A WALK THROUGH THE BIBLE March 12, 2017 BIG IDEA Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Let s read it out loud together 19 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. We are now at week 10 in our current series A WALK THROUGH THE BIBLE Last week we talked about the books of EZEKIEL, DANIEL, & HOSEA. Today we re going to get into JOEL, AMOS, & OBEDIAH. Remember, this is the helicopter view, the BIG PICTURE, of these books. So let s begin with Joel The book of Joel opens by revealing it s author. The LORD gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel. Joel is the second minor prophet, who ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. We don t know much about him, and we don t really even know much about how Joel s message was received. So what s going on in the book of Joel? When Matthew and Mark described John the Baptist, they said he ate locusts and wild honey.
If John had lived at this time in Joel s life he would have thought he was at the Old Country Buffet, because there were Locusts everywhere. A devastating swarm of locusts had come to Judah, the Southern Kingdom. This was no small infestation; the people had never seen anything like it: Joe 1:4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten. The crops were gone. The people were hungry. The cattle were hungry. Why was this happening? Joel says the day of the Lord was upon them. When God was delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt, He sent a plague of locusts on the Egyptians crops. Now, hundreds of years later, He was judging His people with the same kind of plague for straying from Him. But God also sends His prophet: Joel. Joel explains to the people what the Lord wants from them: REPENTANCE. The Lord would soon have His day, both with Judah and eventually with the whole world. Joel s message has two main points 1. God is judging Judah, but He will bless and restore them again when they repent. 2. God disciplines His people, but He also defends them. Joel says that although Judah is under God s wrath right now, the future holds many exciting things for the people of God:
- The Lord will pour out His Spirit on all mankind. - Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. - The Lord will avenge Judah of her enemies. - Judah will again become a land of plenty. Joel s message is stern for the disobedient, but it also highlights God s love and desire to be with His people. Rather than let them starve after sending the locusts, God sends Joel to turn their hearts back to Him. Here's a quick outline of the book of Joel God judges Judah (Joel 1 2) God sends a plague of locusts on Judah (Joel 1:1 2:11) God calls Judah to repent (Joel 2:12 17) God promises to restore Judah from the plague (Joel 2:18 27) God judges the nations (Joel 2:28 3:21) God promises to pour out His Spirit on all mankind (Joel 2:28 29) The Holy Spirit in Acts God provides opportunity to repent before the day of the Lord (Joel 2:30 32) That is now God judges the nations on behalf of Judah (Joel 3) Yet to come KEY VERSE Joe 2:12 13 Yet even now, declares the LORD, Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments. Not about an outward show It s about inward repentance and change. Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.
Now let's get into Amos... In Amos 1:1, we see that Amos was a simple shepherd from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Amos is the third of the Minor Prophets, which are the last twelve books of the Old Testament. Amos s ministry may have been the earliest of the Minor Prophets. He prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel at around 760 B.C. The prophets Hosea (Hos 1:1) and Jonah (2 Ki 14:23 25) also ministered to Israel during Jeroboam II s reign. Amos was a prophet from the Southern Kingdom of Judah but God sent him to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. When God first gives Amos this message He was not a prophet. There were no prophets in Amos s family. But God had a message for the rebellious Northern Kingdom of Israel, and He chose Amos to deliver it (Am 7:15). God had made Israel His chosen people (back in Exodus), and He was to be their God. THEIR ONLY GOD! But when the kingdom divided, the northern tribes turned their backs on Him. The Lord s temple and priests were still in Zion, but Israel worshiped new idols at the cities of Bethel and Dan (1 Ki 12:28 30) and created a new order of priests (1 Ki 12:31), and listened to false prophets. And now, while God had mercifully given them peace and prosperity under King Jeroboam II (2 Ki 14:26 28), the nation was abusing its own people. The rich were oppressing the poor (Am 4:1; 5:11). The judges were accepting bribes (Am 5:11; 6:12). Remember, God had promised back in Deuteronomy, to bless the nation if they obeyed Him and curse them if they rebelled. Now Israel has rebelled, and judgment is coming.
