1
The word of the Lord comes to Micah in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah. The Lord will tread down the high places. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. Samaria will be left desolate in judgment, because of its idolatrous harlotry. Micah will wail and howl like animals, going naked. The surrounding nations will know of Israel’s shame. Make yourself bald.
2
Woe to those that devise iniquity. They covet property, and seize it by violence. The Lord will take away the heritage of these people. God’s people reject the word of His prophets. False prophets prophesy days of wine and drink. A remnant of Israel shall be restored, however, gathered like sheep at the hands of one who breaks open (‘the Breaker’ in the KJV).
3
The heads of Jacob commit sadistic acts of violence against their own people. These heads will cry to the Lord, but the Lord will not hear them. Darkness will descend on false prophets. Micah declares confidently that he is a true prophet. Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest.
4
In the latter days, Zion will be at the centre of a renewed earth. The Lord shall judge between many nations. Swords shall be made into ploughshares, spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Everyone in the restored Zion shall walk in the name of the Lord. The lame, the outcast and the afflicted will be part of a strong nation. Cry like a woman in pangs, for you will be taken to Babylon, but from there, you will be restored. The nations who exult in Zion’s humiliation will be threshed.
5
One who is to be a ruler shall come forth from Bethlehem. He shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord. He will deliver Jacob from Assyria. The remnant is large and triumphs over its enemies. The Lord will cut off sorceries, soothsayers and idols.
6
Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint. The Lord reminds the people of his favour towards them, and complains of their ingratitude. The people are imagined replying, and complaining of the Lord’s demanding nature: will the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams, and the sacrifice of a firstborn as a sin offering? However, Micah retorts that the Lord has revealed to them what He wants: justice, mercy and humility. Hear the Rod! The use of deceitful weights and measures is rebuked. You will be made a desolation.
7
The Lord compares himself to a gatherer of fruit who can find no ripe cluster of grapes. All have been corrupted. Family and other social relationships will crumble. However, enemies should not rejoice: ‘when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.’ A female enemy will be trampled like mud in the streets. The Lord will shepherd His people with His staff. Other nations shall be brought low, and lick the dust like a serpent. Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Jonah
1
Jonah is told to cry against Nineveh. Instead, he flees on a ship going to Tarshish. The Lord sends a tempest. Jonah is asleep. The mariners cast lots to ascertain who it is who is responsible for the tempest, and realise it is Jonah. Jonah suggests they throw him overboard. The mariners are reluctant to resort to this extreme measure, but do so when the tempest does not abate. They pray that they may not perish because of Jonah as they throw him overboard. The sea is calmed, and a great fish swallows up Jonah, who is in its belly for three days.
2
Jonah prays within the belly of the fish. Psalm-like prayer. ‘Out of the belly of hell I cried, and you heard my voice.’ Jonah describes the waters compassing him about – an image of distress similar to the psalms’ water imagery. The Lord has brought up Jonah’s life from corruption, and Jonah responds with thanksgiving, looking towards God’s holy temple. The fish vomits out Jonah onto dry land.
3
Jonah is again told to cry against Nineveh. He does so, and Nineveh immediately and wholeheartedly repents with ashes and sackcloth. God decides not to destroy Nineveh in the light of this (almost comically swift and absolute) repentance.
4
Jonah is upset about God choosing to not destroy Nineveh. He leaves the city and sits in the hot sun where God causes a plant to grow to provide shade for Jonah. The next day God sends a worm to kill the plant. Jonah then says it would be better for him to die. God questions Jonah’s anger about the death of the plant. God asks him why he thinks a plant should be spared from destruction but a large city like Nineveh should not be saved.
Jonah is told to cry against Nineveh. Instead, he flees on a ship going to Tarshish. The Lord sends a tempest. Jonah is asleep. The mariners cast lots to ascertain who it is who is responsible for the tempest, and realise it is Jonah. Jonah suggests they throw him overboard. The mariners are reluctant to resort to this extreme measure, but do so when the tempest does not abate. They pray that they may not perish because of Jonah as they throw him overboard. The sea is calmed, and a great fish swallows up Jonah, who is in its belly for three days.
2
Jonah prays within the belly of the fish. Psalm-like prayer. ‘Out of the belly of hell I cried, and you heard my voice.’ Jonah describes the waters compassing him about – an image of distress similar to the psalms’ water imagery. The Lord has brought up Jonah’s life from corruption, and Jonah responds with thanksgiving, looking towards God’s holy temple. The fish vomits out Jonah onto dry land.
