Preface

These are my notes from a series I taught on the minor prophets for my church. After we started the web site, I converted all these notes to HTML. Since the study was originally intended just for teaching in a local church and not for publishing, I was not as careful to note my sources as I should have been, but I still want to give credit where credit is due. Many of the major outlines of the books come from class notes taken from classes on the minor prophets taught by Dr. Charlie Dyer and Dr. Mark Bailey of Dallas Theological Seminary. Material taken from books in print are noted in the footnotes.

Introduction

What do you think about when you think of a prophet? Do you think of someone who tells what is going to happen in the future?

Prophets do some foretelling. They warn the wicked and encourage the righteous.

In fact the prophets are not primarily interested in the future. The majority of their sermons dealt with the present and the past. Very little revelation was given about the future. They were more concerned with the past and present failings of the nation in their relationships to God and man. They focused on the lack of morals in society which pointed to the problems. They focused on people's failure to keep the law. They constantly exhorted the people to an internal righteousness rather than an external adherence to the law. Perhaps one of the most famous passages is Micah 6:8 which says

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (NRSV)

Do you think that their writings are obscure and difficult to understand?

Prophets were traditionalists who proclaimed a doom and gloom message. They wrote to remind the Israelites of the covenants and their responsibilities. They also reminded the people of the results of disobedience. They assume that the Israelites remember the covenants and laws in Deuteronomy and make many references to them. In fact, unless you understand Dueteronomy 28-30 you cannot appreciate or perhaps even understand what the prophets are talking about.

The Mosaic covenant of Deuteronomy follows the same structure of the Susserain-Vassal Treaty which was popular in that day between a king or lord and his subjects. He would lay down the law and then promise to protect them if they were loyal and promise to destroy them if they were not loyal. God just uses a format that they were familiar with to give them the law. Let us read Dueteronomy 28:1-6 and 15-18, 48-50 and 30:15-20. God makes it very clear what would happen if they were not faithful to Him.

What the prophets did was come along and say, "Because you broke the covenant, the covenant curses have fallen ... or are about to fall on you." (Just like Deut 28-30 warned) The prophets messages of sin and judgment must be seen in this light.

The prophets also proclaimed a salvation message. Most of the prophets include a “promise of future deliverance” section. Modern scholars often claim that these positive messages are later additions by some scribe. They say that it doesn’t make sense that some guy would come along and pronounce judgment and then turn right around and promise deliverance. But that is because they don’t believe the Bible is the inspired word of God which contains the promises of God. The prophets would usually give a message of doom and gloom and then tell the people about the light at the end of the tunnel to give them hope. Sometimes these salvation messages were "crystal ball" visions describing a particular event which they had seen in a vision (e.g. Dan 9: and the 70th week), but sometimes they were just claiming and proclaiming the promises of God to Abraham and David that he would make the nation great, send the Messiah and bring the Gentiles into the kingdom.

God had made promises to Abraham that he would make his seed into a great nation, that he would give him the land of Israel and that through his seed the nations of the world would be blessed. God’s promises were unconditional and He would eventually keep them. But the individual’s welfare and the nation’s immediate welfare depended on the people’s faithfulness.

Goals Of The Study

• We are going to study the minor prophets by examining their historical context to determine what their situation is (The fancy name for this among scholars is the Sitz im Leben)
• We are also going to see if we can break the literary code so we will understand why they said what they did and so we can appreciate some of the beauty in the way they said it.
• And of course we want to find out how the message of the books applies to us. The goal of Bible Study is not head knowledge. The goal is to make it relevant and see how it applies to us. That is sometimes difficult, because we are reading about events that took place 3000 years ago.

Let’s look at these three goals in a little more detail.

History

Show Chronology of Prophets OH

This chart also shows the chronological order in which the books were written. It is a little confusing because in the Bible the prophets are arranged according to the Major and Minor prophetic books. The only difference between the two is the number of pages written. The Minor Prophets were not less important than the Major prophets, they were just more concise. There is also some debate about when various books were written. For example, some think Obadiah was written first, others think it was one of the last books written. My order of presentation is that of one of my professors and is certainly not inspired.

It is important to understand what is going on in the nation’s history, which enemy nations are threatening Israel’s borders (Assyria, Babylon, etc.), what is happening politically, etc.

You might have heard the terms: pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic prophets. These names are a reference to when the prophets spoke in relation to the Babylonian captivity.

• The preexilic prophets came to warn of impending judgment.

Obadiah wrote to or about Edom.

Amos, Hosea and Joel wrote to the northern kingdom.

Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakkuk, Zephaniah and Jeremiah wrote to warn Judah.

• The exilic prophets wrote to assure the people that God would restore them to the land.

Ezekiel and Daniel wrote from Babylon to encourage the people that God would restore the nation.

• The post exilic prophets wrote to assure the people that God would deal with the restored community according to the same principles. They might have been tempted to think that because Babylonia had defeated Israel, the Babylonian gods were superior to Yahweh. One of the postexilic prophet's jobs was to point out that Yahweh was superior and the only reason Israel was defeated was because Yahweh was disciplining them.

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were writing to the people who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon.

Literary Structure

The prophets were eloquent writers. Many of their works are literary masterpieces. They proclaimed God's message with style, and if we can uncover and decipher their style, it makes the reading that much more enjoyable.

What if each prophet showed up and said to the people,

OK folks, you are sinning again so God is going to have to judge you again. You are worshipping other gods, spending all your money on yourself, being dishonest in the marketplace, etc. God is going to send the Babylonians to destroy you unless you change your ways. But, oh yeah, after a while, God will restore the nation to the land, destroy all our enemies and will reign over us in righteousness and there will be peace in the land forever.

I guess the Bible would be a lot shorter. It wouldn't be very interesting to read either. I'm glad they wrote the way they did. The short way would only appeal to our intellect. But the way they have written has emotional impact as well. I think it makes it more convicting.

Organizing a book:

Many of the prophetic books are anthologies. They are the accumulation of several years of messages and they are not always a cohesive unit with a distinct pattern. Sometimes we can find a macro structure or argument to a book. But it is not always present. Hosea is a good example.

From 4:-13: there is a cyclical pattern of sin, judgment and restoration and it is difficult to find a distinct movement through the book.

When you outline the prophets you find that they all have the same basic ingredients:

• Warning of impending judgment because of the nations sinfulness
• Description of the sin
• Description of the coming judgment
• A call for repentance
• A promise of future deliverance

If you want to outline a prophetic book how do you recognize where one unit begins and ends?¹

• They use introductory or concluding formula—"This is what the Lord says..."
• They use inclusio—begin and end a section with the same word or phrase.
• They use several common literary forms:

A Judgment speech which is made up of two parts:

Part One—Accusation

Part Two—The judgment

A Woe oracle—like a judgment speech, except that it starts with "Woe..."

Exhortation/ call to repentance—consists of appeal with motivation (in the form of a promise and/or threat). (Amos 5:4-6; Joel 2:12-14)

Salvation announcement—often alludes to a lamentable situation and focuses on the Lord's saving intervention (Amos 9:11-12)

Salvation oracle—introduced by the exhortation "fear not" (Isa 41:8-16)

Salvation portrayal—a description, often idealized and in hyperbolic terms, of God's future blessings on his people (Amos 9:13).

Relevance

Here are some bad examples of teachers making the prophets relevant. Hopefully we can do a better job of it. OOPS! someone pointed out that it looks like the prophetic telescope below is a bad example.... see the powerpoint for the cartoons I was referring to.

The Prophetic Telescope:

Another thing we need look at is how the prophets looked at the future. For most of the prophets, their eschatology (or view of the future) was divided into now and then. What we have learned through the progress of revelation is that there are actually long periods of time between some of the future events predicted by the prophets. I think it was Chrysostum, a 4th century scholar, who first proposed this model, but this is what is often what is going on when a prophet tells of future events. Although he sees the details as part of the same event, there may in fact be separate events. When people fail to recognize this fact, they end up confusing the first and second coming of Christ and other important events.

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1 Notes from Hebrew class, Dr. Robert Chisholm, Spring 1993.

Introduction

Hosea the Prophet

Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. He preached to the northern kingdom. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to Israel and Ephraim. Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as Ephraim.

Hosea's Marriage (1:2-3:5)

Hosea was commanded to take a wife who would become a prostitute as an example of God's relationship with Israel. Hosea was to manifest God's patience and love. Some wonder if Gomer was already a prostitute when they got married or if she became unfaithful later. They think that it presents a moral dilemma. Would God really command his prophet to marry someone that, according to Deuteronomy 22:20 was supposed to be stoned?

Deuteronomy 22:20 “But if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, 22:21 then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel, by playing the harlot in her father's house; thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”

I have heard the arguments that she became unfaithful after they were married, and they are pretty good too. The phrase “adulterous wife” is similar to the phrase “quarrelsome wife.” You don't typically go out and marry a quarrelsome person. You marry someone whom you think is nice and will make you happy and find out later that they aren't so nice. So it may mean, “Go marry a woman who will prove to be unfaithful.”

But, if I had to cast my vote on the subject, I would say she was already a prostitute for the following two reasons:

• I think the most straightforward understanding of the text is that she was a prostitute when Hosea married her. God often asked the prophets to do some difficult things. I think it was Isaiah who had to go around naked for a time to illustrate a point.
• I also think Hosea’s marriage is a picture of God’s relationship with Israel. Hosea’s choice of a prostitute was exactly like God’s choice of Abraham. Abraham was just another sinner like the rest of the people in the world. He did not deserve to be chosen. But that isn’t what the Jews thought. They thought Abraham was special because of his own merit and upright character. (cf. Jubilees 11:14f, 12:1f OT Pseudepigrapha vol 2, p. 79-80,Charlesworth) God may be using Hosea’s marriage to a prostitute to make this point. We will see later that the Israelites thought God owed them blessing. Why else would someone think that, unless they thought they were special through some merit of their own.

Outline of the Book

It is hard to outline the prophetic books because the prophets alternate between listing sins, predicting judgment and then promising restoration, it is hard to pick out the macro structure or “big picture.” Hosea is probably the hardest.

One way to outline the book is as follows:

In the first three chapters we see Hosea's marriage to the prostitute, Gomer. His marriage to the unfaithful wife is to be an example of God's relationship with the unfaithful nation of Israel. In the first three chapters we alternate between the events in Hosea's message and God's explanation of how those events relate to the nation.

In 4-14: we see Hosea's message of warning to the nation of Israel. I think you can see a parallel between the three sections describing Hosea's marriage and the major sections in the last part of the book, within these individual sections, we have several “mini” sermons which themselves alternate between the listing of the sins, the pronouncement of judgment, the call to repentance and the promise of restoration.

If you keep that in mind as you study the book, it will help keep you from getting lost in the details.

The Problem

The Sin of Jeroboam

Hosea prophesied during the reign of seven kings. Of these seven kings, five of them are listed here in our passage. A couple of the ones that followed Jeroboam didn't reign very long, so that may be why he left them out. Five of these seven kings are said to have continued in the sin of the first Jeroboam. 2 Kings 14:24, 15:9, 15:18, 24, 28, 17:21-23 all say the same thing about these kings:

“And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.”

What was this terrible sin that Jeroboam committed?

We need to turn to 1 Kings 12:26-29 for an explanation.

The context: After death of Solomon, the nation divided. (931 BC) Rehoboam was king of Judah in the south and Jeroboam was king Israel in the north.

Jeroboam is thinking to himself that he will lose power if people are allowed to go back to Jerusalem to worship God. I think Jeroboam knew that God did not want a divided kingdom, but he didn't care. Hosea 1:11 talks about future restoration and shows that God will one day reunite Israel and Judah.

In verse 28 we see that Jeroboam devised a way to stop that. He gave the Israelites a new god--golden calves. So is this the sin of Jeroboam--starting national idol worship in Israel? Well, yes, but how does that apply to us. Since we don't worship golden calves, does that let us off the hook? What is the timeless principle that we can conclude from this?

The sin of Jeroboam was that he sought to achieve his own personal agenda. He put himself and his desires before God and distorted God in order to do so. Then he avoided having to face how wrong he was by changing his understanding of God.

PRINCIPLE: Encountering God as He is invariably changes our personal agendas.

If Jeroboam had really been worshipping God, he would have seen God's glory and his own sinfulness and wanted to do God's will, even if that meant reuniting the kingdom. And as mentioned earlier, Hosea 1:11 shows that that was God’s will.

So Jeroboam never really encountered God during his required temple worship times. He didn't have a relationship with God, and to keep the rest of the nation from having a relationship with God he set up idol worship.

Jeroboam wanted the power for himself. And to make matters worse, he took a whole nation down with him. That is what makes his sin so great.

Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us a great contrast to Jeroboam and a great example of someone who was changed because of his encounter with God. After Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he recognized his sinfulness and when God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!”

So, when Hosea lists these kings at the beginning of his book, I think it is more than a way to place the chronological occurrence of his book. It is a way to emphasize the spiritual climate in which he is ministering. It is also foundational to understanding the problems Hosea will deal with in his book.

The Sin of Jehu

The word Jezreel means “God scatters.” This name is probably indicative of the fact that God was going to punish and scatter the nation for its sinfulness. I think it also has a double meaning since God says He is going to punish the house of Jehu for what he did at the valley of Jezreel.

1:4: What was so bad about what Jehu did at Jezreel? If you read the story about Jehu in 1 and 2 Kings, you see that God told Jehu to destroy Ahab's family. (Ahab was husband of the well known Jezebel and they promoted Baal worship in Israel. If you'll remember, Elijah was the prophet that prophesied to them.)

Many think the attitude expressed by the Lord (Hosea 1:4) contradicts the accounts in 1 and 2 Kings. But a closer examination of the historical record suggests a resolution to the problem. Jehu also killed Joram (2 Kings 9:24), Ahaziah, king of Judah (2 Kings 9:27-28), 42 of Ahaziah's relatives (2 Kings 10:12-14), and several functionaries of the Baal cult (2 Kings 10:18-28). Though the execution of Baal's servants was certainly in accord with the Lord's will (cf. 1 Kings 18:40), Jehu's attack on the house of David went too far. (BKCOT, p. 1380)

Notice 2 Kings 10:31 shows us that Jehu continued in the sins of Jeroboam. Jehu went beyond the call of duty. Not only did he kill the sons of Ahab, he killed all possible competition to the throne and claimed God's sanction for doing it. 2 Kings 10:28-29 shows that Jehu kept the golden calf worship. Why? Probably for the same reason as Jeroboam.

The Problem Explained

If we read between the lines in these references to Jeroboam and Jehu, we see the real problem. The problem was that they were pursuing their own agendas or goals and they changed their concept of God in the process because it was too painful to have the real God around.

Application: Are our own agendas more important than God? We need to recognize that we usually have internal agendas that are deeper than our worship experience. How often do we sit in church and think about other things?

For that matter, why do you go to church? For some people church is just a social club, for some it might be a place to make business contacts. Real estate and insurance folks find lots of people in the church that trust them because they go to their church. Some might go to maintain a certain reputation. I know from my past Air Force experience that Wing Commanders went to the chapel to set the example. They didn't dare stay home nor did they dare go to a church off base. And some people went to the chapel because the Wing CC went and they wanted to rub shoulders with him there.

Can you think of any other hidden agendas that are more important than God?

What is amazing is that we can come to church and pretend to worship and the whole time we really don't get in tune with God. We don't really worship God. We just go through the motions. We don't change our personal agendas, we just leave this building and go back to our same old lifestyle.

DO WE DISTORT OUR CONCEPT OF GOD?

If we cling to these agendas, we emphasize whatever about God fits our purposes. And we lose an accurate picture of who God is. This can be seen in 1 Kings 12:27 - Jeroboam knew that if the people had worshipped God then they would have done what God wanted and re-united the kingdom.

Jeroboam and the Jews changed God into a calf so that He was no longer a Holy God, but just some impotent object that sanctioned their own agendas of pursuing wealth and pleasure.

We have a tendency to pursue our own agendas and our own well-being by changing God into something that we think will help us meet our goals. Maybe we don't turn God into a golden calf, but we have other images of God that do the same thing:

• Some people think of God as a higher power. Star Wars made it popular by calling it “the Force.” The New Age movement just refers to it as a higher power, but what is significant is that God has been changed into this higher power which is just there to help people achieve their own goals. All you have to do is “tap into that higher power” to do whatever you want. Just visualize it and it will happen.
• Or maybe our concept of God is not so obviously wrong. Instead we make God into the grandfather image. What do I mean by the grandfather image? God is seen as the kind, loving grandfather, sitting in heaven and not really concerned with what his grandchildren are doing. You know that typically it is the grandparents who spoil the children and let them do what they want and it is the parents who have to discipline them. We want a grandfather God who will indulge and spoil us and not make us obey the rules.
• Maybe we have a genie image of God. This is one that makes God into someone who we can pray to for things we want.

Can you think of other images of God? What kind of a God do you have?

Lo-ruhamah (1:6-7)

This means “no compassion.” The name of Hosea's second child was to remind people that God says He is not going to have compassion on the nation of Israel any more. But God would have compassion on Judah. vs 7 says they would not be delivered by bow, sword, etc. After the Assyrians defeated the northern kingdom of Israel, they turned on the southern kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians conquered almost every little town in the southern kingdom, but the night before they were to attack Jerusalem, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers mysteriously died in their sleep. The next morning the army fled home.

Lo-ammi (1:8-9)

Lo-ammi means “not my people.” Again, just a reminder of God's disowning them.

Israel's Future Restoration (1:10-2:1)

Despite God's discipline, God tells Hosea that He will eventually restore the nation in the following ways:

• Numerical growth (1:10a)
• Spiritual restoration (1:10b)
• National unification (1:11a)
• Administrative centralization (1:11b)
• Territorial occupation (1:11c)
• Divine blessing (2:1)

Look at these promises. Have they been fulfilled yet? No. Dispensationalists use passages like these where God makes these types of promises to Israel to base their belief in a literal future kingdom where Israel will occupy the land in peace and experience the blessings of God. If you don't believe in a millenium, you have to ignore these passages or say that they have already been fulfilled in history or are going to be fulfilled in the church.

The Symptoms of the Problem

How do we know if we have the same problem that Jeroboam had - that Jehu had - that all of Israel had?

Gomer is our object lesson. Gomer was a picture of Israel. We need to see if we are like Gomer. What was Gomer? She was a prostitute.

The Adulterous Look (2:2--23)

Hosea 2:2 What is the “adulterous look on her face?” (NIV)

There are a couple other parallel passages we should look at to help us understand this “adulterous look.” Then we will come back to Hosea.

Proverbs 7:6-22

Proverbs 7:6-22 Here we see a harlot who is cunning of heart. This woman thought her actions would satisfy her soul and she was out and about accomplishing her own goals. She thought her actions would do something for her own soul, but in fact, her actions would destroy relationships.

In verse 11 she is described by the words “boisterous” and “rebellious” - these are not descriptions of a feminine wife. It says, “her feet do not remain at home.” This is opposite from Paul's description of godly women who are “workers at home” in Titus 2:5.

In verse 13 it says she has a “brazen face.” This is the same look of adultery as in Hosea 2:2.

Notice also that she hides behind religious activity - vs 14-18. This reminds us that we can't tell from the outside what the true condition of the heart is. She was just going through the motions.

In verse 19 it says, “for the man is not at home...” We may be carrying the analogy too far but Israel and the church are often seen as the bride of God, so “the man” could be God. This is like saying God is not here, He can't fulfill me and so she is out to find fulfillment by her own resources.

But the truth is - God is here. He is always here and He can fulfill us.

Jeremiah 3:1-5

Jeremiah 3:1-5 shows us another example of Israel playing the harlot.

Jeremiah 3:3 says, “You had a harlot's forehead..” This is the same adulterous look of Hosea 2: But we have a good description of what this adulterous look is all about:

The Symptoms

Not Recognizing God as the Source of Life

First we need to back up to Jeremiah 2:27 to set the context. There we see further descriptions of their sinfulness and how they “had their own way.” It says, “They say to a tree, `You are my father' and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’” But in a time of trouble, they will say, ‘Arise and save us.’”

Ryrie points out that the words “tree” and “stone” refer to things used in the worship of Baal. So it seems more appropriate to apply this to how they looked to Baal to give them life and happiness. For us it refers to how we look to things or our spouses to give us life. We depend on our own efforts to make life work and when things don't work, we expect God to come through.

Dryness

Then we see in Jeremiah 3:3 that the rains have been withheld. This is the same punishment as mentioned in Hosea 2:3. There is more significance to this than just the fact that God's punishment was to keep it from raining. This is a symbol of the bareness and desert-like condition of our souls when we try to live by our own means, playing the harlot with everything else and forsaking God.

Their plans did not satisfy them. This shows us that our own efforts are not going to work. They are going to lead to dryness. What was their response?

Pride

“You refused to be ashamed.” is a significant phrase because it shows one of the symptoms of the problem. What is another word for “refusing to be ashamed?” Pride. They thought they could do it on their own and when they failed, they didn't return to God apologetically or humbly. They came pridefully and angrily. We see what they said in verses 4-5.

Expecting God To Bless Us

What they say in verses 4-5 is amazing. They ask God why He hasn't blessed them. They don't see what they are doing wrong. But God shows at the end of verse 5 that “they have had their way.” They have been following their own agendas.

Anger - Blaming God

This is not actually stated, but it is implied throughout the passage in both Jeremiah and in Hosea. And it is what naturally happens when a proud person doesn't get what he expects.

So in Jeremiah we see that they had a harlot's forehead. They saw no inconsistency in their actions and were not ashamed.

Back to Hosea 2:

We've already discussed the symptoms in our outline while in Jeremiah so we'll just run through the verses in Hosea 2:

In verse 3 we see the dryness that we talked about in Jeremiah 3.

In verse 5 we see that they pursued their own interests thinking that that would satisfy. They thought that would bring happiness.

Verses 6-7 show us that our methods don't work. It says, “she will pursue her lovers but not overtake them.” God causes our own methods to fail to lead us back to Him.

Perhaps a good example of how we can pursue happiness in things is having the idea that having enough money will satisfy. But even when Rockefeller was once asked how much money was enough, do you know what his answer was? He said, “A little more.”

In verse 8 we see a reference to grain, wine and oil. Baal was the Canaanite god who supposedly controlled storms and was responsible for both agricultural and human fertility. The Canaanite “Legend of Keret” associated Baal's rain with agricultural blessing in the form of grain, bread, wine, and oil (cf. J.C.L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1978, p. 98).

So this shows that they didn't recognize that God was the true source of their blessings, and in the same way, we don't recognize that God is the true source of happiness and all that we have

The last part of verse 8 says, “which they used for Baal.” They even took the things that God had given them and used them to worship another god. In the same way we can take something God has given us and use it to pursue whatever we think will bring us happiness.

What is even worse is when we even recognize that God gave us something, like the gift of Pastor or money or whatever, and then not depend on God as we exercise our gift or use the money, etc. We actually use it to serve our own purposes. We do just like the text says, We “use it for Baal.”

Application: How does all this we have talked about apply to us?

Israel was pretty bad. They totally forsook God. We often compare ourselves to them and think we aren't nearly so bad. We certainly haven't totally forsaken God. We certainly don't worship golden calves. Maybe we don't worship golden calves, but we have other false concepts of God and other things we seek after. Maybe we don't totally forsake God, but we mix our dependence on God with our dependence on other things.

We see nothing wrong with depending on our own resources and depending on our bank account, our work, our wife, our kids, our ministry to fulfill us. We only use God as a Force or Genie to help us in our pursuits. Listen to your prayers. How many times do you ask God to “HELP” you do something. When you do that are you saying that you can do most of it ... that you just need a little help to finish the task? It is man's natural tendency to want to make it on his own. Our natural tendency is to want to earn our salvation by being good. But even after we recognize that salvation is totally by faith, we still want to have lists of do's and don'ts. We think if we change our behavior we will be able to accomplish what we want. Whether it is overcoming depression or some bad habit.

We are determined to pursue our own self-interests, so we redefine God. We have decided what it means to really enjoy life - for most of us that is having enough money so we can buy all the things we think will make us happy - so we expect God to bless us.

For others it might be that perfect relationship with the opposite sex, because we think that person will be able to fill our deep longings, so we expect God to bring along the perfect mate. And when He does, and the marriage is not perfect like we had planned, What do we do? What do you do? When you pray for something and you don't get it, who do you blame? Do you blame God?

Personal Example:

When we lived in Germany we had plenty of money, job security. We were pillars of the church: I was chairman of Deacons, an adult SS teacher. My wife was the Nursery coordinator. We had great friends who like us had also been separated from family and friends in the U.S. and so were ready to make new friends.

We thought we trusted God, but we weren't sure, because we didn't need to. We had too many resources that we could depend on. But God decided to take away those resources and cause a little dryness in our lives:

• He allowed me to get a hernia/strain while moving a piano and then I couldn't depend on my one ace in the hole resource of being a carpenter again while going to seminary.
• The doctor bills were phenomenal that year. Both my son and daughter had at least 12 ear infections that year.
• I couldn't find a job.
• We couldn't find a church we liked.
• We never found any close friends.
• We had no money.

What was my response to all this? Even in the midst of studying about God and filling my head with knowledge about God, when the problems and trials came, and there were a number of them, I found myself thinking and saying things like...”God caused my children to have another ear infection to drain our finances ...” or “God caused the car to break down to drain our finances ...” etc. When I didn't get the job I thought I should have and the money was not coming in like I thought it should have, I felt like God was letting us down. I couldn't understand why he let me get the hernia last summer which kept me from getting any jobs that required physical work.

I had grown up hearing stories from Mom and Dad and my missionary aunts and uncles of how God provided the things that they really needed miraculously. They got checks in the mail for the exact amount of their rent or whatever. I guess I was expecting that. And I was actually blaming God for the problems and feeling like He wasn't coming through for us. At times I even thought it was unfair that I would give up a good Air Force career to serve God full time as though He owed it to me. Some guys I know are able to go to seminary without working at all because they are supported by some big church, or Campus Crusade or they are financially independent. God decided not to send us through seminary like that and I guess I thought He should have, after all, look what I was doing for Him...

I had redefined God. God was unfair. I was too proud to recognize that we live in a fallen world and people get hernias, babies have ear infections, cars break down, people have to work for a living and jobs are hard to find.

I was saying I will trust God and I expect Him to come through, because I'm doing good. But the basis for God's good is not our good works, because we could never earn God's favor. Our best efforts could only earn us a place in hell. It is purely God's grace that anything good ever happens to us. The bad things in life happen because we live in a fallen world and that is man's fault.

Somehow we get the idea that our trouble obligates God. Notice Jer 2:27 again where it says, “In the time of trouble they will say, “Arise and save us.” But our trouble does not obligate God. We deserve all the bad things that come our way. We live in an evil world which is the result of man's sinfulness. God is completely justified in destroying all of us. It is only because of His grace that He doesn't.

So don't get overwhelmed by the trouble and the evil in the world and wonder why God isn't fixing things. Instead be amazed and overwhelmed that God doesn't send us all to hell. It is a wonder that God sent his son to save us.

The unashamed look of the prostitute doesn't recognize that. The unashamed prostitute says, God ought to come through and change my husband, or get my kid off of drugs. He owes this to me. When God doesn't do everything we want, we feel we are justified in resolving our problems by our own method and we redefine God to make our actions ok.

Instead we need to be ashamed at our actions, our unbelief and our lack of trust. Recognize that if we don't, our actions and our dependence on circumstances are going to lead us to a life of spiritual dryness, because we do not have the living water refreshing us.

Review: What is the problem?

Basically our problem is putting ourselves first. Like Jeroboam, Jehu and Gomer we seek after our own interests and ignore or distort God in the process.

What are the symptoms?

• We don't recognize God is the source of life, and we pursue the things we think will satisfy.
• We experience a dryness in our soul because our own methods do not work. They do not satisfy.
• We are proud and don't recognize our sin.
• We expect God to bless us because we think we deserve it because we think we are good. We think He owes us.
• We blame God when things don't go just the way we want them to.

So, ask yourself if you are guilty of doing this.

What is God's response to all this?

God's Response

Restoration (2:14-23)

What is God's reaction to Israel forgetting Him in vs 13? After describing their sin and bringing them to the wilderness, vss 14-23 show that God is also merciful and now he is enticing them back to Him. God uses these wilderness experiences to bring us closer to Himself.

I think God's response shows us two things :

(1) We are secure in God's love for us. In their book The Language of Love, Gary Smalley and John Trent say that one of the pillars of a good relationship is security - knowing that you are loved. And certainly God's perfect love is demonstrated by the fact that He still loves us when we keep running away and by the fact that He sent His son to die for us.

(2) In our ugliness, God doesn't beat us. He entices us with what we deeply want. He knows we thirst and He offers living water. He knows we feel ugly and want to be enjoyed and He offers perfect love. He knows we want to be perfectly accepted, and He perfectly accepts us. What we deeply long for can only be met in God.

I think most of you are familiar with Larry Crabb. So you may be familiar with what he describes as the three areas of needs:

Casual longings	for convenience, comfort and personal preference. We prefer that it not rain on our picnics and fishing trips. We don't want the car to break down.
Critical longings	for meaningful human relationships. We want to see relatives come to know Christ. We want to see sick relatives regain their health. We want to have a great marriage...
Crucial longings	which are the deep thirsts of our innermost being. What satisfies our casual and critical longings could never satisfy our crucial longings. Only Christ can fulfill this.

Although the story of the woman at the well in John 4: is about salvation, the setting and Christ's words show us this same principle. Christ told the woman at the well that whoever drinks of the well water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of Christ's water will never thirst. The only thing that will ever satisfy these crucial longings is a relationship with God.

Only God can meet those crucial longings, but we spend all our energy trying to fill the first two categories not realizing that if we work on the relationship with God, He will take care of the rest.

Notice in Hosea 2:14 that He leads them into the wilderness or desert. He must first lead us to the place where we are dried up in our own resources. Then we will be more likely to turn to God.

It also occurred to me that when the children of Israel were in the desert, what did they do for food? God gave them manna. How much did he give them? Just enough to get by. The shoes on their feet didn't wear out, etc. God didn't give them a surplus, but He provided for their needs. I think there is a parallel between what they went through and what we sometimes go through.

When God leads us into the desert, we need to understand He isn't taking good things away from us. He is taking away things that we thought were good for us, so that all we will have left is what really is good for us, and so we will depend on Him.

What is the result of being in the desert?

2:14 says He speaks kindly to her. I think being in the desert makes us more receptive to God's kind words.

2:15 shows that God will bless them. The valley of Achor was not a good memory for Israel. That was where Achan committed his sin and God caused the Israelites to be defeated by Ai. But God can turn our times of defeat into a time of hope. He did so at Achor. After the Israelites stoned Achan and got right with God, they were able to defeat Ai.

Hosea 2:15 says “she will sing there.” What kind of song will she sing? Look back to Ex 15: where the nation sang a song about their deliverance from the Pharaoh and the miracle of the Red Sea. This is the song she sang in her youth. It is totally about God. Too often the testimonies we hear today are about how I am no longer doing drugs or how I can now behave as a Christian should. The song they will sing and the song we need to sing is one that is so focused on God that it leads to forgetting self.

2:16 says they will call God “Ishi” which means husband and not “Baali” which means owner or master. I think that speaks for itself. It is an excellent word picture to describe a new and better relationship with God.

The necessary ingredient for us to change from our independence - the solution to our problem of pride - is having a relationship with God. We can know that God loves us perfectly, that He accepts us the way we are. We can be secure in Him and depend on Him. The solution is having a relationship with Him.

In Hosea 1: God breaks Hosea's heart to prepare him for ministry. He learns that his wife is going to be a prostitute. Certainly this broke his heart. And he learns that God's attitude toward His people is heartbreak. He learns how to have God's heart.

In Hosea 2: we see what is going to happen in the future. How Israel will sin, how God will respond and how Israel will finally return to God and have the relationship with Him that they were supposed all along.

In Hosea 3: we get back to the present and we see that God wants Hosea to demonstrate and to understand His grace. So He tells Hosea to buy Gomer back and to live with her without any physical encounters whatsoever. This is significant! Why? Because this passage shows us the process for restoration to God. There are two simple steps in the process. They are simple to say, but not simple to do.

The Solution

Stop Depending on Our Own Resources

What was Gomer's way of earning a living? It was her body. It was the way she had always earned the love and acceptance of others - or so she thought. Notice now, Hosea is telling her she is going to live with him without using the one thing she thought she had that could earn his love. He is showing her that his love for her is not dependent on what she can do. His love is dependent on his character. All that she had going for her, he stripped from her.

