worship (3:14, 4:4, 5:5, 6:1, 7:9-13). Also in Amos’ day, the Israelites would wor- ship the stars, in particular a star-god identified with Saturn called Chiun (5:26) and put their hope in Pleiades and Orion (5:8).

Their sins were rooted in their self-sufficiency, “strength,” and pride (3:11, 6:8,13, 8:7) and God is absolutely brilliant to rebuke them with Amos who is not a sophisticated man, but a commoner who had no training as a prophet (1:1, 7:14). God abhors their pride and self-sufficiency—”The Lord is His name. He rains ruin upon the strong” (5:8-9), “He shall sap your strength from you” (3:11), and “the Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: ‘Surely I will never forget any of their works’” (8:7). Two calamities are stopped by Amos through intercessory prayer and his appeal to God is that Jacob (Israel) in fact is “not strong” (as they think they are) but “very small” (7:2, 5) and in need of rescue. More than any of the other prophets, the setting of Amos mirrors the current cul- ture of the U.S. He was writing to a prideful, “secure,” “self-sufficient” and economically prosperous people.

The people were exploiting the poor (2:6-7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6) in order to build elaborate homes (3:10-11,15, 5:11, 6:4, 8). They sold “the poor for a pair of sandals” (2:6), “oppress the poor and crush the needy” (4:1), and “tread down the poor” (5:11). God is furious with the treatment of the poor, the judicial corruption and the legal system. The decadent lifestyle (6:1-6) and fractured relationship with Yahweh caused a breakdown in their treatment of the poor. James points out that the natural working of our relationship with Christ will be an impartial treatment of the poor (James 2:1-13) and Paul adds, Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains. (1Tim. 6:9-10).

In chapter 4, God says five times, “Yet you have not returned to Me!” and everything culminates with the phrase, “prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (4:12). Amos is very passionate as he describes the Lord God of hosts (9 times God is described this way). The Lord God of hosts is the One Who:

Amos declares, “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob” says the Lord (9:8). Amos’s final vision involves the destruction of Israel (realized in 722 by Assyria), but also the resti- tution of the Davidic monarchy and covenant prosperity. God says “Seek Me and live” (5:4, 6, 14), “Hate evil, love good” (5:15) and “the Lord God of hosts will be with you” (5:14). God’s heart for His people to seek Him is similar to what is described in Psalm78:34-35, When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their de- liverer. The “live” in “seek Me and live” is the restoration of blessings that Yahweh longs for His people (3:2, Deut. 30:6). Jesus says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly (John 10:10). Our Lord has come to give us life but abundant life—Life that is full, that is real and can only be experienced in union with Christ and His dreams for us.

God sees the injustices, the sin, and violations among the people and His desire is to “let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (5:24).

Forms mountains and creates wind (4:13)

Who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness (4:13)

Who treads the high places of the earth (4:13)

He turns the shadow of death into morn- ing and makes the day dark as night (5:8)

He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth (5:8, 9:6)

He who touches the earth and it melts. (9:5)

He who builds His layers in the sky, and has founded His strata in the earth (9:6)

Study Notes Ed Underwood

Joel The Day of the Lord Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome and very terrifying – who can survive it? (Joel 2:11)

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther)

The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

A natural disaster hit the Southern Kingdom of Judah. A menacing black cloud descended upon the land— the dreaded locusts. The locust plague stripped the land of every green thing in its path. Joel, God’s spokesman during the reign of Joash (835-796), seized the occasion to proclaim God’s message. The locust plague has been a terrible judgment for sin. Yet God’s future judgments during the day of the Lord will make that plague pale in comparison, In that day, God will destroy His enemies, but bring unparalleled blessing to those who faithfully obey Him.

The times of Joel threatened God’s plan to rescue creation from the devastation of sin. The tribe of Judah— the coming Messiah’s prophesied line (Genesis 49:10, cf. Luke 3:33)—might not survive. Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel in the Northern Kingdom had married Jehoram, king of Judah. It was a marriage of political convenience with catastrophic consequences (2 Kings 8-11). She was widowed after eight years on the throne when she murderously usurped the Davidic throne, killing every descendant of Jehoram except Joash who was stolen and hidden by Jehoida the priest. She reigned six years in Judah and vigorously promoted the worship of Baal (2 Chronicles 22:11). She was murdered in a revolt led by Jehoida, and Joash was proclaimed king. Jehoida and Joash purged the outward worship of Baal in Judah, but the evil of idolatry was now entrenched in the south.

Joel was written as a warning to the people of Judah to humbly turn to the Lord with repentant hearts (2:12- 17). Using the metaphor of a locust invasion, Joel prophesies that there will be a future invasion of the land by many nations in order to charge the people to turn from their sins, which would result in blessings under the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:38-42, 49-57). He develops the theme of the Day of the Lord (1:5; 2:1-2, 11, 31; 3:14, 18) introduced by the earlier prophet Obadiah (Obadiah 15). This theme of the Day of the Lord will become a major teaching in the prophets and in the books of the New Testament. The Day of the Lord is a time of awesome judgment upon people and nations that have rebelled against God. But it is also a time of future blessings upon those who have trusted in Him:

Joel stresses the sovereign power of God over nature and nations. He is the God who will have His day; “the day of the Lord” when everything is just the way He intends it to be.

I. THE JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL IN THE DAY OF THE LORD Joel begins with an account of a recent locust plague that has devastated the land and makes effective use of this natural catastrophe as an illustration of a far greater judgment to come (1:1-2:11).

