OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY II Latter Prophets and Writings

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1 OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY II Latter Prophets and Writings Institute of Grace Grace Immanuel Bible Church, Jupiter, FL January 15 March 5, 2019 Whitney Oxford The great want of our church, at the present day, is a clear comprehension of the meaning of the Old Testament, in its fullness and purity, in order that the God of Israel may again be universally recognized as the eternal God, whose faithfulness is unchangeable, the one living and true God, who performed all that he did to Israel for our instruction and salvation, having chosen Abraham and his seed to be his people, to preserve his revelations, that from him the whole world might receive salvation, and in him all the families of the earth be blessed. 1 Jesus came and will come again to fulfill the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Matt 5:17; Luke 24:44). How well, then, can we know Him or His task if we do not know the contents of what He came to fulfill? The better we understand whatever was written in earlier times (Rom 15:4), the more intimately we can know our God and Savior. Indeed, the apostle Paul testified that he had stated nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles (Acts 26:22 23). 1 C. F. Keil, Preface to Joshua. Cited from E. J. Young, Preface to An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), 10. 1

2 PART TWO (b): THE PROPHETS (LATTER) VI. The Latter Prophets A. Reminders as we read the Latter Prophets 1. The words of the prophets were the words of the sovereign LORD. 2. The prophets kept Torah as their frame of reference. 3. The prophets understood and integrated the progress of revelation (i.e., they understood the directional force of the abiding covenants). 4. The prophets, with specificity, confronted Israel and Judah for their sin. 5. The prophets declared that judgment will come just as the LORD decreed (cf. Lev 26; Deut 4:23 28; 8:19 20; 28:15 68; 29:22 28). 6. Despite judgment, the LORD still has compassion for His people (cf. Judg 2:1; Hos 11:8). 7. The promised Seed/Prophet/Atonement/Servant/King/Messiah/Priest will be the LORD s instrument for both wrath and blessing for both Israel and the nations. B. False voices in Israel Priests (false teachers of the Law) Prophets (false prophets with empty words) Wise men, sages, discerning men (counselors of worldly wisdom) Boasters, diviners, dreamers, soothsayers, sorcerers (shysters, talkers) Mediums and spiritists (consultants of the dead) False Voices in Israel Isa 28:7; Jer 2:8, 26; 5:31; 6:13; 8:10; 18:18; 23:11, 33 36; 26:7 8, 11; 32:32; Ezek 7:26; 22:26; Hos 4:9; 5:1; 6:9; 10:5; Mic 3:11; Zeph 1:4; 3:4; Zech 5:5 6; Mal 1:6 10; 2:1 4, 7 9 Jer 5:31; 6:13; 8:10; 18:18; 23:11, 30 36; 26:7 8, 11; 32:32; Mic 3:11; Zeph 3:4 Isa 19:12; 29:14; 44:25; Jer 8:8 9; 18:18; Obad 1:8 Isa 3:2; 44:25; Jer 27:9; 29:8; Mic 3:7; Zech 10:2 Isa 8:19; 19:3 C. The key functions of the prophets 2

