This leads us to conclude that Malachis work may have followed Nehemiahs first term as governor, but preceded his return to Jerusalem from the Persian capital. In that year, in the fifth month, there was public conflict between Jeremiah and the prophet Hananiah (Jeremiah 28). It is certain, however, that he lived and labored in the southern kingdom, and that his main prophecy dealt with Assyria in general and Nineveh in particular. The ministry of Amos may therefore have fallen in the years 767-753 B.C. Because I find it hard to think about BC dates, I've also included the number of years since the end of Solomon's, so that we have a scale of increasing year numbers. The student of the Bible who hopes to secure from it the greatest help will first proceed to reconstruct the historical context of each passage. Not only is Malachi last in the sequential order of the prophets; it is also the last prophetic book produced in pre-Christian times. At the time of Isaiahs ministry, Judah was a sinful and unjust nation. They were to become a nation of intellectual geniuses, and feebleness of mind would eventually have been unknown among them. Numbers 14:26-34. Jeremiah 22:26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born--and there you both will die. Pride obscured their vision [see Luke 19:42]. But Judah failed to learn the lesson, and a little more than a century later her apostasy, also, was complete (see Jeremiah 22:6, 8, 9; Ezekiel 16:37; 7:2-15; 12:3-28; 36:18-23). God may reject one nation or group of people in favor of another if those first summoned persistently refuse to cooperate with Him (see Jeremiah 18:6-10; cf. 3. In general, Old Testament promises and predictions were addressed to literal Israel and were to have been fulfilled to them, conditional on obedience. You may not distribute or commercially use the content on any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system. In spite of Israels ultimate failure, a limited knowledge of the true God and of the Messianic hope was widespread when the Saviour was born (see on Matthew 2:1). Our study of messages originally proclaimed by holy men of old to the people of their day is not to become an end in itself, but a means of discovering the will of God for all who would render Him truehearted service now, at the climax of the ages. Unparalleled prosperity. This situation fits best the time prior to the rise of the Chaldean Empire under Nabopolassar, who began to reign in 626/25 B.C., and who, with the Medes, was responsible for the destruction of Assyria. 1. He says specifically that by Jew he does not mean a literal Jew but one converted at heart, whether he be Jew or Gentile (chapter 2:28, 29). Jeremiah lived afterwards during a time leading up to the carrying away of the southern two tribes of Judah into bondage in Babylon. The accompanying chart enables the reader to study these prophets in their historical setting. Thus it was also with Samuel, Elijah, John the Baptist (see on Matthew 3:4), John the Beloved (see on Mark 3:17), and many others. Isaiah 54:7; Ezekiel 36:11; 43:10, 11; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 10:6). Who served as Jeremiah's scribe? 2. When the siege of Jerusalem was temporarily lifted at the approach of an Egyptian force, Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of the tribe of Benjamin. Isaiahs whole ministry from Uzziah to Manasseh must therefore have lasted more than half a century. The 7th-century view.This view holds that Joels ministry seems to fit into the early years of Josiah, when Assyrian power was nearing its end and Babylon was still a weak kingdom. For two of them (Joel and Obadiah), however, no conclusive evidence as to the time of their work exists, and scholars differ widely in their views concerning this matter. He was sawed in half, Menessah killed him. They are called minor prophets because their books are less in size (these books are all very small and contain few In other words, they prophesied and ministered about the same time. It was Gods design that the whole earth be prepared for the first advent of Christ, even as to-day the way is preparing for His second coming. But when the Jews rejected Christ there was no such assurance of reinstatement. WebIsaiah 65:12 I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight." Peter concurs, saying, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, for in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him (Acts 10:34, 35; cf. Captivity, he said, had confirmed the curse that came because of disobedience (verses 11, 12) and Jerusalem lay desolate (verses 16-19). Jodi T. Religion. The people might approach God personally and through the ministry of a mediating priesthood, their representatives before Him; He would direct the nation through the ministry of prophets, His appointed representatives to them. Yet, since Gods purposes are immutable (Psalms 33:11; Prov. The Temple is mentioned as still existing (chapter 2:20), which shows that the book was written before Nebuchadnezzars destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. 