3:4 In the same way, Israel was going to be stripped of all the things they thought were making them acceptable. Their king, their idolatry, their national sovereignty, etc. would be taken away. There was going to be a time when God would strip away all the illusions.

Just like Gomer was forced to live with Hosea without depending on her own resources for coping with life and manipulating those around her, we also need to learn to stop depending on our own resources.

3:5. After a period of time ... After living without what they thought they needed for life... Then they “come trembling” to God. That is the proper response. Not to come proud... Not to come with the attitude of, “I need a little help here...” “I'm doing fine but I owe $500 and only have $200, why don't you provide the difference.” We need to really tremble and totally depend on God.

That brings us to the second step. Step 1 was to stop depending on ourselves.

Start Depending on God

We don't want to depend completely on God because we fear that He won't come through. We really don't believe He is in control. We really don't believe He knows what is best for us. So we decide what is best for us and we try to control our life with whatever resources we think we have.

How do you depend on God?

What is the most common command given to us in the NT? To pray. Prayer shows dependence on God. Prayer is the communication that builds a relationship with God.

Most of you have spent enough time in a Bible teaching church that you know the facts, but what might be missing in your lives and what is often missing in my life is that quiet time when we just pray.

I know I am often too busy to make time for that, and I think that is what makes us spiritual. It is not how much we know. It is how much time we spend in prayer and communication with God. Prayer is where we encounter God.

Hosea's Message
(4:1-14:9)

We've just seen how Hosea's marriage was a living illustration of God's relationship with Israel. Now we are given several messages that describe Israel's adultery and sinfulness, their judgment and the promise of their ultimate restoration to God. It is difficult to outline this section because it is cyclical in nature. Perhaps this is Hosea's recording of many sermons given over several years.

Israel's Unfaithfulness and Resulting Judgment (4-13)

One of the favorite literary methods for a prophet to proclaim his message was in the format of a legal trial or lawsuit. That is what Hosea does here.

He begins by saying, “Listen up Israel!” “God has a 'courtcase' against you.”

There are three things he deals with. The English smooths this out, but in the Hebrew there is an emphasis on the lack of three things because he repeats the “There is no...”

There is no faithfulness There is no loyalty-love There is no knowledge or acknowledgement of God in the land

Jr#a*h* yb@v=w{y-mu! hw`hyl^ byr! yK! tm#a$-/ya@ yK! ds#j#-/ya@w+ .Jr#a*B* <yh!l)a$ tu^D~-/ya@w+

Throughout chapters 4-13 Hosea list numerous examples of how these things are lacking in the nation of Israel.

No knowledge of God (4:1-5:15)

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This is the most misquoted passage in the Bible. I've even heard it quoted by health food nuts to support their agenda. Lack of what knowledge? Look at the context - 4:1 says “there is no knowledge of God in the land.” Knowledge of God is the context. The word also means to acknowledge. I think both definitions are appropriate:

• Because of their idolatry, they had failed to learn about God, and as a result they did not know God. They did not have a relationship with Him.
• Also it should be obvious by now that they did not acknowledge God either. They did not acknowledge that it was God who was responsible for their prosperity and it was God to whom they were responsible. Chisholm points out that the word “know” was “used in Ancient Near Eastern treaties of an inferior party’s attitude toward his superior.” He was to recognize the superior’s authority over him and do his will. God’s will was that they act a certain way and they should have. (Biblical Theology of the OT, p. 400)
• Jeremiah 22:15-16 equates Josiah’s concern for social justice with knowing God. Josiah knew God, recognized his responsibility to God and acted on it. It is the same thing we see over and over again --in the law, in the prophets, in the Sermon on the Mount - your relationship with people shows your relationship with God. It shows whether or not you know God.

4:15-17. Israel was more degenerate than Judah and Hosea is warning Judah to stay away from Israel and not to follow in her footsteps.

No loyalty-love (6:1-11:11)

6:4 is a good summary verse for the book of Hosea. God is exasperated with Israel because there is no loyalty. vs 6 says, it is the heart - “loyalty” - which matters not external ritual. It is knowledge of God - relationship with God - that matters, not external ritual.

7:7 shows us that they did not call on God. They depended on foreign alliances (their own resources) rather than God.

7:11 They will do anything and try anything rather than depend on God. Even go to their enemies for help.

7:16 says they turn, but not upward. Does this remind you of you and me turning from one thing to another, searching for something to make us happy, something to provide our needs?

8:2 gives me the impression that they are going to God with the attitude of, “God, you owe me! Come through for me.”

No Faithfulness (11:12-13:16)

13:1-2 There is much in Hosea about Baal worship. It is important to understand the thought and practice that went with Baal worship. Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility. The earth was viewed as female and Baal was the male that fertilized her and was supposedly responsible for the rain and plentiful crops. The people thought that they could “arouse” Baal if they performed sex acts in his temple. So temple prostitutes were plentiful. You can see how conveniently this practice pandered to the lusts of the flesh with the result that it destroyed marriage and family life. It also was sinister in that the people thought they could manipulate God.

But nothing could be further from the truth. God was in control and He was going to show them by drying up the land and having the very nations they depended on for security destroy them.

13:5-6 shows us the principle - When things are tough, we have a tendency to depend on God, but when life is easy, we forget Him.

No one illustrates this better than Jacob. Hosea thinks so too. He mentions Jacob in 12:2-4. If we turn to Hosea 12:2-4 we see a good example of someone who came to the end of their rope - to the end of their own resources and finally began to trust in God. Hosea 12:4 says Jacob wept and begged for God's blessing. This is the same attitude of trembling that Hosea mentions in 3:5. Because Hosea mentions Jacob as an example, let's digress a little and look at Jacob's life and what caused him to weep and beg God:

Genesis 24:

What does it mean to come trembling before the Lord? Jacob's broken cistern was manipulating people. In modern language Jacob came from a real dysfunctional family. Jacob's mother had problems. When twins are born, she picks the non-hairy weaker looking one to possess. She takes over his life and arranges everything for him. She arranges for him to get the blessing, she arranges for his deliverance from Esau by sending him to her brother Laban, telling him everything will work out fine.

In Genesis 24:15 the marriage arrangements made by Abraham's servant for Isaac and Rebekah are all made between Laban and Jacob. Why? The father is not dead. Bethuel is only mentioned in vs 15 as being the father and in verse 50 where he just acquiesses and gives permission for Abraham's servant to take Rebekah. All the negotiations were made with Laban. I don't think it is reading too much into the text to conclude that Bethuel was an uninvolved father. We can see the results in Rebekah. She had no advocate, so she took over and became a controlling woman. She took over the family.

What about Isaac? If you read Genesis and look for all the things Isaac did. You'll find that he really didn't do anything significant.

I was making a chart of Genesis and plotting the main characters or patriarchs to show what their main contribution and character were, and all I could come up with to describe Isaac was “Passive Acceptance.” He accepted his father's near sacrifice of him, which is good, but the main point of that event is Abraham's faith. And Isaac did nothing else of significance in the whole book.

All this weakness in Isaac let Rebekah take over. It was her natural tendency and Isaac's natural tendency. So she took over the family and Jacob's life.

Jacob adopted his mother's controlling nature and became a manipultor to get his way. His whole life is a series of manipulations - bargaining for his birthright, tricking Isaac for the blessing, the whole episode with Laban.

What did God do to Jacob when He wanted to get hold of Jacob's life? He revealed Himself to him. God revealed Himself to Jacob 7 times. He showed Jacob that he had a problem. Sure, it was shaped by your dysfunctional family, but that is not the problem and there is no one to blame but yourself. So don't think you are just a victim. Jacob's problem was he thought he could make it on his own without God. He had reacted wrongly to his upbringing. His upbringing was no excuse.

That is something we really need to emphasize because of the way our society thinks. We are not helpless victims. We either react wrongly to our environment or we act correctly in spite of our environment.

In Genesis 32: we have the account of the wrestling match with God. Jacob is coming back to meet Esau and is wondering how his brother is going to react. When he left the land Esau was trying to kill him. He has sent his servants ahead (vs 3-5), bearing gifts to bribe Esau. He had resources he could use to save himself.

In verse 6 the messengers come back and say that Esau is coming to meet them with 400 men. It looks like Esau is bringing warriors to destroy them.

In verses 7-8 we see that Jacob devises another plan to save himself. He decides to divide his family putting Leah and her children and servants in one group and Rachel and her children and servants in another group. That way he can cut his losses if one group is destroyed.

Verses 9-12 show Jacob praying to God for deliverance. It looks like Jacob is going to finally give up and depend on God, but verses 13-23 show that he was really still trying to control the situation and save himself.

So I went back and re-studied his prayer in verses 9-12. It may be my imagination, but I think Jacob is trying to manipulate God in his prayer.

In verse 9 he is claiming God's promise that He would bless Jacob.

In vs 10 he gives God the credit for his prosperity and then he again claims God's promise to bless him in verses 11-12. It seemed to me that Jacob was almost saying to God, “Come through for me God. You promised me. You owe me!”

So I don't think his prayer was one of total dependence on God. Verse 13 proves it when we see he is going to continue with his plan to bribe Esau and to divide his family into two groups.

But that night God, who is still trying to get through to Jacob, meets with Jacob. Verse 24 says, “Jacob was left alone.” It is such a little phrase, but I think it is very, very important. Jacob had been stripped of all that he had. He had run out of resources. Now he was ready to meet with God.

Verse 26 Why does God say let me go? Because daybreak would have revealed His face to Jacob and Jacob would have died. But Jacob won't let go. He says, “I won't let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob would rather die than live without God's blessing.

Jacob is at the end of his rope. His life is a mess. He is all alone, he has exhausted his own resources and has to face Esau alone. Life is intolerable unless he has God's blessing.

Perhaps that is an illustration of trembling -- having the attitude, “I'd rather die than live without God's blessing.”

Incidentally, after he meets with God, we turn to Genesis 33:3 and see that although he left the people divided into two groups, instead of hiding behind them, he now goes out in front of them to face Esau alone. He now is depending on God and not his own resources.

Israel's Restoration: God's Love and Mercy (14:)

After all is said and done, God will ultimately restore His people. He promised many things to Abraham, Jacob, David, etc. and He will keep His promises. How is restoration accomplished?

The method

14:1-3 give a great summary of what is involved in turning back to God.

14:1 - They have returned to the Lord because relying on their own methods and resources did not work.

14:2 - “take away all iniquity” - This is confession of sin.

“. . . receive us graciously” - this shows that they were no longer proud. They recognized that God didn't owe them. It was pure grace that God would have anything to do with them.

Why do they want God to receive them? So He will give them things? No. It says, “That we may present the fruit of our lips.” Their motive is a pure one -- It is so that they can worship Him. The want to have that relationship with Him that He wants with them.

14:3 shows us that they they finally recognize that their own resources will not satisfy them or save them. Assyria cannot. Egypt with all its horses cannot. Their idols cannot. They are not depending on their own resources. They are depending on God.

Now we get to the results:

The results

Results To Ourselves

14:4 “I will heal their apostasy.” Notice it is not their self-image that He will heal. Today all the talk is about improving your self-image. It is important to have a biblical self-image, but that is not the core problem. We've seen what the core problem is. And this shows us that the result to us will be healing.

But Christianity is not a selfish religion. We are not supposed to be self-centered. We are to be others centered. One of the reasons we should want to get well is so that we can serve others.

Results To Others

I think verses 5-7 deal with this principle. There is a a lot of plant and tree imagry - “blossom,” “take root,” “shoots will sprout,” “live in the shadow,” etc. Perhaps this is symbolic of what we will be like if we return to God and really worship Him as it says they did in verse 2. Hosea uses symbolism or another word picture which means we will be like a shade tree for others, where others find refreshment. We won't be VDPs (Very Draining People). People who manipulate others and use them to meet their needs. Instead we will be shade trees.

We need to face life honestly, evaluate how we are trying to use our own resources to cope and instead depend on God. As we do, we will learn joy, our roots will grow deeper and our shade will increase and we will refresh other people and not be VDPs.

Conclusion

My question to you is, what are you depending on? Is it money? Is it people? Are you proud? Have you been trying to do it own your own? Do you think you deserve God's favor? Do you blame God when your plans don't work out?

If you are guilty of this and I think we all are much of the time, the solution is recognizing that we have a problem, relinquishing our efforts to control life and really get to know God, and then, if we really know Him, we will be sure that He can and will take care of us better than we can ourselves. And then we will depend on Him.

Introduction

The Author: His name, “Joel,” means “Yahweh is God.” We know nothing else about him other than the name of his father.

The Date: The date is not specified within the book. What we use to determine the date, in that case, is internal evidence -- reference to various nations, events, etc. People have suggested dates from 835-400 B.C. The following things are used to pinpoint the date:

• The temple is functioning (1:9) Could have been before or after the exile. Not much help
• Judah is inhabited (1:2, 11, 14) Could have been before or after the exile. Also not much help.
• Jews trading with Sabeans (3:8). Some say the Sabeans and Greeks are the same and are also mentioned in Zech 9:13¹ so that is not conclusive.
• Tyre, Sidon, Egypt and Edom are mentioned as the enemies of Israel (3:19) Not conclusive because other exilic and postexilic prophets mentioned these same powers - Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Obadiah?, and Malachi.
• Joel is placed between Hosea and Amos in the canon. This is not much help because the arrangement was due to literary similarities to Amos.
• The destruction mentioned in 3:2-3 is so grim that surely it must refer to the Babylonian conquest. Some think this means it has to be after 586 B.C, but we've already discussed that logic in the dating of Obadiah.
• The discussion about pouring out His Spirit in Joel 2:28-29 seems to me to fit well with a final message of preparation for the coming kingdom.
• Assyria and Babylon are not mentioned at all, which makes one think they have not become a threat yet or perhaps they've come and gone.

So, it is impossible to tell for sure. It doesn’t affect the interpretation very much and where it does we will give both options.

The Purpose: Joel uses a recent drought and locust plague as an object lesson to warn of a future invasion of Israel in the Day of the Lord. If the nation will repent and return to the Lord, God will restore His relationship with her and bless her.

Destruction:
God's Response to the Nation's Sinfulness
(1:4-2:11)

Extent of Destruction by locusts (1:2-7)

Joel calls for recognition that the calamity is the result of God dealing with the nation of Israel.

Can you tell me another name for locusts? In Hebrew there are at least nine different names to indicate the different species and/or stages of maturity. What that tells us is that they had a real problem with locusts. But this locust plague was worse than ever. Verse 4 shows the complete devastation and thoroughness of the locust swarm. In the Hebrew Joel uses four different names for these swarming locusts, creeping locusts, etc. Some have tried to make something significant out of the different names, but it is probably just a poetic way to emphasize just how complete the devastation was.

Raymond Dillard, in his commentary on Joel gives the following information about locust plagues:

In our generation areas having the potential for a locust outbreak are monitored by international agencies using satellite reconnaissance and other technology; incipient swarms are met by aircraft and trucks carrying powerful pesticides. However, if the locusts are not destroyed or contained shortly after the hatch, once the swarm has formed, control efforts are minimally effective even today. For example, in 1988 the civil war in Chad prevented international cooperation in attacking the hatch, and a destructive swarm spread throughout North Africa devastating some of the poorest nations and threatening Europe as well. It is difficult for modern Western people to appreciate the dire threat represented by a locust plague in earlier periods. Such outbreaks had serious consequences for the health and mortality of an affected population and for a region's economy. Scarcity of food resulting from the swarm's attack would bring the population to subsistence intake or less, would make the spread of disease among a weakened populace easier, would eliminate any trade from surplus food products, and would stimulate high inflation in the costs of food products. Disease outbreaks are further aggravated when swarms die; the putrefaction of the millions of locust bodies breeds typhus and other diseases that spread to humans and animals (see the description in Augustine's City of God 3.31). Baron (Desert Locust, pp. 3-7) catalogues many locust outbreaks known to have been accompanied by outbreaks of pestilence.

It was only in 1921 that the mystery of the locust was solved. Prior to this date researchers wondered what became of the locust during the years in which there were no outbreaks. In 1921 B. P. Uvarov demonstrated that the swarming locust was none other than an ordinary species of grasshopper. However, when moisture and temperature conditions favored a large hatch, the crowding, unceasing contact, and jostling of the nymphs begin to stimulate changes in coloration, physiology, metabolism, and behavior, so that the grasshopper nymphs make the transition from solitary behavior to the swarming gregarious and migratory phases of the dreaded plague. Plagues continue as long as climatic conditions favor the large hatches. Once entering their gregarious phase, swarms, of locusts can migrate great distances and have even been observed twelve hundred miles at sea. The swarms can reach great sizes: a swarm across the Red Sea in 1889 was estimated to cover two thousand square miles. A swarm is estimated to contain up to 120 million insects per mile Baro Desert Locust, (Raymond Dillard, The Minor Prophets, “Joel,” p. 255-56).

People's Response to the Present Devastation (1:8-20)

Mourning (8-12 )

1:8 talks about a virgin mourning for her bridegroom. I remember a movie called The Promise with Kathleen Quinlan where she and here husband were married and on the way from the wedding to start their honeymoon, there was a wreck and she was supposedly killed. I remember being very overwhelmed with the tragedy.

Every individual is affected and mourns. One result of the devastation was that there was no grain to make offerings to the Lord, consequently, their sacrifices had to stop and their relationship with God was severed. Perhaps that was part of God's plan. Perhaps God didn't want their sacrifice. He wanted their hearts. cf. Micah 6:6-8

Fasting (13-14)

Here we see what their response should be to the devastation. There should be a call by the priests for corporate mourning, fasting and prayer. Some take the command for everyone to come to the house of the Lord as a clue that Joel is a postexilic prophet when the nation was small enough to actually do this. I don’t know if even the postexilic community could do this or not. It may just be a way of saying everyone needs to repent. They needed to go to God with their hearts.

Suffering of Man and Beast (1:15-20)

All of creation cries out to God. In verse 15 Joel says, “The day of the Lord is near.” He introduces the concept of the Day of the Lord here, but then goes on to elaborate on how bad the suffering is then. But he recognizes that the destruction by the locusts is only a shadow of what is to come. In chapter 2 he describes that destruction.

Description of Future Devastation and the Lord's Army (2:1-11)

The prophet now moves to a description of the coming army. Joel draws on the imagry of the locusts in chapter 1 to describe the invading army in the Day of the Lord. The soldiers will be as methodical and thorough as locusts. cf. 2:3-9.

Some think this refers to actual locusts because of all the similies. For example, in 2:4 it says their appearance is “like the appearance of horses” or in vs 5 “with a noise as of chariots.” Proponents of this argument say that if these were actual horses and chariots, Joel wouldn’t say “like” or “as.” But in Joel 1:15 he says the day of the Lord is near and it will come “as destruction from the Almighty.” It “is” destruction from the Almighty. Why did he use “as”? Perhaps the comparisons in 2:3-9 can be explained in the same way. Also, 2:20 says the army comes from the north. Typically, locusts invade from the south, and human armies almost always invade Israel from the north. These are not 100% rules, but almost.

If this refers to an actual invading army, then when does the invasion occur?

If one assumes that Joel was written around 850 BC, then the coming army could be the Assyrians or Babylonians. The following diagram would depict this view.

If a late date is correct, it could also be referring to an army that God would raise up if they did not repent.

He concludes the section with the statement, “The day of the Lord is indeed great and awesome, and who can endure it?” No one can endure it, so what are they to do? They need to repent and pray that God will have mercy on them.

Call for Repentance
(2:12-17)

No one can endure. The only thing to do is to repent. God wants the nation to corporately return to Him (vs 16) but that begins by internal repentance of individual's hearts (vs 13)

The motivation to repent is seen in vs. 13b. It is positive motivation. God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, etc. Time and time again God didn’t destroy the children of Israel even though they deserved it (eg. Ex 34:6).

Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)

This verse is usually quoted out of context to refer to God’s omnipotence, sovereignty, omniscience, etc. But look at the context it is written in – Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (NIV)

It is written in a context of forgiveness. It is not man’s way to forgive. When we are wronged, we hold grudges, we feel like the offender owes us and we want him to pay us back. But God is gracious, and He forgives.

Notice that Joel does not presume on God’s soveriegnty and mercy. In vs. 14 he says, “Who knows whether God will turn and relent.” Sometimes things have become so bad that God must still judge. However, if you do repent, the judgment might be postponed or lessened. For example, in 2Ki 21 Manasseh was such a bad king that God said he would definitely destroy Israel. However, Manasseh’s son, Josiah, was a godly king, and God postponed the destruction until after his death.

2:15. What is a fast? Why do people fast? I think fasting shows that there is some issue that you are dealing with that is so important or so distressing that you aren’t interested in food. vs 15 says they are to have a “solemn assembly.” Fasting is not some ritual or routine you go through once a month so you can mark it off on your checklist of spirituality.

2:16. Why does he mention infants, bridegrooms and brides in vs 16? These are three members of society who are not typically sad and mournful, but even they need to be included in this return to God.

2:17. Notice the basis for the plea for deliverance. It is the same thing Moses used when he pleaded with God not to destroy the nation: Joel doesn’t want God’s name to be tarnished. If the Israelites are destroyed, the other nations would think that their gods were better than Yahweh, Israel’s God. Look at Eze 36:16-28. Notice especially vs 22-23. It is God’s reputation that is at stake. Notice also vss 26-27. Doesn’t this sound like Joel 2:28-29. We will talk more about these verses when we get to Joel 2:28f.

Deliverance:
God's Response to Repentance
(2:18-3:21)

Pity: God is a God of mercy (2:18)

The verbs in vss 18-19 are translated as future tenses in most Bibles, but they can and probably should be translated as past tenses. I think the people did repent at Joel’s pleading and here we have the results. So it should read:

“Then the Lord was zealous for his land,
and had pity on His people.
And the Lord answered His people, ...”

Next we have the promise of what God will do for them...

Plenty: God is generous with His blessings (2:19-27)

This section is 19-27 given in the form of a Chiasm.²

Restoration of crops (19a) and cessation of shame (19b).

Invasion averted (20)

Praise and exhortation (21-24)

Effects of locust invasion reversed (25)

Restoration of crops (26a) and cessation of shame (26b-27)

Note: In verses 26 and 27 it says “My people will never be put to shame.” Has this promise been fulfilled? No. I think here there is a blurring of the distinction between the near fulfillment and the far fulfillment of God’s promises. It is passages like this that make me look for a literal millennial reign of Christ when He fulfills all these types of promises.

Deliverance (2:28-32)

In this section God continues his speech with promises of more deliverance. But this section refers to a future deliverance. Peter quotes from this passage in Acts 2:17f. (See Addendum for Peter's use of Joel 2:28 in Acts 2:17f.)

Judgment of Nations for Mistreatment of Israel (3:1-17)

When you read this chapter you can't help but notice that there are several things that have not happened.

• God has not restored the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem (3:1).
• He has not judged all the nations (3:2).
• Jerusalem is certainly not holy today (they are still looking for the Messiah) and with all the political chaos in Jerusalem today, there is no way one could think 3:17 has been fulfilled. When it says “strangers will pass through no more” it means there will be no more invasions on Jerusalem. Just as recently as 1991 we had the skud missile attacks by Hussein on Jerusalem, so this certainly hasn’t been fulfilled.
• The reference to beating plowshares into swords in vs 10 implies that there is a peace in the land that is temporary and they will resort back to war. This sounds to me like the peace in the first half of the tribulation which is broken by the man of sin in the middle of the tribulation.

I think all these things indicate that this happens in the future.

Ultimate Deliverance and Prosperity in the Land (3:18-21)

Here we have a description of life in the millennial kingdom. It will be a utopia. We also have another promise to the Jews. It says, “Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem for all generations.” Again, we have to look to our future for this fulfillment.

Note the symmetry in the book.³

Summary:

• The Lord disciplined the people by sending a locust plague which destroyed the land.
• The locust invasion was a warning that the nation was about to experience God’s judgment by way of an invading army.
• Only national repentance would stop the coming discipline.
• The nation did repent, God did relent and brought rain and crops.
• God also promised future judgment on the nations and Israel, but He would save those who called on Him.
• After the final judgment, He would set up His kingdom and dwell in Jerusalem forever and there would be peace and prosperity.

Application:

• We don’t know what the sins of the people were. Joel does not elaborate. So we can’t really look at the book, and see their sins and evaluate our lives to see if we are doing the same things.
• We can see that God does not ignore sin. He will punish it.
• We see that God is gracious and patient and may relent if we repent.
• We do know that the repentance that Joel called for was internal, heartfelt repentance, not just sociological reform. So we need to be sure our repentance is genuine.
• Joel also gives us an assurance that God does have a future for His people and the book reaffirms our concept of a literal future tribulation when God will judge the nations, and restore his people to the land.
• Finally, I think the book shows that God is in control.

Prophecy is not designed just so we can build our time lines and figure out what is going to happen. Prophecy is designed to show us the character of God (His justice, mercy, sovereignty, etc.) and cause us to turn to Him.

Addendum:
Peter's use of Joel 2:28 in Acts 2:17f

In Acts 2:17 Peter quotes Joel 2:28. There have been several views on what this means:

• Some have taught that the prophecy in Joel 2:28 was totally fulfilled at Pentecost, but that is not true because they did not have all the necessary ingredients. They were missing signs, wonders, dreams and visions. Some say the sun being darkened at crucifixion was the sign and wonder, but that happened almost two months before Pentecost. There really was nothing to equal the blood, fire and columns of smoke in Joel 2:30.
• Some spread the fulfillment over the church age and think that the early rains and latter rains in Joel 2:23 refer to the Holy Spirit being poured out at Pentecost and later visions, speaking in tongues, etc. being given in our time. I think they are just trying to find justification for their charismatic practices. The rain in Joel refers to precipitation that actually fell in Joel’s time. It does not refer to the Holy Spirit.
• Others think that there was a 9th century fulfillment - in Joel’s day. Then there was an application/fulfillment in Peter’s day and there will still be a future fulfillment. But Peter didn’t say this is “like” what Joel said. He said this “is” what Joel said.
• Another view is what we might call the Potential View. It could have happened in Peter's day but it didn't. But Peter thought it would. The signs he mentioned by Jesus could have been seen as a precursor to the cataclysmic signs mentioned in Joel. All the disciples thought this. Compare Acts 1:6-7. Jesus did not tell them they were wrong to think that the kingdom would be set up, because it was going to be. He just told them it was not for them to know the time. They still didn't know there was going to be a church age.

Perhaps a diagram will illustrate the potential view:

Potential View

I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve come up with another solution to the problem. First we have to look at Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:18-19. Jesus shows that only the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled at the first advent. I think the same thing is happening in Joel 2:28-32. Verses 28-29 happened at Pentecost. Verses 30-32 will happen during the tribulation. God promises in vs 32 that whoever calls on him during this terrible time (which I think is the Tribulation) will be saved.

Look back to Ezekiel 36:26-27. Notice also that he says he will remove the heart of stone (ten commandments - law) from your flesh and give the Spirit to cause us to walk in those statutes instead. The statutes are not gone, there is just a new way of following them.

So, I think that Joel 2:28-29 happened at Pentecost. Joel 2:30-3:21 happen in our future.

---

1 Thomas J. Finley, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah, p. 4.

2 Chisholm, Interpreting the Minor Prophets, p. 60.

3 Taken from overhead in Charlie Dyer’s class.

I. Introduction

The Old Testament prophets were adept at luring hostile audiences into listening to their judgment speeches. In 1 Kings 20:35-43 a prophet tricked Ahab into pronouncing his own guilt and punishment. And Nathan tricked David into declaring his own guilt by the artful use of a parable (2 Sam. 12).

Amos 1-2 contains a great example of this entrapment technique, and recognizing what Amos is doing here really helps us to understand what is being said and what is the theme of the book.

Overview of Book:

• Seven speeches pronouncing Judgment.
• Five messages describing the reasons for the judgment and just how bad they were.
• Five visions to show how bad the judgment will be.
• Promise of restoration in the future.

I also want to spend some time showing you some of the literary devices that the prophets used. Most of what they did is lost on the modern reader, but they were skilled writers and understanding some of these literary devices really opens up the book.

So, with this in mind, let's study the book of Amos.

A. Author and Date (1:1)

Amos was a sheepherder from the southern kingdom of Judah. Amos 7:15 shows us that he received a direct call from God to go prophesy to the northern kingdom of Israel. So Amos goes to Bethel, which was functioning as the capitol of Israel. The king, Jeroboam II, lived there. Bethel had special significance in Israel's history. In Genesis 28: we see that this is where Jacob had his dream about the angels descending on the ladder and his wrestling with God. But now it had become the center for idol worship in the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan for the Israelites to worship, because he didn't want the people worshipping God in Jerusalem and reuniting the kingdom.

It says this happened in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam. So we know this to be somewhere between 790-753 BC. Israel was at the height of its power politically, but was very corrupt spiritually and morally.

We know that Israel was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., so this is just before that time and Amos is warning Israel so they will turn from their wicked ways before it is too late. And that brings us to the theme of the book.

B. The Theme (1:2)

One thing we need to notice is the phrase, “The Lord roars from Zion.” God has been Israel's shepherd. The Israelites are familiar with the 23rd Psalm, etc. Like a shepherd, God is supposed to take care of them. But Amos, a sheepherder himself, uses what would have been a very vivid word picture to that society. God is now like a Lion to Israel. The lion was probably the most feared animal of that time. It could attack and devour a flock of sheep while the shepherd watched helplessly.

So this imagery sets the stage and lets the people know that God is angry. Why is He angry? That is the theme of the book. And I don't want to tell you just yet.

So, with these things in mind, we see Amos is preaching in the Northern Kingdom to the Israelites, and he begins by giving a series of speeches against Israel's surrounding enemies.

II. The Roar of Judgment
(1:3-2:16)

I can just imagine him shouting and pronouncing judgment on these surrounding nations, and his audience would be listening with delight as he listed the evil things their enemies had done and what God was going to do to them. After all, there were a number of prophecies, like the one in Jeremiah 30:7f, that had Israel anticipating a day when God would deliver them from their enemies. When we studied Obadiah and Joel, you may remember they talked about the day of the Lord when the nations would be judged.

Let's look at the speeches in Amos. Typically, people read these speeches and try to draw application from each one. They try to analyze each nation's sin, etc. But that is perhaps, not the best way to understand what Amos is doing here.

It seems that Amos is using these speeches to build to a climax. He starts with foreigners, then denounces Israel's neighbors and then the seventh speech is against Judah. You all know that the number seven is significant in the Bible and it was to the Jew. They would have thought this was the culmination of the sermon and they certainly would have been pleased that Judah was going to get what was coming to her.

But Amos uses another literary device to build the listener's interest and make him hang around till the end. Let's look at what Amos does:

The Three/Four Formula

One of the first things you notice is this saying, “for three transgressions of ________ and for four . . . .” What does that mean?

It is especially confusing when he doesn't list three or four things after he says that. We might label this device as an x/x+1 formula. This x/x+1 formula is found throughout the Bible and usually follows a set pattern.

• It is occasionally used to emphasize completeness as in Job 40:5 which says, “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add no more.”
• It is sometimes used to mean “a few” - one or two of something. e.g. There were a couple of people at the meeting.
• It is sometimes used to mean abundance - “7 even 8” is used more often to refer to that. Micah 5:5 says,

When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

This means there will be plenty of shepherds (leaders). This is also seen in Ancient Near Eastern secular literature (from Ugarit). (E.g. Baal has 7 yea 8 bolts of lightning.)

• Sometimes it is more literal. The second number is what is being emphasized and the phrase “3 even 4” is mostly used for poetic parallelism. But it usually precedes a list of some sort. In Ps 62:11-12 we see the one/two formula. In Proverbs 30:15-16, 18-19, 21-23, 29-31 we have the three/four formula and in Job 5:19-22 and Proverbs 6:16-19 we have a six/seven grouping. Proverbs 6: 16-19 is fairly well known....

In all these sections the author gives a list corresponding to the larger number of the formula. The significance of all this is that the typical Jew would have been expecting Amos to list four transgressions for each of these nations mentioned. Does he do that? No. Why?

Amos is going to adapt this common 3-4 # formula to set up the audience and emphasize his message. Let's look at the speeches:

A. Judgment Against the Nations (1:3-2:5)

1. Damascus

1:3-5 - “Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.”