3
Jonah is again told to cry against Nineveh. He does so, and Nineveh immediately and wholeheartedly repents with ashes and sackcloth. God decides not to destroy Nineveh in the light of this (almost comically swift and absolute) repentance.
4
Jonah is upset about God choosing to not destroy Nineveh. He leaves the city and sits in the hot sun where God causes a plant to grow to provide shade for Jonah. The next day God sends a worm to kill the plant. Jonah then says it would be better for him to die. God questions Jonah’s anger about the death of the plant. God asks him why he thinks a plant should be spared from destruction but a large city like Nineveh should not be saved.
Obadiah
Edom will be made small among the nations. It shall be brought down, though it ascends as high as an eagle. Whereas robbers leave when they have enough and grape-gatherers leave gleaning, the judgment against Edom will be complete. Edom has exulted in the destruction of its brother Jacob. As you have done, it shall be done to you. The house of Jacab shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau shall be stubble. The children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites. Saviours shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
Amos
Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II, making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern kingdom of Israel. His major themes of social justice, God's omnipotence and role as creator, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Amos was the first prophet to use the phrase ‘the day of the Lord’.
1
Amos is a sheepbreeder of Tekoa – a simple farmer with no prophetic or theological training. He lived in the days of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel. The Lord roars from Zion; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and top of Carmel (in Israel, where Elijah confronted the priests of Baal) withers. The people of Damascus shall go captive to Kir in Assyria, because they have threshed Gilead with iron. Judgment against Gaza and Tyre, because they delivered God’s people to the Edomites. Edom will be punished because of its pitiless anger. Ammon will be punished, because it killed pregnant women in Gilead. The king of the Ammonites will be taken captive. In each instance, the rhetorical formula that introduces judgment is ‘For three transgressions of [x], and for four, I will not turn away its punishment.’
2
Moab will be destroyed with fire, and its princes slain, because it burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime. Judah will be sent fire, because their lies have led them astray. Israel will be punished for its sins against the righteous, poor and humble. The Lord vanquished the Amorites so the Israelites could occupy their Canaanite land, and the Israelites responded by giving wine to Nazirites and forbidding people from prophesying. The most courageous of men shall flee naked in the day of judgment.
3
The children of Israel have not fulfilled their responsibilities as God’s chosen people. A calamity in a city will be undeniably the doing of the Lord. The Egyptians and Philistines are invited to the mountains of Samaria as witnesses of the punishment of Israel. Israel will be conquered and exiled. The altars of Bethel will be destroyed.
4
Women referred to as ‘the cows of Bashan’ oppress the needy and demand wine from their husbands. They will be taken away with fishhooks (the Assyrians used to lead people by hooks driven through the lower lip). Sacrifices at Bethel and Gilgal are in vain. Rain will be withheld. All teeth shall be bread because of lack of bread. Israel will suffer blight and mildew. God asserts himself the former of mountains and the creator of winds.
5
The virgin of Israel has fallen, ie, its people will be taken captive. The Lord who made the stars invites Israel to seek Him, but not in the vain places of sacrifice such as Gilgal, Bathel and Beersheba. Israel perverts justice and treads down the poor. There will be wailing and woe in the day of the Lord. Feast days, sacred assemblies and sacrifices are dismissed.
6
Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria! Woe to those who live lives of luxury, lying on beds if ivory. When a relative of one of the dead comes to burn the corpses, should he find one person still alive, that person will not permit him to mention the name of the Lord for fear that the Lord will turn his wrath on him. Justice has been turned to gall, and righteousness to wormwood.
7
Amos sees a vision of locusts, and a vision of fire; in both instances, the Lord is deaf to Amos’ entreaties that Jacob may be spared. There is a further vision of a plumb line (to see if Israel are ‘straight’ by God’s standard). Amaziah, a priest of Bethel, speaks against Amos. Amos replies that he is a mere sheepbreeder. The Lord decrees Amaziah’s punishment – his wife shall be a harlot, your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, you shall die in a defiled land.
8
Amos has a vision of summer fruit – the end has come on Israel. (The time for summer fruit is short, and so presumably is the time left for Israel.) Dishonesty and cheating the poor is rebuked. The sky will be darkened, and feasts turned to mourning. A famine shall afflict the land.
9
Amos has a vision of the Lord at the temple, supervising the work of destruction. Judgment is totally inescapable. The Lord will sift the house of Israel, as grain is sifted in a sieve. Those who think they will be unaffected by the calamity will die by the sword. The tabernacle of David will be repaired and restored, however. The captives of Israel will be restored, and fruit and wine shall be abundant. Israel will be planted in the land, and no longer pulled up.
