Reading Prophetic Literature PDF

READING PROPHETIC LITERATURE Hermeneutics WHAT IS A PROPHET? What characteristics/attributes do we associate with biblical prophets? Where do we find prophetic accounts? What is the general reception to the prophetic word among the Israelite audience? What makes for a true pro...

READING PROPHETIC LITERATURE Hermeneutics WHAT IS A PROPHET? What characteristics/attributes do we associate with biblical prophets? Where do we find prophetic accounts? What is the general reception to the prophetic word among the Israelite audience? What makes for a true prophet vs. a false one?  THE PROPHETIC BOOKS The prophetic books of the OT are divided into the “major” and “minor” prophets Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel (Daniel?) Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi  WHAT IS A PROPHET? Prophets are “covenant enforcement mediators.” “Everything in the prophets is based upon the covenant made between God and Israel during the exodus from Egypt.” (Gentry, How to Read and Understand the Prophets, 15) They critique Israel and its leaders when they fall short They have access to God’s throne room (1 Kgs 22; Zech 3:1-10; Hab 1-2) They are also intercessors between Israel and God Amos 7:1-9 Jer 11:1-14  DEUT 18:9-22 The office of the prophet is established in Deut 18:9-22 A prophet is NOT A diviner, fortune-teller, or one who speaks with the dead One who manipulates the spiritual realm A Prophet IS One who takes up the mantle of Moses One who speaks the words of God One whose words are true to God’s purposes See Jeremiah vs. Hananiah (Jer 28)  PROPHETIC VALUES The prophets’ concern was to maintain hesed (covenant love and faithfulness) God’s hesed: faithful adherence to his covenant commitments to Israel Hesed between Israel and God: faithful obedience to the law Hesed in the community: care, concern, compassion Hesed consists of mishpat (justice) and tsedekah (righteousness)  PROPHETIC VALUES Jer 9:23-24: This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness (hesed), justice (mishpat) and righteousness (tsedekah) on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.  THE PROPHETIC SETTING Prophets show up in the OT both as narrative characters and as compilers of books Moses represents the essence of the prophetic office. There are a few prophets in the Judges period (Deborah, an unnamed one in Judges 6:7, Samuel) The prophets Gad and Nathan minister during the time of David The prophet Ahijah announces the division of the kingdom after Solomon See also the exploits of Elijah and Elisha…and later, Jonah  THE PROPHETIC SETTING The writing prophets are found across a few historical settings The fall of the northern kingdom: Hosea, Amos, Jonah (and Isaiah) The fall of the southern kingdom: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Nahum The exilic period: Ezekiel, Obadiah The post-exilic era: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (and Joel!)  THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE Duvall & Hays define the prophetic message as: You have broken the covenant? You must repent! No repentance? Then judgment falls! However there is hope beyond the judgment for a glorious, future restoration (DH, 403 [3rd edition])  THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE Note: God promises to be responsive to his people. Pronouncements of judgment that prompt repentance may lead to punishment being averted or delayed Jeremiah 18: the example of the potter Joel 2:1-11…leads to Joel 2:12-17 Jonah: a prophecy of doom meets repentant foreigners  FORMS OF PROPHETIC COMMUNICATION Written Oracles We mostly have written forms of what were probably first orally delivered oracles “thus says YHWH” “YHWH has spoken,” “declaration of YHWH, etc” Prophets bear some resemblance to preachers Here is the word of God (based on his covenant) Exhortations to obedience (Isa 45:20-23; Hag 2:4-5; Zech 1:3) Warnings against disobedience (Isa 5:8-10; Micah 6:1-8; Zech 1:4-5) Judgments: announcements of exile: (Amos 4:1-3; Zeph 3:1) Hope through God’s character (Joel 2:12-14)  FORMS OF PROPHETIC COMMUNICATION When reading the prophetic looks, try to identify individual oracles. Subtitles in your Bible may help Try to note where the theme or topic shift. i.e. from exhortation to judgment Oracles may be grouped by theme (i.e. oracles against the nations)  PROPHETIC COMMUNICATION: ORACLES Prophetic oracles are poetic You will find parallelism (Micah 3:6-7) You will find simile, metaphor, personification, repetition, etc Joel 2:1-2: The day of YHWH is like… Amos 4:1: Rich, uncaring women are… Amos 4:6-12: refrain of “yet you have not returned to me!”  