Damascus was the capitol of the Arameans or Syrians off to the North. Hazael and Ben-hadad were previous kings of Aram. This probably refers to the constant battles between Gilead and the Arameans. The word “threshing” is probably figurative for harsh and thorough conquest with the idea of Aram's armies raking across Gilead slicing and crushing it as though it were grain on the threshing floor. This could even refer to actual methods of torture where a device like a sledge with iron prongs or knives was used on prisoners, or as Ryrie says in his footnote--the huge sledges were literally dragged over the enemies to crush them.

But notice, even though it is a gruesome thing, there is only one transgression listed. Not four as the audience would have expected.

Damascus fell to the Assyrians in 732 BC.

2. Gaza

1:6-8 - Philistines in the West. The cities mentioned, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron were major cities in Philistia.

Their sin - “Because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom.”

Although it might look like two crimes listed, the overall concept is that of one thing--large scale slave trade. The Philistines were famous for capturing whole villages and selling them into slavery to Edom and from there they were sold to other parts of the world. Joel 3:4-8 talks further about their slave trade, and also mentions that Tyre participated with them. Tyre is the next city mentioned.

3. Tyre

1:9-10 - This refers to the Phoenicians. Their crime against humanity was also slave trade with Edom. Strictly speaking we might see two transgressions here, but it seems that it is really one sin because the covenant of brotherhood was broken by the slave trade.

So, we have three nations condemned but only one sin listed for each. The 3/4 formula would have made the audience anticipate the fourth nation to be mentioned as the climax of the story.

4. Edomites

1:11-12 - When Amos mentioned Edom fourth, I'm sure many thought this was the conclusion because the 3/4 formula might be mirrored in the speech as a whole with Amos denouncing three nations and then concluding with a special denunciation on the fourth. And I'm sure they were pleased. Ryrie mentions in his footnote on 1:7 that Edom was Israel's bitterest enemy. That is truly a sad thing because the Edomites were the descendants of Esau - Jacob's brother. Remember Jacob's other name was Israel.

“Because he pursued his brother with the sword” certainly refers to this relationship between Israel and Edom.

With all the emphasis on three and four transgressions, these four separate statements might make it seem like this is the culmination of the speech. But these four statements really all describe one basic sin and that is the intense hostility for Israel.

So Amos continues,

5. Ammon

1:13-15 - This is certainly a gross sin. Ancient armies would sometimes do this to terrorize the enemy. And certainly committing this atrocity against defenseless women and children showed how immoral they had become. But again, I think there is just one conceptual sin listed. It says they ripped open the pregnant women in order to expand their borders. So it is their cruel imperialistic expansion that is in view.

6. Moabites

2:1-3 - Ammon and Moab were the children of the daughters of Lot. More relatives. The sin listed is burning the bones of the king of Edom. It seems that in ancient times, much importance was placed on a dead man's body being peacefully placed in the family burial site, so he could be, “gathered to his fathers.” (BKCOT) If you remember they hauled Joseph's bones out of Egypt to bury them in the promised land.

So their sin was that of desecrating graves.

7. Judah

2:4-5 - Now he is getting closer to home. And he makes a couple of statements against them. but again, I think these statements are really just an elaboration on one sin

• The sin is rejecting the law of the lord
• The means is by not keeping the decrees, and
• The reason is because they followed false gods instead of the one true God.

And as Judah is the seventh nation mentioned, the audience would be certain this was the point of the message. Actually, the sin listed is perhaps the worst so far and is appropriate for the seventh pronouncement.

Notice the progression. He starts off with foreign nations and gets closer to home as he lists relatives.

Notice the numbers. First we notice Amos doesn't follow the usual convention of listing four ins after he uses the 3/4 formula. And second, it appears at first that he is going to focus his attention on Edom and then he continues. Then it looks like he is culminating with Judah which is listed 7th. Seven is a significant number and represents fullness, etc. The number eight is also significant in that it follows seven and gives the idea of abundance or “therefore...”

So there is something wrong with the way Amos has told his story. He didn't follow the rules. That is part of understanding and appreciating the literature of the Bible. When someone doesn’t follow the rules it is usually done on purpose to make you take notice. The audience would have noticed this and been expecting something more. In other words, he has set up his audience. He has told them of those that will be destroyed and seemingly ends with Judah.

But - surprise - he continues and adds an 8th item to the list -- Israel. Israel is the target of the speech and the judgment. So we really shouldn't isolate each speech and the sin and judgment of each nation and turn them into principles. These are more than likely just building to #8.

The point is: Israel is worse than all the other nations.

B. Judgment Against Israel (2:6-16)

Now he gets personal. He gives it to them. 2:6-16 is the 8th oracle. Here he lists 8 or 10 sins (depending on how you count them) which could possibly be divided into 4 categories. So, Israel appears worse than the rest.

As you read verses 6-8 you notice some parallel structure: e.g.: They sell the righteous for money and (they sell) the needy for a pair of sandals.

Parallel structure was just the Hebrew way of saying everything. They like to repeat themselves. So, in this case, although it might look like separate sins, it is really a poetic way of describing one sin. Since we divided the sins of the other nations conceptually, we will do that here to be consistent.

I'm going to give you the four conceptual categories:

(1) Oppressing the innocent and the poor (2:6b-7a)

In verse 6 we see the justice system was corrupt. The law said it was OK to sell a debtor to pay the debt, but they were abusing it. The word righteous may mean the one who is right in a lawsuit. So the rich and the powerful may have been able to bribe judges to decide in their favor in a false lawsuit and that allowed them to sell the “righteous” (the one who was innocent but declared guilty) into slavery to pay the fine.

“Selling the needy for a pair of sandals” shows that the people were being sold into slavery for small debts or pledges. The law commanded the Israelites to give to the needy without demanding repayment (Deut. 15:7f), but I guess “business was business” for most Israelites.

Verses 9-11 recounts God’s provision for Israel. This reminds me of the unforgiving servant who refused to forgive his fellow slave a small debt, when he had just been forgiven a huge amount. I think God is heightening Israel's guilt by setting their rebellion against the backdrop of his own gracious acts toward them. It was He who conquered Canaan for Israel. At Jericho, Ai, etc. and later with Gideon and Samson. They took his forgiveness and salvation and provision but did not pass it on to others.

(2) Engaging in pagan religious practices (2:7b)

Verse 7 - is probably a reference to the fact that the Israelite men were going to pagan temples and participating with the temple prostitutes.

(3) Abusing the system of pledges and fines (2:8)

Verses 8 may also be referring to a different scenario - First, they weren't supposed to keep a cloak taken as a pledge overnight (Ex 22:26-27). It was assumed that only the very needy would borrow anything and so lenders were not to charge interest and profit from another person's misfortune, nor were they to keep coats that were given as collateral overnight. The poor persons would need it to stay warm. The poor person probably was required to give his coat as collateral so he couldn't go from place to place borrowing from every merchant. If a guy came in without a coat, that meant he had already borrowed for the day and he wouldn't be able to borrow anything else. He needed his coat back so he could stay warm that night and have something to use as collateral the next day. So these merchants were keeping the coats and, to make matters worse, we see the second sin - they used them to sleep on at night as they “worshipped” at pagan altars.

(4) Showing lack of respect for God's special servants (2:12)

Verse 12 shows the corruption and rejection of the religious system and the rejection of religious leaders. The Nazarites had taken a vow not to drink any alcohol, but the Israelites were coercing them to break their vows. They had no commitment to God and had no respect for those who did.

Does anything stand out to you at first glance?

I think two things stand out:

First, Amos finally lists four sins. This is the point of his 3/4 formula. He didn't list four sins for the other nations because Israel is the target of the coming judgment.

Second, These sins don't look nearly as bad as those of the other nations. So what is the point? Why does God consider Israel to be worse than all the other nations?

I think this points us to the theme of the book.

THEME: God requires more from those to whom He has given more. Luke 12:48

God had given the Jews the law. They knew better. That was God's complaint against Judah in verse 4 -- that Judah rejected the Law. And it is God's complaint against Israel, but he elaborates because Israel is the target audience and he really wants to drive the point home.

Summary

Amos wants you, the listener, to ask the question, “Why are these lists so short?” Then he gets to Israel who has many more sins listed than every other nation. Israel is really guilty - more guilty than all the rest.

What do all these sins of Israel have in common? Love of money and things had replaced love for people. Money had become their god. Does this have any practical application for America and for us?

The sins of Israel don't look as bad as those of the other nations. After all, the other nations were going to war, murdering people and ripping open pregnant women. But Israel's sins are worse because they knew better. Theirs was the sin of hypocrisy.

Application

One obvious problem in Israel was the sin of materialism. We certainly face this problem in our society. We can see how the Israelites compromised God's laws and principles to achieve success (which they defined as wealth). We need to be careful that we do not fall into the same trap. The Israelites did something else. Their theology said that the wealthy person was a righteous person. We see that over and over again in the parables in the NT. This further passified their conscience as they told themselves that their prosperity was God’s sign of approval.

We see how the Israelites abused people in need. I don't know if we overtly abuse people, but how concerned are we for the poor? What are we doing for them? Are we ignoring them or ministering to them? I think in our society we expect Uncle Sam to take care of them. We criticize big government, but we depend on government to do what we ought to be doing.

I said the Israelites’ theology said prosperity was a sign of spirituality. Is our theology such that we assume they are poor because they are ungodly?

The main point of this section is this: We look at society and think other people are bad...abortion, homosexuality, murder, etc. but we do things that are, in God's eyes, worse, because we know better. God expects more out of His people. This doesn't mean we ignore the other sins. They are terrible, but don't gloss over what we think are little sins, or what we have rationalized away as not even being a sin.

Remember: To him who has been given much is much required.

III. The Reasons for Judgment
(Amos 3-6)

A. The First Message (3:)

1. The Unique Relationship (3:1-2)

When you get to 3:2 you see that Israel is chosen and you would normally think that means special treatment. That is what the Jews thought at that time. There was a aberrant doctrine of eternal security floating around Israel. They thought they were immune from judgment, because they were the chosen people living in the chosen city. They thought it didn't matter what they did. They took their relationship with God for granted. I think 6:8 may be a reference to this attitude.

But to God, being chosen, means having responsibility. Israel forgot the stipulations of the covenant made in Deut. They were only secure as long as they followed God. That was part of the OT law.

How does this relate to us since we are not under the covenant blessings and curses?

The father/child relationship is probably the most helpful for understanding this. I treat my children differently than other children. I wrestle with them, play games, take them out to eat breakfast, buy them things, etc., but I also spank them when they disobey. If I’m watching several kids at my house, I don’t spank other people’s kids when they disobey. It would probably be fair to say that I expect more from my kids than the other kids. I know I’ve told my kids not to do carrier landings on the coffee table (explain). If they do it, they will get a spanking. ...

In the same way, we are children of God. We can't remove the relationship no matter how much we sin. What we can change is whether or not he needs to discipline us or whether He can continue with His planned blessings for us. When Israel was bad, they were still God's chosen people, they just didn't get to enjoy His blessings. Instead, God had to discipline them. And He disciplined them for transgressions that didn’t seem as bad to us as the other nations. But they knew better.

We have a tendency to want to earn God's blessings and we think we deserve God's blessings. (That is one of the main lessons from Hosea) but there is a fine line here that we need to understand. We do not earn God's blessings by being good. We just free God up to graciously bless us.

2. The Inevitable Judgment (3:3-8)

In 3:3-8 Amos uses seven rhetorical questions to show that the judgment of God is inevitable. There is a progression here:

• 3:3 No element of force or disaster
• 3:4 One animal overpowering another
• 3:5 Man overpowering animals
• 3:6 Man overpowering other men
• 3:6b God overpowers man. Climax
• 3:7-8 God always reveals Himself and His plan to mankind. He tells us what He wants us to do, but with that information comes responsibility to do it. If we fail to do it, judgment will follow.

EXAMPLE: The theme of this whole book and especially this section causes me to go back to the parenting/discipline process for an analogy. When Mandy does something wrong, but I have never before told her not to do that, I usually tell her what she is doing is wrong and not to do it again. But I don't discipline her then. However, if I've told her not to do something and she does it anyway, the discipline is sure to follow. Because she knew better. And the Israelites knew better!

3. Unparalleled Oppression (3:9-10)

3:9 Ashdod (Philistines) and Egypt were former oppressors of Israel. But things were so bad in Israel now that Amos is sarcastically calling them to witness the internal oppression going on now. It is like saying, “You thought you oppressed them? You don't even know how to oppress compared to them. Watch them oppress themselves.”

4. The Coming Catastrophe (3:11-15)

Because of the oppression God was going to send an enemy in to destroy them. And in case some of the listeners thought God would save them again this time, Amos compares God's saving them to a shepherd snatching a leg bone or ear from a lion's mouth. Only a few people would be spared.

The reference to the lion in 3:12 goes back to the first verse of Amos. Remember he said, “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem...” This is just another literary device Amos uses which shows his skill as a writer.

So, the point of the first message is that Israel was chosen and because of their rebellion and internal oppression, judgment was certain.

B. The Second Message (4:)

1. Economic Exploitation

4:1 This is certainly a colorful and sarcastic section. Women are normally sensitive and compassionate, but note the contrast here. The women are compared with the fat cows living on the lush pastures of Bashan. The idea here is that these spoiled women demanded luxury from their “masters” (not the typical word for husband--more sarcasm and reversal of roles) and the only way their husbands could meet their demands was by oppressing the poor.

How does this apply to us? Are we guilty of this? Are we so materialistic and so demanding that our spouse has to work overtime to make enough money to satisfy our demands? Do we have to cheat other people in our business in order to make the most money we can?

4:2 The cattle imagery is continued by the meat hook imagery. See Ryrie's note.

So, economic exploitation was one problem, now, he describes another.

2. Religious Hypocrisy

4:4 continues the sarcasm. Bethel and Gilgal were important sites in Israel's salvation history. (Gen 28:10-22; Josh 4-5) Normally the priest would call people to come worship, but here we see Amos calling the people to come to Bethel and Gilgal to sin. The sacrifices and tithes that they were bringing to God had become a sham. They did everything to impress other people (vs 5), not to worship God. They were actually going to church to sin. Not to mention the fact that they weren’t going to Jerusalem to worship, which was the only authorized worship center for Yahweh.

4:5 Notice it says “proclaim freewill offerings and make them known.” I think this shows that they were bragging about their spirituality, their giving, etc. They were doing things to be seen.

We might ask ourselves if we are guilty of this.

4:6-11 shows God's response to their hypocrisy and His repeated attempts to bring them back to Him. The phrase, “Yet you have not returned to me” is repeated five times.

Amos 4:6 says “yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. The punishments mentioned in the next few verses are an allusion to the promised curses of Deuteronomy 28.

• Famine is mentioned in Amos 4:6 and in Deuteronomy 28:17-18.
• Drought in Amos 4:7-8 and Deut 28:23-24.
• Locusts in Amos 4:9 and Deut 28:38.
• Plague in Amos 4:19 and Deut 28:60.

I think this shows God's patience - that He tried so many times, and it shows His mercy because we see that He started out with less severe measures and then increased the severity. (Famine, drought, crop failure, disease and war.)

C. The Third Message (5:1-17)

Chiastic structure

Chapter 5 is divided into two sections using a favorite literary device called a Chiasm. Explain: Draw X and show abcba...

Sometimes a Chiasm was just used as an outline and sometimes it really points us to the key idea of main point of the section. So not only is it fun to look for these, but it usually helps us understand the main idea of the author.

If we outline these two messages, it points to the overall truth that: the nation would be judged by its mighty Sovereign God, but individuals could yet repent and live.

C. The Third Message (5:1-17)

1. Description of certain judgment (5:1-3)

2. Call for individual repentance (5:4-6)

3. Accusation of legal injustice (5:7)

4. Portrayal of a sovereign God (5:8-9)

5. Accusation of legal injustice (5:10-13)

6. Call for individual repentance (5:14-15)

7. Description of certain judgment (5:16-17)

D. The Fourth Message (5:18-27)

1. Description of certain judgment (5:18-20)

2. Accusation of religious hypocrisy (5:21-22)

3. Call for individual repentance (5:23-24)

4. Accusation of religious hypocrisy (5:25-26)

5. Description of certain judgment (5:27)

Remember Isa 6: When Isaiah saw the glory of God on his throne, it caused him to repent and make himself available to serve God.

That is the point of the third and fourth messages. The Chiastic structure points us to that. The sovereignty of God in message three should cause the repentance in message four.

There are a few things I'd like to point out about these messages.

In 5:1 Amos summons the people to hear his lament over Israel.

Israel's demise was so certain that Amos lamented her fall as though it had already happened. This should have been as shocking to the Israelites as it would to one of us to read our own obituary in the newspaper.

5:2 Virgin Israel - a picture of being in the prime of life and experiencing a premature death. Israel could have and should have had a long prosperous life. Actually, God's plan was for an eternal kingdom for them.

5:10 They hate the one who points out their wickedness. Doesn't that sound like America. One example that comes to mind is the abortion issue. The Pro-life people are abused and beaten and thrown in jail when they try to protest (point out or reprove) those having and performing abortions. People don't want to be told that they are sinning. Darkness hates the light.

5:17 Just as God passed through Egypt (in judgment), He was going to pass through Israel. Ex 12:12

5:18-20 Pictures a man fleeing from one thing after another with no escape to be found.

5:23 Shows that their worship and singing was just noise in God’s ears because their worship was merely external.

5:24 shows that God desires justice. How you treat your fellow man is what is important to God and that is what shows that you love God. Over and over again we see the theme repeated that we are to love God and show it by our love for our neighbor.

This reminds me of the parable of the Good Smaritan. In the story, the priest and levite are on their way from Jerusalem. If they were on their way to Jerusalem, they might have been able to use the excuse that they didn’t want to become defiled and not be able to worship God. But they had already “worshipped God” (which supposedly showed that they loved God) but they refused to help the injured man (they did not love their neighbor) and that demonstrated that they really did not love God. Their worship was also merely external.

E. The Fifth Message (6:)

1. Their Boastful Complacency

6:2 This message addresses the problem in Israel in which everyone felt they were better because they were the chosen people.

2. Their Luxurious Indulgence

I think this section speaks for itself:

4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.
5 You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
your feasting and lounging will end.

3. The Complete Devastation

6:8 We've already mentioned the aberrant doctrine of eternal security going around in that day. They thought they were invincible - partly because they were God's people, and because of their own strength. The rest of this chapter shows how wrong they were.

6:12 “you have turned justice into poison.” The judicial system which was designed to preserve the nations health, had become a lethal poison within its body. This sounds exactly like America with all the lawsuits that are going on and the lack of punishment for crimes.

6:13 says rb*d* aOl= <yj!m@C=h^ or (h^C=m@j'< l=l)a d`b*r) which is translated in the NIV as “you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar.” Lo Debar was a city on the East side of the Jordan which they had conquered. rbd (d*b*r) can mean either “word” or “thing” and with the negative (loa) could mean “no thing.” Therefore, Amos could be making a play on words (Lo Debar vs Lo Dabar) saying that they rejoice in nothing.

6:14 Reference to Assyria.

Hamath was a city in the north. The Brook of Arabah marked the southern border of Israel during Jeroboam II's reign. Mentioning these two cities shows how complete will be the destruction.

IV. The Results of Judgment - Five Visions

 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff Once on a time there were three billy goats who were to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was “Gruff.” On the way up was a bridge over a river they had to cross, and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll with eyes as big as saucers and a nose as long as a poker. So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge. “Trip, trap, trip, trap!” went the bridge. “Who's that tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll. “Oh, it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff, and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat.” said the billy goat with such a small voice. “Now, I'm coming to gobble you up!” said the troll. “Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too litte, that I am.” said the billy goat. “Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger.” “Very well, be off with you,” said the troll. A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge. “Trip, trap, trip, trap” went the bridge. “Who's that tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll. “Oh, it is only I, the second Billy Goat Gruff, and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat.” said the billy goat and his voice was not so small. “Now, I'm coming to gobble you up!” said the troll. “Oh, no! Don't take me,” said the billy goat. “Wait a bit till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger.” “Very well, be off with you,” said the troll. Just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff. “T-r-i-p, t-r-a-p, T-r-i-p, t-r-a-p!” went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him. “Who's that tramping over my bridge?” roared the troll. “It is I! the BIG BILLY GOAT GRUFF!” said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own. “Now, I'm coming to gobble you up!” said the troll. “Well, come along! I've got to spears, And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears, I've got besides to great big stones, And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones.” That was what the billy goat said, and so flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him into the river. Then he went up to the hillside. There the billy goats got so fat they were scarce able to walk again, and if the fat hasn't fallen off them, why they're still fat and so -- “Snip, snap, snout. This tale's told out.”

You are probably wondering why I told you that story. Well, I did so because it illustrates what goes on in oral literature. You typically read stories like this and the three little pigs to children who can't read. They become totally caught up in the story and the author sets them up for the unexpected conclusion. The NT does this for us with the story of the Good Smaritan in Luke 10.

That is what Amos does to his audience with the next three visions. He uses the same literary technique. The first two visions are similar but the third one is different and catches the listener or reader's attention.

A. The Vision of the Locust Swarm (7:1-3)

1. The vision of destruction - 7:1-2a

2. The plea for mercy 7:2b

3. The suspension of judgment 7:3

B. The Vision of the Fire (7:4-6)

1. The vision of the all consuming fire 7:4

2. The plea for mercy 7:5

3. The suspension of judgment 7:6

C. The Vision of the Plumb Line (7:7-9)

1. The vision of the Plumb Line 7:7-8

2. The promise of Judgment

The third vision does not begin with judgment nor have a plea for mercy and the subsequent cancellation of judgment. The rhetorical purpose of this trilogy of visions is to set the audience up for the message of the third vision. The contrast of the third vision with the first two should draw attention to what is being said emphasize to the audience that Israel is “out-of-line” and doesn't measure up to God's standards. The prophet had asked for mercy in the first two visions, but when he was shown just how bad the people were (with the plumb line), he didn't ask for mercy because he could see that the judgment was deserved.

What is the main point of these visions? First we notice that the first two visions are like motion pictures. Amos responds to them emotionally and is overwhelmed by the destruction and effect on the nation. The third vision is like a snapshot. It invites reflection from the one seeing it. Amos sees the nation as God sees it. He looks at the situation theologically (the plumb line) and from reality (Amaziah's response) and sees that the judgment is deserved.

Too often we respond to bad things emotionally and blame God or think that it isn't fair, but we don't see what is going on from God's perspective.

The Reaction (10-17)

The biographical account in 7:10-17 seems out of place but really isn't. It shows the reaction of the leaders of Israel (especially the priest) to the message of Amos. They rejected his warning and this proves that the visions are correct. The nation is corrupt all the way up to the priests and the king.

Amaziah's report is not accurate. He accuses Amos of conspiring to kill Jeroboam with the sword (7:11) but Amos' prophecy and reference to the sword was figurative language (metonomy of adjunct) referring to God's judgment on Jeroboam or perhaps it was picturing the severing of the king's line. Amaziah also says that the Israelites will go into exile. Amos didn’t say that.

Amos responded to Amaziah's accusation by describing in more detail what God's judgment would bring. It is ironic that the details of Amaziah's saying would indeed come true. Many would fall by the sword and the rest would be hauled away into exile.

D. The Vision of Ripe Fruit (8:)

The vision in 8:1-3 fits in nicely with the preceding section. The three visions, culminating with the vision of the plumb line, showed that judgment was very much deserved. The response of Amaziah, the priest, showed the corruption of the nation, even up through the leadership. It also showed that the warning was rejected. Finally, the vision of the basket of ripe fruit showed the time was ripe for executing the judgment. The time was now.

There is word play in 8:2 between the word for “fruit” (Jy!q*) q*y!J and the word for “the end” (JQ@h^) h^ Q@J. They both sound the same. I believe this figure of speech is called paronomasia. When Amos said he saw a basket of Jy!q*, God says, “Yes, the JQ! has come.”

This is one figure of speech that could be transferred into English. It is not the same type of figure of speech, but the idea is similar. The NIV says the fruit is “ripe” and God says the time is “ripe” for judgment.

8:5 shows the hypocrisy of the people. They went to worship on the Sabbath, but they resented the Sabbath because they couldn’t go to work and make more money by cheating others. If the law can be summed up by loving God and loving your neighbor, the Israelites showed that they did neither. And as we have pointed out before, if you don’t love your neighbor, it proves that you don’t love God.

8:11 shows that it is worse to go without hearing the word of God than to go without food.

E. The Avenging Lord (9:1-10)

9:8-9 shows that God will shake the nation to separate the wheat from the chaff. And when God shakes, no chaff will remain. Time and again, we see God will sort everyone out in the end and He will determine who will be saved and who will not. We have a tendency to want to judge others and determine if they are saved, but that is God’s job.

V. Restoration (9:11-15)

The ultimate purpose for God's judgment is not revenge, it is restoration. God punishes us to bring us back to Him. This is always the purpose for discipline. You see it in Mat 18 when Jesus talks about reproving your brother. The goal is to bring him to the point where he sees his sin and repents. Peter understands this and so he asks the question in Mat 18:21 about how many times we must forgive. Jesus’ answer is - always.

A. Political Renewal (9:11)

There will come a time when God will restore Israel.

B. National Purpose (9:12)

9:12 shows that it will be time when godly people from other nations will be included. That was Israel's purpose all along -- to be a testimony to the world of how great God is and lead the nations to Him. In Eze 17:22-23 God says:

22Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain; 23 on the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it will dwell all kinds of beasts; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. (RSV)

Matthew 13:31-32 Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (RSV)

In these passages the birds represent the nations partaking of and benefitting from the establishment of the kingdom.

Application: It is the church's and the individual believer's role to attract the nations to God and bring them into the kingdom.

C. Prosperity, Peace and Permanence

Verse 15 says they will not again be rooted out from their land. This has to be a reference to the millennium and eternity. The many references to the land promise made to Abraham are one reason I believe there is still a future for Israel and they haven't been replaced by the Church.

Application/Conclusion

Although the unbeliever's sins often appear worse to us, in God's eyes, those of the Christian are worse because we should know better. Chapters 1-2

Just like the Israelites looked down on her neighbor's for the atrocities they committed, I think we look down on those that commit gross sins and think that we are better than they, not realizing that God hates our sins of hypocrisy and idolatry more. Chapters 1-2

Just like God was patient with Israel and gave opportunity to repent. God also is patient with us an gives us time to repent, but don't abuse God's grace because we don't know when He will finally bring judgment. Chapter 4

Just like Amos reacted to God's judgment emotionally and thought it was unfair, we often do the same. When Amos saw things from God's perspective, he didn't protest any more. Chapter 7

God will restore Israel and will set up his kingdom so that all the nations can benefit from His rule.

Introduction

The Author

The author of the book is named Obadiah which means “Servant of Yahweh.” Some have thought that this is the same Obadiah that was Ahab’s steward in 2 Chronicles 17:7, but that is historically improbable.¹ The name was common in the canonical period with about a dozen individuals having that name (1 Kings 18:3-16; l Chron. 3:21; 7:3; 8;38; 9:16; 12:9; 27;19; 2 Chron. 17:7; 34:12.) We know nothing about him other than his name.

The Date

It is very difficult to know when Obadiah was written because there is nothing in the heading or introduction of the book to pinpoint the date. Therefore, we must look in the text of the book for historical clues that point to the date. The two dates suggested are 845 B.C. and 586 B.C. ²

Arguments (and Answers) for a Late Date (586 B.C.)

The vividness of the events described in verses 11-14 fit most naturally into the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (The argument assumes what it is trying to prove.)

It is known that Edom was hostile to Judah at this time (Ps. 137:7; Lam. 4:20-2 1; Ezek 25:12-14) (But Edom was also hostile against Judah at other times in their history.)

Obadiah is closely related to Jeremiah 49:7-16 which was written at the time of Judah's fall to Babylon, and Obadiah could have borrowed from Jeremiah. (A literary relationship does not prove a chronological relationship; Jeremiah could have borrowed from Obadiah.)

The reference in verse 19 to possessing Ephraim and Samaria suits a late date better than an early date when Israel was in existence. (It seems more logical to use the words when the northern kingdom and its capital were still in existence. Samaria became the capital of Israel about 880 B.C. I 1 Kings 16:23-241 and was destroyed in 722 B.C. 12 Kings 17:5-61.)

The reference to the “exiles” of . . . the sons of Israel' and the “exiles” of Jerusalem (v. 20) proves that both the Assyrian captivity and the Babylonian captivity had already taken place. (The word “exiles” does not demand national deportation. It can refer to individuals who were deported.)

The only attack on Jerusalem In which ft is recorded that Edom participated is that of 586 B.C. (Ps. 137:7). (The Bible does not state that Edom participated in Jerusalem's destruction in 586 B.C.)

Arguments (and Answers) for an Early Date (ca. 845 B.C.)

The events described by Obadiah fit more naturally with the revolt of Edom against Judah and the Philistine and Arabian attack against Judah and Jerusalem in Jehoram's day (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chron. 21:8-17). (The argument assumes what it is trying to prove.)

The commands of verses 12-14 are jussives which never refer to something in the past. Tbus the commands would be inappropriate in 586 B.C. if the city were nothing more than a pile of rubble. (The author could be using the jussives for vividness in his presentation of Edom's sin.)

There is some evidence to indicate that Jeremiah borrowed from Obadiah's prophecy. Thus Obadiah was written before Jeremiah 49. (A literary relationship does not prove a chronological relationship; Obadiah could have borrowed from Jeremiah.)

The 'exiles' of verse 20 can be understood in the same sense as Amos 1:9-12 which refers to the exile of captured individuals rather than the deportation of an entire nation. (The word “exiles” does not prove or disprove either theory.)

In 586 B.C. the Jews were deported to Babylon, but Obadiah 20 speaks of a deportation to Zerephath and Sepharad (Sardis). (This is an argument from silence.)

Obadiah's account does not mention the destruction of the Temple, the razing of the city walls. the deportation to Babylon, or the name of Nebuchadnezzar. (This is an argument from silence.)

There is a noticable absence of Aramaisnis which would be more appropriate from literature written in the ninth century B.C. (prior to Assyrian and Babylonian influence) rather than in the sixth century B.C. (This is an argument from silence, plus: [1] dating on the basis of Aramaisms is not always exact, and [2] the books length does not allow one to argue on the basis of literary style.)

The position of the book in the Old Testament canon argues for an early date. (If position in the canon argues for chronology, why not place Obadiah before Hosea, Joel, and Amos?)

The words “as the Lord has said” in Joel 2:32 strongly suggest that Joel was quoting from Obadiah. Thus Obadiah was written before Joel. (This argument seems valid, but it ultimately depends on when one dates the Book of Joel.)

Conclusion

It is very difficult to be certain about the date for this book, but primary arguments for a late date seem to center around the idea that the evil perpetrated against Israel by Edom was so bad that only the destruction by Babylon in 586 could fit the description adequately. However, just because a later destruction was worse, doesn't mean that earlier conflicts, destruction, etc. weren't bad too.

If Obadiah is writing after a bad incident in Israel's history, and describes it as being really bad, that doesn't mean a later (and even worse) event is in view because it hadn't happened yet.

For example: A couple of years ago, while building a big wooden jungle gym for a neighbor, my brother fell off and broke his hip. The doctors had to go in and put a metal pin in and put him back together. He describes it as the worst thing that ever happened to him. If 10 years from now, he does the something similar and this time, they have to amputate his leg because the bone is shattered, that would definitely be worse. Now, lets say my brother wrote me a letter saying that his fall and the following few weeks were the worst thing he'd ever gone through. Someone reading that undated letter 100 years later, knowing that my brother had taken a bad fall and had his leg amputated, would naturally assume that the fall he was referring to was the one that led to the amputation. Certainly that was worse, but the letter he wrote me was referring to the first one, because the second one hadn't happened yet.

Historical Setting

There is a long history of enmity between Edom and Israel. The sad thing is that the two nations originated out of two brothers—Esau and Jacob. The hostility began in an argument over the birthright, but during the time of Obadiah it centered around trade routes. The kings highway (show on map) ran all the way from Damascus to Egypt. Whoever controlled the highway, controlled the flow of goods and became wealthy.

The book is written at a time when Edom helped an enemy attack Jerusalem and Edom took the opportunity to take over control of part of the Negev. Edom should have been Judah’s ally, instead they encouraged the Babylonians. Obadiah is writing to show that God is going to judge Edom for what she has done.

Purpose

The purpose of the book is to announce the destruction of Edom because of her pride and sin against Judah. The prophet also wants to comfort Judah by announcing Edom's destruction and Judah's restoration and deliverance in the Day of the Lord.