5. One royal visitor to Jerusalem exclaimed, The half was not told me! (1 Kings 10:1-9). Along with his contemporary, the prophet Micah, Isaiah served the southern kingdom of Judah under the reigns of four kings. are longer and contain more pages and more chapters than the minor prophets). Eventually, all the nations would call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord and be gathered unto it, not to walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart (Jeremiah 3:17). Jeremiah blames the people for ethical misbehavior. Galatians 5:19-23), and because of this failure to bear the fruit expected of them, forfeited their role in the divine plan (see Romans 11:20). Those in Israel who put forth their best efforts to cooperate with the revealed will of God realized, personally, a measure of the benefits He had promised. Four verses, Isaiah 45:12; 48:13; and Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15 use the Qal perfect form. The present-day return of the Jews to Palestine and the establishment of the modern state of Israel do not imply reinstatement as Gods people, present or future. When Gedaliah is assassinated, the Jews flee to Egypt and force Jeremiah to go with them. It is thought, furthermore, that his ministry fell in the years when the high priest Jehoiada acted as regent for the child king Joash (2 Kings 11:17 to 12:2), which fact would explain why the king is not mentioned anywhere in the book, while at the same time the Temple service flourished. According to this view, Jeremiah said, in effect, that Jerusalem would be deserted for about 70 years, about the length of a persons life. Nothing is known of the prophet Joel beyond the fact that he was the son of Pethuel (chapter 1:1). They blindly overlooked those scriptures that point to the humiliation of Christs first advent, and misapplied those that speak of the glory of His second coming. Prophecies of the former classification cannot now be fulfilled because they were strictly conditional in nature and limited in scope, by their very nature, to literal Israel. However, that earthquake must have been very severe, for the memory of it was still fresh in the minds of people who lived 250 years later, as Zechariah 14:5 shows. God was to be glorified in Israel (Isaiah 49:3) and its people were to be His witnesses (chapters 43:10; 44:8), to reveal to men the principles of His kingdom. The prophet Zephaniah traces his genealogy back to an important personage by the name of Hizkiah, probably King Hezekiah (the names are the same in Hebrew) of Judah. But here, as in all exposition of Scripture, we should avoid affirming as the explicit teachings of the Bible that which is our private, finite view, however plausible it may appear to be. The Temple was apparently rebuilt, and sacrifices were regularly offered at the time of the prophets activity (chapter 1:7-10). 2. His call came to him sometime in October/November, 520 B.C., in the same year as Haggais first appearance (chapter 1:1). He was therefore a somewhat younger contemporary of Isaiah, to whose vocabulary and terminology his prophecies show great similarity (Micah 4:1-4; cf. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God warned them not to forget that the blessings they were to enjoy there if they cooperated with Him would come as divine gifts (see Deuteronomy 8:7-14), not primarily as the result of their own wisdom and skill (verses 17-19). Seventy weeks490 years of literal timewere determined upon the Jews, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). Even to the time of the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiahs message remained the same: submit to the yoke of Babylonia. Formal worship took the place of sincere religion (cf. As the people cooperated with the directions God gave them in regard to the culture of the soil, the land would gradually be restored to Edenic fertility and beauty (Isaiah 51:3). What are the common divisions of Isaiah made by contemporary scholars? Hosea was from the Northern Kingdom, Micah and Jeremiah were from the Southern kingdom. However, the chronological data given by Micah are against such an identification and show that a century or more lies between the two men. It should be remembered that God does not force the human will, and that Israels cooperation was essential to the success of His plan for the