THE POWER OF LANGUAGE Brent Sandy: “When people are nearly blind, we increase the font size, When people are nearly deaf, we turn up the volume…The audience of prophetic language was sometimes blind, sometimes deaf and often mentally handicapped.” (Plowshares and Pruning Hooks, 73)  FORMS OF PROPHETIC COMMUNICATION Prophetic Sign-Acts Ezekiel and Jeremiah (especially) sometimes prophesy via symbolic action. We have written accounts of these Hosea and Gomer Jeremiah wears a wooden (and iron!) yoke Jeremiah buys a field Ezekiel “lays siege” to Jerusalem Ezekiel cooks food in excrement  EMPHASES OF THE PROPHETS We can speak of the prophetic message as both “forthtelling” and “foretelling” Forthtelling: addressing current circumstances, offering challenge, rebuke, and hope Foretelling: looking ahead to show that God will continue to work among his people Forthtelling is MUCH more common. The prophets mostly spoke about concerns relevant to their first audiences. Future meaning largely comes from the implications of their words  EMPHASES OF THE PROPHETS: FORTHTELLING Idolatry: the prophets were on the front lines of Israel’s struggle with idolatry Jer 10:1-16 Religious Ritualism: merely “going through the motions” is not worship that God accepts Jer 7:1-8 Amos 5:21-24 Justice and Mercy: the prophets were God’s voice to care for “the least of these” and to call out unethical behaviour Amos 1-2 Isa 5:8-30  FORTHTELLING: JUSTICE AND MERCY We cannot understate the importance of “justice and mercy” to the prophetic message. Isa 1:10-17 (cf. Micah 6:1-8) Mal 3:2-5 Justice and mercy exemplifies the messianic kingdom Isa 42:1-4 APPLYING PROPHETIC JUSTICE AND MERCY Recently, evangelicals have had heated conversations about “social justice” and the Bible Some secular notions of social justice come from intellectual positions to hostile to Christian faith HOWEVER, the prophets consistently condemn those with power and privilege who exploit “the widow, the orphan, the foreigner” “Social justice” as exemplified in the prophets is biblical…and places a call on the followers of Christ  THE PROPHETS: FORETELLING A small percentage of prophetic texts look beyond their immediate circumstances and point to what God will do in the future These passages may speak of events close to the time of the prophets (near view) or Jesus in his Incarnation (far view) or his second coming (even farther view) See DH, 412 [3rd edition] “Near-view” fulfillment is rooted in the consequences of actions Assyria abuses Israel: it will fall (Isa 10) God’s people break the covenant: exile! (Isa 5:8-13) Israel is idolatrous: God’s glory leaves the Temple! (Ezek 10)  THE PROPHETS: FORETELLING “Far view” fulfillment is rooted in the recognition of God’s power over the earth and his merciful character God wants to redeem creation: Incarnation! (Isa 9:2-7; Jer 23:4-6) God will assert his reign over creation either in peace or in strife: eschaton (Isa 2:1-5; Zech 14) Some prophecy may have partial fulfillment, but await an ultimate fulfillment Day of YHWH (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2; 2 Pet 3:10) Coming of Elijah (Mal 4:5; John in Matt 11:14; two witnesses in Rev 11)  FORETELLING: OUR ATTITUDE It is counterproductive to try to determine exactly what every far-view fulfillment might look like A good attitude is found in 2 Pet 3:10-18 The day of YHWH will come and bring the new heavens and the new earth In the meantime, live “holy and godly lives” “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him”  CONCLUSION: THEOLOGICAL CALL OF THE PROPHETS In the prophets we find a call to covenant loyalty, justice, and mercy that should continue to speak to us in the church We are to be people of Hesed, mishpat, and tsedekah in our communities, and as testimony in the world Amos 5:24…and Martin Luther King Jr.  CONCLUSION: THEOLOGICAL CALL OF THE PROPHETS The prophets remind us that God is sovereign over ALL nations. He cares for all of them (Jonah) God’s people are to be examples to the nations (Isa 49:6) God’s has expectations for his people (Amos 3:2)