3 VII. Isaiah [T]he function of the prophet went beyond mere prediction of things to come. Four principal elements may be defined in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets. 1. The prophet had the responsibility of encouraging God s people to trust only in Yahweh s mercy and redemptive power, rather than in their own merits or strength, or in the might of human allies. 2. The prophet was responsible to remind his people that safety and blessedness were conditioned upon their faithful adherence to the covenant, and that this adherence involved not only doctrinal conviction, but also a sincere submission of their will to obey God with their whole heart and to lead a godly life. 3. The prophet was to encourage Israel in respect to the future. 4. Hebrew prophecy was to seal the authoritativeness of God s message by the objective verification of fulfilled prophecy. 2 A. Designations B. Author and date The author is accepted to be Isaiah from 1:1. Isaiah served as a prophet from the year of King Uzziah s death in 739 BC through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah to 680 BC, part way through Manasseh s reign. 3 C. Structure 4 I. Condemnation (1:1 39:8) (The defeat of Assyria) A. Sermons against Judah and Israel (1:1 12:6) B. Burdens of judgment on the other nations (13:1 23:18) C. Songs of future glory for the nation (24:1 27:13) D. Woes against the sins of the people (28:1 35:10) E. Historical interlude (36:1 39:8) 1. Victory over Assyria (36:1 37:38) 2. Sin with Babylon (38:1 39:8) II. Consolation (40:1 66:24) (The remnant will return home) Archer, Jr., Old Testament Introduction, Uzziah (also called Azariah) (Isa 1:1; 6:1; 7:1; cf. 2 Kgs 14:21 22; 15:1 7); Jotham (Isa 1:1; 7:1; cf. 2 Kgs 15:5 7, 30 38); Ahaz (Isa 1:1; 7:1, 3, 10, 12; 14:28; cf. 2 Kgs 15:38 16:20); Hezekiah (Isa 1:1; 36:1 39:8; cf. 2 Kgs 18:1 20:21); Manasseh (cf. 2 Kgs 21:1 18); cf. 2 Chronicles Adapted from Warren Wiersbe, Outlines on the Old Testament,

4 A. God s greatness (40:1 48:22) (The true God vs. the false gods) B. God s grace (49:1 57:21) (The Suffering Servant) C. God s glory (58:1 66:24) (The vengeful Redeemer and future glory) The whole [of Isaiah] is an explication of this basic situation: the awesome threat which holiness constitutes to an unworthy, careless, rejecting and unresponsive people (chapters 1 37); the lengths to which the Holy One will go to deal with sin, reclaim the sinner and create a righteous people for himself (chapters 40 55); and the eternal state of holiness which he will prepare for them and wherein they will enjoy him for ever [sic] (chapters 56 66). 5 D. Significant themes of Isaiah 1. Isaiah is permanently changed by the Holy One of Israel. Almost all references to the Holy One of Israel are by Isaiah. Jeremiah used the term only twice, and it appears only three times in Psalms. The only other place it is found is 2 Kings 19:22 and it is Isaiah speaking there. a. The Holy One of Israel (25x) (Isa 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14) b. Holy One (4x) (Isa 10:17; 40:25; 43:15; 49:7) c. The Holy One of Jacob (1x) (Isa 29:23) 2. The / of God (Isa 43:9 11; 44:6 8; 45:21; 46:9) 3. The sin of Judah (Isa 1 12) 4. The sin of the nations (Isa 13 23) 5. Salvation to the LORD (Isa 11:11 16; 12:1 2; 19:20; 25:9; 33:2, 6; 37:35; 38:20; 43:11 13; 45:17, 22; 49:6; 51:5 6, 8; 52:10; 56:1; 59:15 20; 60:16; 61:10; 63:1, 8) 6. The of the LORD (Isa 41:21 24; 42:9; 43:9 10; 44:6 8; 45:21; 46:9 11; 48:3 8) 7. The Servant (Isa 42:1 7; 49:1 13; 50:4 11; 52:13 53:12) 5 Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 18. 4

5 8. The Spirit of the LORD (Isa 11:2; 32:15; 34:16; 40:7, 13; 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 59:19; 61:1; 63:10, 14) The ministry of the Spirit is closely related to the ministry of the Servant. E. Unity of purpose The Holy One of Israel announces judgment upon His unholy people, announces good news of how He will, with justice, justify many sinners, and announces a future redeemed Jerusalem. F. Application VIII. Jeremiah A. Designations B. Author and date The author is accepted to be Jeremiah from 1:1 (cf. Jer 25:13; 45:1; 51:60, 64). Prophecies range from 627 BC to ca. 586 BC. Jeremiah 627 in Israel Daniel 605 with leadership in Babylon 530 Ezekiel 593 with Israelites in Babylon 570 Approximately Thirteen Overlapping Years of Ministry C. Structure Introduction: The call of Jeremiah (1:1 19) 6 Jeremiah was taken to Egypt, probably where he died (Jer 43). 5