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B I B S T U D Lesson 16 Old Testament Prophets

1. The document discusses the role and messages of Old Testament prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, and Daniel. 2. It also mentions other relevant Old Testament characters like Queen Esther and the Maccabees. 3. The prophets spoke messages from God, warning of punishment for disobedience but also hope if the people repented, and some prophesied of the coming Messiah.

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THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS DENNIS RAYMOND P. MATURAN DE LA SALLE –COLLEGE OF ST. BENILDE 20101
THE PROPHETS Nabi in Hebrew One who speaks in God’s name and under His inspiration. One who spoke, acted or wrote under the extraordinary influence of God to make known the divine counsels and will. His primary function is to proclaim the will of God.
THE PROPHETS 5. He also prophesied by foretelling future events. 6. His role then was to proclaim and to make the proclamation credible. 7. A prophet brought forward the matters that pertained to the “conscience of Israel” and to the manifestation of God to all humans.
Marks of a True Prophet of God: Denounces evil. Divine Zeal. Divine Imprint. God-centered rather than self-centered. Spirit of Poverty. Suffering-servant (trials).
The Prophet’s Role and Message: Discipline the OT Kings. Stand up for justice and defend the rights of the poor and under privileged.
The Prophet’s Role and Message: 4. Gave instructions concerning formal worship on offerings and sacrifices. 5. Reminds Israel of their covenant-relationship with God and all that that entailed .
The Early Prophets : Elijah Confronted the morally-weak King Ahab and his Baal-worshipping wife Jezebel by sending a drought. Escaped the famine and was fed by ravens. Was directed by God to a widow and his son in the town of Zarephath in Sidon who were about to eat their last meal.
ELIJAH The widow miraculously did not run out of her supply of flour and oil when she fed Elijah. Her son later died but was resurrected by God through Elijah. Returned to King Ahab and challenged the 400 priests and 450 prophets of Baal to a show of God’s power in Mt. Carmel by whose altar will be consumed by fire.
ELIJAH Baal’s priests and prophets around their altar the whole day with no result. Elijah constructed an altar to Yahweh with 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and surrounded it with a ditch with water poured over the altar three times.
ELIJAH As he prayed to God the altar was immediately consumed by fire proving God’s power, then killed all the priests of Baal. Stood for justice when he confronted Ahab who killed his neighbor Naboth just to get his vineyard and turn it into a kitchen garden.
ELIJAH Was taken up by chariots of fire and was succeeded by his disciple Elisha who inherited his spiritual power and authority and also his miraculous cape.
The Early Prophets : 2. Elisha Performed miracles and ‘small’ miracles of kindness and help for the poor. Advised the king and foretold the lifting of the Syrian siege of the capital, Samaria. Authorized the life.
ELISHA Anointing of Jehu as king who was later condemned by another prophet, Hosea, for his bloody actions. When he died, his bones became miraculous when it was touched accidentally to the body of a dead Moabite who returned to life.
The Early Prophets : 3. Amos A shepherd who pointed out that he was not a professional prophet. Shocked by the complete disregard for justice of the people of Israel.
AMOS - Denounced their hypocrisy by offering sacrifice to God while neglecting the poor. Denounced also the luxury-loving women and the wealthy merchants who ground the faces of the poor
The Early Prophets : 4. Hosea Prophesied in the northern kingdom of Israel when the disasters prophesied by Amos came to pass. Suffered the pain of having an unfaithful wife, Gomer, but did not divorce her and bought her back from slavery as instructed by God since his love is stronger than his anger.
HOSEA God likened Israel to Gomer’s unfaithfulness. Hosea showed the people of Israel of their sins and told of the profound love of God if they will return and genuinely repent from their sins to restore their covenant with God.
The Early Prophets : 5. Isaiah He was an aristocrat, friend of the kings and a cultured statesman who lived and prophesied in Judah during the reigns of King Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Saw a vision of the Lord filling the temple with His presence and surrounded by winged creatures who constantly cried Holy, holy holy!
ISAIAH Constantly pleaded with his people to put their trust in God and not in military achievements. Also denounced the people’s hypocrisy and told them the importance of holiness by ceasing evil and doing good. Spoke of the coming of the Emmanuel or Messiah as a descendant of David and referred to God as “The Holy One” or “Qadosh”.
The Early Prophets : 6. Micah A contemporary of Isaiah who was a rough and outspoken peasant who declared his oracles to both Israel and Judah. Spoke fiercely of God’s desire for justice and of the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem if its rulers, priests and false prophets did not repent.
MICAH Denounced the rich who defrauded the poor, usurers, swindlers and venal judges.
The Prophets and the Nations: Jeremiah His name means “Yahweh has appointed”. Known as the “Weeping Prophet” because he grieved so deeply the sins of his people. One of the three Major Prophets and e reforming prophet. Witnessed the capture and destruction of Jerusalem.
JEREMIAH Survived six kings of Judah – Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Appointed by God to oversee the affairs of the nations and kingdoms. His message was not popular and was considered as messages of doom, which made the people resent him.
JEREMIAH He repeatedly conveyed the anger and resentment of Yahweh to His people. He deplored the people’s immorality, insincerity, apostasy and the superficiality of their leaders. He was ill-treated, misunderstood and often times beaten, imprisoned and threatened with death.