The Inevitability of Destruction
(1:1-9)

The Sumons To The Nations For Destruction (1:1)

The Lord has sent a messenger among the nations to stir them up to war against Edom. The Lord has spoken, so it is certain. Destruction is coming.

The Source of Destruction is God (1:2-4)

God's perspective (2a,4b)

God was going to be the source of their destruction. Edom wanted to be a powerful nation. They sought to control the trade routes. But they were never a force to be worried about. They thought they were secure in their stronghold, but God says they will be brought down. We have an inclusio in 2a and 4b. God says he will make them small in 2a and He will bring them down in 4b. This is contrasted with what is in between these statements in vs 3.

Edom's pride (3)

To work your way into the more lush areas of Edom, you have to enter through narrow rocky terrain at an area called Petra. If you had a million man army, you would have to enter one man at a time. So the Edomites were very secure in their stronghold.

The Thorougness Of The Destruction (1:5-6)

More thorough than a robber at night (5a) A robber only takes the valuables. God wasn't going to leave anything. More thorough than a grape gatherer during the day (5b) When you do harvesting by hand, there are always a few berries or grapes left. But not when God is through with you. There won't be anything left.

The Means of Ddestruction: Edom's Allies (1:7)

The Nabateans were caravan drivers whom the Edomites trusted and traded with. They were their business partners. They were allowed into the city, but they turned against the Edomites and conquered them.

The Objects of Destruction (1:8-9)

God would destroy the wise men and the mighty men in Edom. During the coup, the leaders were killed first and eventually everyone else was slaughtered or deported.

The Reason for Destruction
(1:10-14)

The Underlying Sin: Violence to His Brother— Judah (1:10)

These two nations began with Jacob and Esau. They should have been allies whenever foreign nations attacked one or the other, but we will see Edom’s response was when Judah was attacked. What Edom is being judged for is failure to obey one of the underlying principles of the law. The summary of the law was to love God and to love your neighbor. Even though Edom was not under the law of Moses, they still were responsible before God because their conscience should have told them they were violating the law of love.

The Specific Actions: (1:11-14)

Now Obadiah explains how they failed to show love for their neighbors.

Indifference to Judah's troubles (11)

When Judah was being attacked by Gentiles, Edom should have come to help his brother, but he stood aloof. He condoned the evil that was taking place.

I think this shows us an interesting principle: It is common in our day to not want to get involved and there are many stories about people standing around, watching a crime be committed and not doing anything about it. This is not an amoral action, it is immoral. James says, “The one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it is sinning” (James 4:17).

Rejoicing over Judah's troubles (12)

They had an attitude such as, “better them than us.” This is also part of the condoning of sin, but it shows a progression towards a more advanced stage of evil. They aren’t just indifferent, they are glad that it is happening to Israel.

Looting Judah's possessions (13)

This is like people who loot a city after a hurricane or something. If you can have degrees of evil, this is one of the lowest forms of theft. It is taking advantage of another's calamity.

Oppressing Judah's people (14)

When the Israelites fled from their enemies and headed to the south, Edom was there to capture the fugitives and then they sold the survivors as slaves.

Show Progression of evil transparency

The Day of the Lord
(1:15-21)

What is the Day of the Lord? It is the time when God will judge the enemies of Judah. When is it? Before we answer this question we need to understand what the prophets often had in mind as they spoke or wrote their visions.

The Day of the Lord occurs at the 2nd coming of Christ when He comes in judgment on the nations for their rebellion against God and mistreatment of God's people. It is a little confusing as your read the prophets to determine which part of their prophecy is going to be fulfilled in the near future and which will be fulfilled during the tribulation or the millennium.

Perhaps the following drawing will show what the prophet saw and how the events are often separated in time. This concept was first set forth by Chrsyostum in the 4th Century.

Perhaps this is what is happening in our next few verses because in one sentence Obadiah is talking about Edom and the next he is talking about all the nations. The references to Edom's destruction would be the near fulfillment and the references to all the nations would be the far fulfillment.

1:15 begins by saying that the Day of the Lord draws near on all the nations (far fulfillment). Then it focuses on Edom with a singular “you” (near fulfillment). Just as Edom had cut off Jerusalem, so they would be cut off.

1:16f changes to plural “you” which leads me to believe this is really referring to the ultimate Day of the Lord when all the nations will drink the cup of God's wrath. Just like drinking too much makes you reel and stagger so does the wounded and dying soldier stagger around before he falls. Notice that they will “drink continually.” They will drink and drink ... They are really going to be staggering.

In 1:17 we see that Israel will be delivered and restored. (This is the promise of future deliverance section we talked about in the introduction to the prophets.)

1:18-21 returns back to the nearer fulfillment concerning Edom and we see that they will be completely destroyed with no survivors. This is poetic or ironic justice on Edom who tried to destroy the survivors of Jerusalem in verse 14. This has already come to pass. The Nabatians kicked them out of their city. The Hasmonians forced them to convert to Judaism and there is no one left today identified as an Edomite. There are no survivors. This is in contrast to Edom who tried to destroy the survivors of Jerusalem in verse 14.

Conclusion and Application

We discussed in the introduction to the prophets the major categories of the prophetic message. You can see in Obadiah most of them:

• Promise of Judgment
• Reasons for Judgment
• Description of Judgment
• Future Deliverance or Restoration

About the only thing missing is the call for repentance.

What are some personal applications we can make?

(1) Pride deceives and leads to more sin.

(2) Sin follows a downward path. We saw how Edom progressed in his sins against Judah. At first it was just complacency, but then it was the promotion of evil and finally participation in the evil. It shows us how dangerous complacency is. It doesn't stop there.

Are we complacent about anything? Do you remember the first time you heard about Doctor Death? Were you outraged? Now that he has killed over a dozen people, are you desensitized to the news? Does it affect you as much as it did the first time? What about Abortion, violence on TV, etc. I know from personal experience that after being in the Air Force for 6 years, I became so accustomed to hearing bad language that it really didn’t bother me anymore. Sometimes Lori will ask me if a movie had bad language and unless it was really bad, I won’t even be able to tell her.

(3) God will keep His word. Obadiah said Edom's judgment would be complete and appropriate. They would get what they deserved. And in fact they did.

(4) God will punish sin. We are introduced to the Day of the Lord. He sees what nations are mistreating His people and He will judge them accordingly. It shows us that God is in control. This is really important for us to believe when we face tough times.

(5) God will protect His own. God is good and He loves us and will take care of us.

These last two ideas, that God is in control and that God is good are extremely important to living the Christian life. These principles were repeated often in the OT and again in the NT. We will see it in Hosea and Haggai for sure. One place we see it in the NT is Mat 6:19-34. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus warns them that they cannot serve two masters - things and God. The temptation for us is to try to find life in things, because we don’t believe God can or will take care of us. So we buy new cars, houses, clothes, etc. to try to find meaning. Or we try to find identity and meaning through our job or business. Or we try to find meaning in our children. We do all these things because we don’t believe that God is in control and we don’t believe God is good.

But Jesus tells them that God is even in control of the birds and the flowers, so he certainly can take care of us. He also emphasizes that God is our Heavenly Father, which means He loves us. And God is good (notice how he is contrasted with the evil human fathers in 7:11).

So, when we face difficulties, that doesn’t mean God is not there or that He doesn’t love us. The difficulties are for our own character and spiritual development. We can get through them if we believe in God’s sovereignty and goodness.

Prophecy is not just gee whiz information for our heads so we can know what God did and will do in the future. Prophecy is good for my heart because it helps me see that God is in control and God is going to preserve His people.

---

1 Ebenezer Henderson, The Twelve Minor Prophets, Thornapple Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), p. 186.

2 The following are the arguments taken directly from class notes by Dr. Charles H. Dyer.

Introduction

Jonah is one of the most ridiculed books by liberal scholars. The story of a fish swallowing a man and the man living sounds impossible, and since most liberal scholars deny the possibility of the supernatural, they reject the book of Jonah as anything but a fairy tale. I’ve heard people tell a story from the time that such an event actually occurred about a hundred years ago when whaling was popular, but I also heard somewhere that the story was fabricated to try to lend credibility to the book of Jonah. So, we will just have to believe Jonah is true because God says it is true.

Jonah is different than the other prophets because it is not full of prophecies by the prophet, it is instead, about the life of the prophet. Little attention is given to what he actually said. But it does start off the same way the other prophetic books do because we see the phrase, “And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai, saying.”

While most of the other prophets prophesied to Israel and Judah, Jonah’s task was to go to Ninevah and prophesy to them.

Date: It is difficult to pinpoint when the author of the book actually put the story on paper. It could have been written soon after the events or long after the events. Some date the writing of the book in the Persian period because of certain literary features, vocabulary, etc.

What is clear is that the events of the book took place while Ninevah was capitol of Assyria. At the risk of giving away the plot, the Assyrians repent in the story, and so I would place the events at the beginning of the era when prophets prophesied of the coming destruction by Assyria (eighth century). This would give the Assyrians time to respond to Jonah’s message, for a new generation or two to come along, who would decline spiritually, and become bad guys again and a threat to Israel.

Jonah Disobeying
(chapter 1)

God's Command (1:1-2)

God commanded Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach to them about their sinfulness and call them to repentance. This is the only time in the OT where Israel is commanded to actively pursue the Gentiles. God’s Covenant with Abraham mentioned that through Abraham’s descendants God would bless the nations, but no Israelite is ever commanded to go to the nations and tell them about God. They were to have a passive witness. The Gentiles were supposed to see the difference between their society and Israel’s and be attracted to it. The OT is full of examples of Gentiles who became Jewish proselytes and worshipped Yahweh - Ruth, Jael, Shamgar, the woman at Jericho, etc.

Jonah's Disobedience (1:3)

What is Jonah’s reaction to God’s command? He refused. He didn’t say anything. He just left town. Notice the route he took: He went down to Joppa. Found a ship going down to Tarshish, so he went down into the boat. If God is up then down is bad. Every thing Jonah did took him further from God.

God's Disipline (1:4-9)

This section emphasizes God’s sovereignty over nature. He sent the wind and caused the sea to heave.

It is the heathen sailors who feared and are praying while the man of God is complacently sleeping below. The sailors were praying to the wrong gods, but they were convicted by the events at sea. Jonah’s lack of reaction is significant. Sin hardens the heart and makes us insensitive. Here we see that Jonah is insensitive to what God is doing. And we see the first of many contrasts between the heathens and Jonah. Jonah is insensitive, but the heathens are aware that something out of the ordinary is going on and they are praying to their gods.

Jonah’s statement in 1:9 is the exact opposite of what his actions show. He does not fear God. If he did, he would have obeyed the first time, and at the least, been praying because of the storm.

Sailor's Prayer (1:10-14)

What stand’s out in this section?

They would eventually learn that Jonah’s God was the true God.

1:10 shows that the men were amazed that Jonah would do something to displease his God. They spent their life in fear of their gods, trying to please and pacify them. It is ironic and sad that those who worship the true God - the only God worth fearing - and experience His grace, take advantage of His grace and do not live their life in an effort to please Him.

1:13 shows that the heathen sailors had more compassion than Jonah. They did not want to throw him overboard and tried desperately to get to land without doing that. They begged Jonah’s God’s pardon for what they had to do. This is also a contrast with the man of God who had no compassion on the people of Ninevah.

God's Answer (1:15-16)

God responded by calming the sea .

The sailors recognize that the true God is Jonah’s God, so they pray to Yahweh. And after the sea calms, we see that they feared Yahweh and offered sacrifices to Him and made vows. They were probably vows that they would follow and obey Him. This is in contrast to Jonah who disobeyed God.

More Discipline (1:17)

God is not through with Jonah. A great fish comes along and swallows him. There is more irony here. If you remember, Jonah went down, down, down in the first few verses. Now God is sending Jonah down to the depths of Sheol (2:2). At least that is what it felt like to Jonah.

Jonah Praying
(chapter 2)

Jonah's Prayer (2:1-9)

Jonah finally prays and thanks God for his deliverance even before he is delivered. This shows that he is convinced God answers prayer.

Some think that at this point Jonah is repenting, especially since he now goes and preaches to Ninevah. But let’s look at his prayer:

Nowhere in his prayer did he mention his own rebellion and sin, so there is no real confession going on here.

He piously considered himself better than the pagans (cf. vs 8-9). What is ironic and sad is that we have already seen that the sailor’s came out looking better than Jonah.

I think Jonah is making a big assumption here that God would deliver him. He certainly didn’t deserve it.

We will see by Jonah’s actions in chapter 4: that he didn’t really repent here.

Feinberg points out that the life of Jonah parallels the history of the nation of Israel, and the phrase, “Salvation is from the Lord” is a key ingredient in that parallel. Like Jonah, Israel was chosen. Like Jonah, Israel rebelled. Like Jonah, Israel received discipline (dispersion and abuse by other nations up to the present day). Israel looks to military alliances and national defense as the solution but until Israel recognizes that Salvation is from the Lord, there can be no ultimate deliverance. (Charles L. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 141-43).

I think the life of every individual is also parallel to Jonah’s experience. God calls us, but we rebell. We search for life in everything else but God until we come to a point in our life where we are so low that we finally recognize our inability and come to the conclusion that Salvation is from the Lord.

God's Answer (2:10)

God is gracious and He does answer Jonah’s prayer and the fish delivers Jonah to the beach outside of Ninevah.

Jonah Obeying
(chapter 3)

God's Command (3:1-2)

God repeated his command to Jonah to go to Ninevah. I think it shows the grace of God that He gave Jonah a second chance.

Jonah's Obedience (3:3-4)

This time Jonah obeys. It seems that there was no complaint this time. God had gotten Jonah's attention.

Jonah's message is a simple one - “In forty days Ninevah will be destroyed!” There wasn't a lot of persuasion. I don't think Jonah tried very hard to persuade them. He would have gone into town, said his piece and left saying something like, “Well, I told them. It's their own fault now when God destroys them.” I think this also shows that Jonah hasn’t really changed his attitude. It seems to me he is obeying, but grudgingly.

Ninevah's Prayer (3:5-9)

But the people of Ninevah heard him and believed him and repented. And this was a thorough repentance. Everyone from the king down to the cows were crying out. I'm sure the animals were just hungry, but it probably seemed like they were repenting too.

God's Answer (3:10)

God is gracious and does not destroy the city.

Jonah Learning
(chapter 4)

Jonah's Anger (4:1-4)

Jonah is furious when he sees the people's repentance. He knows now that God is not going to destroy them. Here we also see his true heart and further proof that he did not repent in chapter 2. The truth comes out about Jonah's fleeing from God in the beginning. He knew God would forgive them if they repented, but Jonah hated the Assyrians so much he didn't want to even give them the chance to repent.

Why did he hate them? The Assyrians were a dominant world power during this time and had even defeated Israel in a few battles and exacted tribute from Israel. Assyria wasn't just a non-hostile Gentile nation. It was an active enemy of Israel.

Jonah's Lesson (4:5-8)

So Jonah goes out of the city to pout and see if maybe God will destroy them. It is hot so God causes a plant to grow and give Jonah shade. The text says Jonah was “extremely happy about the plant.” Then, when the plant withers, Jonah wants to die. Doesn't it seem a little odd that Jonah would be so happy about the plant and so distraught over a plant’s death? I think the author is trying to make a point to us about how Jonah is all mixed up in his priorities.

God's Question (4:9-11)

God's question brings the point home. If Jonah is so upset about the death of a plant, which he didn't even plant, How much more should God be concerned about the death of human beings.

Lessons

(1) We learn about the character of God.

(2) We see his omnipotence as he controls the wind, the sea, the fish and the plant. And all of his power is directed toward a single goal - the reclamation of sinful humans - both Jonah and the Ninevites. (Chisholm, Interpreting The Minor Prophets, p. 129)

(3) We see his love and compassion as he gives Jonah a second chance and as he forgives the Ninevites.

(4) We see that God answers prayer. He answered the sailors' prayers, Jonah's prayer and the Ninevites' prayers.

(5) I think it ironic that God would spare the Assyrians so that they could destroy the Northern kingdom of Israel only a few decades later.

(6) I think this book shows that Jonah knew a lot about God. He presumed on God's grace and assumed his deliverance while still in the fish. He knew God was compassionate and gracious and would not destroy the Assyrians if they repented. So, although Jonah knew about God, he did not want to obey him. It could even be said that Jonah disobeyed in the name of justice. (Chisholm, Interpreting The Minor Prophets, p. 130) The Assyrians certainly had committed enough atrocities that they deserved judgment, and Jonah wanted them to get their due. But he was ignoring the sovereignty of God and disobeying God. He also was displaying a double standard. He was forgetting that Israel had been forgiven many times for her sins and that he himself had just been forgiven for his disobedience. He was a walking contradiction. I think we need to be careful that we do not fall into the same trap.

Jonah and the law of love:

I think Jonah gives us a negative illustration of love. I see Jonah as a good example of how we tend to judge others and consider ourselves to be better than others. I mentioned at the beginning of the series that the prophets were more concerned about the present failings of the people to follow the law than with future predictions. Jonah’s life illustrates this failure. Jesus summed up the whole law in one phrase, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jonah definitely illustrates not loving one’s neighbor. Loving involves forgiveness. Jonah would not forgive the Assyrians for their evil. Instead, he clung with pride to his heritage as a Jew, the chosen people of God, and he condemned the Assyrians. I think Jonah mistakenly thought that he deserved the favor of God. I think his prayer in chapter 2 demonstrates that. He called on God for deliverance without repenting of his evil. Why did God choose Israel? Because they were the biggest nation? Because they were more spiritual than the rest? No. He chose them out of grace. If you read Eze 16, you will see a good description of what Israel was like and what God did for them. It also describes how they became proud and forsook God. They certainly did not deserve the special relationship with God.

Jonah forgot that. If he had recognized his evil, he would have seen that he was just as bad as the Ninevites. This reminds me of the parable of the unforgiving servant, who was forgiven an enormous debt by the king. He in turn refused to forgive a fellow slave a small debt. When the king found out, the unforgiving servant was handed over to the torturers until he could repay the debt. I think God was torturing Jonah to try to make him see his evil, so he would repent and so he would recognize that he was no better than the Assyrians. He should have forgiven them and gone to help them. The message of the unforgiving servant is that we should forgive, because we have been forgiven. Jonah was forgiven and delivered from the fish, but he did not see it that way.

When I read Larry Crabb and Dan Allender’s books, they say that love means moving into another person’s life to build them up, to help them see their evil so they will repent. It usually involves sacrifice on our part and forgiveness for the harm they do to us. I see Jonah as failing to do this. He failed to forgive and therefore was unwilling to move toward the Ninevites to help them see their evil so they could repent and have a relationship with God. He failed to love.

 

For more info on Jonah, check out http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/jonah/jonah.html

I. Introduction

A. Author

The author of the book is “Micah of Moresheth” (1:1). The word “micah” means “Who is like Yahweh?” Micah's hometown of Moresheth is probably the same town identified later as Moresheth-gath in the Shephelah (rolling hills) of Judah. This village was one of many that was captured by Sennacherib in his attack on Judah in 701 BC. (cf. Micah 1:14). Moresheth was an important city which guarded a key route into the hill country of Judah south of Jerusalem. Because of its importance it was fortified by Rehoboam as a defensive center (2Ch 11:5-12) Nothing else is known about Micah, but we can surmise that Micah may have actually prophesied during the invasion and witnessed the destruction of his own hometown by Sennecharib. He probably saw his relatives killed and hauled off into slavery.

B. Date

Micah prophesied during “the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah” (1:1). We know that Jotham began a co-regency with his father Uzziah (Azariah) in 750 B.C. and he assumed sole authority when his father died in 739 B.C. (The year Isaiah was called as a prophet). Hezekiah began ruling with his father Ahaz in 735 B.C. and he assumed sole authority when his father died in 715 B.C. Hezekiah continued his reign until 686 B.C. Thus Micah's ministry extended no longer than 750-686 B.C. The time can possibly be narrowed a little more because of the internal chronological markers.

• First, the fact that Micah did not mention Uzziah would imply that he had already died and that Jotham was ruling alone as king. This would place Micah after 739 B.C.
• Second, he began prophesying before the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. because at one point he pictured Samaria's future fall (1:6-7).
• Third, Micah's prophecies extended to Assyria's invasion of Judah in 701 B.C. because he recorded the distress accompanying that invasion (1:10-16;5:6).
• Fourth, Micah also intimated that Judah would go into exile in Babylon, Merodach-baladan in 701 B.C. (4:10;cf. Isa 39:1-8)

Thus Micah's ministry could be assigned generally to a time between 735 and 700 B.C.

C. Historical Setting

Micah prophesied during a period of upheaval and crisis. The reign of Ahaz brought spiritual lethargy, apostasy and hypocrisy. The people still worshipped Yahweh, but it was ritual without life-changing reality. Their treatment of fellow Israelites violated the basic tenants of the Mosaic covenant as they failed to practice justice, or covenant loyalty-love and their pursuit of idolatry revealed their failure to walk humbly before Yahweh.

Ahaz's reign also brought subjection to Assyria-the rising power in the east. To protect himself against the combined attack of the Israelites and the Arameans, Ahaz entered into a treaty with Assyria and made Judah a vassal to the Assyrians (2Ki 16:5-9). Assyria's hold on Judah was strengthened when it captured and destroyed Aram and Israel.

When Sennacherib became king of Assyria in 705 B.C., Hezekiah and a number of other vassal states tried to break away from the yoke of Assyrian bondage. Sennacherib secured his throne at home and subdued the rebellious states to his south, but in 701 B.C. he marched west to subdue Judah and the other rebellious nations. Judah was decimated a Sennacherib captured 46 of his (Hezediah's) strong cities, walled forts and countless small villages in their vicinity...” He also captured “200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting ...” The two pronged attack against Judah and Jerusalem focused on the two strategic approaches into the hill country of Judah and its capital. The first side of this prong attacked north of Jerusalem against the cities on the Central Benjamin Plateau, the main entry to Jerusalem along the north (cf Isa 10:28-32). The second side of the prong swept through the Shephelah of Judah capturing the approaches into the hill country to the south of Jerusalem (Micah 1:10-15). The chief city in the Shephelah was Lachish—a city second in importance only to Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah. Sennacherib captured Lachish; and this event was so significant to him that he commissioned a relief to be made of the battle which adorned the walls of his palace in Nineveh. The relief included graphic pictures of people impaled on poles, being skinned alive, beheaded. An Assyrian relief shoed the Jews going into captivity.

Michah's hometown of Moresheth was also destroyed by Sennacherib at this time, and its people were killed or deported as slaves.

Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries, and their books parallel one another in several ways. One possible difference (apart from the geographical and social background of each prophet) is the general emphasis of each book. Isaiah's prophecies were directed more to the royal household and the people of Jerusalem, while Micah's prophecies were directed more to the “common people” of the land.

D. Purpose

Micah's purpose in writing was to show Judah that a necessary product of her covenant relationship to God was to be justice and holiness. His focus on God's justice was to remind the people that God would judge them for their sin and disobedience (chaps 1-3) but that he would ultimately establish a kingdom whose king would reign in righteousness (chaps 4-5). He convicts Israel and Judah of their sin (in the lawsuit 6-7) and sentences them to judgment

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Assyrian Reliefs: Pictures of siege ramps from Assyria, attack on Lachish - pictures of cutting off heads, impaling people on poles. Maps of attack routes. Slides of Shepelah.

The trade routes were in the valleys. A city on a hill could guard the trade routes. That's where Moresheth was. Lachish was the largest city in the area. When Senacharib attacked, he captured Lachish but could not take Jerusalem. When he went home, he made reliefs of the battle with stone throwers, slings, ramps, battering rams, etc.

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When Micah preached, much of his message was probably warning to Israel, but when he wrote his book, Israel was destroyed so most of the book is written to Judah.

II. Imminent Judgment of God’s People
(1:2-3:12)

A. The Coming of the Lord (1:2-5)

1. The Witness of the Lord (1:2)

Notice in verse 2 that the Lord is in His holy temple. Where was God when Isaiah began his ministry? Isaiah 6: God was in his temple.

2. The Arrival of the Lord (1:3)

But God's not staying in His temple. He is coming down to the earth. It is not a walk of joy. It is to bring judgment. “God will tread...” His steps will be like an earthquake bringing judgment.

It says God will tread on the high places. The high places were where the Israelites were forbidden to set up altars and where they did just that to worship other gods. What is the high place of Judah in verse 5? It was Jerusalem. Jerusalem is actually on a hill. The reason it is referred to as a high place is because it had ceased to be the place where they worshipped Yahweh. It is pictured as a pagan high place.

3. The Respone of Nature to the Lord (1:4)

4. The Cause for the Manifestation of the Lord (1:5)

a) The sin of Samaria - Israel

b) The Sin of Jerusalem - Judah

B. The Condemnation of the Lord (1:6-16)

1. The Condemnation of Samaria (1:6-9)

In verses 6-7 Micah tells of the judgment on Israel and then the rest of the book deals with Judah.

a) The results of God's condemnation (1:6-7a)

When the Assyrians destroyed Israel and Samaria in 722 BC they actually took the stones of the city and threw them into the valley. [GET OVERHEAD relief of process.]

b) The reason for God's condemnation (1:7b)

1:7b The Israelites had degenerated so far that they had temple prostitutes in Samaria. Cf. Hosea. Baal worship had become the national god of Israel. When the soldiers came in and looted the city, they used the money to pay for prostitutes. That's what soldiers typically do. It was a sort of poetic justice.

c) The prophet's response to God's condemnation (1:8-9)

(1) Mourning for Samaria's fall (1:8)

(2) Mourning for the effect of Samaria's fall on Jerusalem (1:9)

1:9 The “her” refers to Samaria. The wound of Samaria - i.e. the sin of Samaria had come to Judah. That sin was Baal worship.

2. The Condemnation of Jerusalem (1:10-16)

a) The approaching disaster (1:10-15)

Beginning in verse 10 Micah starts a series of puns to explain what will happen to various cities. He takes the name of the city and uses another word which sounds like the city name or is derived from the city name to describe its downfall and the judgment coming on them.¹

1:10a. Tell it not in Gath was a saying that meant, “Don't let my enemies know what has happened to us.” 2 Sam 1: Saul had just died and David composed a song of lament and began the song with this phrase. It became a proverb still used today in Israel.

1:10b. “At Beth-le-aphrah” ( B=b?t l=u^p=r*h u*p*r) (the house of dust), roll yourself in dust - part of the mourning process. You people in the house of dust better start rolling in the dust. You better start mourning, because you are going to be taken away in captivity.

When they excavated Lachish, they found altars to the sun god and signs of Baal worship.

City Name	Hebrew	Meaning
Gath	tG^	Don't tell the enemy of our misfortune
Beth-le-aphrah	harp=u^l= tyb@B rp=u^ means dust =	In the “house of dust” roll your self in the dust
Shaphir	ryp!v*	The inhabitants of the “pleasant” town will go away in shamful nakedness
Zaanan	/n`a&x^>>>ha*x=y` al	The inhabitants of the “going out” town will not get away.
Beth-ezel	lx#a@h* tyB@	The people of the “foundation house” will lose their support.
Maroth	torm* from h*r`m meaning “bitter”	The inhabitants of the “bitter” town will wain in vain for a change of fortune
Lachish	cyk!l*>>>vk#rl* vk#r means “horses”	Those in the “team of horses” town will hitch up ther team of horses to retreat.
Moresheth-gath	tG^ tv#rom	The inhabitants of the “betrothed town will be departing to live with their new husband - the king of Assyria.
Achzib	bz*k=a^l= byz!k=a^ bz*k=a means to lie or deceive.	The inhabitants of the “deceit” town will prove deceitful to the kings of Israel who depend on her.
Mareshah	hv*r}m*>>>vr}yh^ vr~y` means “possession”	Those in the “possessor” town will be possessed by the king of Assyria.
Adullam	<l*D]u& means “justice of the people” probably poetic justice - they will get what they deserve.	The nobles of Israel will retreat to the town known for its caves (that they may hide). (cf. 1 Sam 22:1)

Isaiah 10 and Micah 1 give the battle plan that Sennecharib used to attack Jerusalem. You can only approach Jerusalem from the north or south. Sennacharib sent part of his army from the north (Isa 10:) and part of his army came up through the Shepelah from the south.

The only thing which spared Jerusalem was the Angel of the Lord. Sennacharib records that he took 46 strong walled cities, and countless unwalled cities which really left only Jerusalem. He took 200,000 captives. Mysteriously 185,000 Assyrians were killed and they fled home and there is no record of that in Sennecherib's chronicles.

b) The lamentation (1:16)

C. The Complaint of the Lord (2:1-3:12)

1. Against greedy people (2:1-13)

a) The crime and its results (2:1-5)

(1) The people's greed (2:1-2)

The people are so evil they have trouble falling asleep at night because they are lying awake scheming of ways to steal from others the next day. cf vs 2

(2) God's judgment (2:3-5)

Here we have the results of their wickedness. Just as they laid awake at night planning evil, and just like they took things away from the helpless, God was planning against them and was going to have a stronger nation come in and do the same to them.

Notice verse 4. Their bitter lamentation would be like crying, “No fair!” The punishment fits the crime.

b) The rejection of the truth because of greed (2:6-11)

2:6-7. Why did they not believe Micah? Because for every Micah, there were many more that were saying that things would be fine.

This reminds me of what is going on today. Take the media for example. For every Rush Limbaugh, Tom Donohue and Chuck Harter speaking out against the economic, social and moral evils of our government, there are hundreds of liberal media people spreading the “politically correct” dogma.

Most churches of our day don't believe in the final judgment and eternal damnation. For every one that does there are dozens of others teaching a health and wealth, properity gospel. They are focusing on healing, emotionalism, etc. This is not to mention the cults and false religions.

2:8. Look who they took advantage of: The strangers passing through the land, the wounded soldiers who returned from war, the women, and children.

This happens in our country. I remember recently seeing a 60 minutes or 20/20 show about telephone con men who take advantage of older people who are from an age when people were typically honest and they get them to send $100's and $1000's of dollars for “investments” or “shipping fees” or “processing fees” required before the con men can send them their prizes. And then they send them junk or nothing at all.

Think about the tele-evangelists who take advantage of people by promising them health, wealth and prayer if they send him $1000.

2:11 shows what kind of prophet the people wanted to listen to. One that promised lots of beer and wine and prosperity. Does that sound like our society. Robert Tilton ... Bill Clinton ... Promise them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Clinton supporters were proud of the fact that he was able to lie well enough to get elected. It was necessary to win the election and the end justified the means.

c) The promise of ultimate regathering and deliverance (2:12-13)

This is probably a major break in the section. Now we have a promise of restoration. Because of the mention of the “remnant in verse 12 and the “Lord at their head” in verse 13, the breaker is probably the Lord. So here, in the midst of this terrible message of judgment, we have a section of hope inserted for the faithful remnant, promising them restoration and ultimate deliverance. God will gather the remnant and break away their trouble.

Micah 3:

Princes 3:1-4,9,11	Priests 3:11	Prophets 3:5-8,11
Skin, Bribe, Twist	Teach only if paid	If money - Peace If no money - War
Not doing justice	Not loving loyalty	Not walking humbly
Judgment: 3:4 Prayers unheeded	Judgment: 3:12 Temple destroyed	Judgment: 3:6,7 Darkness, shame

2. Against unjust rulers (3:1-4, 9)

The job of leaders in society was and is to provide justice for all. But what were these leaders doing?

a) Their sin (3:1-3)

These leaders were saying to the people, “If you want justice, it's going to cost you.” When it says they were tearing off the skin of the people, he is picturing it metaphorically and it is the same as we would say, they were skinning them alive. They were ripping them off. The people cried out for justice and the leaders ignored them. All they were concerned about was money and the power it brought them. Notice 3:11a.

Again, doesn't this remind you of our leaders in the white house and congress. Also, in our society, the only ones who get “justice” or should I say, the only ones who win court battles are those who can afford the best lawyers. There is little justice in our courts.

b) Their judgment (3:4)

The punishment fits the crime. There will come a time when they will cry out to God and God will ignore them.

3. Against False Prophets (3:5-8)

a) Their sin (3:5)

They would prophesy peace if they were paid well and if they were not paid they would prophesy doom. They acted like they could control and manipulate God. “If you don't pay me, I'm going to sic God on you.” What was their role supposed to be? They were God's link to man. They were supposed to be serving God and giving God's message to men.