LITERAL FULFILLMENT The invading locusts bring the economy to a standstill and the people are in a desperate situation. (1:1-20) FUTURE FULFILLMENT A locust-like invasion of a northern army will devastate the land. The near fulfillment was the Babylonian invasion. The still future invasion of Israel will be led by the King of the North during the Tribulation. (2:1-11)

Joel: The day of the Lord is coming!

II. THE REPENTANCE OF ISRAEL IN THE DAY OF THE LORD: It’s not too late for the people to avert disaster. The prophetic warning is designed to bring them to the point of repentance (2:12-17). This national repentance would happen three times in Israel’s history, one is yet to come:

IMMEDIATE FULFILLMENT: Joash revival. NEAR FULFILLMENT: Return under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT: God’s people turn to Him during the Tribulation.

III. THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL IN THE DAY OF THE LORD The day of the Lord is a day of deliverance for His obedient people and a day of judgment for His enemies (2:18-3:17).

A. THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL God promises that judgment will be followed by great blessing in a material and a spiritual way (2:18-32).

1. PhysicalRestorationThesepromiseswereliterallyfulfilledinthetimeofJoashandinthereturning remnant. But their full-orbed and majestic realization will be at the end of the Tribulation (2:18-27).

2. Spiritual Restoration Chapter three in the Hebrew Bible, these promises are still future (2:28-32). The time of spiritual restoration is after the repentance and restoration of Israel (2:12-27). Verse 28 very precisely says, “afterward.” The extent of spiritual restoration is expressed in absolute terms in 2:28b-29. The Holy Spirit will be poured out on all of the believing remnant of Israel. The signs of spiritual restoration in 30-31 are still future. These events never happened—not in Joash’s revival, or in the return from exile, or in Acts 2. The result of spiritual restoration is an extremely Jewish promise (2:32).

B. CONDEMNATION OF THE NATIONS: These rich promises are followed by a solemn description of the judgment of all nations in the valley of decision in the end times. The nations will give an account of themselves to the God of Israel who will judge those who have rebelled against Him. God alone controls the course of history. “So that you know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain (3:17; 3:1-17). The statement of condemnation: The time is at the Second Coming when all Jews are gathered back to Jerusalem (3:1). The place is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which means, YHWH judges! This is probably the Valley of Kidron east of Jerusalem (3:2a). The nations will be judged according to their treatment of Israel during the Tribulation (3:2b-8). The sequence of the condemnation: The gathering of the armies (3:9-17). The judgment of the armies described is the earliest description of the campaign of Armageddon, the valley of decision, meaning God’s decision to condemn (3:14). The coming of the Lord (3:15-17).

C. THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL IN THE DAY OF THE LORD: Joel ends with the Kingdom blessings upon the remnant of the faithful Judah (3:18-31).

JOEL AND YOU: Joel stresses the sovereign power of God over nature and nations. He is the God who will have His day; “the day of the Lord” when everything is just the way He intends it to be.

1. Joel connected God’s control over history and nature to His love for His people. (See 1 Thessalonians 5: 2; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 2 Peter 3:10-12) Do you live with the expectation and confidence that God is the Lord of your circumstances?

2. Joel comforted God’s people with prophecies of the day of the Lord. Do you know prophecy well enough to be comforted by it or do you know just enough to be scared?

Messiah: Joel portrays Christ as the One who will judge the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (“God Judges,” 32, 12; Matthew 25:31-46).

Study Notes Ed Underwood

Hosea: God’s Loyal Love I will heal their waywardness and love them freely (Hosea 14:4).

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther)

The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

Hosea’s prophetic career began near the end of a time of great economic prosperity and military success for both Israel and Judah. His primary ministry was to the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of her greatest king, Jeroboam II. However, Assyrian influence began to strengthen under Tiglath-pileser III, who conquered Israel in 722 B.C. The reigns of Israel’s last five illegitimate kings (usurpers to the throne of the line of Jehu, 2 Kings 10:30; 15:12) were short-lived and confused. Chaos and weakness characterized these last years of the northern kingdom. Still, her people refused to heed Hosea’s warning of imminent judgment. The people were in a spiritual daze, filled with sin and idolatry. Hosea’s ministry to Israel parallels the coming ministry of Jeremiah to the southern kingdom of Judah. Like Jeremiah, Hosea relates God’s deep sorrow over the state of the people and the nation He loves. Israel is God’s silly dove (7:11) refusing to repent (4:1), and it breaks God’s heart to discipline her (chapter 11).

The personal tragedy of a marital unfaithfulness becomes a powerful illustration of the greater tragedy of a nation in rebellion against her God. It’s a story of loyal love—between the prophet Hosea and his adulterous wife, Gomer, and between God and His idolatrous people, Israel. Just as Gomer breaks Hosea’s heart by playing the harlot, Israel breaks the heart of her God as she spurns His love. But unconditional love is the theme: Just as Hosea buys his wife out of slavery, God will redeem and restore His people— after a time of purifying punishment. Unconditional love keeps seeking even after it is rejected. Hosea, whose name means salvation, is a prophet from the northern kingdom of Israel, often called Ephraim because that was the dominant tribe in the north as Judah was in the south. He writes with the detail and passion of a native eyewitness to the demise of Israel. “In no prophet is the love of God more clearly demarcated and illustrated than in Hosea” (Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology, p. 197).

