THE PROPHETS TO ISRAEL

Transcription

1 THE L.I.F.E. PLAN THE PROPHETS TO ISRAEL BLOCK 3 THEME 4 - THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS LESSON 1 (85 of 216)

2 BLOCK 3 THEME 4: THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS LESSON 1 (85 OF 216): THE PROPHETS TO ISRAEL LESSON AIM: Present information to gain an understanding of the prophetical books of the Old Testament. SCRIPTURE: (Luke 24:44) And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. The Bible is the most important book in the history of the world. It gives us the information we need to know God, to know the origin of man, and to know why we are here upon the earth. It is the basis for all we need to know that is of the most significance to us in our life. The Bible, however, can be a very intimidating book. It is a very thick book. It does not follow a completely chronological pattern. It has sections which speak of the same time periods, events and people. It comes to us through the translation process of several languages, and versions. And, quite frankly, sometimes it just doesn t seem to make any sense at all. If the Bible is so important to us, why is it so difficult to understand? The short answer to this question is that it takes time for God to do his work in us through his Word. The more we study it and become familiar with its writings and structure, the more we will be able to grasp over the time of our life. God does not intend us to read the Bible one time and fully understand it. He is working to conform us to then image of his Son, Jesus Christ. This is a process which will continue as long as we live on this earth. God wants us to read his Word over and over, to study it and to meditate on it. He wants us to think about it and put the pieces together for ourselves. This is a work no one else can do for us. Each one of us needs to do this work for ourselves. In the process of studying the Word, we get to know God and he works to fashion our hearts and lives after his will so he can use us to accomplish the purpose he has for our life. One of the things we need to do to help ourselves get a better grasp on the Bible is to learn its structure. This one thing will go a long way in helping us to know what is going on in the Bible and how God wants to use it in our life today. In the Scripture verse for our lesson, we see that Jesus mentioned the Old Testament as it was arranged in his day. In that time, the Old Testament was thought of in three parts: the law, the prophets, and the psalms, or writings. Today, we typically consider it in four parts: the law, the history books, the poetry books, and the prophets. This theme of study will consider the prophetical books of the Old Testament. As we begin to think about the prophets, it is important to note that there were three offices among the Hebrews during the time of the theocracy; prophet, priest, and king. The office of the king had to do with the political governing and health of the nation while the offices of prophet and priest had to do with the religious governing and health of the nation. The priest was to represent man before God, and the prophet was to represent God before men. The prophet was the voice of God to give the words of God to the people of the nation. God gave his warnings, and revealed his instructions and revelations to the people through the prophets as needed. God put his words into their mouths and the prophet spoke the very words God gave to him for the people. At times, the words were hard and caused the people to lash out against

3 the prophets who brought the words from the Lord. Sometimes the prophets were mistreated or even killed because they spoke the words of God. Their words are preserved for us in then Old Testament not only giving us the historical account of their experience, but also providing for us the words from the Lord by which he would govern our lives today. The prophecy books are a very rich and telling history of God s work among the people of Israel and his purpose to take the gospel of the savior to the other nations of the world through them. Many times, God used the prophets own personal experiences to speak to Israel about their relationship with him. At times, the prophets spoke frankly and directly the message from the Lord. At other times, they gave their message from God through poetry or by the use of symbolic analogies. Whatever way the message came, the people in the original audience knew what it meant. Today, we have to work to determine what it meant to them. It is only when we can know what it meant to them that we can know what it means to us. There are 17 prophecy books in the prophetic section of the Old Testament. We can divide them into several categories, depending on how we associate them. The most basic divisions are the five major prophets, and the 12 minor prophets. We can also arrange them according to the audience to which they spoke; either to the northern kingdom of Israel, or to the southern kingdom of Judah. We can arrange them according to the time in which they spoke. In this way, they are either pre-exilic, during the exile, or post-exilic prophets. And we might also arrange them in chronological order, or in connection with the kings who ruled during the time of their prophetic ministry. This lesson will consider the prophets who spoke to the northern kingdom of Israel. Three of the prophets spoke to the northern kingdom of Israel and they were each given a pre-exilic prophecy. That is, they spoke before the nation was taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC. These prophets were Jonah, Amos, and Hosea. Many people know some of the story of Jonah whether they are avid Bible students or not. They know the story of the man who was swallowed by a very large fish. Of course, there is much more to the story than this. There is the fact that God was calling the gentile nation of Assyria, and the city of Nineveh to repent of their sins and turn to God. There is the theme of Israel s preoccupation with themselves as God s favored people instead of taking the gospel to the lost, including their own archenemies. And, we also know that Jonah was a type of Christ as Jesus was in the grave for three days just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish. It is ironic that the very people God wanted Israel to evangelize were those who took them into captivity, never to return. The message of the prophet Amos is one that people of every generation and of every nation need to hear. God goes to great lengths to offer his forgiveness and restoration. However, for those who go on refusing God s salvation, there eventually comes the time of cutting them off. When people continually refuse the only remedy for their sin problem, there remains no other sacrifice acceptable to God. He leaves them to their own refusal of his offer and to the consequences of that course of action. Hosea s prophecy is one of the unimaginable pain and suffering that he personally went through because of an unfaithful wife. God used his family to illustrate how unfaithful Israel had been to him, the great lover of their soul. This is an amazing story of the love of God for his people and one that should be read with us in mind. The nation of Israel was a wicked nation. The ministry of only three prophets to them is recorded in the Bible. Their run of sin and rebellion against God did not last very long. God spoke to them, giving them much opportunity to repent. They refused his advances and reaped the bitter harvest of having their own way. May the words of these prophets steer us from traveling a similar path.

4 LESSON OUTLINE BLOCK 3 THEME 4: THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS LESSON 1 (85 OF 216): THE PROPHETS TO ISRAEL The prophets to the northern kingdom of Israel: I JONAH A. Prophesied to Assyria B. A type of Christ II AMOS A. God offers forgiveness B. God will only wait so long III HOSEA A. Hosea s family B. God s family SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. The Scriptures 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Luke 24:27 2 Peter 1:3-4 1 John 5:13 2. Israel killed the prophets Matthew 23:37 3. Jonah represented Jesus Matthew 12:40 4. God works in us through his Word Hebrews 4:12 LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES The arrangement of the Old Testament

5 2. OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY The Assyrian captivity of Israel The offices of prophet, priest, and king LESSON GLOSSARY 1. Chronological Arrangement of events in order of occurrence 2. Intimidating To make timid or fearful QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. List the three offices in Israel during the theocracy. Prophet, priest, king 2. What was the major difference between a prophet and a priest? A priest went before God on behalf of man A prophet went before man on behalf of God 3. Name the three prophetic books written to Israel before her captivity. Jonah; Amos; Hosea 4. Which nation took Israel into captivity? The Assyrians 5. In what year was Israel taken into captivity? 722 B.C. 6. How many prophetic books are in the Old Testament? What are the two basic groups of prophetic books and how many books are in each group? Major prophets - 5; Minor prophets Which prophet was swallowed by a great fish? Jonah

6 BLOCK 3 THEME 4: THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS LESSON 1 (85 OF 216): THE PROPHETS TO ISRAEL QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. List the three offices in Israel during the theocracy. 2. What was the major difference between a prophet and a priest? 3. Name the three prophetic books written to Israel before her captivity. 4. Which nation took Israel into captivity? 5. In what year was Israel taken into captivity? 6. How many prophetic books are in the Old Testament? 7. What are the two basic groups of prophetic books and how many books are in each group? 8. Which prophet was swallowed by a great fish?