Application: This is just like the tele-evangelists today. If you don't give your money to them they tell you you will not prosper. If you give lots of money, they tell you that you will prosper. They are teaching that you can manipulate God.

They would go to the priest and say, “Is this Kosher or not?” And the priest would say, “What's it worth to you?” His answer depended on how much they paid him.

Application: Do we do this in the modern church? Do the rich people who give lots of money get special treatment? Do they have a bigger voice in church policy even when their spiritual maturity is in question? Do we avoid confronting them for sinful behavior because we are afraid they will stop giving?

This was a lack of loyalty and love to God and man. They priests only cared about themselves and lining their own pockets.

b) Their judgment (3:6-7)

The reference to night and darkness is a word picture for not being able to see. God would take away their dreams and visions.

c) Their contrast with Micah who is the true prophet (3:8)

Here we have a contrast between Micah and the false prophets. As for me, I'm going to be God's prophet and tell people what they need to hear. This is the attitude that we need to have. There are people around us who succumb to the pressure to tell people what they want to hear and succumb to greed.

4. Against all Jerusalem's hierarchy (3:9-12)

a) Their sin (3:9-11)

The priests taught God's principles for a price. If people paid them, they would preach. If they wouldn't pay them, they wouldn't tell them what God's word said. They were in it for the money.

b) Their judgment (3:12)

The temple would become a heap of ruins.

This indictment against the leaders shows that there was no justice - no love for their fellow man and they certainly weren't walking humbly before God. If there is one verse you have heard quoted from Micah it is 6:8 which says....

The first three chapters show the problems and the resulting judgment and set up the readers for the exhortation in 6:8.

Also in this section, I think 3:8 stands out because Micah says, “As for me, I'm going to stand up for what is right and proclaim the truth.” It should be a model for us to follow.

Transition: Remember the pattern we discussed that the prophets followed? Description of sin - resulting judgment and then ultimate restoration? Lest we become too discouraged we now come to a section which promises ultimate deliverance.

III. Ultimate Blessing on God’s People
(4:1-5:15)

After dealing with imminent judgment Micah turns to what God intends to bring about in the future. We have contrast with the previous chapter:

In Micah’s Time	In the Last Days
Temple destroyed	House of the Lord established
The priests not teaching	God will teach us
The princes not giving justice	God will judge and settle disputes
All that was wrong in their day	God will correct in the future

Maybe we could look at it another way visually to help us see the main idea:

So we see Micah is giving a contrast between present imminent judgment and ultimate restoration.

A. The Coming Kingdom (4:1-5:6)

1. The characteristics of the kingdom (4:1-8)

a) The elevation of Jerusalem (4:1-5)

(1) Jerusalem: The world center on which nations will converge (4:1-2a)

(2) Jerusalem: The world center from which God's Word will go forth (4:2b-4)

(3) Present response in light of Jerusalem's future glory (4:5)

b) The restoration of the nation (4:6-8)

(1) The gathering of the nation (4:6)

(2) The transformation of the nation (4:7)

(3) The establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of the world (4:8)

2. The events preceding the kingdom (Judah's Distress and Deliverance) (4:9-5:6)

a) Judah's Captivity (4:9-10)

(1) Now

(2) The captivity in Babylon (4:9-10a)

700 BC and Micah is foretelling that Judah would go into captivity in Babylon. This is the same thing Isaiah is predicting.

(3) The regathering from Babylon (4:10b)

b) Judah's Enemies (4:11-13)

(1) Now

(2) Present gloating of Judah's enemies (4:11)

Right now Israel is being put down by other nations,

(3) Future defeat of Judah's enemies (4:12-13)

but there will come a day when Israel will rule over the nations.

c) Judah's Leadership (5:1-6)

(1) Now

(2) Present subjection of Judah's kings (5:1)

Right now the Gentiles are smashing the rulers of Israel. This could be referring to Hezekiah's humiliation by Assyria or maybe of Zedekiah's defeat by the Babylonians 100 years later. Now, in the imminent part, the Gentiles will rule of Israel.

(3) Future deliverance of Judah's kings (5:2-6)

But in the future a king will be born in Bethlehem. The prophecy of Christ that Herod's wise men used to answer Herod's questions.

B. The Characteristics of the Coming Kingdom (5:7-15)

1. The blessing on the remnant of Jacob (5:7-9)

Israel pictured as a blessing to the other nations like the dew (only precipitation in summer months) and like a lion who is the king of the beasts, they would deserve respect.

a) Their divine source of existence (5:7)

b) Their irresistible power (5:8)

c) Their divine promise (5:9)

2. The purging of Israel (5:10-14)

These are the things that Israel had always depended on. God was going to have to take these things away so they would depend on Him.

a) Removal of human weapons and fortifications (5:10-11)

b) Removal of occultism (5:12)

c) Removal of idolatry (5:13-14)

3. The judgment on the nations (5:15)

Up to this point we have a typical prophetic outline - The condemnation for their sins, the resulting judgment and then the promise of deliverance. But there are two more chapters. What are they there for?

IV. Present Response of God's People
(6:1-7:20)

A. God's Lawsuit against Israel (6:1-16)

The background for this is the covenant or mosaic law. God had told them exactly what was expected of them and when they violated the law, God took them to court. To really understand the prophets, you must understand the Blessings and Cursings of Deuteronomy.

1. Opening Appeal (6:1-2)

Normally you would go to the city gate and have the elders hear the case. But God is going to have the mountains hear the case. They've been around a long time and they've seen what God has done and what Israel has done.

2. Questioning of Motives and Actions (6:3)

God asks where he broke his covenant with Israel. What is their answer? There is no answer, because He hadn't broken his side of the covenant. They should be silenced with shame.

3. Specific Charges (6:4-8)

God recounts his faithfulness to Israel.

The deliverance from Egypt with all the plagues and crossing the Red Sea.

Remember Balaak (who wanted Balaam to curse Israel so he could defeat them.) and Balaam who blessed Israel instead?

From Shittim to Gilgal >>> Where are these two towns? See map...

In other words, God is referring to the crossing of the Jordan on dry land in the flood season.

Verses 6-7 are probably the people's reply to God. “Okay God, just what do you want? More sacrifices? How many? Do you want more money? They are not repentant. They are basically asking God what His price is. It's like being caught for speeding. What is your attitude? Are you sorry for breaking the law or just sorry for being caught.

And then Micah tells them in verse 8 what God wants. He wants Justice and Mercy to their fellow man and Loyalty to God. This is the theme of the book.

Does this sound familiar. Love your neighbor as your self and love the Lord your God ...

Israel had violated both of these ideals. Because of this God could declare them guilty. And that is what follows.

4. Declaration of Guilt (6:9-12)

They had scales that were made to cheat people and if that wasn't good enough, they had bags with weights that were not accurate to cheat them more.

5. Sentence (6:13-16)

The curses come straight out of Deut 26 and 28.

Statutes of Omri - Omri was father of Ahab and he set up marriage of Ahab to Jezebel who brought Baal worship to Israel. Therefore the statutes of Omri were statues of Baal.

B. Micah's lament over Israel (7:1-10

1. Her present distress (7:1-6)

a) The moral degeneration of society (7:1-4a)

How many people here are right handed?

How many people are left handed?

How many are ambidextrous?

7:3 says that everyone in Israel was ambidextrous. - Both hands did evil equally well.

b) The coming judgment of God (7:4b)

c) The moral degeneration of personal relationships (7:5-6)

Unfortunately this is where our society is heading.

2. Her future deliverance (7:7-10)

But as for me... Here we see Micah's response in the midst of these terrible times. This is something we need to keep in balance. Society is bad, but we need to be sure that we are shining bright for God. We need to continue to live godly lives and have hope.

Micah is talking for himself in vs 7 but it is almost like he is taking the place of Israel in verse 8. He is acting as their representative.

a) God will bring her from darkness to light (7:7-9)

One of the purposes for prophecy is to give hope in the midst of bad times. Here we see that Micah can see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”

We don't know if God is going to let our society go down the tubes or if there will be a revival. If He lets our society be destroyed, we know that it is all part of His plan, and He will right all wrongs in the end, so we can rest in that knowledge.

b) God will punish her enemies (7:10)

C. God's Blessing for Israel (7:11-20)

1. Israel's Restoration (7:11-13)

a) Expansion of Israel's borders (7:11)

Expanded to the originally promised borders.

b) Movement of people to Israel (7:12)

c) Destruction of Israel's enemies (7:13)

2. God's intervention (7:14-15)

a) Israel will be shepherded (7:14)

b) Miracles will be performed (7:15)

3. The nation's response (7:16-17)

a) The nations will be ashamed (7:16)

b) The nations will fear the Lord (7:17)

Again and again we see that God's ultimate purpose for Israel was to be a witness to the nations. Here we see that in the last days, the nations will turn to God.

4. God's foregiveness (7:18-20)

a) His character (7:18-20

(1) His forgiving nature (7:18a)

Micah is awed by the fact that God would forgive their sins and restore them.

(2) His loyalty-love (7:18b)

(3) His compassion (7:19a)

b) His conduct (7:19b-20)

(1) His victory over sin (7:19b)

(2) His faithfulness to His covenant promises (7:20)

“Thou wilt be true to Jacob.” Israel's future is wrapped up in God's promises to Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham and He will not break it. That is one reason I'm a premillenial dispensationalist. Because unless you see God breaking His promises to Abraham, you have to look for a time when God fulfill all his promises to Israel.

---

1 Chart is from Dr. Dyer's class notes.

Introduction

The Author

The name “Nahum“ means comfort or consolation. His book is a message of destruction for Nineveh, and that would have been a message of consolation for the nations she had oppressed. The only thing we know about Nahum is found in 1:1 which says he was from Elkosh. But we don't know where that was because it is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. Some think it is the town of Capernaum near Galilee because Capernaum in Hebrew is <Whn~ rp*K* which means village of Nahum. Perhaps in honor of the prophet Nahum they changed the name of the city from Elkosh to Capernaum. This sort of thing happens today. Take Machunk Pennsylvania for example. There was a famous athlete who went to the Olympics from that town and they changed the name of the town in honor of him. Who was that athlete? Does anybody know? Machunk was changed to Jim Thorpe, Penn. It is possible that Elkosh was changed to Capernaum, but we can't know for sure. Nahum would have been much more popular than most prophets because he was preaching against the Assyrians and not Judah. So they might have changed the name. It's not something I would split a church over. It is also entirely possible that Elkosh was located somewhere else in Judah.

Date

It is difficult to determine a specific date for Nahum's ministry, but we can assume that it was written before 612 BC because that is when Nineveh was destroyed and since Nahum is predicting the destruction of Nineveh that would be a safe assumption. (Unless of course you are a liberal critic and deny the existence of predictive prophecy.) We can also assume that it was written after 663 B.C. because Nahum compares the destruction of Nineveh with the destruction of No-amon or Thebes in Egypt which was destroyed in 663 B.C. Thus Nahum probably wrote between 663 and 612 B.C.

If you remember, Jonah prophesied to Nineveh about 150 years earlier. It is interesting to compare Jonah's prophesy with Nahum's. I would take the following comparisons with a grain of salt, but there are some interesting things to note:

Jonah: The Mercy of God	Nahum: The Judgment of God
800 B.C.	650 B.C.
Emphasis on the prophet - only one prophecy in the whole book	Emphasis on the prophecy - the only thing we know about the prophet is that he was from Elkosh.
Disobedient prophet	Obedient prophet
Obedient Nation	Disobedient Nation - in only 150 years the nation became so bad that it had to be destroyed. Does that remind you of America in any way? We've degenerated a lot in the last 50 years.
Deliverance from Water	Destruction by water ?
Repentence of Nineveh	Rebellion of Nineveh

Historical Background

Nineveh was founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-12) and had a long history. It was located on the east bank of the Tigris river. The river acted as the western and southern boundaries of the city. A wall that extended for eight miles formed the northern and eastern boundaries. The city was about three miles wide and eight miles long inside the walls, but there were suburbs that extended 14 miles north and 20 miles south. When Jonah referred to a three day walk across Nineveh (Jonah 3:3) it was no exaggeration.

The city was destroyed by the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians in 612 BC. According to the ancient historian, Diodorus Siculus, the armies laid siege to the city for over two years. In the third year, the Khosr River, which ran through the city flooded, broke down the floodgates and part of the wall which allowed the enemy to come in. This fulfilled part of Nahum's prophesy in 1:8; 2:6 and 3:13. (Diodorus Siculus tended to exaggerate - the Babylonian chronicles say the siege lasted only a few months. The truth is probably somewhere in between. But I think we can rely on the account of the flood because Nahum predicted it.)

The city was destroyed so completely by the flood and the enemies that when Alexander the Great fought the battle of Arbela nearby in 331 BC, he did not know there had been a city there. Nineveh was never rebuilt, and this confirms Nahum's prediction in 1:9 that “distress will not rise up twice.“ It wasn't until 1850 that Nineveh was discovered by archaeologists. It is interesting to read liberal commentaries from before 1850 because they had problems with believing the books of Jonah and Nahum because there was no record of Nineveh.

Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria. The destruction of Nineveh and Assyria would be a message of consolation for the nations Assyria had oppressed. Israel and Judah were two of those nations. Israel had been destroyed in 722 BC by the Assyrians, but Judah was still around. We need to remember what the Assyrians were like. They burned cities, cut off heads and stuck people on poles. We talk about taking a head count, the Assyrians really did it.

Assyrian relief of people on poles

I. Nineveh's Doom Declared--The Who
(1:2-15)

A. Because of God's Attributes (1:2-8)

1. God's wrath (1:2-3a)

God is a God of justice and when there is injustice, it makes Him angry. Luckily, He is slow to anger and patient.

2. God's power (1:3b-6)

God's vengeance (justice) and omnipotence are stressed by the complete devastation that is coming. His power is demonstrated by tornadoes and hurricanes and earthquakes. He can dry up the sea, wither the vegetation, and destroy everything on the earth. God has the power to do whatever He wants. No one can stand in His way.

What we don't realize is that in the ANE battle accounts and Assyrian records, the kings often described their battles with similar words. For example: Ashur-nasir-apli II claimed that at his approach “all lands convulse, writhe, and melt as though in a furnace.“¹ So, this description of God's approach would have had special significance to the listeners of that day.

3. God's goodness (1:7)

But his wrath and power are tempered by His goodness. God is also aware of those who trust in Him and will preserve them (1:7). This should be a comfort to us when we see society disintegrating around us. Even though everyone else is bad, if we remain faithful, God will notice us and reward us - either by protecting us here on earth or rewarding us in heaven. We often feel like it has to be now, but eternal rewards really are better.

4. Conclusion (1:8)

For Ninevah the result is destruction because the people of Nineveh are evil. Notice the reference to the overwhelming flood. That was fulfilled by the flooding of the Khoser River and the flooding in of the enemies.

Notice that Nahum starts with God. Judgment comes because of who God is. When you get the character of God in mind, everything else falls into perspective. Having done that, Nahum now focuses on Nineveh.

B. Because of Ninevah's Sin (1:9-15)

Nineveh made war on God's people, and therefore, made war against God 1:9-11.

1:11 - From you, O Nineveh, one came forth that plotted against the Lord.

1:12 - Though I have afflicted you, O Judah, I will afflict you no longer. God was going to remove the oppression that Assyria had placed on His people.

In 1:11-15. Nahum alternates between the destruction of Nineveh and the restoration of Judah to show a contrast. The one who was on top will be brought down. The one who is on bottom will be restored. This is the way God always operates. The Last will be First and the First will be Last. God humbles those who exalt themselves and exalts those who humble themselves.

Assyria was God’s instrument for destroying the northern kingdom of Israel, but it went to their heads and they attributed success to their own power.

II. Nineveh's Doom Described--The How
(2:1-13)

A. The coming of Nineveh's enemies (2:1-2)

Nahum assumes the role of the watchman in the tower and he announces the coming of Nineveh's enemies and the reason why. The reason is to restore Jacob. Then he describes the battle.

B. The attack on Nineveh's defenses (2:3-7)

2:3-5 describe the enemy army approaching with their red (copper) shields and and red uniforms. This was a picture of the bloodshed that was coming. The reference to the torches and lightning flashes probably refer to the light flashing off the enemy chariots, the soldiers' armor and their swords. The “streets“ that they are driving in are possibly the suburb streets as they approach the main city’s walls. Some suggest that the “stumbling“ in vs 5 is stumbling over the dead bodies of the people in the suburbs.

So, everyone is posed for battle, but it is to no avail, Nineveh can't stand before God's wrath. The Babylonians, Medes and Scythians are God's instrument and God opens the way for them. In verse 6 we see that the river floods, the walls cave in and the enemy enters the city. The Assyrian army fled the city.

C. The plundering of the city (2:8-10)

The wealth taken in all her conquests is now taken from her. According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, there was so much loot that the enemy didn't pursue the fleeing army. The soldiers started grabbing everything they could.

D. The Destruction of Nineveh's “Lair.“ (2:11-13)

The Assyrians had a fascination with lions. There are several reliefs that have been found which show the kings hunting lions. It was important that a king demonstrate his prowess as a hunter because if he could rule the animal kingdom, then he would be a better ruler over the people. We might laugh at that, but we elect military leaders and athletes to congress.

Assyrian relief of Ashurbanapal on a lion hunt and offering the lions to his god.

The lion has climbed into the chariot and the king kills the lion with a knife. It looks like he has been tamed a bit with an arrow through the head.

What do you do after a hard day of hunting lions? Ashurbanapal offers them to his god. The Assyrians prided themselves on being better than the king of beasts.

Assyria is compared to a lion because this lion fetish and because of her fierce conquests. Because Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria it is called the lion's den. And thus it now makes sense why Nahum would ask “where is the lion's den.“

III. Nineveh's Doom Deserved--The Why
(3:1-19)

A. Because of Her Brutal Conquests and Slave Trade (3:1-7)

Assyria's conquests were bloody and brutal. Her philosopy was that you got rich by plundering others. They exacted tribute from other nations for “protection.“ You've seen this in movies where the mafia goon comes into the place of business and asks the owner if he wants protection so people don't throw fire bombs through the window.

The reference to her prey never leaving in vs 1 may be a reference to the fact that Assyria didn't let captives return to their homeland.(?) Her cruelty made them so hated that no one would grieve for her when she was gone (vs 7).

Assyria was like a harlot because she had prostituted her values in order to gain wealth and power. It sounds like our nation and especially our government doesn't it.

Her judgment is deserved because of her character. In the Ancient Near East, they would make a spectacle of the prostitute by exposing her and then kill her.

B. The Example of Thebes (3:8-10)

Nahum reminds them of their former conquest and destruction of Thebes or No-amon for two reasons. The first reason is to point out their cruelty and further justification for their coming judgment. The main reason is to point out that just as Thebes was unable to repel the attackers, Nineveh would be unable to repel their attackers.

• Thebes was supposedly undefeatable because it was surrounded on all sides by the Nile river and a canal. The Ninevites would have thought, “So are we.“
• Thebes had great defenses. So did Nineveh.
• Egypt had vassal nations as allies. So did Assyria.

Ninevah would have known all this -- because Assyria was the one who defeated Thebes.

C. The Inevitable Destruction (3:11-18)

3:11 says they will be hidden. Remember we discussed in the introduction that the site of Nineveh was hidden until its discovery in 1842.

3:12 refers to ripe figs. When yo shake a ripe fig tree, the fruit falls off very easily. Ninevah's fortifications would fall easily.

3:13 says their troops were women. An army of women would be defeated by an army of men. That's not a politically correct statement to make in our day, but it was the truth. The gates were opened wide to the enemies by the flooding river.

3:14 makes reference to the siege which we already discussed.

3:17 Like the locusts flee, the Assyrians fled when the attackers came through the walls.

D. The Response of the Nations (3:19)

Not only would they not be able to defend themselves, they could not depend on other nations for help, because every other nation hated them for their cruelty and would rejoice at their destruction 3:19.

Application:

This judgment is coming because of the character of God. This means we need to look at circumstances in the light of who God is. The book reveals quite a lot about the character of God:

(1) God is Sovereign - He is in control of both nature and the nations. He used the Babylonians to bring his judgment on the Assyrians. He also used a flood to help the Babylonians.

(2) God is Just - Assyria's judgment was well deserved. Although God used them to destroy Israel, it went to their heads and they attributed their success to their own power and God did not appreciate that. God also dealt with the Assyrians appropriate to the way in which they had dealt with other nations. Many of the same atrocities they committed on others were committed on them.

(3) God protects his people - Although God used Assyria to discipline Israel, he would take notice of those who were faithful.

Why is God judging?

• Because God cares for those who trust in Him.
• Because God will judge those who violate His law.

This is a message of condemnation for those who disobey God and a message of consolation for those who trust and obey Him.

Ninevah exalted herself but she was humbled by God. This is what I call the Pharisee and Publican principle. In the parable of the pharisee and the tax gatherer, the pharisee compared himself to the tax gatherer and exalted himself before God. The tax gatherer was humble and asked for mercy. Jesus said it was the tax gatherer who went away justified. If you exalt yourself, God will humble you.

Assyria compromised her values to gain wealth and power, so God took her down. That is something we struggle with today. Has there been any opportunity lately to do something that was not quite right, but would have helped “close a deal“ or advance your career or make more money, etc?

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1 Chisholm, p. 170.

Have you ever finished watching the evening news with all the violence and injustice in the world and in frustration asked, Why isn’t God doing something? Why do the wicked and the dishonest people prosper. Why do they get elected to the White House? Well, that is not a new feeling. A prophet named Habakkuk felt that way around 620 B.C. and wrote a book about it.

Habakkuk’s name means to “embrace” or “wrestle.” As is usually the case, his name has something to do with the message of the book. I think it relates to the fact that he was wrestling with a difficult issue. If God is good, then why is there evil in the world? And if there has to be evil, then why do the evil prosper? What is God doing in the world? We discussed a similar thought coming from the Israelites in Zephaniah 1:12. They said God did not do good or evil. They thought God was not involved and so continued in their sin. Habakkuk is one of the good guys. He fears God and does what is right, but it is getting him no where.

Warren Wiersbe entitles his book on Habakkuk as From Worry to Worship. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones calls his, “From Fear to Faith.” While Habakkuk begins by wondering or worrying about the world around him and God’s seeming indifference, he ends by worshipping God.¹ When he heard who was coming 3:16 says he trembled, but he certainly ends up expressing faith by the end of the book. What they are trying to capture in the titles of their books is the progression Habakkuk makes from questioning God to trusting God. So let’s look at how he made that progression.

Habakkuk’s Question
(1:2-4)

Habakkuk expresses the attitude that many righteous people have. He is ourtraged at the violence and injustice in his society. He lists six different problems. His list is repetitious, but it emphasizes just how bad things were. There was sin, wickedness, destruction and violence, no justice in the courts, and the wicked outnumbered the righteous. Does this sound like our society?

In verse 4 he says, "the law is ignored." God's word was no longer the standard. It is now illegal to have the 10 commandments hang on the wall in a public school, so I think things are even worse in America.

Habakkuk is preaching against it, but he is having little effect. Habakkuk raises a good question. Why does evil go unpunished? Why do the wicked prosper? Why doesn’t God do something?

Look back to verse 2. Habakkuk has been praying. Evidently, he has been praying for a long time because he says, “How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And Thou wilt not hear?” He also thinks God is indifferent and inactive.

Some people think that men of faith never question God. They just sit and wait faithfully and patiently. But one thing we can learn from Habakkuk is that this is a misconception. Those who trust in God can and do question God.

God’s Answer
(1:5-11)

God is doing something. He is raising up a foreign nation, the Babylonians, to come and destroy Judah. He tells Habakkuk, “You would not believe if you were told.”² Why? Because they are really wicked. They were worse than the Jews.³ Verses 6-11 describe just how evil they are. The reason for this description is to show that they are so powerful, no one can stop them. They will certainly destroy Judah.

We see in verse 11 that they will be held guilty for their wickedness, but God is going to use them anyway.

Most of us have been praying for the evil in our society hoping for revival. What if God sent the Soviet Union or Sadam Hussein to conquer America, to instill communism or a dictatorship, imprison all the Christians, etc. What would you think about that answer? Would you say God didn’t answer your prayer?

This points us to another principle we can learn from Habakkuk. God doesn’t always give us the answers we want or expect. We usually have it in our mind how we want God to answer our prayers. When He does it differently, how do you respond?

What is Habakkuk’s response to the answer?

Habakkuk’s Response
(1:12-2:1)

If all we did was read verses 12-13a, it would look like Habakkuk accepted the answer and was content. But 13bf shows that although he accepts the answer, he doesn’t like the answer.

He began in verse 12 by claiming that God is eternal. I think the idea of immutability, that God does not change, is included here. The fact that God does not change is important because it means God keeps His promises and He has made promises to Israel. Habakkuk knows that God will not totally destroy Israel because of his covenantal promises. That is why he says, “We will not die.”

So, he believes God and trusts God, but he still doesn’t fully understand the answer. In 13b Habakkuk knows God hates evil and is amazed that God would use a nation even more wicked than Judah to punish Judah. After all, even though Judah has her problems, she is still better than the Babylonians. (At least that was true from man’s perspective. If you remember Amos, the whole point of Amos was that Israel was worse than all the rest of the nations because she knew better. She had been given the law while the Gentiles had not. The same would apply to Judah here. They weren’t better in God’s eyes.) And God’s answer indicates that things are going to get worse, not better.

Verse 16 When he says, they offer a sacrifice to their net. The "net" was the war machine or might of Babylon. The Babylonians thought it was their own strength which allowed them to be so successful (cf. 1:11). They gave no credit to God. Habakkuk wonders how God would allow them to continue like this. And he asks the question in verse 17.

What can we learn from this section?

When you are talking with someone who has just experienced a tragedy, don’t just tell them “God is good. He loves you and He will work things out for the best and quote Romans 8:28-29.” I think it is okay, maybe even necessary to cry with them, hurt with them, question with them. Help them work through the pain, not ignore it. Of course you don’t want to stay there indefinitely, but it is part of the process. Too often, Christians think the questioning part of the process is wrong. In fact Martin Lloyd-Jones makes that statement in his commentary on Habakkuk. He says, “There must be no querying, no questioning, no uncertainty about the goodness and the holiness and power of God.”⁴ I disagree. This is an impossible statement. People have feelings and questions. You either suppress them or express them.

There is a balance between self-pity, hopeless resignation and staying mad at God. As usual, the correct response is somewhere in the middle. I think it was Howard Hendricks whom I once heard say, “Humans only occasionally achieve balance as they are swinging from one extreme to the other.”

Habakkuk has received one answer, and he had more questions. Now 2:1 says he is going to expectantly wait for another answer from God. He is searching for understanding.

God’s Answer
(2:2-20)

Basically God's answer is this: Don't worry about the Babylonians, they will get theirs too.

He tells Habakkuk to write this down. What is about to happen is so certain, he should go ahead and record it.⁵ It may seem to tarry (vs 3) but it will happen.

When justice tarries, we have the feeling that it will never come, but God promises that it will. It is faith in God which makes us believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is “the light at the end of the tunnel” which helps us make it through. It is the pregnant lady’s knowledge that the pregnancy will finally end that helps her endure. It is the soldiers hope of escape or rescue that helps him endure as a prisoner of war. It is when there is no hope that people commit suicide.

In 2:4 we have a much quoted verse. God says, "the righteous will live by faith." Some translations have “faithfulness.” Both ideas are involved. You really can’t separate the two. Faith is what you believe. Faithfulness is acting according to what you believe. James deals with this principle in James 2.

You might say faith and faithfulness is not true and perhaps use the illustration of someone who “knows” that smoking is bad for them, but doesn’t stop. If you could really know their heart, you would find that they don’t think anything will happen to them. It is the same syndrome in which people think accidents only happen to other people.

What is the faith? It is trusting God for life. We saw this explained in Hosea.

What does faithfulness look like? It is faithfulness to God's law. It is following the moral standards of the 10 commandments which we can summarize as “loving God” and “loving one’s neighbor.” There were still righteous people in Judah. There is always a remnant and God always preserves them in the midst of his judgment. We see this point repeated in several of the prophets. This verse tells them and Habakkuk what they need to do.

2:5. Babylon is compared to a drunkard whose appetite for more wine is never satisfied. In fact, the Babylonians were famouse for their drunkeness. It was during one of their drinking parties that the Cyrus and the Persians were able to sneak into the city and defeat the Babylonians.⁶ The Babylonians were never content with the size of their empire. They tried to conquer more and more. Only a relationship with God can satisfy.

I think there is an important concept to think about in verses 4-5. The proud person puts himself first and goes out using and abusing others. In contrast the righteous have humility and put others before self and do things for the good of others.

Next, Habakkuk gives a series of "Woe" oracles to describe how bad Babylon is. But he doesn’t mention Babylon in these descriptions. He may have done that so that they would be taken more as a universal principle or description of evil. We can relate to many of the descriptions that he gives. There is a progression here. I think among the first four one sin leads to the next.

• Woe⁷ to the Proud 2:4-5
• Woe to the Greedy 2:6-8
• Woe to the Dishonest 2:9-11
• Woe to the Violent 2:12-14
• Woe to the Sensual 2:15-17
• Woe to the Idolater 2:18-20

The proud person thinks they deserve better. They want more. They will do anything to get it. the Sensual person is searching for fulfillment through experiences - mainly sexual. The Idolater looks to everything else but God to make life work. These characteristics certainly apply to the 20th century.

2:16-17 show that their time for judgment would come too.

Habakkuk's Prayer of Praise
(3:1-19)

In chapter one Habakkuk was low. He was despairing because of the evil around him. In chapter two he goes up to the watchtower to wait for the second answer. Now, in chapter three, we see him praising God and the last phrase of the book is “and makes me walk on my high places.” The book is Habakkuk’s steady progression upwards (spiritually) towards God.

Habakkuk now understands and offers a prayer of praise because God is in control.

• He pleads for mercy in the midst of the judgment (1-2).
  He is afraid of what is coming. He knows it will be awful. Undoubtedly he will suffer too. Maybe personally, but at least through witnessing the death and destruction of those around him.
• He praises God's majesty and power (3-15).
• He promises to wait on the Lord (16-19).
  What is coming is frightening, but he commits himself to wait and trust in God.

At the beginning of the book I mentioned that Habakkuk’s name meant “embrace” or “wrestle.” We’ve see him wrestle with the tough questions, but what is his final response? To embrace God and trust in Him.

PRINCIPLES:

(1) God sometimes seems to be inactive, but He is involved. 1:12 showed that the Babylonians were under God’s control, and He was using them to achieve His purposes.

(2) God is holy. In 1:13 Habakkuk said that God could not approve evil. This should be a sobering thought to us as we struggle with temptations, sins, bad habits (which is a euphemism for sins), etc.

(3) God hears and answers prayers.

(4) God sometimes gives unexpected answers to our prayers. When we pray, we usually have in our minds the way we want God to answer. When He answers differently, we think He hasn’t answered at all.

(5) God is Just and God is Good. He will judge the wicked and he is concerned for the righteous.

(6) The righteous live by faith and faithfulness. This means we really believe that God is Good and God is just. And we live accordingly. What are some situations where you might need to do that?

• In your church? Instead of changing churches when things don’t go your way or there are problems, perhaps you need be faithful to that church and try to minister to them. That may not be the best option, but it needs to be considered.
• In your Marriage? If a person is having troubles in marriage the current way of dealing with it is to get a divorce. But the righteous and correct way to deal with the problem is to remain faithful to the spouse and work it out. Even if it is never worked out, you remain faithful to the spouse. (Eg. Hosea.)

In summary, I think the message of Habakkuk is very comforting to us because we live in a wicked society. We can look back at what Habakkuk wrote, see that it came true, that God really is in control, that God did protect the righteous even though they went to Babylon (eg. Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego) and He eventually brought them back to the land. Therefore, my faith in God can be bolstered by the prophecy and historical events that show God’s word is true.

As I’ve said before, prophecy is not just gee whiz information designed to tell us what is going to happen in the future. It is good for my heart because it helps me see that God is in control and God is going to preserve His people. It brings comfort for now and hope for the future.

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1 Wiersbe, From Worry to Worship, p. 8.

2 Some people take this to mean that the Babylonians were not a major power at that time and therefore Habakkuk was written earlier during Assyrian prominence. But the phrase “you won’t believe it ...” probably just refers to the fact that it is amazing that God would use such a wicked nation. Therefore, although the book does not give the date directly, we can assume the date is some time before the Chaldeans (1:6) invaded Jerusalem in 605 BC, and some time after the Chaldeans became famous as an oppressive world power. That would place the writing of the book somewhere between 605 and 625 BC.