But God isn t going to punish Israel without explaining what s going on (Am 3:7). So Amos, the shepherd, the tree trimmer, goes to Bethel (a royal city of idol worship) and proclaims God s message of justice, punishment, and restoration. Amos makes two bold prophecies: 1. King Jeroboam II will die. 2. Israel will be carried off into exile. (Am 7:11) As you can imagine, this message doesn t sit well with Jeroboam II and his false priests. But Amos answers to the Lord, not Israel (Am 3:8): (Am 1:2). A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? And when Israel rebels at Bethel, the Lord roars from Zion KEY VERSE Amos 9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob, Declares the LORD. GOD S JUSTICE AND GRACE... Now let s take a quick look at the book of OBADIAH... Obadiah is a short book, just 1 chapter and only 21 verses. It is written by the prophet Obadiah. The book of Obadiah is a brief prophetic word regarding the nearby nation of Edom. And it s not good news for Edom. Let me start by giving you a little bit of Obadiah s back story.
The relationship between Israel and Edom is a little bit like the relationship between the Hatfields and McCoys. Obadiah unpacks this longstanding history between Israel and Edom and more importantly, the history of God s covenant with Israel s ancestors. The Israel vs. Edom rivalry is more than just two nations who don t get along. The struggle begins all the way back in the book of Genesis. God made a promise to Abraham that He would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him (Gn 12:1 3). That blessing was passed on to Isaac, Abraham s son (Gn 21:12; 26:24). Isaac s wife Rebekah had twins: Esau, the older, and Jacob, the younger (Gn 25:24 26). God told Rebekah that one nation would prevail, and that Esau would serve Jacob (Gn 25:23). Isaac reiterated this promise, which made Jacob the master of Esau (Gn 27:29). How did that happen? Esau sold Jacob his birthright for a bowl of soup, and then Jacob tricked their father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. Esau wasn t too happy about that, and for a while, he was bent on killing his twin. Jacob and Esau eventually resolved their differences (Gn 33:4), and God gave both of their descendants a land. Esau s descendants became the nation of Edom, while Jacob fathered the 12 tribes of Israel. Israel s capital was Mount Zion (Jerusalem); Edom s was Mount Seir (Dt 2:5). Both had an inheritance. Both had a mountain. But only one was God s chosen people.
As time wore on, the relationship between their descendants became strained. Edom refused to let Moses and the Israelites take the highway through their land, and opposed them militantly (Num 20:20 21). When Israel was serving God under the righteous king David, God s prediction to Rebekah came true: Edom served Israel as a subordinate state (2 Sa 8:14). But after Solomon and Israel turned from God, the kingdom divided and troubles with Edom reignited (1 Ki 11:14, 2 Ki 8:22). When the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem and the temple of God and Judah was exiled to Babylon, Edom was right there cheering them on. They even helped the Babylonians loot Judah,and then happily returned to their own fortified cities in Mount Seir (Ps 137:7; Ob 10 11). Obadiah s message is simple: no matter how safe the Edomites think they are, no matter how wise they think they are, Edom will not get away with this. Obadiah 4 Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. So God sends his messenger to them: a man named Obadiah which is Hebrew for servant of Yahweh". Through Obadiah, God swears to turn the tables on Edom. For now: Edom dwells in security on their mountain Israel is scattered and in exile Edom has plundered Jerusalem But when the Lord has His day: Edom will be brought down from Mount Sier (Ob 4) Israel will be gathered back to her land (Ob 19 20) Edom will be plundered (Ob 6)
Edom may seem to have won, but in the end, THE LORD ALWAYS PREVAILS. KEY VERSE Obadiah 21 Those who have been rescued* will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the LORD himself will be king! Do you see how every book in the OT brings us right back to God s promise and warning in Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Let s read it out loud together 19 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.