Hosea was written to encourage the adulterous northern kingdom to repent by demonstrating God’s loyal love for His people in Hosea’s marriage and his message. God passionately pursues His unfaithful people. Though His loyal love never ignores unfaithfulness (chapter 3), He never abandons nor stops pursuing the unfaithful (5:14-6:1):

“The great illustration of how committed God is to His people is how He instructed Hosea to relate to his unfaithful wife. The Lord will not forsake those with whom He has joined in covenant commitment even if they become unfaithful to Him repeatedly. He will be patient with them and eventually save them (11:1-4; 14)” (Tom Constable, Hosea, p. 4).

I. HOSEA’S MARRIAGE—THE GREAT ILLUSTRATION OF LOYAL LOVE: Hosea marries a woman named Gomer whose behavior is a painful, living object lesson to the prophet as God prepares him to speak words of warning and love to the northern kingdom. (1-3)

Hosea: The Lord’s loyal love never stops pursuing those who are His!

1. PROPHETIC MARRIAGE: Gomer bears Hosea three children appropriately named by God as signs to Israel. Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi mean “God Scatters,” “Not Pitied,” and “Not My People.” Similarly, God will judge and scatter Israel because of her sin. (1:1-2:1)

2. PICTURE OF ISRAEL: Gomer seeks other lovers and deserts Hosea just as Israel has sought idols and deserted God. (2:2-23)

C. LOYAL LOVE: Hosea illustrates God’s love for Israel by buying or redeeming her from the slave market and restoring her. (3)

II. HOSEA’S MESSAGE—THE GREAT TRUTH OF LOYAL LOVE: Because of his own painful experience, Hosea can feel some of the sorrow of God over the sinfulness of His people. Though Hosea’s love for Gomer pictures God’s love for Israel, Israel has fallen to such a depraved state that judgment is inevitable. (4-14)

1. ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL ADULTERY: The sins are evident. Having rejected the knowledge of God, they have spiraled into idolatry. Though judgment is imminent, God will restore His adulterous people. (4-6:3)

2. ISRAEL’S REFUSAL TO REPENT: Even now God wants to heal and redeem them (7:1, 13), but in their arrogance and idolatry they rebel. (6:4-8:14)

3. ISRAEL’S JUDGMENT FROM GOD: Israel will suffer dispersion, barrenness and destruction. (9-10)

D. ISRAEL’S RESTORATION TO GOD God is holy (4-7) and just (8-10), but He is also loving and gracious (11-14). God must discipline, but because of His endless love, He will ultimately save and restore His wayward people. (11:18; 14:4)

HOSEA AND YOU: God’s loyal love is the bedrock of a believer’s assurance that we belong to Him and his/her primary motivator to worship Him.

1. Hosea’slifeandwritingsillustrateandteachGod’sloyalloveforthosewhobelongtoHim.God’sloyal love is the basis of our assurance as Christians.

   1. All those rightly related to God through faith in His message concerning salvation are secure in their relationship with Him. He will never revoke His promises (Romans 11:29) to Israel or to the New Testament believer (Ephesians 1:1-14; Titus 3:5). Eternal security rests in the faithfulness of God to His promise.

   2. Assurance occurs when the one who belongs to God believes he or she is secure based upon the promises and loyal love of God (1 John 5:11-13).

2. Worship is a response to God’s loyal love from an undeserving heart (Romans 12:1-2). The Bible consistently compares worship of God to marital love, and Hosea teaches us that we’re all unfaithful “Gomers” being loved loyally by our faithful God (Ephesians 2:4-10).

Messiah: Matthew 2:15 applies chapter 11, verse 1, to Christ in Egypt. Matthew quotes the second half

of this verse to show that the Exodus of Israel from Egypt as a new nation was a prophetic type of

Israel’s Messiah who was also called out of Egypt in His childhood. Both Israel and Christ left Palestine

to take refuge in Egypt.

Christ’s identification with our plight and His loving work of redemption can be seen in Hosea’s

redemption of Gomer from the slave market.

Study Notes Ed Underwood

Daniel: The Key That Unlocks God’s Plan for the Ages! The Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes! (Daniel 4:25)

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther)

The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline. (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in three stages. First, in 605 BC he overcame Jehoiakim and carried off key hostages including Daniel and his friends. Second, in 597 BC the rebellion of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin brought further punishment, and the Babylonians carried off ten thousand hostages including Jehoiachin and Ezekiel. Third, in 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city after a long siege. Ezekiel and Daniel were about the same age and Jeremiah was about twenty years older. This means that Daniel was just a teenager when he arrived in Babylon.

By any worldly measure in Daniel’s time, it seemed the God of Israel was either powerless against her enemies or had abandoned her. The gods of Assyria and Babylon had seemingly triumphed over the God of Israel and Judah, the Temple was razed, and the Jews were living as discontented captives in a land far from home. God calls Daniel, a teenage captive forced into service to the King of Babylon to speak His messages into this dark hour. “The collapse and fall of both Israel and Judah notwithstanding, the book of Daniel makes crystal clear that the Lord God remains absolutely sovereign over human affairs. This is apparent in the present [situation in Babylon], despite political and religious conditions that might suggest otherwise, and in the future [the times of the Gentiles], then there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind.” (Eugene H. Merrill, “A Theology of Ezekiel and Daniel,” in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 388.

The powerful miracles on behalf of the civil disobedience of Daniel and his friends (chapters 1-6) demonstrate God’s sovereign care of His people during the worst of times. The prophecies (chapters 7-12) demonstrate God’s sovereign rule over the Gentile nations and Israel. The writings of Daniel provide the key to the interpretation of all biblical prophecy. They also give believers an example of how to live for God in an ungodly culture:

Daniel, the “Revelation of the Old Testament,” encourages God’s people to trust in Him during times when they feel powerless.