3 This is really only true as man sees things. The message of Amos 1-3 is that God thinks Israel is worse than the surrounding nations because Israel had special revelation and should have known better. Their sins, however, did not look as bad as those of the surrounding nations.

4 Lloyd-Jones, From Fear to Faith, p. 50.

5 Nobody is sure what this phrase, “that the one who reads it may run” means. It could mean, write it big “on a sign” so someone hurrying by could read it. It could mean - write it simply so someone reading it fast could understand. It might mean - write it down so those who read it can run tell others. One might think it is saying - write it down so those who read it may flee the Babylonians. But we know from Jeremiah that they were not supposed to flee the Babylonians. Those who fled, died. Those who stayed and took their discipline, lived. Anyway, this is just another one of those inscrutable sayings. Maybe it just means - write it down so that, when the time comes, you will know that the judgment is from God, not just fate.

6 F.C. Cook, editor, The Holy Bible with Commentary, VI, 665. Cited from “An Exposition of Habakkuk,” Gordon Rasmussen, DTS Thesis, 1956. p. 47.

7 Not technically a woe. The word is hinneh which means “look” not hoy which means “alas.”

Introduction
(1:1)

Author

This is the only time in the prophetic books that an author traces his geneaology. He mentions a Hezekiah. Why would he go back and stop at Hezekiah if this is not the king Hezekiah? (One of the godly kings.) Therefore, Zephaniah was probably in the royal family and lived in Jerusalem.

Religious Background

Hezekiah was supposed to die, but he pleaded with God to let him live a little longer. God granted him his request and it was during the 15 year extension of his life that Manasseh was born. He was the worst king in Judah’s history. The things he promoted in Judah resulted in the nation declining past the point of no return and God pronouncing certain judgment. Although Manasseh repented at the end of his life, his son, Amon, continued the idolatry and decline. Josiah followed Amon and was was a godly king. He brought about spiritual revival, but he could not stop the judgment of God. He could only postpone it. When he died, the people went back to their wicked ways because his reforms were more than likely forced on them - (by edict of the king) - and not from their hearts.

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Slides - Road to Beersheba

Altar - found large stones imbedded in mud walls and got the idea to fit them together - and this is what they discovered

Arad - built their own temple - same dimensions as one in Jerusalem. I guess they thought it was too far to walk to the real temple even though that is what God commanded.

They would have claimed to be worshipping God, but they just weren't doing it His way.

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It is possible that Josiah's reforms coincided with the ministry of Zephaniah. It could have been that God used his ministry to turn the nation around. If that is the case we can narrow the date down to 622 B.C. Zephaniah mentions the coming destruction of Ninevah, so we know it was before 612 B.C at the very least.

Zephaniah understood this judgment was inevitable and pointed to the coming day of the Lord. He pictured the coming judgment on the nation of Judah and the Gentiles. But he then indicates that the Day of the Lord would also bring deliverance for Israel and the Gentiles.

Judgment in the Day of the Lord
(1:2-3:8)

On all the Earth (1:2-3)

God is angry. Everyone is so wicked that He vows to totally destroy the earth. The mention of man and beast, birds and fish, etc. emphasize how thorough the destruction will be. It will be like in the days of Noah. Notice that this is the reversal of creation. The order of creation was fish, birds, beasts and man. Here we have the opposite order.

On Judah (1:4-13)

He then focuses his anger on Judah. Judgment is coming because of their:

• Idolatry (vs 4-6) - God was going to rid them of Baal worship. This was accomplished in Babylon. Since then, idolatry has not been a problem in Israel.
• Alliances with foreign powers (vs 8) - they did not trust in God for safety.
• Violence and injustice (vs 9) - they were quick (“leap over thresholds”) to go into others houses to deceive and plunder others to enrich their masters.
• Deism - they thought God was not involved in human affairs (vs 12).

God will fulfill his end of the Mosaic covenant laid out in Deut 28:38-40 and curse them because they have forsaken Him (1:13).

1:10-11 describe the actual route the Babylonians would take as they came through Jerusalem in the invasion.

Fish Gate (NW corner) -> Second Quarter -> Mortar (section of Jerusalem in a hollow bowl shaped area) -

The Day of the Lord is described (1:14-17)

The repetition of all these similar descriptions emphasizes how bad it will be. And the things they have been depending on will not be able to save them. Some of the things they place their faith in are:

Powerful warriors (1:14)

Fortified cities (1:16)

Silver and Gold (1:18)

Human strength, human structures and human resources are all worthless for protecting one from God’s judgment. They have placed their faith in the wrong things. Earlier in 1:12 we saw that nobody can hide because Yahweh will personally search and when He finds them, nobody will be able to stand before him.

Call for Repentance 2:1-3

He addresses them as a nation without shame. This just shows that they had become callused to the evil in their society. Constant sinning will do that. We’ve seen that in our own society.

But, it's not too late to turn back to God, to seek righteousness and humility. Notice the mention of humility and obeying God’s ordinances. It is not elaborated here, but this sums up one of the main messages of the Bible. God wants us to seek Him to have relationship with him (vs 3a “Seek the Lord”), and that involves denial of self (vs 3b “all you humble of the earth”) which ultimately is expressed in loving one’s neighbor - the summary of the law - (3c “who have carried out His ordinances.”)

If they do this, perhaps they will be hidden, preserved from God’s wrath. Zephaniah's name means "hidden" and perhaps this is a play on words to say those that turn to the Lord will be hidden from His wrath (2:3).

If Zephaniah is prophesying during Manasseh or Amon’s time and Josiah is hearing this, then Josiah did repent and did clean up the country as best he could, but he could not cancel our God’s judgment. He could only postpone it. Therefore, the prophet continues with his description of certain judgment.

Zephaniah uses the word “perhaps” in 2:3. This does not imply uncertainty as to whether God will save anyone or whether anyone will repent. The word preserves the absolute sovereignty of God. It is entirely up to God.

Judgment on the Nations 2:4-15

Philistia 2:4-7 Located to the West. He mentions Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron. These were four major cities of the Philistines. This is a literary or poetic way of saying that judgment is coming on all the Philistines.

Moab and Ammon 2:8-11 Located to the East. They were as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah and their punisment would be as bad. It is ironic that two nations born as the result of a shameful incestuous relationship (Lot and his daughters) would be guilty of arrogance.

Ethiopia 2:12 Located to the South - and often associated with Egypt. So perhaps Egypt is to be included.

Assyria 2:13-15 Located to the North - soon to be destroyed.

Perhaps these nations represent the four corners of the earth signifying that all the nations will be judged for their treatment of God's people.

Zephaniah stresses that this is God’s people that the nations are messing with. Five times in three verses 2:8-10 he mentions their relationship to God. It is bad enough to oppress any other nation, but it is especially bad to do it to God’s chosen people.

Judgment on Jerusalem (3:1-7)

The people of Jerusalem would not listen to the good prophets who were pleading for repentance (vs 1). The four groups mentioned (princes, judges, prophets and priests) have forsaken their intended function of preserving the society. Instead, they are destroying the society (3:3). They are no longer just, but God is just and will punish them.

Restoration for the Remnant
(3:8-20)

Zephaniah begins this section with a command to “wait.” This is a request to trust God to carry out his promises. “The day” (vs 8) must refer to the tribulation when God will judge “all the earth.”

We have mentioned this several times in our study of the prophets, but I will point it out in case someone has not heard the explanation. Several of the things Zephaniah says will happen, could have been fulfilled by the Babylonians when they destroyed Judah and took them into captivity. But many of the prophecies concerning the destruction of the nations and the earth have obviously not been fulfilled. This is where it helps to understand what the prophet saw in his visions.

Thus, many of these prophecies will not be fulfilled until the tribulation. Neither will our next section...

Restoration of the Gentiles (3:9-10)

The word “Peoples” refers to the Gentiles. The “purified lips” may be a reference to a reversal of the curse at the tower of Babel. Or an allusion to Isaiah’s unclean lips in Isaiah 6:5. In “that day” God will bless the Gentiles who turn to Him. “All the people” will call on the name of the Lord in that day. Have we reached that day yet? Obviously not.

Over and over again we have seen that Gentiles would be saved and included in the kingdom of God. It shows how far off the religious leader’s of Jesus’ day were in their practice of Judaism.

Restoration of the Jews (3:11-20)

God will also bless the Jews and bring the remnant back to Jerusalem (My holy mountain). And there will be justice and peace in the land (3:11-13). There will be no shame either. This was the same thing promised in Joel 2:26-27. Again, it is obvious that this has not happened.

There will be rejoicing in the future kingdom, for God will be reigning in their midst and the nations will praise and honor Israel as God's people (3:14-20).

3:17 says God will be silent in His love. It is not clear what this means. Rashi says the “silence” is the withholding of judgment. God holds back his judgment because of His love. Keil says that the silence shows a love deeply felt. It means someone is absorbed in his thoughtfulness over that which they love - like infatuation.... This last option seems better to me because it is contrasted with the next phrase which shows God rejoicing with shouts of joy. The two extremes show the extent of God’s love.

The Theology of Zephaniah¹

The Day of the Lord

The Day of the Lord involves God’s Intervention

One of the most prominent features that we learn from Zephaniah concerning the Day of the Lord is that God will intervene in human affairs.

• Zephaniah uses the word dqp three times (1:8,9,12). It is translated “punish,” but originally has the idea of “to visit” or “inspect in order to take appropriate action.” This is not just a visit from God to dispense blind destruction or judgment.
• We also see that Yahweh will search Jerusalem with Lamps (1:12). This is personal involvement by God.

The message is that there will be a personal encounter with God.

Why was Zephaniah explaining all this about the Day of the Lord? Because they did not believe that God was involved in human affairs. They were practical athiests.

What is our response to this encounter with God?

Be silent 1:7 It is a sobering thought to realize you are going to stand before the Creator.

Another aspect of the Day of the Lord is the demonstration of Yahweh’s unrivaled superiority. (cf. 1:2, 18) In chapter 2 the four nations represent the four points of the compass and point to God’s superiority over all the nations of the world. Also cf. 2:11. If Yahweh is going to starve all the other God’s then he must be superior to them. Chapter 3:8, 15. Yahweh has no equals. He will share his throne with no one.

The Day of the Lord is a day of Judgment.

In 1:3 we saw that the destruction of the earth would be worse than the flood. This time even the fish would be destroyed. This destruction is the reversal of creation. The original order was fish, birds, beasts, man. Zephaniah recounts the decreation.

Although both man and beast will suffer, the emphasis is on the judgment that comes to the people. This is seen in the fact that he mentions the judgment on man twice (in vs 3) and he uses the word “cut off” in verse 3 which was used almost as a technical term for the death penalty, and he goes on to elaborate the type of judgment on specific groups of people.

Why is Yahweh bringing Judgment? Is He capricious? No, it is because they have sinned against Him (1:17). His judgment is the response to human choices - to human sin.

One principle we can derive from this is that God deals with sin. Concerning the sins of Judah and the nations, He mentions:

Judah	The Nations
Idolatry 1:4-6	Mocking the Jews 2:8,10
Violence 1:9	Arrogance against the Jews 2:8-10
Complacency 1:12	Self sufficiency 2:15
Trusting in money 1:18
Not trusting in God 1:6, 3:2
Injustice 3:3-4
Corruption 3:7
Pride 3:11
Deceit 1:9, 3:13
Opressing the poor 3:1

Therefore, I need to recognize that I can't get away with sin.

The Day of the Lord is also a time of Salvation

• The whole book of Zephaniah builds to a crescendo with the proclamation of salvation in the final verses.
• The phrases “on that day” and “at that time” refer to the same day and time that he has been referring to earlier in a context of judgment.
• The discussion of the remnant (2:9;3:13) and the universal worship of Yahweh (3:9) contribute to this theme. Here we see that some of the Gentiles are included in the salvation.
• Yahweh rejoices when He saves but not when He judges which shows that he does not enjoy judging, but relishes saving.

The Remnant

Divine Judment

Most people think about salvation when they think about the remnant, but the very idea of the word remnant means, “what is left over after the catastrophe or purging.” If there is a remnant, one can be sure divine judgment has occurred.

Salvation

Usually God’s visits result in judgment, but part of this visit will be salvation of the remnant. God will restore their fortunes (2:7), eliminate their enemies (3:8), increase their territory (1:13;2:7,9) give them peace (3:12) bring them salvation (3:14-20). Since God destroyed everyone else, he focuses his whole attention on the remnant and they receive multiple blessings. (This is not to deny God’s omnipotence and imply that He was too busy to do it before.)

Their Character

Humility

The most foundational trait is their humility. Zephaniah 3:12 says the remnant will be humble and lowly and take refuge in the name of the Lord. Zephaniah 3:19 says God will save the lame and the outcast. God saves these types because they are typically humble. They cannot do for themselves and must depend on others. Also humility is foundational to the next two traits:

They are fully committed to Yahweh.

Zephaniah 2:3 says the people should seek the Lord. This is in contrast to the rest who worship Baal (1:4), stars and Milcom (1:5). Instead of trusting in themselves or their possessions, they humbly recognize their need and place their trust in God.

The are righteous and ethical in their treatment of others.

Zephaniah says the remnant will do no injustice (3:13). This word is used of partiality in judgment (Lev 19:15), dishonest trading (Deu 25:16), robbing (Eze 33:15), murder (2Sa 3:34) and oppression (2Sa 7:10). All of these uses have in common the unethical treatment of others.

It also says in 3:5 that Yahweh will do no injustice. This means that the remnant is god-like in their treatment of others.

If you haven’t noticed, these two characteristics are those that sum up the law itself-loving God and loving people. The two are inseparable. You can’t love people unless you love God and if you don’t love people, then you really don’t love God. This is evident in the city described in 3:1-3. They do not draw near to God, and they devour one another.

Key Principles:

(1) God is full of grace, gladness and tenderness, but also justice.

Judgment 1:8-9	Grace 3:9-20
Wrath 1:15, 18	Gladness 3:17
Terror	Tenderness 2:7, 3:17

(2) God deals in grace. In the midst of the troubles that are coming God will

REMOVE	RESTORE
Idolatry 1:4-6	Safety 2:3, 3:13
Pride 3:11-12	Prosperity 2:7, 3:20
Deceit 3:13	Purity 3:9
Fear 3:13, 15-16	Worship 3:9-10
Enemies 3:15, 19	Trust 3:12
Reproach 3:18-19	Joy 3:14
Shame 3:11	Remnant 3:10, 18-20
	His presence 3:15, 17

Therefore I should trust God to work out his plan.

What do I need to do?

• I need to wait on God (3:8). He will right the wrongs and restore the righteous. I just want to be sure I'm counted among the righteous. Therefore....
• I need to “Seek the Lord” (2:3) This means that my number one goal in life is to know God - to have an intimate relationship with him.
• I need to be humble (2:3b). This involves self denial. Vertical and horizontal - which leads to the next requirement.
• I need to obey God’s ordinances (2:3) = love my neighbor.

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1 Summary of Greg King's paper from ETS, Nov 1993.

Introduction

A. The Name

The name of the book is named after the prophet, Haggai, whose name means “festive” or “festival.” Many believe the name was given because Haggai was born on or near a festival day. Some suggest that his name is related to the celebration of the prophetic hope concerning the temple and the glory of God. While the first suggestion is more probable, it is interesting to note that Haggai's ministry began on a new moon festival day and the book records the festivities which will be enjoyed when Yahweh rules in the Day of the Lord.¹

B. The Date

Haggai is the most precisely dated book of the Bible, with the dates of each sermon given to the exact day. The accuracy with which he records these dates suggests that he might have kept a journal. The beginning of Darius' reign is well established at 522 BC. Each of the four messages took place in the second year of his reign which would be 520 BC.

C. Historical Background.

Up to this point in our study of the minor prophets we’ve been talking about how the Israelites didn’t obey the commands in Deuteronomy 28-30, so God was going to punish them. The prophets all came and warned of coming destruction of Israel by Assyria and Babylon. God would use Assyria to destroy the northern nation - Israel, and Babylon to destroy the southern nation - Judah. Those were all pre-exilic prophets telling of the coming exile. Now we are jumping over exile (when Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel wrote) to the post-exilic prophets. They wrote after the exile.

The Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for 70 years (Jer. 25:11f.) They were first deported in 606 BC. and the final destruction of the temple was in 586. When the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 539, Darius took over and changed the foreign policy concerning captive peoples. In 538 he decreed that the Jews could return to their homeland and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-3).

After an initial stage of construction on the foundation (Ezra 3:8-13), opposition from without and within stopped the work for a period of 14 years. With the work on the temple halted, the people began to pursue their own selfish interests and once again began to experience the discipline of God upon their lives (Hag. 1:7-11).

God used Haggai and Zechariah to get the leaders and the people to once again focus on the work of God. Through the leading of God, the ministry of the prophets, the decree and the funding of Darius I, and the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, the rebuilding of the temple was resumed and completed in 516 BC., exactly 70 years after its destruction.²

Does anyone know the significance of being in captivity for 70 years?

If you will remember, as part of the law, God told the people to let the land rest every seventh year. Did they do it? No. They were in the land 490 years and never observed the Sabbath year for the land. How many Sabbath years did they miss? Seventy. So God made up for it by taking all the Sabbath years at one time.

606 first invasion / 586 final invasion and destruction of the temple

536 first return / 516 temple finished

Either way you figure it (from the people or the temple) you have 70 years of captivity. You would almost think God was in control. The point is this: We can do it the easy way or the hard way, but either way, God will get His way. That's why it is important for me to have my priorities right and put obedience to God first.

How do you know if you have your priorities straight? And if you don't, What do you do about it? I think Haggai can give us some help in determining the answers to these questions.

Message Statement: Misplaced priorities in our lives can be diagnosed and treated.

Transition: So now that we understand how Haggai fits into the history of Israel, what is the Purpose of Haggai? It was to get the people to rebuild the temple - to get the people to resume construction on the temple. How does he do that? He preaches four sermons to the people which we could outline as follows:

In Haggai's first sermon he rebukes them for having their priorities all wrong. Then we see the response of the people.

Misplaced priorities can be diagnosed.

The Message of Conviction:
The Rebuke

The Diagnosis of the Problem (1:1-6)

“In the second year of Darius.” The reference to a Gentile king shows that they are in the time of the Gentiles. They are under Persian rule. This would have been a reminder and a rebuke to the Israelites. The date is August 29, 520 B.C. Haggai speaks to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the High Priest. Zerubbabel was in the line of David, but not king, because they are in the time of the Gentiles.

We are immediately introduced to the theme which is the rebuilding of the temple. The people were saying that it is not time to rebuild the temple. They have delayed the building process 14 years.

Notice he says “This people ...” Why? This is a term of distancing. If I go home tonight and Lori says, “Do you know what Your son did today?” You can bet that I am not going to be happy with what I am about to hear. But if she says, “Do you know what Our son did ...?” Then I'm probably going to be proud.

He addresses the people in verse 4. They are living in paneled houses. Paneling had to be imported from Lebanon. There are no trees around Jerusalem. So it was expensive. This is what they were spending their money on. You see on our chart that the first section of Haggai is labeled as one of conviction. In verse 5 he says, “Consider your ways!” What is Haggai trying to convict them of?

Answer: misplaced priorities. That was the problem. They were not putting God first. They were only concerned with their own comforts.

What was the result of the misplaced priorities? What were the symptoms?

First symptom: Dissatisfaction (1:6)

They were experiencing very unsatisfying lives.

• You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but don't become drunk - maybe this refers to people who try to deal with life's problems by eating too much. It doesn't work. All you do is gain too much weight. I think this is an illustration of seeking life and happiness through pleasure.
• You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough - Perhaps we could change this for our culture to say, “You buy new clothes, but the styles change.” Perhaps this is indicative of seeking life through praise.
• You earn money and put it in a purse with holes - I think most of us can identify with this. Do you run out of money before you run out of month? To compensate for this do you work so much that you don't have time for God or family? Seeking life through possessions.

I was reading a book called Honest to God, by Bill Hybels. In it he talks about the Money monster. He says a 1967 poll of college freshmen found that most thought it more important to have a meaningful philosophy of life than to be well-off financially. But in 1986 in a similar poll, 80% said it was more important to be well-off financially. Things changed a lot in 20 years. We all know the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-30 who could not give up his wealth and politely refused eternal life. We shake our heads in disbelief, but most Americans move 14 times in their lives as promotions lead them from one place to another. Consequently, children grow up learning that more money is more important than developing long term relationships. Later on, when discussions turn to college, the dialogue focuses on which professions pay the most rather than what would suit the young person's motivated abilities. The message we instill in them is that more money will make up for lack of job fulfillment. Money itself will fulfill us. But it doesn't and we now have a society full of dissatisfied people.

Haggai condemned them for living in their paneled houses. We can see that they had become consumed with earthly things. The question we need to ask is - have we?

Even though this book was written 2500 years ago, it is very applicable for today. Haggai says, “Consider your ways.” We need to consider our ways. We need to evaluate our lives and see if we are guilty of these things. We need to ask ourselves, Am I dissatisfied with my life? Do I buy lotto tickets thinking that winning the lotto would solve all my problems? Do I wish for a better paying job? Do I wish I lived in a bigger and nicer house? Do I wish I had a new car? Something like a new car or house appeals to all three categories we mentioned earlier - possessions, pleasure and praise (or more specifically - prestige). It is amazing how much effort we put into these areas thinking that they will satisfy us, but they never do.

Interjection: Reminder to Start Building the Temple 7-11

Sandwiched in between the description of the two symptoms is a reminder to resume the construction of the temple. Haggai tells them to consider their ways and to get to work. And he gives us the motivation.

There are two reasons:

1. To please the Lord and

2. To Glorify God

This shows us what our proper priorities are supposed to be - to please God and to glorify God.

There is a temple imagery in the Bible that I think we need to be aware of:

• In the OT the purpose of the tabernacle and the temple was so God could dwell among the people and they could see His glory.
• When you come to the NT you see that the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us.... and we beheld his glory (Jn 1:14).
• Today the Believer's body is the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16) and what is the purpose? What are we supposed to do? Glorify God 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

1 Cor. 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (RSV)

• Every time there is a reference to the temple there is glory (1 Pet 2:5, 12).
• What is the point? How does this apply to us? You and I are now the physical - visible representation of the character and person of God on earth. We need to glorify God. This is the significance of the temple imagery in the Bible. I am continually amazed at the continuity I see as I study the Bible.

That is why they need to rebuild the temple - so God can dwell among them.

Now Haggai returns to his Rebuke for their misplaced priorities. We saw that the first symptom of misplaced priorities was dissatisfaction. What is the second symptom?

The Second Symptom: Discipline (1:9-11)

1:9 “You bring it home and God blows it away.” This is God’s active role in blocking our attempts to find life without Him. How might God do this to us? Cause us to have car problems or medical bills that take away our money? Why is He doing this to them? Because His temple is lying desolate. The old rules about blessing and cursing are still in effect, and since they had their priorities all wrong, God was beginning to bring down curses on them. They were trying to find happiness in things and God was not going to let them. You might compare Hosea 2:5-7.

I can identify with this. When we first arrived at seminary, we had quite a lot in our savings account. But school tuition, bills and many trips to the doctor for the kids' ear infections wiped us out the first year. I was really mad at God. I thought He was unfair. I thought He owed me because, after all, I had given up a good paying Air Force career to serve Him full time. I was blaming God. I think God deliberately took away our money so we would not depend on it. I don’t know if it was discipline (which is possible because of my attitude) or just the taking away of all my crutches. He kept me in sales related jobs where the income was very uncertain because He wanted me to learn to depend on Him. He has met all our needs and I have learned to trust Him. I'm sure I'm not totally cured, but I can say that I have much more peace about finances than two years ago.

1:11 - Who is the source of the national disaster? God. Some people have a difficult time believing that God causes earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, etc. This doesn't say He let it happen. It says He called for it.

I think this drought is related to the blessings and cursings of the covenant of Deuteronomy 28: - 30: where God said He would cause drought if they turned from Him.

I think this raises a question. Sometimes people are in disaster and someone may say, “This is terrible, lets bail them out.” Another might be a “Job's friend” type of theologian and say, “Let them suffer, they must deserve it.” First we need to be aware that all disaster is not discipline from God. But sometimes it might be. I think we need to be aware that this might be true, but we must be careful not to let that become an excuse for not helping people. We also need to ask the question if a nation's poverty and starvation is the result of being caught up in some pagan idolatry. Take Somalia for example. What is our role supposed to be? Is our role to just feed them so they can continue in their perversion. The answer is to minister to their physical needs and try to lead them back to God. This is one reason we shouldn't contribute to organizations that just send food to starving people. Send your money to organizations which use food as a means to spread the Word.

Again, we need to examine our lives and see if we might be experiencing God's discipline. It is sometimes difficult to tell, because not all sickness or calamity is the result of sin in our lives. It may just be the result of living in a fallen world. But it sometimes is directed at us.

APPLICATION: So far we have seen two symptoms or results of misplaced priorities: Dissatisfaction and Discipline. The things of this world do not satisfy. If we try to find happiness in them and not in God , we won't. And not only will we be dissatisfied, we will also get the discipline of God.

Transition: Now that we know how to determine if we have misplaced priorities, how do we treat the problem?

The Treatment: The response of the people

I took a class called “Spiritual Life,” and in it we are discussing as you might have guessed, how to be Spiritual. A person might be able to place out of first year Greek, but nobody skips this class because we all need help here.

Several times the professor was asked how we can overcome this or that problem and several times he gave the same answer. He said we need four things - The Word of God, The Worship of God, The Spirit of God and the People of God. I had been studying Haggai in preparation for this lesson, and the last time he said that, it hit me that his four steps fit this next passage like a glove. So lets look at 1:12-14.

The Word of God

In verse 12 we see that they understand the origin and the authority of the message. They recognized that it was from God. Then we see the obedience of the people (12a). We see the process of the revelation of God through Haggai to the people. They recognized this and obeyed.

Knowing and Understanding the Word is the foundation of the process. It is through the Word that we learn about God. It is how we learn what His will is for us. AND it is important that we OBEY the Word.

The Worship of God

Next we see the reverence of the people. Notice that obedience precedes reverence. A change of heart always precedes acceptable worship. Haggai emphasizes this again in the third sermon. Also compare Micah 6:6-8

We also see that the people experience the presence of the Lord (vs 13). Their obedience and worship allow God to have fellowship with them.

What is worship? When you read the Word and see the omnipotence of God, the sovereignty of God, the goodness of God, that should stir something within you. You should want to respond to God. Worship reminds us that we're addressing the Holy Majestic God and that prevents us from reducing prayer to a wish list. When you do respond by confessing your weakness and sinfulness, singing His praises, praying, etc., that opens the way for God to have fellowship with you.

The Spirit of God (vs 14)

The word Spirit with a capital “S” is not in the text. It actually says “Lord” but Romans 8:16 tells us that it is the Spirit of God that communicates with our spirit. So, when it says “the Lord stirred up the spirit...” it was the Holy Spirit that did it. Therefore, If I obey and I show reverence, then I am in the position for the Spirit of God to lead in my life. Then I am going to produce fruit. We see in 14a that the Spirit of God motivated them.

• Was that true in the OT? The Spirit of the Lord was dispensed temporarily in the OT for special projects to carry on the work of the Lord. He was given to the prophets during their ministries. He was given to the kings during their reigns. So it was true in the OT.
• Is this true in the NT? Eph 5: shows us the same principles. Remember, Eph 5:18 says be controlled by the Spirit. Everything changes when the Spirit of God is in control -

1. church life - speaking to one another in spiritual psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . . .
2. marriage life - 5:22-33 . . .
3. parenting 6:1-4 . . .
4. work relationships 6:4f . . .

So the Spirit of God is the one who gives us the motivation and the power to do God's will. We can’t do it without the Holy Spirit. Paul talks about this in Romans 7-8. He had a new nature or disposition as a Christian and he wanted to do what was right, but he couldn’t. Paul uses the word “I” 24 times in Romans 7:15-25 as he discusses his failure, but in chapter 8 he uses the word “Spirit” 13 times as he discusses victorious living. Our natural tendency is to try to do it on our own, but we can’t. Victory only comes when we depend on the Spirit to do it.

Finally we see the end result - they worked (14b). What is the secret to doing the work of God? The Spirit of God.

The People of God

Notice also what 14b says, “and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” Notice the plural. “They” worked together. The Christian life is not to be lived in isolation. We cannot do it on our own. We need the community of fellow believers for support and accountability, etc. That is why the author of Hebrews said not to neglect assembling together (Heb 10:25).

There was an elder in a former church of mine who moved away, looked for another Bible Church, and when they couldn't find one, decided to listen to tapes every Sunday instead. That didn't last long before he lost interest and finally totally forsook spiritual things. Now he doesn't even go to church and he is back in the same town, where the same Bible Church is.

Contrast that with what we experience in church, when, during the praise and prayer time, people give examples of how others in the church helped them during the week. It is a testimony to how God uses the people of God to support one another and help keep you in the faith.

That is the treatment for having misplaced priorities. If we study and obey the Word that naturally leads to a worshipful attitude. God can then have fellowship with us and the Spirit can motivate and empower us to do the work of God. But we can't do the work by ourselves. We need the community of God's people to do the work together.

Conclusion: Misplaced priorities in our lives can be diagnosed through recognizing dissatisfaction with life and discipline from God and treated through knowledge of the Word, the Worship of God, the Spirit of God and community with the People of God. The result will be a satisfying life involved in doing the work of God.

The Message of Courage
(2:1-9)

After they got their priorities straight and resumed the work of God, Haggai continued to preach to them. It wasn't enough that they got back to work. He wanted to make sure that they were doing the work with the right motives. Motivation is everything. In 1Co 3:12 we see that the believer's works will be evaluated. I'm convinced that it is our motivation that will determine if our works are classified as wood, hay and stubble or gold, silver and precious stones. So let's see how Haggai motivates them.

Improper motivation

Ezra 3:8-13 gives us the background to this.

Haggai starts off by comparing the temple with the temple that Solomon built. Why do you think he did this? Would that be motivating? Solomon's temple was an awesome sight.

Perhaps God doesn't want them to be motivated by wrong reasons such as pride. If they were out to set a Guinness book of world records temple, that would be motivational in itself. But they would have been building the temple for themselves and their own glory and not for God. But this was not an option because they did not have those kinds of resources. This was a group of people who had just returned from exile and they had very little wealth. Especially since we know that God had been causing a drought and probably other disciplinary actions. So he asks how many of them remembered the former temple. It's been 70 years so only those over 80 probably remembered. There were probably a few that remembered, and what would they have said? “This temple ain't nothing like Solomon's temple.” That wouldn't have been very encouraging, so Haggai says in vs 4, “Take courage...all you people of the land.”³

He is about to tell them why they should take courage, but first he has to tell them what not to base their courage on. So we can see a principle:

Principle: Comparison is wrong

We need to just do our best with the talents and resources we have and not compare ourselves or our fruit to others.

When I think about my best friend at seminary who has a photographic memory, an uncanny ability with languages, over 1000 verses memorized, I can feel pretty inadequate and want to give up or think I’ll never be a good teacher or professor. But I have to just remember that I need to be faithful and do my best and God will use me. He glories in weakness because it glorifies Him when all of us normal people accomplish great things.

Proper Motivation

Let's go back to the phrase, “Take courage...” If their motivation is not the fact that they are going to build an awesome temple, then what is the motivation? What brings them courage?

The Promise of His Presence (2:1-5)

“. . . for I am with you” (vs 4) - This phrase goes back to Ex 19:4-6; 29:45; 33:12f, and Isa 63:11-14. In those passages you have God promising Moses that He would be with the Israelites. The Isaiah passage says it was the Spirit of God in their midst that protected and provided for them. What did God do before Nebuchadnezzar came in to take over Jerusalem? The glory of the Lord left the temple (Ezek 10:18-19). When Israel goes into captivity the Lord asks, “Where's the Holy Spirit now?”

But now God is back and the presence of the Lord should give them courage. Thus he says in verse 5, “Do not fear!”

What is the secret to doing the work of God? It is the presence of God. Like we talked about in the last section, it is the Spirit of God..

This is the same motivation we have in the New Testament. Matt 28:20 says, “Make disciples of all nations... for I am with you to the end of the age.”

This is the same principle we see in Rom 7-8 where Paul talks about failure to do the work of God in chapter 7 because he is trying to do it with his own power. But in chapter 8 he succeeds because he draws on the Spirit’s power.