nation. The blessings thus assured to Israel are, on the same conditions and in the same degree, assured to every nation and to every individual under the broad heavens. WebThese chapters in Ezekiel are similar to those in Isaiah and Jeremiah where prophetic burdens are pronounced on certain foreign nations (see Isaiah 1323; Jeremiah 4651). Yet the book contains no clear indication of the time in which the prophet lived. Any idea that the return of the Jews to their ancestral home, that is, to the new state of Israel, may in any way be related to Bible prophecy is without valid scriptural foundation. Amos presents himself to his readers as a herdsman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit (chapters 1:1; 7:14). Nahum is called the Elkoshite (chapter 1:1), but Elkosh is unknown as a place name, although commentators have tried to identify it with Elkesi in northern Galilee, Alkush near Mosul, and a town near Eleutheropolis in Judah. By Which king? Furthermore, Old Testament prophecy must first be examined in terms of its historical application to literal Israel before the validity of a derived application to spiritual Israel may be undertaken. Yet in mercy, God still bore with His people, and in due time Messiah came (Malachi 3:1-3). He should not be confused with Micaiah, the son of Imlah, a prophet of Israel in Ahabs time (9th century B.C.). ), success must and will comethrough Israel after the spirit. Isaiah lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. If Jeremiah had been writing a novel, he would have been the hero of his own story. 1 Peter 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 1:23) but this need not mean that they are to fallGod forbid, he exclaims (Romans 11:1, 22). Isaiah was a prophet of the southern kingdom, living in a critical period of his nation. answer. 2. Nehemiah 13:10-12; Malachi 2:11-16; cf. All men would recognize that Israel stood in a special relationship to the God of heaven (Deuteronomy 7:6-14; 28:10; Jeremiah 16:20, 21). But the manner in which it is carried out may change because man may change. During the siege, reprobate Israelites would be slain by their foes (Zechariah 13:8; 14:2). Revelation 17:13, 14, 17). In Isaiah This form literally means that the stretching of the heavens was completed or finished some time ago. Owing to the failure of the Jews as Gods chosen people, many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, such as those affirming the worldwide mission of Israel and the ingathering of the Gentiles (see Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 4:6-8; Isaiah 2:2-5; 42:6; 49:6; 52:10; 56:6, 7; 60:1-3; 61:9; 62:2; Zechariah 2:11; 8:22, 23; etc. Since no conclusive evidence for any of these three views exists, all are presented here: 1. Yet many of the promises, particularly those concerning the giving of the gospel to the nations and the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, could not be fulfilled to them because of their unfaithfulness, but would be fulfilled to the church on earth preparatory to Christs return, particularly to Gods remnant people, and in the new earth. WebJeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: "Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Then came a pause in his activity of almost two years, at the end of which Zechariah received another divine message, on December 6, 518 (chapter 7:1), recorded in chapters 7 and 8. John 4:23, 24; 2 Tim. Jeremiah had been chosen by God for his office before birth (chapter 1:5), and was called to be a prophet at a tender age (chapter 1:6, 7). Ambassadors from one foreign country after another would come to discover, if they might, the great secret of Israels success as a nation, and its leaders would have the opportunity of directing the minds of their visitors to the Source of all good things. Furthermore, the rise of the Chaldeans and their invasion of the West is predicted, but this seemed at that time completely incredible (chapter 1:5-7). 4. The postexilic view.The absence of any reference to a king of Judah or to Assyria or Babylon, the reference to the hostility of Tyre and Sidon, and the mention of Greeks have been taken by some commentators as evidence for a postexilic date for Joel. Enigmatic is his statement that this 5th year of captivity was also the thirtieth year. It is believed that the prophet refers either to his own age or to that year as the 30th year reckoned from the reform which took place during the 18th year of Josiah. A date, possibly about 630 B.C., but before the Chaldeans had become a power of some importance, would seem most appropriate for the period of Habakkuks prophetic activity. A Nebuchadnezzar 59 Q
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