1
Amos is a sheepbreeder of Tekoa – a simple farmer with no prophetic or theological training. He lived in the days of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel. The Lord roars from Zion; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and top of Carmel (in Israel, where Elijah confronted the priests of Baal) withers. The people of Damascus shall go captive to Kir in Assyria, because they have threshed Gilead with iron. Judgment against Gaza and Tyre, because they delivered God’s people to the Edomites. Edom will be punished because of its pitiless anger. Ammon will be punished, because it killed pregnant women in Gilead. The king of the Ammonites will be taken captive. In each instance, the rhetorical formula that introduces judgment is ‘For three transgressions of [x], and for four, I will not turn away its punishment.’
2
Moab will be destroyed with fire, and its princes slain, because it burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime. Judah will be sent fire, because their lies have led them astray. Israel will be punished for its sins against the righteous, poor and humble. The Lord vanquished the Amorites so the Israelites could occupy their Canaanite land, and the Israelites responded by giving wine to Nazirites and forbidding people from prophesying. The most courageous of men shall flee naked in the day of judgment.
3
The children of Israel have not fulfilled their responsibilities as God’s chosen people. A calamity in a city will be undeniably the doing of the Lord. The Egyptians and Philistines are invited to the mountains of Samaria as witnesses of the punishment of Israel. Israel will be conquered and exiled. The altars of Bethel will be destroyed.
4
Women referred to as ‘the cows of Bashan’ oppress the needy and demand wine from their husbands. They will be taken away with fishhooks (the Assyrians used to lead people by hooks driven through the lower lip). Sacrifices at Bethel and Gilgal are in vain. Rain will be withheld. All teeth shall be bread because of lack of bread. Israel will suffer blight and mildew. God asserts himself the former of mountains and the creator of winds.
5
The virgin of Israel has fallen, ie, its people will be taken captive. The Lord who made the stars invites Israel to seek Him, but not in the vain places of sacrifice such as Gilgal, Bathel and Beersheba. Israel perverts justice and treads down the poor. There will be wailing and woe in the day of the Lord. Feast days, sacred assemblies and sacrifices are dismissed.
6
Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria! Woe to those who live lives of luxury, lying on beds if ivory. When a relative of one of the dead comes to burn the corpses, should he find one person still alive, that person will not permit him to mention the name of the Lord for fear that the Lord will turn his wrath on him. Justice has been turned to gall, and righteousness to wormwood.
7
Amos sees a vision of locusts, and a vision of fire; in both instances, the Lord is deaf to Amos’ entreaties that Jacob may be spared. There is a further vision of a plumb line (to see if Israel are ‘straight’ by God’s standard). Amaziah, a priest of Bethel, speaks against Amos. Amos replies that he is a mere sheepbreeder. The Lord decrees Amaziah’s punishment – his wife shall be a harlot, your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, you shall die in a defiled land.
8
Amos has a vision of summer fruit – the end has come on Israel. (The time for summer fruit is short, and so presumably is the time left for Israel.) Dishonesty and cheating the poor is rebuked. The sky will be darkened, and feasts turned to mourning. A famine shall afflict the land.
9
Amos has a vision of the Lord at the temple, supervising the work of destruction. Judgment is totally inescapable. The Lord will sift the house of Israel, as grain is sifted in a sieve. Those who think they will be unaffected by the calamity will die by the sword. The tabernacle of David will be repaired and restored, however. The captives of Israel will be restored, and fruit and wine shall be abundant. Israel will be planted in the land, and no longer pulled up.
Joel
There are no explicit references in the book to datable persons or events, and scholars have assigned a wide range of dates to the book. As outlined by Leslie C Allen (The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, 1976), the main positions are
· ninth century BC, particularly in the reign of Joash – a position especially popular among nineteenth-century scholars (making Joel one of the earliest writing prophets)
· c.630–587 BC, in the last decades of the kingdom of Judah (contemporary with Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Habakkuk)
· c.520–500 BC, contemporary with the return of the exiles and the careers of Zechariah and Haggai.
· the decades around 400 BC, during the Persian period (making him one of the latest writing prophets)
Evidence produced for these positions are allusions in the book to the wider world, similarities with other prophets, and linguistic details. Other commentators, such as John Calvin, attach no great importance to the precise dating.
1
A plague of locusts upon Judah: what the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. Weep, drunkards, for the nation of locusts has laid waste the vine. All has withered, and Judah must lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. There can be no grain or drink offering now. Repent with wailing, sackcloth and a fast. The brroks have dried up, and the animals suffer in the drought.
