He played an important role during two momentous periods: (1) under Ahaz, during the war between Syria and Israel (chapters 7-11), and (2) under Hezekiah, during a siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib chapters 36; 37). The prophet Ezekiel, a priest, was one of the 10,000 Jews taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C., when King Jehoiachin was carried to Babylon. It is possible that Hebrews 11:37 refers to this event. Those who think that chapter 52 was added as an inspired postscript by Jeremiahs secretary or one of his disciples, believe that he died some 20 years earlier, about 580 B.C. WebThere are four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. 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). answer. Again and again He had warned His people that captivity would be the result of disobedience (see Deuteronomy 4:9; 8:9; 28:1, 2, 14, 18; Jeremiah 18:7-10; 26:2-16; Zechariah 6:15; etc.). [1] The prophet received his call while still a young man, during the thirteenth year of King Josiahs reign, about 627 or 626 B.C. Nehemiahs first term lasted from 444 to 432 B.C. 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. (2 Chron. WebIsaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations 82 cards. In Israel, there was sometimes more than one prophet, and sometimes there were many prophets. Jeremiah 32:17 highlights this point by stating, "O Sovereign Lord! However, the chronological data given by Micah are against such an identification and show that a century or more lies between the two men. Captivity, he said, had confirmed the curse that came because of disobedience (verses 11, 12) and Jerusalem lay desolate (verses 16-19). They would send messengers to Israel with the declaration, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:23). At the same time, He permitted the heathen nations to walk in their own ways (Acts 14:16), to furnish an example of what man can accomplish apart from Him. 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. 3. If these rules are consistently followed the resulting interpretation can be accepted with confidence. Hosea. His early ministry seems to have coincided with the last years of King Uzziahs reign (see Introduction to Isaiah), but his official call to the office of a prophet came in 740/39, the last year of King Uzziah (chapter 6:1). Israel would reply, Accept our God as your God, love and serve Him as we do, and He will do the same for you. The blessings thus assured Israel were, on the same conditions and in the same degree, assured to every nation and to every individual under the broad heavens see Acts 10:34, 35; 15:7-9; Romans 10:12, 13; etc.). chapter 11:18). Hence, 640 B.C., about midway between the two limits, marked by the destruction of Thebes and the fall of Nineveh, would seem to be a reasonable conjectural date for Nahums prophetic ministry. He will listen to the prophet speaking to Israel of old and endeavor to understand what his words meant to the people who originally heard them. His book contains no direct to establish the time of his mission to Nineveh. God did not forsake His people, even during the Captivity. In so doing we shall be secure against the fanciful explanations sometimes given certain Old Testament prophecies. However, when we read his Many messages and prophecies can be understood correctly only if seen against the background of the time in which the prophets ministered and in the light of the events that happened during their lives. Since the hostile acts of the heathen peoples committed against Judah (chapter 3:4 ff.) The short book of Obadiah, consisting of only 21 verses, is not dated and its chronological setting is uncertain. This concept of the role of Israel is reiterated again and again throughout the Old Testament. Isaiahs whole ministry from Uzziah to Manasseh must therefore have lasted more than half a century. 2. Continuing faithfully under the following three kings, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (chapter 1:1), he seems to have been fiercely hated by Manasseh, Hezekiahs wicked son. It is ever the privilege of those who witness the fulfillment of prophecy to remember and believe (John 13:19; 14:29; John 16:4). 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. Nick Baumgardner, a senior writer from the same publication, predicts Notre Dames all-time sack leader will fall to the early third round in his latest mock draft.. Daniel Jeremiah, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, concurs. Gods promises are made conditional upon mans cooperation and obedience. Daniel 5:25-28; Matthew 21:40-43; 22:3-10; Luke 14:24). To this can be added the mention of Greeks (chapter 3:6), who hardly played a role in Near Eastern history earlier than the 7th century. Many others, including Lehi and Jeremiah, lived at the same time. The following simple rules are suggested as a safe approach to the study of each prophetic passage of the Old Testament: 1. This period spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. In one way or another each of these attempts at interpreting the messages of the Old Testament prophets neglects significant teachings of Scripture, evades fundamental principles of exegesis, and provides a distorted picture of the predictive sections of prophecy. Malachi 3:12), and their God the only true God (Isaiah 45:14). Jeremiah has a slightly more commonplace experience, he just hears Gods voice directly tell him that before he was even formed in the womb he was appointed to be a prophet to the nations, no big deal. He saw the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Beth Hamikdosh, after his warnings and prophecies fell on deaf ears. Between the return from Babylon and the rejection of the Messiah, Israel was to have its second and final opportunity as a nation to cooperate with the divine plan (see Jeremiah 12:14-17). Any nation and kingdom that would not serve Israel was to perish chapter (60:12). The ministry of Amos may therefore have fallen in the years 767-753 B.C. According to tradition, how was Isaiah killed? In an age when every wind of doctrine is blowing it is well to make