I. THE CHARACTER OF DANIEL, (1): The prophet’s background and preparation open the book. Daniel is deported along with other promising youths and placed in an intensive training program in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Their names and diets are changed so that they will lose their Jewish identification, but Daniel’s resolve to remain faithful to the Lord is rewarded. He and his friends are granted wisdom and knowledge.

Daniel: How to live for God in an ungodly culture:

Walk faithfully, wait patiently, and watch hopefully!

II.THE PROPHETIC PLAN FOR THE GENTILES, (2-7): Only Daniel can interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s disturbing dream of the great statue (2). God illuminates the dream for Daniel. The God of Israel will sovereignly raise and destroy four gentile empires. The Messiah’s Kingdom will end the “Times of the Gentiles.” Because of his position in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar erects a golden image and demands that all bow to it (3). Daniel’s friends are thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down only to give God another chance to demonstrate His sovereignty and power. The vision of the tree (4) warns Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge the supremacy of God and he is humbled until he does. The feast of Belshazzar marks the end of the Babylonian kingdom (5) as Belshazzar too is judged for arrogant defiance of God. During the reign of Darius, a plot against Daniel backfires when God delivers him in the den of lions (6). Daniel’s courageous faith is rewarded, and Darius learns a lesson about the might of the God of Israel. The vision of the four beasts ends the section on the “Times of the Gentiles” by supplementing the four-part statue of chapter 2 (7). Four gentile powers—the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans will rule until, once again, “...the saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom forever” (7:18).

III. THE PROPHETIC PLAN FOR ISRAEL, (8-12): The focus of chapter 8 narrows to a vision of the ram and goat that shows Israel under the Medo-Persian and Grecian empires. Alexander the Great is the big horn (8:21) and Antiochus Epiphanes is the little horn (8:23). Daniel prays for his people and is given the revelation of the Seventy Weeks, including Messiah’s atoning death (9). This gives the chronology of God’s perfect plan for the redemption and deliverance of His people. Next is a great vision that gives amazing details of Israel’s future history (10-11). Chapter 11 chronicles the coming kings of Persia and Greece, the wars between the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria, and the persecution led by Antiochus. God’s people will be saved out of tribulation and resurrected (12).

DANIEL AND YOU: Daniel teaches us how to live for our God when the world seems out of His control:

1. Walk faithfully! Daniel simply lived an uncompromising life for God in a totally compromised culture. He was not a political activist, but he was civilly disobedient. The character of this man was formed in his childhood. His parents and his community had prepared his heart for God’s call.

2. Wait patiently! Daniel’s life was a long story in the same direction. He patiently trusted in his God during both good and bad times, knowing that his God was bigger than his circumstances.

C. Watch hopefully! Daniel shows the practical importance of prophecy in our everyday lives. Knowing our God is going to win and that He is the God of history encourages our faith.

Messiah: Christ is the Great Stone who will crush the kingdoms of this world (2:34-35, 44). The vision

of the sixty-nine weeks (9:25-26) pinpoints the coming of Messiah. The decree (9:25) took place on

March 4, 444 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-8). The sixty-nine weeks of seven years equals 483 years, or 173,880

days (using the 360-day prophetic year). This leads to March 29, 33AD, the date of the Triumphal

Entry.

Study Notes Ed Underwood Ezekiel: Know that I am the LORD!

They will know that I am the LORD! (Ezekiel 6:10)

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther)

The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline. (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

Ezekiel, a priest and a prophet, prophesied among the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in three stages. First, in 605 BC he overcame Jehoiakim and carried off key hostages including Daniel and his friends. Second, in 597 BC the rebellion of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin brought further punishment, and the Babylonians carried off ten thousand hostages including Jehoiachin and Ezekiel. Third, in 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city after a long siege. Ezekiel and Daniel were about the same age and Jeremiah was about twenty years older. This means that Ezekiel was about seventeen when Daniel was deported in 605 BC and Ezekiel was about twenty five when he followed. Ezekiel received his prophetic commission at the age of thirty (1:1). This means his ministry overlapped the end of Jeremiah’s and the beginning of Daniel’s. Daniel was already well known and Ezekiel mentions him three times (14:14, 20; 28:3). These three prophets—Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel covered all areas of life during this painful time in Judah’s history. Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Babylonia explained the reason for the judgment and encouraged the people with God’s promise of a restored Kingdom under Messiah. Daniel prophesied to the leaders of Babylonia. Ezekiel’s name means “God strengthens” or “strengthened by God.”

The Jews were in exile because they had been unfaithful to the Mosaic Covenant. God had warned them that He would cast them from the land. But God had also promised them that they would always be His people and that He would establish them in the land. “The purpose of the Exile was to turn God’s people away from their sins and back to their Sovereign. The discipline they experienced was an evidence of God’s love. When it was over, a glorious future lay in store for them. A righteous ruler would eventually lead them back to a radically renovated land where they would enjoy peace, prosperity, and renewed worship”. (Dr. Tom Constable, Ezekiel) Ezekiel presents God as the God who acts to enforce His will and display His glory. The phrase “so you [they] will know that I am the LORD” occurs 60 times! Israel must admit that their unfaithfulness means that the destruction of Jerusalem is inevitable as they place their hope in their promise-keeping God:

Ezekiel emphasizes the transcendence and majesty of the God of Israel as he prophecies her immediate doom and ultimate grandeur.

