Session 6: from Amos to Habakkuk Bible Study in Plain English By Bill Huebsch Session Six: Amos to Habakkuk Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah & Habakkuk Lots of prophets. There were many prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. Keeping them all straight can be quite a challenge. Not only that, but the order of the books in the Bible itself is not chronological. To get started, therefore, here s a list of the prophets in their probable order of appearance. Historical period Before the defeat by the Assyrians in the northern kingdom Before Babylonian exile in the southern kingdom During the Babylonian exile in the southern kingdom After the Babylonian exile in the southern kingdom Probable Prophet year 865 Elijah 850 Elisha 783 Amos 755 Hosea 740 First Isaiah 720 Micah 663 Nahum 630 Zephaniah 609 Habakkuk 626 Jeremiah 593 Ezekiel 540 Second Isaiah after 538 Third Isaiah 515 Joel 500 s Obadiah 520 Zechariah 520 Haggai The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 1
Toward the end of the period before the common era 458 Malachi 164 Daniel Note: the names in bold are the major prophets of Israel and Judah. A farmer prophet. Amos was a farmer whose prophetic story is told in The Book of Amos. He preached about 783 BCE. His message was blunt. He had harsh words for the leaders of Israel (the northern kingdom). He believed they had abandoned their faith. He did not think their hearts were in their prayers. He believed the rich did not treat the poor with justice - and that their worship was empty ritual because it didn t change their lives. They went through the motions, he told them, but their hearts were not in it. God, he said, would punish them for this. To Amos, this meant certain destruction. You can just imagine how unpopular Amos was with most people of his day! W hat did Amos have to say to the rich and greedy about how they cheat the poor? Read Amos 8:4-12 to find out! W rite a summary of Amos prophesy in the writing space below. A remnant. Amos did not believe, however, that everyone in Israel would be lost. Like other prophets after him, he believed that a tiny number of people, a remnant, would be saved. With what dramatic images did Amos describe this remnant? Read Amos 3:12 to find out! More harsh words. Hosea preached about the same time Amos did, about 755 BCE, also in the northern kingdom. He, too, had harsh words for the people. He The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 2
condemned injustice: the lavish lifestyle of the rich and their reliance on military power. He knew they had lost their faith. And he warned that the cost of these sins would be great. His prophecy is contained in The Book of Hosea. W hat did Hosea say would happen if the people returned to God from their sins? Read Hosea 14:2-8 to find out. W rite a summary of Hosea s prophecy in the space. God s voice, not Hosea s. God s prophets do not speak for themselves. You don t hear a prophet saying, Now folks, here s what I think you ought to do. What you hear from God s prophets is what God has to say. For example, when Hosea made a pronouncement, it was in God s voice. How did Hosea let people know he was speaking on behalf of God? Read Hosea 4:1 to find out. Talk together about why Hosea s message and authority were so important. Fidelity, Hosea style. Hosea s marriage was on the rocks. His wife, Gomer, was unfaithful to their covenant. But Hosea patiently awaited her return to him. He used this marital infidelity as an analogy in his preaching. God, too, he told the people, is awaiting their return to him. And if they return, God will forgive them and take them back. With what hope did Hosea call people back to God? Read Hosea 6:1-3 for the answer. Read this lovely passage aloud. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 3
Dateline In 721 BCE the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians and disappeared from history, never to appear again. Remember that it was composed of the ten tribes who followed Jeroboam I and divided themselves in about 924 BCE from Rehoboam and the two tribes who centered their kingdom in Jerusalem in the south. The northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern, Judah. The four prophets we have just seen: Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea were prophets of the north. Note this The Book of Isaiah, although only one book, is actually written by more than one author. The first 39 chapters are called first Isaiah. What actually may have happened here is that Isaiah, like Elijah, so captured the imagination of the people that many years after the first Isaiah died, a second, and probably even a third, prophet simply adapted the first Isaiah s wonderful teachings to that later situation and added them to the written record of Isaiah s prophecy. We ll treat them here as three separate prophetic voices. First Isaiah. First Isaiah lived near Jerusalem in about 740 BCE. He was probably from an upper class family and was highly educated. He was married and had two sons. Isaiah spoke strong words about the oppression of the weakest members of society. It offended God s own holiness, he said. According to First Isaiah, pride was the worst sin because it prevented people from seeing what God wants. He called for conversion and a change of heart as the way to return to God. How did Isaiah warn people about injustice? Read Isaiah 10:1-2 to find out. In the writing space, copy these verses and then pause to let them sink in. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 4
Not without hope! Isaiah was a great optimist! He knew that God would prevail in the end, that one day, God s plan would unfold. On that day, the remnant (see Isaiah 10:20), those few who did remain faithful, would be drawn into God s heart once again. With joy, he predicted, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. W hat did Isaiah say would be the hope of Israel if injustice came to an end? Read Isaiah 11:1-9 for a lovely vision. Copy these poetic verses onto the space below. Sacred pause Try to understand these words as the language of metaphor. What would it be like for predators like lions to lay peacefully with victims (like lambs)? Think about the rich and poor nations of the world, or even about the wealthy and the poor in your own culture. Justice and peace are ultimately the work of God, according to Isaiah. The day will come, he said, when the nations they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4). Do you believe that this day will one day come? Will war come to an end some day? Note this Isaiah used oracles to deliver this word in chapters 13 through 23. You may remember from your study of Greek mythology that oracles were a common way for a divine spokesperson to deliver a message. These oracles often have a violent, vengeful tone to them. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 5
New in town? Micah lived in the rural areas of far southern Judah about 720 BCE. But he was called to preach in Jerusalem. His story is told in The Book of Micah. The times were bad. His nation was losing at war. And there was a lot of internal corruption in the government. People had freely gone to worship other gods. In short, there was widespread rejection of God. Micah warned the leaders of their impending doom for their harsh treatment of the poor, especially for seizing their lands. What is the warning that Micah gives? Read Micah 2:1-3 for a sample of his message. How is this message relevant today? Note this It appears that the final 2 chapters of Micah may have been added later, after the return in 538 BCE of the people of Judah from exile in Babylon. They have a much more hopeful ring to them! See Micah 5:1-3 for an example of this. Enough already! Writing about 663 BCE, Nahum is sick and tired of being treated badly by the Assyrians. He is intent on their destruction in the name of God and when the Assyrian empire did fall, he saw it as God s justice. Amid Nahum s doom and gloom, however, are some hidden gems of hope. The Book of Nahum tells his story. How did Nahum believe God would behave toward those who feared God? Read Nahum 1:7 for the answer. But then read Nahum 1:2. What do you think of this image of God. How is Nahum s idea of God different than yours? Or how is it different than the One whom Jesus called Abba? Don t give up! We turn now to The Book of Zephaniah. Like the others, Zephaniah called the people to a closer relationship with God. Zephaniah urged people to give up their false worship. He taught that people should worship God with humility and abandon their prideful ideas. In the end, thank goodness, Zephaniah assures the people that God will always love them. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 6
What is the hope that Zephaniah gives us? Read Zephaniah 3:14-20 for the answer. Dialogue with God. Habakkuk had a lot of nerve. Unlike other prophets, he took on God directly, demanding to know what was up! And God answered him. The Book of Habakkuk details this prophet s story. Habakkuk urged the people to have faith. W hat did he say? Read Habakkuk 3:17-19 to find out. Re-tell this passage in your own words and write some notes on it below. Let it enter your heart. Share your thoughts with each other. Conclude your study. Take a moment to tell each other what new insights into faith you gained in this study. Then conclude with a brief prayer of thanksgiving. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 7