certain that our understanding of Bible prophecy rests upon a positive Thus saith the Lord (see Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 50:11; Jeremiah 2:13; Matthew 7:24-28; 1 Corinthians 2:4, 5, 12, 13; Eph. In Jeremiah, we see evidence of God elevating humble men like Jeremiah to become leaders precisely when they are needed. With the crucifixion of Christ they forever forfeited their special position as Gods chosen people. Pests and diseases, flood and drought, crop failureall these would eventually disappear. A comparison between some of his prophecies and those of Amos indicates that Hosea was a younger contemporary of Amos (cf. from the ends of the earth (Jeremiah 16:19), to the light of truth shining forth from the mountain of the Lord (Isaiah 2:3; 60:3; 56:7; cf. Beholding Israels righteousness (Isaiah 62:1, 2), the Gentiles would acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed (Isaiah 61:9, 10; cf. Josiah was also still a young king, having reached the age of but 21 years at that time. Daniel 2:35). Ezekiel 38:16, 18-23; 39:1-7). Yet, since Gods purposes are immutable (Psalms 33:11; Prov. Nick Baumgardner, a senior writer from the same publication, predicts Notre Dames all-time sack leader will fall to the early third round in his latest mock draft.. Daniel Jeremiah, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, concurs. For these reasons the 7th-century date for Joel has been adopted in this commentary, although there is no conclusive proof that this choice is correct. If Jeremiah had been writing a novel, he would have been the hero of his own story. In this case, he was an octogenarian. Gods word is sure (Isaiah 40:8; 55:11; Romans 11:29), and His plan for the salvation of man will ultimately prevail (Isaiah 46:10). The following brief summaries contain the evidence on which the various prophets have been entered in the chronological positions in which they are found in the chart. WebBefore we begin our review of the parts of Jeremiahs early ministry, let us first set out the usual and customary picture of it. No chronological data are given, but the prophet speaks of the fall of No (chapter 3:8) as an event of the past. It was probably at this time, when Daniel was nearly 90 years of age, that he was commanded to conclude his book and seal it up (chapter 12:4, 13). A less-well-defined school of interpretation bases its approach to the prophetic portions of the Old Testament on the theory that the prophet, while bearing messages to the people of his day, also took occasional excursions into the distant future, with the result that many of his forecasts did not apply to literal Israel at all, but were intended exclusively for Israel after the spirit, that is, for the church today. But when the Jews rejected Christ there was no such assurance of reinstatement. Nothing is known of the prophet Joel beyond the fact that he was the son of Pethuel (chapter 1:1). Some believe that the prophet refers to the conquest of Jerusalem at the time of King Jehoram (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, 16, 17) in the 9th century; others believe that the prophet is speaking of Jerusalems destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. One royal visitor to Jerusalem exclaimed, The half was not told me! (1 Kings 10:1-9). Nick Baumgardner, a senior writer from the same publication, predicts Notre Dames all-time sack leader will fall to the early third round in his latest mock draft.. Daniel Jeremiah, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, concurs. In these tragic events the words of Moses met their final and complete fulfillment: As the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goes to possess it. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.. This division, though tragic, served to insulate, for a time, the southern kingdom, Judah, from the tide of idolatry that soon engulfed the northern kingdom, Israel (see Hosea 4:17). So early a date for Jonah1s ministryabout 790 B.C.fits well into Assyrian history. Nehemiah 12:12, 16). Webcation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. 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. 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. Isaiah and Jeremiahs preaching against false idols and false prophets, mutual oppressions between nations, and against general injustice remains timely. Since Josiah came to the throne as a child, he must have lived under a regent, which explains why no king is mentioned by Joel. To the very last, Christ would have averted the doom of the Jewish nation if the people had received Him. Furthermore, the repeated mention of Judahs wickedness, described as enormous in his day (see chapters 1:4-6, 8, 9, 12; 3:1-3, 7), points to the time before Josiahs reform, which began in 623/22. He has a controversy with them because they have rebelled against His authority (Jeremiah 25:31-33), and He will judge (Joel 3:9-17) and destroy them there (Isaiah 34:1-8; 63:1-6; 66:15-18). Through His people Christ is to manifest His character and the principles of His kingdom. Accordingly, what He purposed to do for the world through Israel of old He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today, and many of the promises originally made to literal Israel will be fulfilled to His remnant people at the close of time. These observations seem to place Zephaniah in the early years of Josiahs reign, perhaps about 630 B.C., as a contemporary of Habakkuk. 9:129) This verse first There is no surer protection against the speculative vagaries of religious visionaries than a clear knowledge of the historical context of Scripture. It is possible that he was a Temple singer, since his third chapter is dedicated to the chief singer on my stringed instruments (chapter 3:19). Isaiah would not have known about the events to come without Gods help. 2. According to tradition, how was Isaiah killed? If chapter 52, a historical appendix, was written by the prophet, he must have lived until 561, when Jehoiachin was released from prison by King Evil-Merodach of Babylon (see chapter 52:31). The last part of the lecture turns to Second Isaiah and the famous servant songs that find a universal significance in Furthermore, it should be remembered that the Messiah, after the flesh, was a Jew, that the charter members of the Christian church were all Jews, and that Christianity grew out of Judaism. At times they had an import, not only for the age in which the prophet lived, but also for a day far future; in other words, they had a dual application. 