I. JUDAH’S END God gives Ezekiel a most unusual vision of His greatness and glory to encourage him in a most difficult task: explaining to the exiles why Jerusalem will fall, and why the nation will spend the next 70 years in Babylonia (1-24).

A. EZEKIEL’S CALL Ezekiel receives enablement, instruction, and responsibility from God. (1-3)

Ezekiel: You can’t ignore your God. He will make sure you know that He is the LORD!

1. SINS AND SORROWS, SIGNS AND SERMONS The prophet’s signs and sermons point to the certainty of Judah’s judgment, Judah’s past sins and coming doom are seen in a series of visions of the abominations in the temple, the slaying of the wicked, and the departing glory of God. The princes and priests are condemned as the Glory leaves the temple, moves to the Mount of Olives, and disappears in the east. (4-11)

2. JUDGMENT, SWORDS, AND SIGNPOSTS The cause and extent of Judah’s coming judgment is described through dramatic signs, powerful sermons, and parables. Judah’s prophets are counterfeits and her elders are idolatrous. (12-24)

II. JUDAH’S ENEMIES Judah’s gloating neighbors are next in line. They too will suffer the fate of siege and destruction by Babylon. (25-32)

1. JUDGMENT EAST AND WEST Following a clockwise circuit, Ezekiel prophesies doom on all. He spends an inordinate amount of time on the king of Tyre, and many scholars believe he may be referring to Satan, the power behind the nation. (25-28)

2. JUDGMENT ON EGYPT Unlike the nations that were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, Egypt will continue to exist, but as the “lowliest of kingdoms.” Since that time it has never recovered its former glory or influence. (29-32)

III. JUDAH’S FUTURE The prophecies in these chapters were given after the overthrow of Jerusalem. Now that the promised judgment has come, Ezekiel’s message no longer focuses on coming judgment but on coming comfort and consolation. (33-48)

1. WATCHMAN ON THE WALL The mouth of Ezekiel, God’s watchman is opened when he is told that Jerusalem has been taken. Judah had false shepherds, but the true Shepherd will lead them in the future. The vision of the valley of dry bones pictures the reanimation of the nation by the Spirit of God. Israel and Judah will be purified and restored. (33-37)

2. GOG AND MAGOG There will be an invasion of the northern armies of Gog, but Israel will be saved because the Lord will destroy the invading forces. (38-39)

3. NEW TEMPLE FOR ISRAEL In 572 BC, fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel returns in a vision to the fallen city and is given detailed specifications of the reconstruction of the Temple. (40-42)

4. NEW WORSHIP FOR ISRAEL Ezekiel views the return of the glory of the Lord to the Temple from the east. Regulations concerning worship in the coming temple are followed by revelations concerning the new land and city. (43-38)

EZEKIEL AND YOU: The exile taught Israel that God loved them too much to tolerate their sinful decadence.

1. Christian, never assume that grace means that God is ignoring your sin. Grace means that God disciplines His children (Hebrews 12).

2. Christian, never conclude that discipline means that God is harsh. His reluctance to remove His glory from His people is astonishing (9:3; 10:4, 18-19, 11:22-23). He always disciplines with a broken heart. God’s will for Israel and for you is blessing as He draws you to Himself.

All the Bible, Every Book Study Notes Ed Underwood

The Book of Lamentation Despite the national suffering, destruction, and deportation of Judah, Yahweh’s faithfulness is great and hope is not lost.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes a new covenant that has been implemented through Christ in the church and will be fulfilled with the house of Israel & Judah.

Setting: The Book of Lamentations was probably written in Egypt (where Jeremiah was kidnapped just prior to or after the deportation) shortly after the Fall of Jerusalem. You can almost picture Jeremiah as he is being taken down to Egypt, looking back and watching the smoke and desolation of his beloved land and his heart breaking in his chest. The English title for this book that comes from the Talmud is “Lamentations” but the Hebrew Bible’s title is simply “Ahhhh How!?” How did this happen? What a great title for a Book.

Lamentations aggressively deals with the issue of personal and national suffering. Jeremiah is a righteous and faithful prophet, yet His laments are national, community laments. God is disciplining Judah and they deserve it—they have forsaken God, the fountain of living waters, and have chosen broken cisterns that hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). Despite the brokenness and anguish of Jeremiah, he teaches us how to relate to God in pain, disappointment, and crises. Jeremiah’s 5 laments are full of very unique prayers and interactions with God. His 3rd lament, found in Lamentations 3, may be one of the greatest laments in all of Scripture. Chapter 3 is the heart of Lamentations.

Defeat and Desolation of Jerusalem (586 BC) Jeremiah (warning) Looking forward Lamentations (mourning) Looking back 5 Corporate Laments Ch. 1 (overview)

Josiah begins his reforms

The dark days of the people of Jerusalem. Sorrow over Jerusalem’s condition.

Jeremiah begins his ministry (Jeremiah 1)

Ch. 2 (internal view)

—Josiah killed in battle by Egyptians at Megiddo. —Jehoahaz reigns over Judah 3 months, —Johoiakim made king of Judah by Pharaoh Necho

God’s punishment of Israel’s unfaithfulness. God’s anger and Jeremiah’s plea.