JEREMIAH Several times doubted if the messages he delivered were correct or that God might have deliberately misled him. King Zedekiah ignored the prophet’s advise about surrendering to the Chaldeans which resulted his and his family’s death and the destruction of Jerusalem.
The Prophets and the Nations: 2. Nahum His name means “Comfort” and was also known as the Elkoshite. He prophesied the destruction of Nineveh, capital of their enemies, the Assyrians.
The Prophets and the Nations: 3. Zephaniah His name means “the Lord has hidden” or “God’s treasures”. One of the last prophets of Judah before its fall to the Babylonians.
ZEPHANIAH He emphasized on the corruption of the people of Judah during the Assyrian rule and the punishment of God. His theme was the coming of the “Day of the Lord” and reminded people that God is truly merciful for those who are going to repent.
The Prophets and the Nations: 4. Habakkuk His name means “plant”, “fruit tree”, or “one who embraces”. Judah was committing idolatry and was punished through the Babylonians. His theme is that God is the “avenger” but He is also “merciful” and that God is stronger than the evil of the world.
The Prophets and the Nations: 5. Joel His name means “Yahweh is God”. He spoke of terrible plagues such as of locusts, death, sickness and weather disturbances.
JOEL He called the people to repentance, reminded them of the Day of the Lord, the fulfillment of God’s promises and the outpouring of the Spirit.
The Prophets and the Nations: 6. Obadiah His name means “Servant of the Lord” or “Worshipper of Yahweh”. Has the shortest book in the Old Testament. Spoke to the Israelite’s enemies, the Edomites (descendants of Esau).
OBADIAH His message was a condemnation of Edom for not helping Israel defend itself and for being a bully to Israel. Also prophesied that the whole nation of Edom would eventually die out.
The Prophets and the Nations: 7. Jonah His name means “dove”. He was a stubborn and defiant prophet who wanted his own way rather than God’s. He was tasked by God to preach to the Assyrians at Nineveh but boarded a ship and went the opposite direction. He was thrown overboard when the ship was hit by storm and was swallowed by a big fish and remained inside its belly for three days and three nights.
JONAH He finally preached to the Assyrians who eventually repented but was disappointed at God for forgiving them. The theme of the book is the universality of God’s kingdom and His love and care for all men.
The Prophets during the Captivity of Israel Ezekiel His name means “the one whom God will strengthen”. A contemporary of Jeremiah. A priest who was called by God to be a prophet. He saw a vision of God of a machine upholding God’s throne and His likeness of glory.
EZEKIEL He also saw a vision of a valley of dry human bones symbolizing the discouraged people of Israel. He preached by stomping his feet, clenched fists, mimes and other weird gestures to catch people’s attention. He described and foretold of God’s judgment and deliverance.
The Prophets during the Captivity of Israel 2. Ezra His name means “help”. Instituted reforms in the Jewish church and state and were mostly administrative. He reformed the ecclesiastical ritual, organization of the synagogue improved, and the rise of the rabbinate and eventually the development of the Sanhedrin were attributes to his ability.
The Prophets during the Captivity of Israel 3. Nehemiah Collaborated with Ezra in reforming Israel. He was a rich and well-educated Jew in Persia. Rebuilt the City of Jerusalem. Facilitated the return of the Jews in exile.
The Prophets during the Captivity of Israel 4. Malachi His name means “the Messenger of Yahweh”. The last OT prophet before John the Baptist and prophesied about John. He was horrified by the easy and careless way of Jewish spirituality of his times, especially the way they worship. His reprimands to the Jewish people were direct especially to those who married foreign idol-worshipping women and reminded them to repent.
The Prophets during the Captivity of Israel 5. Daniel His name means “God Judges” or “My Judge is God”. He was one of those Jews deported to Babylon and belonged to a noble family. Was trained and educated to become leaders and advisers to the Babylonian court.
DANIEL His three friends, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego, were commanded to commit idolatry but refused and were thrown into a fiery furnace but survived uninjured. Interpreted the strange words, Mene, Tekel and Peres which appeared on a wall, which meant that God has numbered the Babylonian kingdom that they have been judged and the kingdom will be divided among the Medes and the Persians.
DANIEL Was thrown in his old age to a den of hungry lions for continuing to pray to God despite a prohibition but unscathed. Prophesied about the Messianic Kingdom to replace all world empires and had visions of the Son of Man.
Other Relevant Old Testament Chracaters Queen Esther: She was an adopted daughter and niece or cousin of Mordecai, a Jewish official in Persia. She was a beautiful woman who got married to King Xerxes, without revealing of her Jewish nationality, after he divorced his wife Queen Vashti.
QUEEN ESTHER Became a heroic figure for the Jews by outwitting the Jewish-hating official Haman. Haman planned to execute all Jews especially Mordecai but was the one sent to the gallows instead through the beauty and intelligence of Esther.
Other Relevant Old Testament Chracaters 2. The Maccabees: It is about the story of successful resistance of the Jews against foreign dominance. The main character is Judas Maccabeus who led a rebellion against the Syrians. The books visualize God as close at hand, the resurrection from death, the intercession of the saints, the prayer for the living and the dead; and confident faith, optimistic hope and sincere love of God.