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). Thus, for more than 1,500 years, a great experiment designed to test the relative merits of good and evil was conducted before the world. Without this, the many advantages would only result in harm to themselves and to others. or during the early years of his reign. Since Jothams sole reign began after the death of his father Uzziah in 740/39, the initial date for Micahs prophetic ministry should probably be placed after that date. 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. EZEKIEL is born Josiah tries to purify the land 612 Ninevah destroyed according to Nahum's prophecy in the Book of Nahum 1:1-3:19 as prophecied in 663-654BC. The gates of Jerusalem would be open continually to receive the wealth contributed to Israel for the conversion of still other nations and peoples (Isaiah 60:1-11, RSV; Psalms 72:10; Isaiah 45:14; Haggai 2:7, RSV). The prophet Hosea was a citizen of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose ruler, Jeroboam II, is called by the prophet, our king (chapters 1:1; 7:5). According to Jewish tradition Isaiah was sawn asunder. But the Scriptures record the fact that they disobeyed God and proved disloyal to Him instead. Thus. Isaiah was a prophet of the southern kingdom, living in a critical period of his nation. It was their unwillingness to submit to the restrictions and requirements of God that prevented them, to a great extent, from reaching the high standard which He desired them to attain, and from receiving the blessings which He was ready to bestow upon them. The response of the prophets is contrasted: Jeremiah is spontaneous and candid, while Ezekiel makes no spoken reply in the call narrative (pp. Micah was a prophet from Moresheth-gath (chapter 1:1, 14), probably Tell ejJudeideh in southwestern Judah. The day, before, He had called it my house (chapter 21:13), but henceforth He no longer owned it as His. The fourth school of interpretation may, at times, arrive at a valid application of the predictive portions of Old Testament prophecy to the church today and to its future experience, but neglects the primary application of these messages to their historical setting, and proceeds, quite arbitrarily, to determine that certain selected passages were written more or less exclusively for the church today. 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). Send them from My presence, and let them go. Nevertheless, Isaiah believed that Judah was Gods chosen nation and they would be vindicated by God. In other words, they prophesied and ministered about the same time. The glorious era of David and Solomon marked what might have been the beginning of Israels golden age). 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. Dead sea scrolls. WebJeremiah was active as a prophet from the thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah (626 BC), until after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 BC. 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. In Isaiah See Exodus 31:2-6; 35:33, 35. God entered into solemn covenant relationship with him (Genesis 15:18; 17:2-7), and his posterity, Israel, inherited the sacred trust of being Gods chosen representatives on earth (Hebrews 11:9) for the salvation of the entire human race. In contrast to Isaiah and others, Jeremiah provided more detail about himself in his book than any of the other prophets. Since only these two kings are mentioned, Amos seems to have prophesied during the time when both kings were sole rulers in their respective kingdoms. Nehemiah 13:10-12; Malachi 2:11-16; cf. WebISAIAH, DANIEL, AND ZECHARIAH We need to make a comparison between the three prophets, Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah, in two matters: in Gods economy toward His chosen people and in Christ for the people of His concern. WebIsaiah was a prophet of the southern kingdom, living in a critical period of his nation. 1-39 40-55 56-66. But he will listen also for the further import the prophets words may have for later times, particularly, our time. Thus it had been with Enoch (Genesis 5:24), Abraham (chapter 26:5), and Joseph (chapter 39:2-6). Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) It was Jeremiahs lot in life to be known throughout the ages as the prophet of doom, for he was G-ds main spokesman in the generation of the destruction of Jerusalems first Temple. Salvation was to be of the Jews, in that the Messiah would be a Jew (John 4:22), and by the Jews, as messengers of salvation to all men (Genesis 12:2, 3; 22:18; Isaiah 42:1, 6; 43:10; Galatians 3:8, 16, 18). In general, Old Testament promises and predictions were addressed to literal Israel and were to have been fulfilled to them, conditional on obedience. 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. 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. There are 12 minor prophets: the last 12 books in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 12:14-16). 4:3 with Amos 8:8; Hosea 4:15 with Amos 5:5; and Hosea 8:14 with Amos 2:5). Although no chronological data are found in the book, certain statements permit a comparatively exact dating of Habakkuks prophecies. Prophecies that fall into the latter classification are to be fulfilled in principle but not necessarily in every detail, owing to the fact that many details of prophecy were concerned with Israel as a literal nation situated in the land of Palestine. This page and its content is copyright 2012. They were the most influential prophets to appear on the scene, and their many prophecies have been preserved in the sacred Scriptures.
Pawn Stars' Shop Closed Down,
Operation Allies Welcome Ribbon,
Monta Vista High School Student Death,
Why Are Bearded Dragons Illegal In Hawaii,
Articles D