Nebuchadnezzar defeats Egypt at Carchemish; first deportation of Jews to Babylon (Daniel taken)

Ch. 3 (God-centered view)

The compassion and faith- fulness of God. Jeremiah’s hope and prayer. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “There fore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait qui- etly for the salvation of the Lord.” (3:22-26)

Jehoiakim is deposed and dies and Jehioachin regns over Judah for 3 months

Ch. 4 (overview)

Cyrus of Persia issues his decree allowing Jews to return to Palestine. First return with Zerubbabel (70 years from first exile and they begin to rebuild temple Jer. 29:10 & 2 Chron.36:21).

The sin of all the people and God’s severity towards Jerusalem.

Temple completed (70 years after destruct.)

Ch. 5 (future view)

2nd return under Ezra (Revival of the People)

The response of the right- eous remnant—plea for restoration.

3rd return under Nehemiah (The Wall)

Josiah (8 years) begins his reign.

Fall of Nineveh (Assyria)

Second deportation of Jews to Babylon (Ezekiel & Jehioachin taken). Zede- kiah made king of Judah.

Jerusalem falls to Nebu- chadnezzar 3rd deportation. Judean refugees flee to Egypt,, take Jeremiah.

Themes & Message of Lamentations

Lamentations is written by a broken and discouraged Jeremiah, “See, O Lord, that I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me... They have heard that I sigh, but no one comforts me...My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city...He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my way with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.” (1:20-21, 2:11, 3:7- 9).

Jeremiah says that God has done the opposite of Proverbs 3:5-6 (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Ac- knowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.” ) and has made his paths crooked (3:9) and has taken the promises of Psalm 139:2 & 5, (“You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off...You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me”) and applied them to his enemies, “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out...Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song” (3:7, 63).

Lamentations aggressively deals with the issue of personal and national suffering. Jeremiah is convinced of the guilt of his people and their transgression of the Mosaic covenant (1:5, 18, 2:17, 4:6, 11, 22, 5:7, 16). Yet he is perplexed by the Abrahamic Covenant with its unconditional promises to Israel of Land, Seed, and Blessing (Gen 12 & 15). How can God fulfill His promises to Abraham when Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed and all of her inhabitants are march- ing towards captivity in Babylon? “Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, and our houses to foreigners...You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. Why do You forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time?” (5:2, 19-20).

Despite the brokenness and anguish of Jeremiah, he teaches us how to relate to God in pain, disappointment, and crises. His laments are full of very unique prayers and interactions with Yahweh:

1. Davidic like cries for justice: “They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are glad that You have done it. Bring on the day You have announced, That they may become like me. Let all their wickedness come before You, And do to them as You have done to me For all my transgressions; For my sighs are many, And my heart is faint....O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life. O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged; Judge my case. You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against

   me." (1:21-22, 3:58-60)

2. Expressing the terror and pain of the moment: “You have invited as to a feast day The terrors that surround me. In the day of the LORD's anger

   There was no refugee or survivor. Those whom I have borne and brought up My enemies have destroyed." (2:22)

3. Jeremiah longs for rescue:“My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, Till the LORD from heaven Looks down and sees. My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city...I called on Your name, O LORD, From the lowest pit. You have heard my voice: "Do

   not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help. You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, "Do not fear!" (3:49-51, 55-57)

4. Plea to remember and restore: “Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach!... You, O LORD, remain forever; Your

   throne from generation to generation. Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old” (5:1, 19-21).

Yahweh fulfills every covenant and promise that He establishes: For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable [Rom 11:29]). In this is the prophetic fulfillment of Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28 and the blessings and cursings of the Mosaic covenant with Israel, “The LORD has done what He purposed; He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in days of old. He has thrown down and has not pitied, And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” (2:17).

This is true of the Abrahamic Covenant as well. The climax of Jeremiah’s lament is 3:21-32: “ 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my por- tion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28 Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him; 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—There may yet be hope. 30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach. 31 For the Lord will not cast off forever. 32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.” Despite the absolute chaos of the destruction of Jerusalem and deportation of the Jews, God will remain faithful to His promises. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord! “You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation” (5:19).

Sermons By Ed Ep. 31: Jeremiah Ed Underwood   The Book of Jeremiah (Yahweh establishes)—Weeping prophet to a wayward people

Jeremiah’s message to Judah— Forsake idolatry and self-rule and return to covenant with your faithful God . If you don’t, God will not stop the im- pending judgment (loss of land, rule, & captivity). Yet in the end, there is hope—God will establish a new glorious covenant where He will remake and reestablish the people of God forever!

Setting: Jeremiah is inserted in the turbulent years surrounding the decline of Assyria and the rise of the Babylonian Empire (627-582 [Jeremiah 1:2-3]).The backdrop is the rule of Josiah’s three sons and grandson (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin & Zedekiah), the last four rulers of Judah. The nation’s independ- ence was ending and Jeremiah would witness the destruction of the city and the Temple. Jeremiah suffered for the message God gave him: whipped and put in stocks (20:2), accused of treason and desertion (26, 37:11-16), plotted against (12:6, 18:18), imprisoned in a cistern (38: 1-13), held under arrest (38:14-28). Jeremiah is very honest about the turmoil in his heart (4:19, 8:18-22, 9:1ff, 15:10-21 & 20:7-18) and longs for Yahweh to restore Judah. Once it became clear that Judah would not repent, Jeremiah advocates submission to Babylon and directs his sermons to the future returning remnant. The book can be divided into two main sections and 19 messages from the heart of God through His servant Jeremiah:

Chapters 1-45—10 messages to Judah’s Kings, the False prophets, and Judah to repent Chapters 46-52—9 messages of judgment against the nations

Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes a new covenant that has been implemented through Christ in the church and will be fulfilled with the house of Israel & Judah.