2
The day of the Lord is coming – a day of darkness and gloominess, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A fiery, destroying nation comes – before them is like the Garden of Eden, behind them a desolate wilderness. The army are disciplined; the earth quakes before them. The Lord gives voice before His army. Command to gather the people in repentance. Rent hearts are better than rent garments. The Lord is gracious and merciful, and slow to anger. The Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people, removing the northern army to a barren and desolate land. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied. The Lord will pour out His Spirit on all flesh – many shall prophesy and see visions. Blood and fire and pillars of smoke will be seen; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the Lord. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. In Jerusalem there shall be the deliverance of the remnant.
3
All nations, who have scattered and cast lots for the Lord’s people, will be gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and judged. (There is no such place, but ‘Jehoshaphat’ means ‘the Lord judges’.) God warns the nations that He will retaliate against those (Tyre, Sidon, Philistia) who have mistreated His people, and looted His gold and silver. The nations must prepare for war, beating their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears (in a reversal of the imagery of Isaiah 2). The winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon will grow dark, the Lord shall roar, but protect his people. ‘I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.’ Egypt and Edom shall be a desolation, but Judah will be fertile and rich, flowing with wine, milk and water. Judah shall abide forever, and those guilty of bloodshed will be acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Hosea
Hosea lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the period 780–725 BC.
1
The word of the Lord comes to Hosea in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Judah) and Jeroboam (Israel). God commands Hosea to marry a prostitute to illustrate that the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. Hosea dutifully marries Gomer. Hosea is commanded to call his son Jezreel – referring to the valley where Jehu murdered all the descendants of Ahab. God says he will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu. Hosea also has a daughter, called Lo-Ruhamah (no mercy). There will be no mercy for Israel, and mercy on the house of Judah. A second son is called Lo-Ammi (not my people). Judah and Israel will finally be reunified, however.
2
Israel is an adulterous wife, and her children the children of harlotry. The Lord will hedge up her way with thorns, taking away His grain, wine, wool and linen. Her feast days will cease, and her vines and fig trees be destroyed. Restoration is promised, however: the valley of Achor (the valley of ‘trouble’, where Achan’s sin was discovered and judged in Joshau 7:26) will become the door of hope. The Lord will be referred to as husband, not as master. The animals will be submissive to men. The people of God will be restored, and the land will be fruitful.
3
Hosea is commanded to go back and love Gomer. Hosea buys Gomer with fifteen shekels. The children of Israel will be deprived of their cultic practices, but then return to seek the Lord and David.
4
The land will mourn, and all who dwell there shall waste away. The priests are corrupt and ineffective. The Lord condemns idolatry and harlotry, sometimes conjoined in ritual harlotry. Do not come up to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth Aven (centres of harlotry in Israel). Israel is like a stubborn calf, which will be left to forage in open country.
5
Ephraim is defiled. Judah is little better. Ephraim shall be desolate on the day of rebuke. The princes of Judah are like those that remove a landmark (ie, change property boundaries to their advantage). The Lord will be to Ephraim like a moth, and to Judah like rottenness. King Jareb of Assyria will not be able to save Ephraim. (Jareb occurs nowhere else in scripture – it means ‘warrior’, and is probably a generic name.) The Lord will be like a lion to Judah and Ephraim, tearing them away until they seek the Lord’s face in their affliction.
6
Let us return to the Lord. He has stricken, but he will bind us up. He will come to us like rain. Ephraim’s faithlessness is like a morning cloud, or the dew that disappears. The Lord wants his people to know Him rather than merely sacrifice to Him. The priests of Shechem are like a band of robbers that lie in wait for a man. Lewdness and harlotry is committed in Ephraim.
7
Israel thinks the Lord has forgotten their wickedness. Israel’s heart is inflamed after idols, like a baker’s oven. Israel has mixed itself with other peoples. Israel is like a silly dove, calling to Egypt and flying to Assyria. Woe to them, for they have fled from me!
8
The Lord’s anger is aroused because of idols, such as Samaria’s calf. They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. Israel like a wild donkey that has wandered to Assyria. Israel considers God’s law a strange thing. Because Israel has forgotten its maker, fire shall be sent against its cities.
9
Israel has played the harlot against God. Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and eat unclean things in Assyria. Sacrifices will become like the bread of mourning, defiling all who eat it. Egypt shall punish Israel, as corrupt now as in the days of Gibeah (see Judges 19). God will send barrenness and bereavement to Israel. The root of Ephraim is dried up; they shall be wanderers among the nations.