Amazing continuity!

Principle Courage comes from knowing that God is present (2:1-4) cf. Heb 13:5-6

The Promise of His Peace (2:6-9)

The second reason that they were to have courage was because God promises that He will bring peace. This section promises that the temple will be made more glorious in the future and that there will be peace. This could be a reference to the temple that Herod built and the peace that Christ made on the cross (Eph 2:14), or it could refer to the world peace that God will bring to the millennial temple. It may refer to both. You must remember that the OT prophet didn’t know there was a gap between the first and second coming.

What phrase stands out most in these verses? “Lord of Hosts” or Lord of Armies might be another way of looking at it. The phrase is found 285 times in the Bible. 91 of these occurrences are in post-exilic prophets. This phrase pictures God as a divine warrior, king and judge. The emphasis of the post-exilic prophets was to give the Israelites hope for the future so their messages showed how God was in control of the situation.

Verse 7 - “They will come . . .” - Do you remember the movie Field of Dreams and the famous phrase, “if you build it they will come?” That's just what Haggai is telling them. “If they build the temple now, in the future the nations will come . . .”⁴

Here's what God is going to do - God is going to shake up the world and use whatever falls out (which is everything) to rebuild the temple and fill it with glory. The future temple will put Solomon's to shame. cf. verse 9 “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.”

He also says in this place I will give peace. Would this be a comforting and encouraging message to Israel? Ask any Jew today. If they could rebuild the temple and have peace in the land, would they be happy? I heard two men on the radio talk show, “Point of View,” talking about all the preparations the Jews are making for the rebuilding of the temple and reinstitution of the sacrificial system. They said that no Jew will be happy until the temple is rebuilt. That is their symbol of national sovereignty.

So the promise of God's presence and peace are given as encouragement to the people.

Principle: The remedy for a discouraged heart is to see the divine perspective (2:6-7)

The promise of His presence and His peace bring courage. Prophecy is not just gee whiz information. It is supposed to establish my heart. It should purify my life. It shows me over and over again that God is in control. It doesn't just tell me the future, but in light of the future it tells me how to live today and that I can have hope.

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This book is a prophetic book so let's talk prophecy for a minute.

In the process of Biblical revelation, here is something we can see from Haggai:

• They know about the former glory of Solomon's temple.
• They know about the present glory - in Haggai's time - and it's not very glorious.
• They know about a future glory.
• What don't they know? They don't know when all this is going to happen. They don't know if God is going to use this temple that they are building, expand it and fill it with glory or if this one will be destroyed in the future and a new one will be built. Haggai wants to get them to rebuild it because he sees the fulfillment of God's promises as imminent. As far as they know, the temple they are building is the one that is going to be expanded and made more glorious than Solomon's.
• What do we know? We know that Haggai's temple was indeed expanded. But it wasn't by God, it was by Herod who rebuilt the temple. Because of Israel's response, Jesus said not one stone will be left upon another until all things are fulfilled. So we know that God's promise to Haggai hasn't been fulfilled yet.
• From this we can take two options:
• The first is that God is a liar or
• Second, God will fulfill it in the future.
• But from Haggai's point of view it was imminent. From the disciples' point of view it was imminent. That's why they asked if it was at this time that Jesus was going to restore the kingdom. Imminency is always in view. We can never presume on the timing of God.
• There is another interesting thing to think about. Just how imminent was the kingdom when Jesus came? Would this prophecy have been fulfilled if the Jews had accepted Jesus as the Messiah
• Who was responsible for the building project going on at the time of Herod? Herod was and he used the money of the Gentiles. Guess what is said here in (vs 7) and in the book of Zechariah about the ultimate temple. The finances of the world would build that temple. And Herod's temple was said to be more glorious than Solomon's. God was ready for the nation of Israel to accept Jesus as the Messiah. This prophecy would have been fulfilled if they had accepted Him at His first coming.

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Message of Cleanliness
(2:10-19)

Defilement (2:10-14)

Haggai now asks the people a question which the priests are supposed to answer.

If a priest is carrying something holy and he touches something unholy, like a corpse, does that make the corpse holy? The answer is no.

If the person who is unclean touches the priest, does that make the priest unclean? The answer is Yes.

What is the point?

Holiness does not come by contact. It is not transferable. But contact with unholiness does defile. Take sickness as an example. If you are healthy and your spouse has the flu, and you kiss them, will that make them well? Will it make you sick?

What is the only exception to this? Jesus - He touched lots of unclean people - lepers, the woman with the bleeding problem, corpses, etc. They did not make him unclean. Instead, He made them clean. He healed them. This should have been a big clue to the Jewish leaders, priests, etc. of His identity.

Haggai makes his conclusion in vs 14. The Israelites were guilty of this very thing. This is why chapter 2 follows chapter 1. The “holy” rituals that the people had been performing in the past were useless because, as we have already seen in chapter 1, there was no obedience. They did not have holy hearts.

Principle Holiness is not transferable (2:11-12)

Principle Sin contaminates everything one does (2:13-14)

You might say, “But I thought they had gotten their act together and were working on the temple?” They had but the next verse shows that Haggai is looking back to the time before they had resumed the work.

Dependency (2:15-19)

Haggai tells them to look at the past.⁵ When they were not obedient, God kept them from prospering and He smote them with wind, mildew and hail. Verses 15-17 show us that God disciplined them for their uncleanness. The reference to smiting with mildew, etc. is a fulfillment of the cursings of Deut 28:22. That's why it is so important to understand the section about the blessings and cursings of Deut 28-31 when studying the prophets. Haggai makes continued reference to that.

Why did God strike them with this discipline? What is the purpose of the discipline of God? Annihilation or Restoration? It says, “yet you did not come back to Me.” Restoration is the purpose. It is amazing the principles found in the OT.

APPLICATION: How does this principle of restoration apply to us?

What should our reason for discipline be with our children? Especially with older ones with whom you can reason. To drive them away from us? The goal of “tough love” is to bring restoration.

What should the reason for church discipline be? To permanently remove the person from the fellowship of the church? No - Matt 18: 15-20 shows that the purpose is to restore the brother.

What should the reason for marital separation be? Matt 19 is Jesus’ teaching on divorce. It follows an extended parable on forgiveness. Within the context of forgiveness Christ deals with the issue of divorce. He says if a someone gets divorced, they should not remarry. Why? Because there is no longer any chance of restoring the relationship.

2:18-19 “From this day onward” - What is significant about “This day?” It says, “from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded...” They had begun the rebuilding of the temple. They hadn't finished it. They had just started, but what does God say? The blessing is already starting.

When does God's discipline start? It usually doesn't strike immediately. He allowed the Israelites to skip Sabbath years for 490 years and become very corrupt before He sent them to Babylon.

When does God's blessing start? Immediately when we turn to Him. He is so gracious.

If you decide to have devotions every morning for a week and are looking for the results - for God's blessing - that is a wrong motive. But if you start having devotions every day from here on out without worrying about the blessing, because you want to obey and worship God, when did God start blessing you? The day you started.

Where does the idea of dependency fit in to all this?

If you are depending on material things for happiness, God will take them away (vs 17) This is the same thing we saw in 1:6 and 9 in our discussion about dissatisfaction and discipline, but if you are depending on God for happiness, He will bless you and bring all the material things you need. I think motivation is important.

Does this book motivate you on how you should serve God?

He says it is important to have a clean life in vs. 12-14 and pure motives in 15-19. If you aren't doing it from a pure heart, it is wasted. I wonder how many good sacrifices are spoiled by bad hands and impure motives.

What do we do before we go teach or preach or whatever our ministry is? Do we examine our motives? Are we preaching for the money? Most aren't but a few of the televangelists might be. Again, those are easily recognized wrong motives. But, are we teaching for the praise of others which will temporarily fill that void in our life that our spouse doesn't fill? That he or she can really never “fill” - that void that only God can fill, but which we are not allowing Him to fill.

Principle: Disobedience brings discipline, while obedience guarantees blessing (2:15-19)

Message of Consummation
(2:20-23)

This last section looks to the future when God will do two things:

2:20-22 God will overthrow the nations. Has this ever happened? Not yet. So this must be referring to the end of the tribulation.

Principle God is sovereign over the nations and kingdoms of this world. (2:20-22)

2:23. This is a very disputed passage. It says, “On that day” which seems from the context to be referring to the same day that we just talked about - the end of the tribulation. At that time Zerubbabel will be made “like a signet ring.” Zerubbabel was in the direct line of David and should have been qualified to be the king. But if you go back to Jer 22:24, you see that Coniah (or Jehoiachin) the son of Jehoiakim was cursed and none of his descendants were allowed to sit on the throne. Zerubbabel was a great grandson of Coniah, so he was disqualified too.⁶ Some people think this means that Zerubbabel will co-reign with Christ. But so will we, so I don't think that is such a revolutionary conclusion.

Another idea is that Zerubbabel is like a signet ring. He is the governor and the symbol of authority. He is the symbol that God is going to fulfill His promise to David and restore the kingdom. But he is not actually sitting on the throne because Israel is not an independent nation. The signet ring had been taken away and given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.

Principle The covenants of the Lord are guaranteed to be fulfilled (2:23)⁷

Summary

(1) We saw that Haggai rebuked them for having misplaced priorities and he pointed out the results which were dissatisfaction with the things of this world and discipline from God.

(2) Their response was to obey God's message and resume the work on the temple. Their obedience (repentance/confession) cleared their conscience (we might say) so that they could worship God and brought the Spirit's enablement on them so they could do the work of God.

(3) Their courage and motivation was to come from the promise of God's presence and His peace. This is the peace of mind that comes from knowing that God is in control.

(4) Haggai also dealt with the issues of living clean and godly lives so they would not defile their work and sacrifices. He also urged them to depend on God for life.

(5) And finally, Haggai gave them hope for the future by revealing that God was going to destroy their enemies and establish His kingdom with them, His chosen people.

Principles from Haggai

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 God’s 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)

7. Courage comes from knowing that God is present (2:1-4)

8. The remedy for a discouraged heart is to see the divine perspective (2:6-7)

9. Everything belongs to and is under the control of the Lord (2:7-8)

10. Holiness is not transferable (2:11-12)

11. Sin contaminates everything one does (2:13-14)

12. Disobedience brings discipline, while obedience guarantees blessing (2:15-19)

13. God is sovereign over the nations and kingdoms of this world. (2:20-22)

14. The covenants of the Lord are guaranteed to be fulfilled (2:23)

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1 Mark Bailey, Class notes. 1992.

2 Bailey, Class notes p. 3.

3 Notice the phrase, "people of the land." Did the discipline of God in the OT abrogate the promise of the land to Israel? No! If it did not cancel the land promise in the OT, then I must find some passage in the NT that cancels the land promise to Israel or I must expect what? -- That God will give the land to Israel. Some try to say that the church has replaced Israel and the promises God made to Israel will be fulfilled with the church. But in order to do this, many of these passages must be spiritualized and not taken literally. This is one of those passages that causes me to think there is a definite future for Israel. It causes me to be a pre-millennial dispensationalist. Sometime in the future God will fulfill his promise to Israel. That has to be in the Millennium. It sure hasn't been fulfilled yet.

4 Some see this as a reference to Messiah because the Hebrew word is singular. However, the verb is plural and this is probably to be viewed as a collective noun referring to the nations. God has already said "I will come and I will shake all the nations." So that is probably the antecedent to the pronoun.

5 The word is translated as "onward" in the NASB, and it is a little confusing, but what Haggai is saying is from now on, understand this. When you were disobedient, in the past, God cursed you.

6 There is some speculation that the curse only extended to Jehoiachin’s son.

7 Principles from Bailey's class handouts, 1992.

Introduction

Time:

Zechariah’s ministry began between Haggai’s second and third message. If Haggai is talking about rebuilding the temple, what do you think Zechariah will write about? He is writing about the same thing.

Title:

The title comes from the prophets name, Zechariah, which means “Yahweh remembers.” Because God remembers, there is hope for the people of Israel. God will remember His covenant with them recorded in Deuteronomy 28-30 and will keep His promises.

Author:

Zechariah says he is the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. Iddo was head of the priestly families coming back from exile (Neh 12:4,16). This would make Zechariah a priest and a prophet. It would also explain his emphasis on temple and priestly matters in the book.

Purpose:

Zechariah was written to comfort and encourage the returned remnant to repent of their evil ways, to return to the Lord and to rebuild the temple. The people who had just returned from exile felt like their efforts were insignificant and the future was uncertain. They weren’t even an independent nation - just a client state of a mighty empire. Zechariah’s message focuses on the future and proclaims that God would send the Messiah to establish His Kingdom through the destruction of the Gentile empires and the salvation of His people Israel.

Theme:

Return to me that I may return to you. Jer 18,25,35 have same theme.

Is return of Israel a prerequisite of God’s blessing? Yes! How many must repent? We don’t know. But we do see that Israel’s repentance is necessary.

Introduction
(1:1-6)

A Call to Repentance (1:1-3)

Zechariah 1:1 “Zechariah” means God remembers. What does He remember? His covenant. “Iddo” means at the appointed time, and “Berechiah” means God will bless. God remembers and at the appointed time He will bless them. The names of the prophets are a summary of their messages.

A Call to Remembrance (1:4-6)

1:4 Look at your parents. When the prophets prophesied in the past, their fathers ignored them. They went into exile and died as a result of the discipline of the Lord. Where are your fathers? (dead) Where did they die? (in exile) Do the prophets live forever? (no) So listen up while you have a chance.

(Notice the phrase, “Lord of Hosts.” It appears 261 times in OT - 80 times in post-exilic prophets. The emphasis is on God’s control.)

Judgment is the righteous response of a God who has been wronged by those who were unfaithful to the covenant. You must remember that they entered into a covenant at Mt. Sinai saying, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do.” Did they keep their word? No. Did God keep his word as to what would happen if they didn’t? Yes.

1:6 “Then they repented...” - Repentance and return are always the means by which the blessing of God may be experienced by Israel. The repentance Zechariah is referring to is from Jer 42:10-19. Repentance for Jeremiah’s audience meant recognizing that what God was doing in discipline was what was deserved. Jeremiah warned the people that they needed to stay and face the discipline from God (i.e. go into exile to Babylon). What is the message of Habakkuk? The just shall live by faith and faithfulness. Habakkuk said he would wait on the Lord. So the right response of the people to Jeremiah was to recognize that this was the discipline of the Lord and go submissively into exile. To resist the discipline of God would cause you to end up in a discipline that was far worse and would ultimately cost you your life. Those that went into exile were told how to live in exile (Daniel? ) making the best of it and actually experiencing some of the blessing of God. Many fled to Egypt thinking that would save them, but they died there. So, repentance meant recognizing that God did to them what they deserved. When was the last time you thanked God for discipline? We should, because it is an assurance that He is actively involved in your life and will also bless you for obedience. This is a common theme in Zechariah because they are just coming out of a time of discipline.

Illustration: Discuss tendency to want to escape hard times through suicide, quitting, divorce, etc. What we are doing is demanding that God bring us relief now and if he won’t, then we will take care of it ourselves.

If you are in the middle of a bad marriage, or a bad job situation, or a struggle with drugs, alcohol, depression, eating disorder, etc. and you trust God through it, you are a testimony to God’s faithfulness because most people bail out of their marriage when the going gets tough, commit suicide, etc.

Eight Night Visions

As I said earlier, the way Zechariah motivates the depressed remnant is by focusing on the future and God’s fulfillment of His promises. He begins by recording a series of visions which portray God’s plans for Israel’s future. The visions all seem to have been seen at one time (7) - 24th day of 11th month of 2nd year of Darius (Oct 520 B.C.).

The Horse Patrol (1:8-17)

The Vision (8-11)

A report of riders saying that the nations are at ease. This sounds good, but everywhere you see this phrase it has bad connotations. It really means that the nations are sitting fat and sassy, i.e. self-satisfied.

The Explanation (12-15)

God is very angry with the nations who are at ease (here we see being at ease is bad). Here we also see the interplay between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. God is angry because, although He wanted the nations to discipline Israel, they went too far. Because Babylon was too hard on Israel, God sends Persia to punish Babylon, etc. This concept of God sending Babylon to punish Israel goes back to Habakkuk. A message of blessing for Israel becomes a message of judgment for the surrounding nations.

Zion and Jerusalem¹ will again overflow with prosperity. Notice vs. 17. It says “My cities...” This is plural and therefore not a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem.

So first message of the horses on patrol is that in spite of the fact that the nations are at ease, God is going to choose, because of his jealousy, his grace and compassion to restore Jerusalem and Zion. So the religious and political restoration of Israel is in view. God will restore the prosperity to Israel, place his temple in Jerusalem because Jerusalem and Zion are the places of his choice. Why did God choose Israel? I’m sure the Arabs would like to know this. Is it because they were better than the other nations? No. Just the opposite. They were not even a vine that was planted. In fact they were to respond, when asked, My father was a wandering Aramean. We came into existence through another nation. The only explanation is God’s grace. Why do we come through a Jewish Messiah to have eternal life? Because that is what God decided to do.

Application: Why did God want me? Some of you are probably wondering. It’s purely the grace of God. We need to grab hold of this at the deepest level or we will always think we deserve it. (This is a common theme throughout the bible. Compare the parables of the Seats of Honor and the Great banquet in Luke 14)

The Four Horns and Four Craftsmen (1:18-21)

The Vision (18, 20)

Zechariah sees four horns and then four craftsman. He asks the angel what they mean.

The Explanation (19, 21)

The horns are instruments of discipline that God used to scatter his people. They are the foreign nations that oppressed Israel. Throughout the OT we see that the word “horn” is used for strength or military might. (1Sa 2:!, Ps 18:2, Ps 75:10, Jer 48:25) Why does God do this? Look at verse 21. It says “so that no man lifts up his head.” The purpose was to bring humility. That is the purpose of all of God’s discipline. What does lifting up the head mean? That is the nose in the air attitude - pride.

What are the craftsmen? They come to tear down the horns that have scattered Jerusalem. What we have is a pattern. Horn #1 comes to discipline Jerusalem, but they are a little too hard on the Jews, so God sends craftsman #1 to whittle on the first horn. (The craftsman is the one who can fashion a horn.) The craftsman then becomes the next horn to discipline Israel. But they are too hard on Israel and then next craftsman comes along. The horns and craftsmen are explained to us in Daniel.

The first horn is Babylon. Babylon takes over Judah, but what does Nebuchadnezzar do? He is told that he is the head of gold on the statue, but he likes the idea of being the whole statue, so he builds a golden statue. Then what does God do with the head of gold? He makes it go eat grass. Belshazzar comes along and likes all the treasure from the temple in Jerusalem and decides to throw a party. God writes on the wall and says, “you have been measured, found wanting and deserving of destruction.” Along comes the first craftsman. The first craftsman is Persia. Then Greece and finally Rome.

The whole point is that the horns are the Gentile nations that come along to discipline Israel, and the craftsmen come along to discipline the Gentile nations who became arrogant in their domination. You would almost think God was in control.

The Measuring line (2:1-13)

The Vision (1-3)

Zechariah sees a man or perhaps an angel on his way to measure Jerusalem to ensure that there will be enough space for all the people who will dwell there in the coming prosperity. This may indicate that the man is measuring in preparation for the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem during Zechariah’s time. But an angel says Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle in her midst. There will also be peace and security from their enemies provided by God, who will be a wall of fire around her, and we see God’s glory will be in her midst.

The Explanation (4-5)

There is much debate about these verses:

• Leupold says that Jerusalem represents the church and the indwelling is membership in the church of God. I think this is wrong because he is spiritualizing the passage and I don’t know where he sees the church in all this.
• Luther thought the cattle were Christians who were less sturdy in their faith.
• There is some debate over whether or not this is a reference to an earthly city or heavenly city. Does this look like a heavenly city or an earthly city? Do you think cattle go to heaven?

This is probably a reference to the millennial city. Did Nehemiah build a wall around Jerusalem? Is there a wall around Jerusalem right now? Has there ever been a time when Jerusalem was without her wall? (except when the whole city was destroyed) Will there be a wall around the heavenly Jerusalem? Yes! The significance of no wall is that there is peace. Therefore I am still expecting this prophecy to be fulfilled literally and on earth during the millenium.

What has to happen before this can happen?

You have to have the restoration of Israel to the Lord.

You also have to have retribution on Israel’s enemies that would keep Israel from enjoying this kind of peace.

These things happen in the Tribulation, so this must be talking about the millenium which follows.

The Response (6-13)

2: 6 The land of the north does not equal Russia because everyone who enters Jerusalem must come from the north. All of Israel’s enemies have invaded from the north except Egypt. This includes Babylon, Persia, Syria, Assyria, Greece, Rome, etc. North becomes a symbol, not just a direction. Prophecy “experts” who always identify this as Russia are ignoring the rest of scripture. In this verse the near referent is to Babylon (vs 7). Zechariah is telling those who remained in Babylon to get out of there because God’s judgment is coming on the Babylonians. Babylon also becomes symbolic of any nation that abuses Israel. And in the tribulation religious and political Babylon (Rev 17-18) are representative of all that is evil, so this could also apply to the end times when Israel is urged to flee from the Babylonian system to avoid being destroyed in the day of the Lord. Who is the daughter of Babylon? This probably refers to any nation who follows in Babylon’s footsteps of evil and oppression of Israel.

2:8 This is a difficult passage to understand. Here are two options:

• It may mean that God sent Christ, after His glory (?) to judge them because they harmed Israel, who was the apple of God’s eye. (cf. Deut. 32:10)
• It may mean that God is sending Zechariah and God’s glory would be revealed when Zechariah’s prophecies come true. The reference to “the apple of his eye” really means “the pupil” which is the most important, most easily injured, hardest to repair, part of the eye. Zechariah may be saying that messing with Israel is like sticking a sharp stick in your own eye.

2:9 When this happens, you will know that God has vindicated his messenger who gave this message.

2:10-13

• Yahweh will come to dwell in the midst of Israel. This is a comforting and encouraging message to the people.
• Notice also that other nations will become the people of God. We have seen that over and over again in the prophets.
• Judah and Jerusalem (12) will be God’s dwelling place. Again we have emphasis on land promises being fulfilled which points to a future for national Israel. We don’t know just from reading Zechariah that the literal fulfillment will be in the Millennium. We learn that in the NT and esp. Revelation.

The Clothing of Joshua the High Priest (3:1-10)

The Vision (1-5)

The accusation of Joshua by Satan. (vs 1)

Joshua represents the nation of Israel. Satan is pointing out Israel’s unfaithfulness as being unworthy of God’s favor.

3:2 - But God’s answer is that God has chosen Israel and Israel will be saved. What does this brand from the fire mean? (Cf. Deut 4:20; Amos 4:11; Jer 11:4) The imagery is that of being saved on the verge of extinction. God brought the nation through the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, the book of Esther records how God preserved the nation from attempted extinction. Throughout history, God has preserved the Jews.

The cleansing of Joshua by the Lord (vs 3)

The dirty clothes is symbolic of their sinfulness and apostasy. What is the Lord going to do? Put clean clothes on Joshua. This is symbolic of purifying the nation. The “festal robes” may be a reference to the wedding clothes provided by wealthy hosts for those attending a banquet or wedding feast. The festive/banquet imagery is a reference to the kingdom.

The Explanation (6-10)

The clean garments are symbolic of righteous living. There is an admonition or warning given to Joshua, who is representative of the nation, which shows that Israel’s restoration is dependent on her obedience.

Joshua and his friends are symbols of what God was going to do through one called the Branch. Here we see the progress of revelation. We learn more about the Messiah in the postexilic prophets. The Servant - is the Branch and different from the nation of Israel.

The meaning of the “Stone” has many different interpretations. Some say it is the church, but since the “stone” is a messianic symbol throughout the Bible, it seems best to see this as a reference to Christ. (cf. Ps 118:22-23, Isa 8:13-15, Mat 21:42, 1Pe 2:7-8)

The eyes - Some think this reference to a stone with eyes is symbolic of intelligence and omniscience. (cf. Isa 11:2).

The engraving - the only place where we have engraved stones is on the garments of the priests. The stone on the priest’s headband was engraved with the phrase, “Holy to the Lord.” Perhaps we are dealing with the priesthood here. All this could be a reference to the Messiah removing the guilt of the nation in one day - on the cross? or in the day of the Lord?

3:10 “In that day” - an eschatalogical reference - some time in the future. “Under the vine or fig tree” is a symbol for the day of Messianic blessing - 1Ki 4:25; symbol of peace Isa 36:16; and Micah 4:4 - a symbol of Messianic kingdom. Some day Israel will sit under the shade of their own tree and they will invite their neighbor to sit under the tree with them - in other words - they will fulfill their God given task of being a witness and blessing to the nations. Has Israel ever done this yet? No! In fact they want every neighbor to leave. Nathaniel was sitting under the fig tree. Was that a coincidence?

The Gold Lampstand and Olive Tree (4:1-14)

The Vision (1-4)

The question “what are these?” is unanswered until the end of the passage. Also see Swindoll - Grace Awakening, p. 217f

The Explanation (5-10)

It is by divine enablement that the temple will be completed. The main task of Zerubbabel is to rebuild the temple. With the apathy of the people and the amount of work left before him, the project is so big it is like a mountain before him, but it will become a plain (something easy to cross) and the top stone is a picture of finishing the task.

The Power of the Spirit (vs 6-7)

We saw in Haggai that the Spirit of God was imperative for doing the work of God. Zechariah’s message is the same. Man’s power and might are not enough for accomplishing the work of God.

The Promise for Zerubbabel (vs 8-9).

Zerubbabel is promised that he will see the completion of the temple. And the fulfillment of this promise would further prove Zechariah was speaking for God. This is so much like 2:9 that it lends support to the idea that Zerubbabel is the person in view there.

The seven eyes - We see the seven eyes again, and here it becomes plain that they represent God’s omniscience because they range to and fro throughout the earth. The lamp stands in the temple represented the presence of God. That is why it is important that the lamps never went out. It symbolized God leaving.

The Two Olive trees (11-14) The question “what are these two olive trees?” is answered. They are two “sons of oil” or “annointed ones.” The offices of priest and king were inaugurated by the anointing with oil. Zerubbabel and Joshua are God’s anointed ones who are ministering to the postexilic community.

The message - Right in the center of the two visions about Joshua and Zerubbabel is emphasis on the Holy Spirit (the oil).

Principles: Doing the ministry of God requires the power of God.

God works through spiritual leadership.

The Flying Scroll (5:1-4)

The Vision

Zechariah sees a scroll with the same measurements of the tabernacle flying through the land. It has writing on both sides.

The Explanation

The purpose of the scroll was to curse the land of those who swear and steal. Swearing and stealing are probably summary terms for the two halves of the law. The first half, swearing, refers to sins against God and second half, stealing, refers to sins against man. You don’t get away with sin. God sees it and will purge the land.

The Woman in the Ephah (5:5-11)

The Vision

Zechariah sees an ephah or commercial measuring device which further confirms the sinfulness of the nations and the need for judgment.

The description of the woman - she is the personification of evil, so he slams the lid back down on the basket.

The destination (9-11) - two women with stork wings come and fly away with the basket and put it in Shinar on a pedestal (where tower of Babel was built) . The pedestal may refer to being set up high for the purpose of worship.

The Explanation (17-18)

Revelation 17 and 18 refer to the great harlot and Babylon where Christ will take care of wickedness, so there is some connection here. Shinar represents the anti-God spirit from Gen to Rev and will one day be the center of the commercial and religious coalition against God. Wickedness is personified with the commercial basket because the major thing you have the people crying about in Rev 17 and 18 is the loss of the merchandise. Economics is the tool of control for the future. I think we can see that happening today.

The Chariot Patrol (6:1-8)

The Vision (1-3)

Zechariah sees four chariots patrolling the four corners of the earth and representing God’s execution of the deserving judgment on the nations. They come between bronze mountains. Bronze is a picture of judgment (Num 21, Ex 27, feet of bronze Rev 1:)

The Explanation (4-8)

The four spirits of heaven are angelic instruments of judgment. Their purpose is to appease the anger of the Lord. When vs. 6 refers to the “north country,” this is probably a general reference to the enemies of God because the enemies of Israel always invaded from the north. Is this Russia like many of the prophecy nuts claim? If Russia is the enemy of God they are probably included. But this is probably not an exclusive reference to them.

Does this last section remind you of anything? the first part of the book is very similar. Notice the structure of Zechariah’s book up to this point.

#1 and #8 : The horse patrol goes out to examine the earth and finds the nations at ease and God is ticked. The chariot patrol is setting out to appease God’s anger and execute judgment.

#2 and #7: The horns were Gentile powers that humbled Israel and the craftsmen were other Gentile powers that disciplined the horns. Where will the final demonstration of Gentile power be when the Lord comes back? The land of Shinar in Babylon.

#3 and #6: The measuring line is for Jerusalem prosperous and peaceful without walls. What must take place before this can happen? Israel must be purged of her sin.

#4 and #5: The cleansing of the priesthood and the empowering of Zerubbabel. the anointed ones that God has chosen to do God’s work.

What we have is message to the postexilic community that is in the form of a chiasm that focuses on the ministry of God’s Spirit and direct intervention of God to subjugate the nations and to empower Joshua and Zerubbabel as His ministers to the postexilic community so that they can finish the temple.

The center of the chiasm was focused on the influence and honor of Joshua and Zerubbabel. The next vision takes that focus even farther.

The Coronation of Joshua
(6:9-15)

Zechariah is to make crowns (plural in MT), one of which he is to place on Joshua the high priest.

Then Zechariah is to tell Joshua about one who is a “Branch” who will “sprout” up and build the temple of the Lord. The “Branch” is certainly a Messianic reference, but it also refers to Zerubbabel who is a “branch” or descendant of David. Zerubbabel was in charge of rebuilding the temple (cf. vision five in 4:6-9).

The ultimate fulfillment of the Branch is Christ who will unite these offices of priest and king and rule on His throne in perfect peace, etc.

Some of the things we know about the Branch:

(1) The Branch will be a man. (Isa 4:2; Jer 23:3-5; 33:14-26)

(2) The Branch will be from Israel. (Micah 5:2; Isa 53:2)

(3) The Branch will build the temple. (Eze 40-43; Hag 2)

How does the Branch build the temple? vs 15 says those who are far off will come and build the temple. We know from Haggai that He will use the finances of the Gentiles. When Christ came, Herod was remodeling the temple and using Roman money to do it. Things were in place for the Israelites to accept Messiah and usher in the kingdom.

(4) The Branch will bear the honor and sit and rule on his throne and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices (2 Sam 7:16; Isa 9:7; Luke 1:32)

The completion is conditional. The coming of the Messiah is not conditional, but their participation is conditional. This will take place IF you completely obey.

Conclusions:

• God has not forgotten his covenant with Israel. (Zechariah = God remembers)
• Jerusalem is God’s choice for the temple and the center of the Messianic Kingdom.
• Messiah, the Branch will come to assume the offices of both the king and the priest.
• Those nations which have abused Israel will be judged by God.
• As the special people of God, Israel will ultimately fulfill her mission as the channel of blessing to the world.
• There is an emphasis on obedience as a condition for blessing.
• There is an emphasis on God being in control and God’s Spirit being the power behind the events. (visions 4 and 5)

Four Ethical Messages

God judged Israel for disobedience, but his purpose for the future was to bless them if they would obey Him (8:14-15).

The Message of Rebuke (7:1-7)

The Israelites had been observing fasts and feasts for the past seventy years. Now that they are back in the land they are asking if they should continue a certain fast. (Probably the fast of the 5th month which was for the destruction of the temple 2Ki 25:8-10) God answers in verses 4-7 with a question. He asks if they had been fasting for Him or for themselves. He convicts them of their selfishness. They had only been going through the rituals and had not been doing it from the heart. That is why God says I desire mercy not sacrifice (Hos 6:6). This doesn’t mean He doesn’t want sacrifice, He is just emphasizing motivation. Whatever you are doing with your hands can be disqualified by your heart. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing what is required.

Principles:

• Hypocritical ritual is of no interest to God.
• The record of God’s judgments in the past serves as a fitting reminder that sin does not go unpunished.

The Message of Remembrance (7:8-14)

The Israelites relationship to others, the second emphasis of the law, had also suffered as they were characterized by the oppression of their fellow man. Zechariah calls them to remember:

(1) The requirements of God (8-10) - Over and over again we have seen the call for justice, kindness and compassion for one’s fellow man.