Themes & Message of Jeremiah

“Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” (1:9-10). Jeremiah’s message is two-fold: 1) to destroy and 2) to rebuild. He was sent to Judah to rebuke them for their sinful ways and to announce that Yahweh has rejected them for a period of time, and has transferred the land (as predicted in Lev. 26 & Deut 28) into the hands of the Gentiles (Babylon). In chapter 18, God uses the illustration of the potter and the clay. As the potter shaped his pot according to a specific design, the clay proved to be unpliable, so the potter reshaped it into a different design. Judah, by continual refusal of God, kept getting harder and harder in heart, till eventually God could not mold the clay. If Judah responded to their rebuke, the Lord would relent the impending judgment. History proved that Judah did not respond, but God remained faithful—Jeremiah prophesied the preservation of a righteous remnant that will return (23:3, 29:10-14, 32:37-41, 36:11), the initiating of a shocking new covenant (31:31-34), and the coming of the Messiah and Kingdom (3:17-18, 23:3, 5-6, 33:15-17).

Judah, played “the harlot” and was sucked into all kinds of sick Canaanite idolatry and immorality for political and “survival” reasons. Idolatry is described and condemned in Jeremiah—more than any other Book in the Bible (1:16, 2:5, 11, 28, 3:9, 5:19, 7:6-8, 18, 9:14, 10:1-16, 11:10, 17, 12:16, 13:10, 14:22, 18:15, 19:5, 13, 22:9, 23:13, 25:6, 32:34- 35, 50:2, 38, 51:17, & 47, etc.). Jeremiah calls Judah’s wicked acts as: harlotry (2:20, 3:1, 6, & 8), forsaking God (14 times), dealing treacherously with God (3:20, 5:11, 12:1, 6) and rejecting the covenant they established with Yahweh out of Egypt (Egypt is mentioned 60 times).

Yet God’s covenantal mercy, grace and cry for the return of His people are seen throughout Jeremiah—“But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me....Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: `Return, backsliding Israel,' says the LORD; `I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,' says the LORD;`I will not remain angry forever...O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved....Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." (3:1, 12, 4:14, 31:3). God’s heart is for Judah to be His people and for Him to be their God (Jeremiah uses the phrase “My people” 46 times). That they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear (13:11).

The steps of turning away from Yahweh, forsaking the covenant, and sinning against their Maker is described by Jeremiah as futile (10:3, 15, 51:18) and worthless (10:8, 14:14, 18:15, 23:16). Jeremiah describes this exchange of the living God for profitless and worthless idolatry as shockingly stupid and self-destructive. In Jeremiah 2:13, God points out the two evils that Judah has committed: “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns— broken cisterns that can hold no water.” The worthless idols of Canaan cannot and will not accomplish what only God can do. “Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit...Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble.” (2:11, 11:12)

The universal problem of the people of God has always been the seduction of self-sufficiency and independence from our All-powerful Provider. Judah was no different, “Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD” (17:5). Human wisdom, might and riches are as bro- ken as blasphemous idolatry, “Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD” (9:23-24).

The future hope for Judah and all of us self-sufficient, idolatrous, covenant breakers is the hope of the New Covenant (Jer. 31)—"But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land," says the LORD. "I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done." (Jer 31:33-34). The Mosaic Law declares men guilty and imprisons humanity under sin in order to bring us to resolution that we need intervention—Christ (Rom. 7 & Gal. 3). What the people of God needed wasn’t more Law or clarification of God’s expectations, but the supernatural capacity to live in covenant relationship with Yahweh. To a generation of idolaters and covenant breakers, Jeremiah shares the great- est news any Israelite could ever hear—God will remake you with a new heart, directing you with His indwelling presence, you will experience intimacy and forgiveness like never before, that will result in trusting obedience and not failure and shame. 5 parts of the New Covenant:

New heart

New Spirit

New experience and knowledge of God “God’s dream will become a Reality—I will be their God, they shall be my people!” (Jer 31:33, Ezek. 37:27)

New level of forgiveness “forgiven, forgotten, & final” (Jer. 31:34, Heb. 10:4, 18)

New results

“new nature” (Jer 31:33, Ezek. 36:26, 2 Cor. 3:3)

“New experience of God’s indwelling presence and guidance.” (Ezek 36:26-27, Isaiah 59:21, 2 Cor. 3:3, 6)

“It will set people free!” (Jer. 32:40, 31:32, 34, Ezek 36:27, Rom. 7:14-18, 24,

2 Cor. 3:6, 9-11, Heb. 8:6)

Settings:The people of God lived in a time of unprecedented political, economic, and spiritual upheavals. The children of Israel had gotten sucked into all kinds of sick Ca- naanite idolatry and immorality (chs. 41, 44, 46, & 57; The Canaanite pantheon of gods involved sacred prostitution that would stimulate Baal and Ashtoreth to fertilize the land). There was also great temptation for idolatry because of political sway and power. As a result there was a constant shift in population and national boundaries. Isaiah’s call begins with the death of King Uzziah (possibly his cousin) who had been struck by God with leprosy because of his irreverence and “cut off from the house of the Lord” (2 Chron. 26:21). In this context, God calls Isaiah to warn His people during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah” (1:1). At the onset of Isaiah’s ministry, Amos and Hosea were preaching similar messages to the people of the northern kingdom and Jeremiah would take up Isaiah’s mantle 50 years after Isaiah’s death (during that time Daniel and Ezekiel will ministers to the Jewish exiles in Babylon). Many believe that Isaiah was born around the 760’s and Jewish tradition held that he suffered martyrdom (Heb. 11:37?) under Manasseh (697-642). Isaiah prophesized for roughly 60 years and was married to a prophetess (8:3) and had two children. God revealed more to Isaiah about the Messiah, than any other Old Testament person.

