Andrew Stepp OT Prophets

Andrew Stepp OT Prophets

Pre-Exilic (Israel) Pre-Exilic (Judah) Exilic Post Exilic Jonah Amos Hosea Isaiah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Obadiah (?) Haggai Joel (?) Zechariah Malachi

Babylon wipes out Jerusalem 586BC. Jeremiah 29:4-23 Ezekiel 11:16-21 Israel is in exile in Babylon for 70 years Babylon (who defeated Assyria) is defeated by Persia 539BC God moves King Cyrus to send Israelites back to Jerusalem to restore the temple and Jewish worship

In 537 BC, a remnant returns to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel as their leader to rebuild the temple. It s completed in 516 BC. (Haggai 2:1-9). Roughly 42,000 people returned

Wave Two: In 458 BC, Ezra is sent to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Ezra was a priest and scribe, an expert in the law of Moses and the covenant. (Ezra 7:25-26). Another 5,000 returned with Ezra Wave Three: Nehemiah leads a remnant back under Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem s walls and infrastructure. (445 BC) He also repopulated the city, built a governor s house, created administrative infrastructure, and restored the city in general.

Defeat of Israel by Assyria: Assyria falls to Babylon: Babylonian Exile #1: Babylonian Exile #2: Fall of Jerusalem & Exile #3: Babylon Falls to Persia: First Wave of Exiles return: Second Wave (Ezra): Third Wave (Nehemiah): 722 BC 612 BC 605 BC 598 BC 586 BC 539 BC 537 BC 458 BC 445 BC

Not many Jews returned to Jerusalem or to the old Promised Land. They chose to stay in exile. They were surrounded by enemies, namely the same old Canaanites and the Samaritans. They were a province of Persia, not an independent nation. This is a time of identity crisis for the Jews in the Persian Empire.

The temple was a shadow of Solomon s glorious one. Jerusalem was fairly uninhabited. There was a general spiritual malaise with ignoring the covenant and intermarrying. If they were going to succeed again or experience prosperity and peace what would they need to do?

A devastating locust plague sets the stage for a twofold summons to repentance, to which God responds with a promise of mercy and an outpouring of his Spirit, with a day of judgment on the nations. Maybe written around 590, maybe around 500??? The Day of the Lord A Good Day or a Bad One?

I. A devastating locust plague II. An invading army of locusts with God at their head III. The Lord s answer IV. God judges the nations

Four oracles encouraging God s people to rebuild the temple A contemporary of Zechariah Only prophesied over a four month period in 520 BC Directly addressed Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the priest, and the people in Jerusalem.

539 BC exiles return under King Cyrus and immediately rebuilt the altar and lay the foundation for the temple Then they took a break to build their homes and work their farms 19 years later (!!!!!) there had been no construction on the temple since the foundation and altar Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 1:4 Result drought and poor harvests Give careful thought x 5

1. August 29, 520 BC first day of the lunar month, thus in the sessting of the New Moon festival, and at the time of the second full maturing of the grain 2. October 17 at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles (Israel s harvest festival) 3. December 18 during the growing season for the spring harvest 4. Same as #3 All these were periods when people had no excuse that they were too busy to pay attention to the temple.

Visions aimed at encouraging the post-exilic community, especially the leadership, to rebuild the temple, plus oracles about the future coming King who would be slain and eventually triumph. Prophesied from 520 BC-early 400 s Two Parts: Ch. 1-8 A Series of Eight Night Visions Ch. 9-14 Two oracles about God s glorious future for his people and his judgment on the nations

1 and 8 envisions 4 groups of colored horses whose purpose is to go throughout the whole earth as the backdrop for the building of the temple 2 & 3 and 6 & 7 have to do with obstacles facing the restoration community and the building of the temple. (In 2 & 3 the obstacles come from outside the community and in 6 & 7 from within) Visions 4 and 5 are the centerpiece, dealing with Joshua and Zerubbabel s leadership, both for the temple rebuilding and the community.

Judgment of God s people for their own sins Judgment of surrounding nations because of their sins against God s people and because Yahweh is sovereign over all the nations A glorious future for the redeemed and purified people An expectation of God s future messianic king

Through 6 disputes, Yahweh warns his people of future judgments and promises redemption to the faithful +/- 460 BC before Ezra and Nehemiah s reforms All 6 disputes have the same cause: Israel has grown weary of Yahweh and of keeping the covenant. a graphic indicator of the moral and spiritual apathy of the time, which expressed itself in various forms of contempt for Yahweh and the covenant. Mixed marriages, failure to tithe, corrupt priests, and social injustice.

Declaration: the issue if announced by Yahweh The People s Question: How so? Yahweh s Response: reminding them of his past or coming actions, or revealing their actions that show contempt Visions 1:2-5 1:6-2:9 2:10-16 2:17-3:5 3:6-12 3:13-4:3

This is the point of the class! Joel 1-4 (1 day) Haggai 1-3 (1 day Zech. 1-14 (2 days) Malachi 1-4 (1 day)