(2) The response of the Nation (11-12)

• Pulled shoulders - Neh 9:29; Hosea 4:16 - is like a horse that pulls sideways
• Stopped up ears - Isa 6:10; 59:1; Heb 5:11-14
• Hardened hearts - Jer 17:1; Eze 3:9

(3) The result for the nation - their condemnation (13-14)

• Denied answering prayers (Prov 28:9)
• Dispersion of the nation (2Ch 35:15-17)
• Desolated land of Israel

The Message of Restoration (8:1-17)

In spite of their sinfulness, God still desired to bring the nation of Israel back to Him and bless them and the nations through them.

It is passages like this that help form my opinion on the issue of divorce and remarriage. Some people say adultery is a valid reason for divorce, but we learned in Hosea that Hosea’s marriage with Gomer was a model of God’s relationship with Israel. And the reverse is true. God’s relationship with Israel is the model for the institution of marriage. Although Gomer ran off and committed adultery again and again, Hosea was to be like God and keep pursuing her and loving her. Israel has been committing adultery, but God is always forgiving and jealous for her and pursuing her to bring her back. If someone divorces and remarries, there is no opportunity for restoration. That is why I think remarriage is wrong.

The blessings of the future are as sure as the judgments of the past. How literal did the cursings of the covenant take place on Israel? Then how literal will the blessings be fulfilled. It is a major hermeneutical overstep to spiritualize the future to fit my understanding and expectations. The land promises are literal and must be fulfilled. The discipline of God does not abrogate an eternal covenant.

There are seven statements of promise by the “Lord of Hosts”

(1) Yahweh is jealous for and will return to Jerusalem (1-3)

The attributes of God are the basis for the promise. I think this is always true. Joel 3:17; Oba 17 What is the significance of a change of name? A change in relationship or ownership. (cf. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel to signify his repentance and submission to God.)

(2) The population will increase in a setting of peace (4-5)

Two signs of blessing - old age and young age. These are the indefensible and the first to go. So if they are wandering around then that is a sign of peace. When God dwells among them, there will be truth and justice and it will be safe enough for old women and young children to go out.

(3) The power of Yahweh will be demonstrated again (6)

God is not limited by our understanding of Him.

(4) Yahweh will re-gather Israel from among the nations (7-8)

Zec 13:9; Hos 2:21-23, Isa 1:26 “as at the first” - that does not sound like a redefinition of Israel (i.e. the church). Nor does it sound like the Israel of today, so I still expect it.

(5) Yahweh encourages them to rebuild the temple and warns of past devastation from disobedience (9-10)

(6) Yahweh will reverse the treatment of His people (11-13)

• from poverty to productivity = material
• from cursing to blessing = spiritual
• from fear to strength = emotional

(7) Yahweh commands His people to righteous living (14-17)

Zechariah reemphasizes that there will be internal peace among the Israelites, and people will treat one another with love.

The Message of Return (8:18-23)

Zechariah shows that the ultimate purpose for bringing peace and prosperity to Israel is so that God can bless the nations.

(1) Fasts will be turned into feasts (18-19) - There is much banquet and feasting imagery in the OT. Jesus uses this in many of his parables.

(2) Many will seek the favor of the Lord (20-22) - Again and again we have seen that the Gentiles will be included in the kingdom. This shows how distorted the attitudes of the Pharisees and the Jews were at the time of Christ toward the Gentiles.

(3) Israel will be the witness to the nations (23)

The national purpose of Israel is to be a witness for God to the nations. In the future that will be fulfilled. Right now Israel is not the place to find God. In fact, leading people to Christ is against the law over there.

Two Oracles

Zechariah gives two oracles which look forward to the Messiah who is initially rejected but ultimately enthroned as King of the Messianic kingdom.

One of the major problems in the book (for critical scholars) comes in chapter 9 because Zechariah names Greece as a future enemy of Israel. Most critical scholars do not accept predictive prophecy as an option for the prophets. (It sort of makes you wonder why they are called “prophets.”) They especially don’t accept the ability to name people God will use in the future. That is why they don’t accept Daniel. It is too detailed. It was too accurately fulfilled. They feel that it must be a record of history written after the fact and not a prophecy written before hand. Isn’t it amazing that the reason God’s word should be rejected is the accuracy of its fulfillment. That tells you where the mind of the unbelieving heart is.

Does God ever adopt a common form to reveal a fresh message? Yes! He used the popular Suzerain-Vassal treaty format to give the Israelites the Law. That is what the cursings and blessings sections are all about. Could God sing a song that has the same outline as a pagan hymn, but change the words? Certainly.

Finish this for me: Dunt dadadun dadaaa..........Charge! Have you heard that at baseball games or basketball games, and other places? It is a catchy tune and has several uses. Maybe God will think it is catchy and when the trumpet sounds from heaven, He may make that sound. Who knows?

Chapter 9 follows with incredible parallel the structure of a song sung for Baal. The song of Baal has the following parts: a threat, followed by combat that ends in victory. A temple is built, a banquet is celebrated, there is a manifestation of universal reign anticipated, the appearance of the divine warrior and the result is a fertility of restored order and discipline.

Now listen to Zechariah 9: There will be a conflict followed by a victory. In vs. 8 the temple will be secured. In vs. 9 there will be a victory shout with a procession. A universal reign in vs. 10. The salvation that is experienced is the captives will be released in 11-13. There is the appearance in vs. 14 of a divine warrior. There is a sacrifice and a banquet in vs. 15 and there is the fertility of restored order in 16-17.

What God does is adopt the form and change the words. Why? If my son asks me if God is stronger than superman, then what am I supposed to say? Yes! It is something he can relate to and it is a good comparison. Am I at all giving credence to superman? No. God is using mythological imagery as an apologetic and polemic to say, “Whatever you think is great, God is better.” That is what we have here in chapter 9.

First Oracle: The Rejection of the Shepherd (9:1-11:17)

The first oracle looks forward to the day when God will send the Messiah (9:9), deliver the Israelites and pass judgment on the nations.

Judgment on the Nations (9:1-8)

The battle campaign of the Lord is portrayed to show the completeness of the destruction. He begins by listing the nations that He will pass through on the campaign. Every time Israel has been invaded the enemies followed this route. So God says, “I’ll go over the same route and destroy all these nations but Jerusalem will be spared.” All because of the grace of God.

The Coming of the Messiah (9:9-10)

The Messiah is portrayed entering Jerusalem with humility on a donkey and bringing salvation and peace. This is the passage that is quoted during the triumphal entry of Christ. His dominion will be to the “ends of the earth.” It will be an earthly dominion. We don’t know it will be a 1000 years yet.

The donkey is significant. Judges 5:, 10: & 12: Royalty riding on donkeys 2 Sam 16:1-2 David rode on a donkey when Absalom usurped the kingdom and he felt rejection by his own people. When did Christ ride on the donkey? During the week of His rejection. Vestus Testamentum vol. 12. p. 259.

The Blessing on Israel (9:11-10:12)

9:11 shows that the blessing is based on God upholding His end of the covenant.

a. Historical blessing

1) From Babylon (11-12) - past - they have been delivered from their enemies of the past.

2) From Greece (?) (13-17) - future - In Gen 10:2-4 the term “sons of Jabon” is used as a term referring to all the nations surrounding Israel. It may refer to God’s deliverance of Israel from all her enemies. (cf. VT vol. 12, p. 248) This may not be a reference to Greece.

b. Prophetic blessing 10:1-12

1) Judgment of the false shepherds (1-3)

Restoration is always seen in the context of judgment. God saved Noah and his family against the backdrop of the flood. When God delivered Israel, it was during the judgment on Egypt. He gave them the land of Canaan while judging the pagan inhabitants. When He gets ready to reverse the judgment of the Babylonians on Israel, He does so with the Persians, then Greece, then Rome, etc. Salvation always comes in the context of judgment. Even at the cross. It brought salvation to some and judgment to others.

2) Restoration of Israel (4-12)

a) Victory vs. 5

b) Compassion vs. 6

c) Regathering vs. 8-12 - not going on today. They did not come to faith in far countries before 1948. They came back so the Man of Sin can make a covenant with them before they are again scattered in the tribulation.

Can you have a regathering before faith and redemption? From this passage it seems a little difficult, unless you understand this - If they are going to be scattered again, they must first be there in the land. They need to be a people that the anti-christ can make a covenant with. So do I get excited about 1948 (when Israel became a nation again)? Yes! But not for the wrong reason. We must keep it in perspective. We have a better set up now than before. God can make it happen when He is ready.

The Rejection of the Messiah (11:1-17)

God tells Zechariah to play out two roles. The first is a good shepherd that will be rejected and the second is a bad shepherd that will be destroyed. It is an announcement of the future. He sets us up for the Messiah and the antichrist. The Good Shepherd is portrayed as being rejected and the Shepherd who takes his place will destroy the nation.

a. The rejection of the true shepherd 11:1-14

1) The consequences of rejection (1-6)

a) On the land (1-3)

Zechariah mentions the three borders of Israel - Cedars of Lebanon (N), Oaks of Bashan (S) and the Jordan River (E). These were the defensive borders of Israel. God is going to allow the borders to be breached and an external force to take over Israel because they pursued false shepherds. They were victims of their own false leaders who did not care about the flock. In fact, by fleecing the flock they claimed that God made them rich. (Does that sound like Robert Tilton?)

b) On the people (4-6)

11:5 Some people will think they are doing the will of God when they mistreat Israel. “And their own shepherds will have no pity.” This sure seems to be a reference to Israel’s leadership who killed the Messiah and they thought they were doing the will of God because Jesus committed blasphemy.

2) The characterization of rejection 11:7-14a) Two broken staffs - one called Favor and the other Union

If you are an Israelite in the OT, how do you know that you had the favor of God upon you? You had the blessing of God and you had a unified nation in the land (Deut 28:).

c) Annihilated shepherds (vs. 8) Some see it as the offices of prophet, priest and king, but I don’t think Zechariah did away with his own office of priest. What about Malachi that comes along later?

Some see it as three leaders who lose their position. 40 different names are offered in the commentaries.

I think it is three unspecified leaders in the post-exilic community that gave Zechariah trouble. It seems to be a personal conflict with Zechariah. because he says his soul is impatient and it happens in one month. Zechariah’s victory is short-lived, because in vs. 9 he quits and cuts up the staff called Favor.

d) Insulting silver (12-13) In a Summerian text called “The curse of Agade,” it was a sign of contempt to be paid 30 pieces of silver. Also cf. Judges 17:7 as a symbol of contempt. This is the same amount for which Judas betrayed Christ. What is it about this context that allows Christ to use it when Judas betrayed him. Notice in vs. 13 that the Lord is speaking and he says, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” The value of Zech’s ministry was the value of the Lord to Israel. They were not just rejecting Zechariah. They were rejecting God.

Zechariah then cuts up the staff called Union. When Jesus arrives on the scene, Judah, Samaria and Galillee are anything but unified.

b. The replacement with the false shepherd 11:15-17

1) The symbol (15)

2) The significance (16-17)

a) The devastation by the uncaring shepherd - in the future God will allow a false shepherd to rise who will devastate Israel.

b) The destruction of the uncaring shepherd - God will then bring devastation to the shepherd who causes devastation.

Conclusions for first oracle:

(1) The whole section promises God’s sovereign preservation of Israel for a future restoration.

(2) Though the true shepherd is rejected, the false shepherds will ultimately meet their doom.

(3) New Testament writers often quote this oracle as fulfilled at the first advent of Messiah.

(4) The apparent struggles for leadership in Zechariah’s day serve as foreshadowing of the eventual conflict of Christ and His rivals.

Second Oracle: The Reign of the Sovereign (12-14)

God will destroy the nations who oppose Israel and bring about the repentance of the nation of Israel so that He can establish His kingdom.

The siege of Jerusalem (12:1-14)

We begin this section with a reference to God as the creator because if He can create the world, then He can certainly save Israel. Jerusalem is pictured as being under siege by the nations. They are out to destroy her.

The destruction of the nations 12:1-9

This is their physical deliverance - The cup, stone and fire pot are images of destruction. The cup causes reeling because it was a stronger concoction than they thought, and the stone was heavier than they thought and causes a hernia. The fire pot they pick up burns them. They picked up more than they could handle when they mess with God’s chosen city. Notice also that these are specific land references. “In that day” is used 17 times. The “Day of the Lord”

The Day of the Lord - Evening and morning were the first day in Genesis. Darkness was first and then light. This is a symbol of judgment followed by blessing. What makes the difference between evening and morning? The sunrise. In reality it is the “Sonrise.” When Messiah comes, there will be judgment and then blessing. Zechariah doesn’t know when or how long the evening and morning is.

Preexilic Day of the Lord could have referred to exile (darkness) and return (morning).

Post exilic Day of the Lord = Tribulation / Millennium

God will destroy the nations who have opposed Judah so that there will be peace in the land.

The deliverance of Israel 12:10-14

This is their Spiritual deliverance - Israel will recognize that they were the ones who killed their Messiah (vs. 10). What day is this? Has it happened yet? No, and I am waiting for a literal fulfillment of this.

12:11 - This is a reference to the death of Josiah when he went out to meet the Egyptian army and was killed. There was national mourning in Israel because he was a great and godly king.

God will open the peoples’ eyes so that they will recognize that they had rejected their Messiah, repent of their rejection and accept Him.

The salvation of Jerusalem (13:)

The fountain is opened (1)

This is not a new fountain. It is the restoration of one that has already been dug. The one who comes will be in the line of David and will restore his kingdom.

The false prophets are removed (2-6)

God will purge the nation so that nothing will interfere with the true worship of the Messiah. The intensity for godliness is going to be so strong that if a mother and father see their son prophesying falsely, they will be the instrument of judgment.

13:4 - putting on the hairy robe to deceive goes back to Jacob’s deception of Isaac. There won’t even be that type of deception

The procedure for cleansing (13:7-9)

The word Associate in Hebrew can mean kinsman. The Lord of Hosts is calling for the killing of a man who is the kinsman of the Lord and the Shepherd of the flock. When He is killed the sheep will scatter. The Shepherd is Christ. Isaiah 53:4-7 The scattered sheep refers to national Israel.

At some time in the future 2/3 of the Israelites will perish and God will save 1/3 of the people and the land and He will use this to refine them.

The sovereignty over Jerusalem (14:1-21)

The final siege against Jerusalem (14:1-2)

In the last days all the nations will come against Jerusalem, but God will come to her rescue and reverse the treatment of His people and Jerusalem will become a source of blessing to all the nations.

The advent of the Lord (14:3-8)

The place of His return (3-4)

Geologists have discovered that there is a fissure running in the mountain from North to South, but here we see God will split it from East to West. There will be no natural explanation for this. It will be supernatural.

The changes at His return (5-8)

Where is Azel? Look it up in the dictionary and there is a ?. If God is going to use this place as an escape for His people, it makes sense that no one knows where it is.

14:6-7. Changes in the heavens - God will be the light

14:8-10 Changes on the earth.

The Messianic Kingdom (14:9-21)

The comfort for Israel (9-11) - Israel will live in the land

The condemnation of the enemies (12-15)

The celebration of Israel (16-19) The Feast of Booths - this can’t be in heaven because there are plagues on those who don’t worship.

The consecration of Israel (20-21)

So, in chapter 14, Zechariah concludes with a familiar theme or series of events:

(1) The coming of the Lord

(2) The deliverance of His people

(3) The judgment on the nations

(4) The establishment of His kingdom.

Summary:

Eight Visions - framed by God’s judgment on the Nations, then God’s purging of Israel, and with the focus on God’s Spirit working with Zerubbabel and Joshua to complete the temple.

Coronation - picture of the Branch who would come in the offices of priest and king and rule in peace.

Four Ethical Messages

(1) Rebuke for not worshipping with pure heart - vertical relationship.

(2) Reminder of the requirements of the law - horizontal relationship.

(3) Restoration - shows God’s faithfulness to His promises. Just as He has faithfully and literally brought the curses, He will also faithfully and literally bring the blessings.

(4) Return - Israel and the nations will be brought to God.

Two Oracles

(1) The first oracle looks forward to the Good Shepherd’s rejection and the people’s acceptance of the anti-christ.

(2) The second oracle looks forward to the Day of the Lord when the nations will finally be destroyed, the Israelites will be delivered and the Davidic line will be re-instated as the kingdom is inaugurated.

The message of Zechariah is that God remembers His covenant and will eventually fulfill all the promises. This is a message of hope for the post-exilic community.

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1 Zion and Jerusalem = religious and political aspects of Israel.

Introduction

The temple was completed under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah in 516 B.C. But almost 100 years had passed, and whatever reforms had been instituted were being ignored and spiritual apathy had set in. The people were disregarding the priests and the temple, they were not bringing their tithes and offerings and there was intermarriage with foreigners and divorce taking place.

Malachi is sent to rebuke the people for their sin.

There are a couple of ways one could organize the material in Malachi. Some divide the book into three giant chiasms. (Ray Clendendon, Paper at ETS, Fall 94). Some focus on the seven rhetorical questions in the book. Although I think the chiasm works, for understanding the message of the book, I think it is better to focus on those questions which are designed to convict Israel of her spiritual indifference and cause the people to return to God.

The book begins with the statement by Malachi that God loves Israel (vs 1). The people respond with the question:

How Have You Loved Us?
(1:2-5)

This question is deplorable. They don’t know? Let’s look at how God had loved Israel.

God’s Love for Jacob (1:2)

God loved Jacob over Esau. When it says God “loved” Jacob, you could read it as saying God “chose” Jacob. The Hebrew word bh@a* (a*h@b), translated here as love, has more of an emphasis on choice or election than on emotion, although emotion is involved.

We usually think of love as some warm, fuzzy feeling that we have toward someone, but that is not true love. When I first told my wife that I loved her, she asked me what I meant by that. After all, it was only our third date. My answer was that it meant I was committed to that relationship. I had decided that she was the right one. I had made a choice, and I was going to do whatever was necessary to make the relationship work. I can’t say my decision was not based partly on emotion, but I had made it to my senior year in college without telling any of the other girls I had dated that I loved them. With Lori, I knew right away that she was the one. I remember the conscious decision of commitment.

In the same way, God had chosen Jacob and He was committed to building a relationship with Jacob. God didn’t have some warm fuzzy feeling for Jacob. God just decided that He would use Jacob and would do whatever it took to bring Jacob around to Him.

When did God choose Jacob? The choice took place in the womb, so Jacob certainly couldn’t have done anything to have deserved it. In fact, as you study the life of Jacob, he epitomizes the independent man trying to control his own destiny and live life without God. God worked on Jacob for many years before Jacob finally turned to God.

God’s Hatred for Esau (1:3-5)

In the same way that the word for love emphasized choice, the word “hate” emphasizes the idea of not being chosen or rejection more than an emotion like anger. Esau’s descendants epitomize those who despise God’s grace (just like Esau despised his birthright). Therefore God judged them. Edom’s downfall resulted in God’s glorification (vs 5) because it was a testimony to what happens to those who despise and reject God and mistreat God’s chosen people.

Application

Israel is our object lesson. If God’s choice of Israel made Israel God’s people, then His choice of us makes us His people. He has done the same with us. And we need to remember that God’s choice of us is not related to our behavior. It will cause severe emotional problems, such as legalism, guilt, identity crisis, etc. if we do not understand this.

This discussion on God’s love for Jacob and hatred for Esau is directly related to the doctrine of predestination. This passage clearly teaches that God chooses some for salvation and others for destruction, and it is through no merit or fault of the individual. At the same time, there are other passages which emphasize human responsibility. So, we have to keep these two ideas in balance.

The rest of the book shows their response to God’s love, choice of them, etc.

How Have We Despised Your Name?
(1:6-2:9)

They didn’t offer God the same respect they offered their fathers and masters. He uses a lesser-to-greater argument which shows how ridiculous this is. Jesus uses this same type of argument in Mat 7.

The Violation of the Covenant (1:6-14)

They sacrificed lambs with blemishes which was forbidden in the law. God was to get the best of the crop and flock. But they were giving second rate sacrifices. God was getting the leftovers. Would you serve leftovers to your boss if you invited him over for dinner? Would you give a broken present to someone as a wedding gift? No! It is amazing that we do this to God, when we wouldn’t dream of doing it to others. We don’t sacrifice anymore but we can relate it to giving of our money and time. Do you give the first part of every check to God? Or does He get what is left over at the end of the month?

1:9 - They want God to be gracious to them, but God will not “receive them kindly” until they change their ways. They are saying they have repented, but they have not changed their ways. If there is true repentance, there will be a change in behavior. This is the same message as Micah 6:6-8, Hosea 14:1f.

1:11 is eschatological. We see yet another reference to the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s kingdom.

Just a quick word search on “gentiles,” “peoples” and “nations” revealed the following verses which talk about the Gentiles eventually worshipping Yahweh. Isa 2:2, 2:4, 11:10, 42:6, 43:9, 49:6, 22, 60:3, Jer 3:17, 4:2, 16:19, Micah 4:1, 3, 5:7-8, Zeph 3:9, Zech 8:20-22, Mal 1:11, 14, 3:12

The Vindication of the Covenant (2:1-9)

2:1-9 shows God’s response as He keeps His part of the covenant and curses them accordingly. Mixed into this section is a condemnation of the priests who were not instructing the people correctly. They were showing partiality which must mean they were doing things for their own gain and they were causing others to stumble by not teaching correctly. (cf. Mat 18 )

For What Reason?
(2:10-16)

In 2:14 Malachi points out that God no longer accepts their offerings and the people want to know why. Therefore, they ask the question, “For what reason.” The reasons begin in 2:10.

Mixed Marriages (2:10-12)

This section shows that God did not accept their offerings because they were marrying foreign women. God was their father and the nation had a special unity which was being corrupted.

It was a direct violation of the covenant to marry foreigners, but they were doing it. One reason for the command not to marry foreigners would be to avoid introducing the worship of foreign gods into Israel. Solomon’s wives did that. Jezebel is another classic example. Verse 11 even describes the women as “daughters of a foreign god, so undoubtedly this is in view.

The main reason this was forbidden was because God had chosen Abraham and his offspring as the means of saving the world. In the Abrahamic covenant God said the nations would be blessed through the seed of Abraham. If everyone intermarried, there would be no distinct ethnic race left though whom God could fulfill his promise. It would be like America where most people are a mixture of several different nationalities and after only 200 years, few know their ancestry. The fact that most Jews are distinctly Jewish and know their lineage is a testimony to how God has set them apart as a distinct people.

In verse 12 Malachi requests that those guilty of intermarriage be “cut off.” Some might try to argue that this is exclusion from the community, but it most likely means that they should be killed. That is the normal meaning of the words. In other words, this was a serious offense. And death was the only solution to the problem. Notice what wasn’t the solution—divorce. In fact it is condemned in the next verses.

Divorce (2:13-16)

Verse 13 says they covered the altar with tears and looked sincere, but God would not accept their sacrifices because they were not sincere as illustrated by their actions.

They were getting divorced. Verses 14-16 show that marriage is a covenant witnessed by God and one that should never be broken.

It said in 2:13 that God could not accept their sacrifices. The reason is they were living in sin and the sacrifices were not offerings of repentance for their sin. I think these divorced men were coming to God with sacrifices because things weren’t going very good in their lives. They were experiencing discipline and they were trying to persuade God to stop. But they were just wooden rituals that meant nothing.

Do we just go to church, read the Bible and ignore our sin? Or are we sorry, desire to quit, and come to God in brokeness.

Verse 15 is impossible to understand. The Hebrew literally says, “and not one he has made and reminder of spirit to him.”

The NASB reads “Not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit.” If this is a good translation, then it means that anyone who gets divorced is not in agreement with the Spirit of God. I’ve heard my pastor say that he has had men come to his office and say that God was leading them to get a divorce. That is not possible.

The NIV reads: “Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.”

In keeping with this section’s emphasis on unity (cf. 2:10), the NIV translation gives us another emphasis on maintaining national unity. We’ve already discussed this but it bears repeating: The Messiah was to be of the seed of Abraham. If the Israelites were divorcing their wives and intermarrying with foreigners, this would destroy God’s plan for the nation.

Verse 15 also says, “And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring.” What does that mean? I think he is referring to Abraham’s relations with Hagar. That was not God’s plan for raising a pure nation from which would come the Messiah. Look at the mess that has caused through the centuries. Perhaps Malachi is even saying, “See what happens when you go outside the nation for marriage.”

In verse 16 God says, “I hate divorce.” This is a strong statement. Pastors hate to preach on divorce because it strikes too close to home for so many in the church who have been divorced and people leave the church if they don’t agree with you.

How Have We Wearied Him?
(2:17-3:6)

The people doubt God’s justice in 2:17 because they couldn’t see justice coming to the wicked. The Persians were wicked and they were still in power, and certainly, there were Israelites who were wicked and not being punished. We can identify with these sentiments in our culture.

Malachi promises that God will judge the wicked. Mal 3:1 is a promise fulfilled by John the Baptist, and the reference to the Lord coming to His temple is also fulfilled by Jesus at his first advent. Verse 2 is a reference to the second advent when Jesus will come as the judge. Notice the imagery of smelter, purifier, refiner’s fire and fullers’ soap, etc. The emphasis is on the cleansing and purifying purpose of the second coming. (We mentioned in Zechariah that the Flying scroll’s purpose was to purify the land.)

3:6 - God’s immutability means He will keep His promises to Israel and will not totally destroy them.

How Shall We Return?
(3:7)

Israel needs to repent and return to God before He can restore them. But they ask how they are to return. He answered that question in the beginning of verse 7 when he said they had not kept His statutes. Return involves obedience. I think the following questions also answer that question.

How Have We Robbed Thee?
(3:8-12)

The Robbery (3:8-9)

One of the ways they were not keeping God’s statutes was by withholding their tithes and offerings. It says they were robbing God. This means that not giving is stealing!

The Remedy (3:10-12)

God says, If they would be generous in their giving, He would open the floodgates of heaven and blessing would overflow. He would provide all their needs and more. But they were not doing that.

The natural thing to do is spend all our money on ourselves and not leave any for God. When we do that there never seems to be enough.

Why is that? Because when we stop giving to God, it shows our priorities are wrong and we are trying to find happiness in things. Things never satisfy, but we spend all our money on them and even go in debt searching for happiness.

3:11 mentions a devourer. What is that? In that culture it was any pest that came along and ate the plants they were growing. In our day we might relate it to car problems, air conditioners and water heaters that go out, doctor bills, etc. God allows things to come along and use up our money to force us to return to Him.

If our priorities are right and we are seeking happiness in God, then we give to Him faithfully and gratefully, and we find satisfaction in life through relationship with Him. He provides our needs and it is enough.

The issue of giving is prevalent in Scripture. 2Co 8-9

• Giving is a manifestation of God’s grace (vs 1)
• Giving can be done in the midst of tough times (vs 2)
• Giving is a privilege (vs 4)
• Giving involves one’s self before one’s stuff (vs 5) [If I give myself, my wallet follows.]
• Giving is proof of one’s love (vs 8)
• God’s blessing is proportionate to one’s giving (9:6, 8)
• Giving should be voluntary and from a cheerful heart (9:7)
• Giving glorifies God before others as tangible testimony to the gospel (9:12)

Giving is other-centered. Not giving is self-centered. Here we have yet another prophet condemning the people for a lack of love.

What Have We Spoken Against Him?
(3:13-15)

Malachi condemns the people because their words had been harsh or hard against Yahweh. The word for “harsh” is the same one used to describe Pharaoh’s heart in Ex 7:13,22. They had become stubborn. Their question, “What have we spoken against Thee?” was not a searching, repentant question, it was a protest.

The Arrogance of the People (3:14-15)

What had they been saying? Verse 14 says they were tired of serving God for it brought no material prosperity, while those who ignored God were prospering and not suffering any discipline from God. They were playing religion for their own gain. They were putting themselves first and not God.

The Assurance of God (3:16-18)

God’s response is that He keeps a book of remembrance which means He does not forget those who fear and serve Him. “On that day” justice will come on the wicked, but the righteous would be spared. Over and over again we see the need to live faithfully now and look to the future for our reward. It goes against our basic nature to do that. It requires that we believe in something we can’t see. It takes faith. Our tendency is to want to get our reward now. We want to be appreciated for the what we do for others. It is unnatural to give anonymously. It is supernatural when we do so without second thoughts.

When he says “on that day,” he is talking about the Day of the Lord. This leads us into the next section.

The Day of the Lord
(4:1-6)

This Day of the Lord is the same day spoken of in Zephaniah 1:14 and Joel 2:31. Although it finds its partial fulfillment in every judgment of God on evil, the primary fulfillment will occur at the second coming of Christ.¹

Malachi emphasizes that God is concerned with both attitudes (the arrogant) and actions (the evildoers) and the judgment on both will be complete because “it will leave neither root nor branch.” The condemnation of the arrogant in 4:1 is directly aimed at the arrogant in 3:13. They were complaining that the evildoers were not getting their due, and God warns them that not only will the evildoers get it, so will they with their bad attitudes.

Some say that verse 3 indicates that the righteous will participate in the judgment, but I’m not sure that is required. It could be saying that the righteous will walk on the ashes that are left over from the judgment. The reason I say this is I believe the church will participate, but not OT believers. They are not resurrected until after the Tribulation and second advent.

Conclusion
(4:4-6)

The last three verses summarize Malachi’s message. Verse 4 exhorts the people to follow the law of Moses. If they had been, they would have been tithing, not intermarrying, not getting divorced, etc. Verses 5-6 give a promise for the future. Verse 5 promises that God would send Elijah the prophet to announce the arrival of Day of the Lord. Verse 6 says that his ministry will be to restore the hearts of the fathers (probably a reference to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to the children (Israelites living when Elijah comes). If the children don’t respond, God would smite the land with a curse. This prophecy was partially fulfilled by John the Baptist who came to announce the Day of the Lord was at hand and to call the people to repentance. But the nation rejected Jesus and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.

Notice what the last word of the OT is — “curse.” What a way to end. It leaves you hanging, anticipating, searching for resolution. And the resolution would come in the Messiah.

Summary

• God affirms love for Israel, but the first question shows the people’s skepticism and doubt that God loved them.
• The second question focuses on the neglect of priests and people who brought second rate sacrifices.
• The third question showed how their bad relationship with God carried over into the community through the practice of divorce and remarriage to foreigners.
• The fourth question showed that the people mistook God’s patience for lack of divine justice.
• The fifth question showed that their tithes and offerings were affected by their attitudes.
• The sixth question demonstrates their arrogance and shortsightedness in neglecting a God honoring lifestyle.
• The section on the Day of the Lord promises judgment will come on the wicked and salvation to the righteous.
• The conclusion exhorts them to obey the law and wait for Elijah who would announce the day of the lord.

Application

God’s grace is emphasized in the beginning of the book by his choice of Jacob. We too have been chosen by God. Just as Jacob did not deserve to be chosen, neither do we deserve to be chosen. When we don’t recognized that and think we do deserve it, that is arrogance, and it results in a lack of worship. Our sacrifices become second rate, our giving decreases, human relationships degenerate and we start comparing our material status in life with the ungodly people around us who prosper and we think we have wasted our lives being “devoted” to God. The fact is that we are not truly devoted to God. The reason we are not devoted is we don’t appreciate the grace of God.

The grace of God and the message of Malachi have an interesting parallel in the NT. In Titus 2:11-13 Paul says:

• Verse 11 - appreciate the grace of God
• Verse 12 - live godly lives
• Verse 13 - look forward to the coming of the Lord.
• The message of Malachi is definitely relevant today.

Chiastic Structure of Malachi

First Address:

Motivation - God’s Love 1:1-5

Situation - Failure to honor God 1:6-9

Change - Stop Vain offerings 1:10

Situation - Profaning God’s name 1:11-14

Motivation - God’s Discipline 2:1-9

Second Address:

Motivation - Spiritual Unity 2:10a

Situation - Faithless 2:10c-15b

Change - Be Faithful 2:15c-16

Situation - Hypocrisy and Injustice 2:17

Motivation - Coming Messiah 3:1-6

Third Address:

Change - Return 3:7-10b

Motivation - Future Blessing 3:10c-12

Situation - Rejection and Complacency 3:13-15

Motivation - Coming Day 3:16-21

Change - Remember Torah - 3:22-24

The third address switches pattern for surprise and emphasis. It is most prominent because there are two “change” elements and the changed order and because it is last. And there is the longest speech of Judah. Marked by inclusio - bWv .

Note the positive and negative motivations in the above motivation sections.

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1 Duane M. Davidson, The Argument of Malachi, Masters Thesis, DTS, 1978.