God calls Isaiah to be one of His “covenant enforcement mediators.” In chapter 6, God instructs Isaiah to call out Judah, but also tells him that Israel won’t listen. Isaiah preached to three historical periods with such accuracy that many erroneously assume that much of Isaiah was written later as history and not prophecy (i.e. Isa. 45 prophesys about Cyrus who did not appear until 536; “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” 46:10) or at least multiple authors. Yet, Jesus quotes both the early and latter portions of Isaiah and attributes it to Isaiah in John 12:38 & 40. Also the Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll can be dated from the 2nd century BC and does not separate or have any distinctions (ch. 40 begins in the same column as ch. 39). Here is a typical way Isaiah is divided:

• 1-39 describes judgment on 8th century Israelites—both Israel and Judah will be taken captive.

• 40-55 comforts discouraged exiles—Israel’s God is disciplining them but the Jews will return.

• 56-66 encourages Jews who just returned to the land—the Messiah and complete restoration of Israel is yet to come!

Remember the Prophets must be understood through the lens of the conditional Mosaic covenant. It basically states that if Israel obeys they will be blessed and if they disobey they will be disciplined. Unfortunately, God’s people rejected Him and “exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom 1:25). 2 Kings 17:13 states, “The LORD solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, ‘Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.’”

Even before the conquest, the Lord predicts Israel’s apostasy and the foreign powers that the He will utilize to discipline and fulfill His side of the Mosaic covenant, “The LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the LORD will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair.” (Deuteronomy 28:64-65, see also vs. 49, 52). The Old Testament reveals that God used 3 main foreign powers to discipline His people: 1) Assyria (northern tribes—Israel), 2) Babylon (southern tribes—Judah) and 3) Persia (return to the land).

Throughout Isaiah there are messages to multiple audiences: 1) to the “nations,” 2) unfaithful Jews, and 3) the faithful remnant. There is a constant theme of judgment of the wicked, and salvation and grace to the remnant. Isaiah cries out against the pride of his people: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many...Now the Egyptians are men, and not God...Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.” (31:1,3, 48:10-11 ). God delights in strengthening the humble: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘be strong, do not fear!’....He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength...Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.... (35:3-4, 39:28-31, 41:10,13, etc.)

God’s rejecting the prideful and strengthening the humble leads to Isaiah’s consistent emphasis on desperation (reliance) and deliverance that all people of God go through. Isaiah tells the people of God to “wait” (16 times) and “wait” during some of the darkest times in history, “We wait for light, but see only darkness; we wait for a bright light, but live in deep darkness....we wait for deliverance, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.” (Isa 59:9, 11) We wait because we worship a God of grace and mercy and He loves to deliver, “Yes, as your judgments unfold, O LORD, we wait for you. We desire your fame and reputation to grow...For this reason the LORD is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the LORD is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed...LORD, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning! Deliver us when distress comes...But those who wait for the LORD's help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles' wings, they run with- out growing weary, they walk without getting tired...Then you will recognize that I am the LORD; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame....Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him.” (Isa 26:8, 30:18, 33:2, 40:31, 49:23, 64:4)

The message of Isaiah is a message of jealousy for the One, True God. Isaiah is preoccupied with the wonder and grandeur of Yahweh despite the chaos of his day and the days to come. Chapters 41, 44, 46 and 57 describe the absolute foolishness of idolatry—”Indeed they are all worthless; their works are nothing; their molded images are wind and confusion” (41:29). Over and over, God says, “There is none like me!” (43:12, 44:6,8, 45:5,6, 14, 21). “I am the LORD! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols...For my sake alone I will act, for how can I allow my name to be defiled? I will not share my glory with anyone else!” (Isa 42:8, 48:11). There is only the One, True God that we must hallow:”The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. But when he sees his children, The work of My hands, in his midst, They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel.” (Isa 8:13, 29:23)

Isaiah means (Yahweh saves) and this promise is certainly affirmed throughout the Book. Isaiah reveals God’s plan for Israel and all of humanity—the Messiah is coming and He will be a suffering servant and He will have a universal reign. For the Jews of Isaiah, it didn’t always appear that God was faithful but He was and is. The prophesied Mes- siah will come and faithfully fulfill the covenant. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). The Messiah embodied all of the Father’s hope for faithful Israel—the righteous and suffering servant. Four “suffering servant” songs occur in chapter 42, 49, 50 and everything culmi- nates in chapter 53, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgres- sions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isa 53:4-5). The Jewish righteous remnant could not atone for the sins of the world, only a truly righteous suffering servant could take this on.

As we long for the glory of God, we are powerful witnesses of the One, True God. One of Isaiah’s message is to reemphasize the original purpose of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3), for Israel to be God’s special possession (Exodus 19:5-6) to bless all the nations (Gen. 12:3). Not only will God restore Israel, but He will send the Messiah who will be a “covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons” (Isa 42:6-7). God will make Him “a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth." (Isa 49:6). God’s plan from the beginning was for His people to tes- tify of His glory, to be His witnesses: “It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory...And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles...Therefore You are My witnesses...How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (66:18b,19b, 43:12, 44:8, 52:7)