10
Israel has emptied its vine, and has an empty throne. Israel’s high places will be destroyed, and thorn and thistle grow on their altars. The altars shall say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’ Like unruly farm animals, God will control and guide Israel and Judah, even if they kick against Him. Sow righteousness, and reap mercy. Sustained agricultural metaphors – you have eaten the fruit of lies.
11
Ephraim is represented as an ungrateful child, responding to God’s loving care with ingratitude. Assyria shall be Ephraim’s king. However, God takes no pleasure in chastening. The roar of the Lord will recall Israel.
12
Ephraim feeds on the wind. Ancient Jacob is an example of Israel’s present deceit. Though Israel is confident in its wealth, God will bring them low. The idols at Gilead and Gilgal are vanity. A connection is made between the coming exile of Israel and the exile of Jacob when he fled from Esau to his uncle Laban in Syria. Prophets delivered and preserved Israel, and therefore Israel’s rejection of the prophets will incur the Lord’s wrath.
13
God never blessed Israel when they worshipped Baal, but that didn’t stop them. The shall be as the morning cloud and the early dew that passes away. Like a lion, the Lord will tear Israel apart. The Lord is Israel’s king – where is any other? The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon Ephraim. Dryness and barrenness is prophesied.
14
Israel should turn in repentance to the Lord, acknowledging that Assyria cannot save them. The Lord will heal their backsliding, and be as a dew to them, causing them to grow like a lily or a vine. The beauty of Israel shall be like an olive tree. Renewed Israel turns away from idols. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
1
The word of the Lord comes to Hosea in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Judah) and Jeroboam (Israel). God commands Hosea to marry a prostitute to illustrate that the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. Hosea dutifully marries Gomer. Hosea is commanded to call his son Jezreel – referring to the valley where Jehu murdered all the descendants of Ahab. God says he will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu. Hosea also has a daughter, called Lo-Ruhamah (no mercy). There will be no mercy for Israel, and mercy on the house of Judah. A second son is called Lo-Ammi (not my people). Judah and Israel will finally be reunified, however.
2
Israel is an adulterous wife, and her children the children of harlotry. The Lord will hedge up her way with thorns, taking away His grain, wine, wool and linen. Her feast days will cease, and her vines and fig trees be destroyed. Restoration is promised, however: the valley of Achor (the valley of ‘trouble’, where Achan’s sin was discovered and judged in Joshau 7:26) will become the door of hope. The Lord will be referred to as husband, not as master. The animals will be submissive to men. The people of God will be restored, and the land will be fruitful.
3
Hosea is commanded to go back and love Gomer. Hosea buys Gomer with fifteen shekels. The children of Israel will be deprived of their cultic practices, but then return to seek the Lord and David.
4
The land will mourn, and all who dwell there shall waste away. The priests are corrupt and ineffective. The Lord condemns idolatry and harlotry, sometimes conjoined in ritual harlotry. Do not come up to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth Aven (centres of harlotry in Israel). Israel is like a stubborn calf, which will be left to forage in open country.
5
Ephraim is defiled. Judah is little better. Ephraim shall be desolate on the day of rebuke. The princes of Judah are like those that remove a landmark (ie, change property boundaries to their advantage). The Lord will be to Ephraim like a moth, and to Judah like rottenness. King Jareb of Assyria will not be able to save Ephraim. (Jareb occurs nowhere else in scripture – it means ‘warrior’, and is probably a generic name.) The Lord will be like a lion to Judah and Ephraim, tearing them away until they seek the Lord’s face in their affliction.
6
Let us return to the Lord. He has stricken, but he will bind us up. He will come to us like rain. Ephraim’s faithlessness is like a morning cloud, or the dew that disappears. The Lord wants his people to know Him rather than merely sacrifice to Him. The priests of Shechem are like a band of robbers that lie in wait for a man. Lewdness and harlotry is committed in Ephraim.
7
Israel thinks the Lord has forgotten their wickedness. Israel’s heart is inflamed after idols, like a baker’s oven. Israel has mixed itself with other peoples. Israel is like a silly dove, calling to Egypt and flying to Assyria. Woe to them, for they have fled from me!
8
The Lord’s anger is aroused because of idols, such as Samaria’s calf. They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. Israel like a wild donkey that has wandered to Assyria. Israel considers God’s law a strange thing. Because Israel has forgotten its maker, fire shall be sent against its cities.
9
Israel has played the harlot against God. Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and eat unclean things in Assyria. Sacrifices will become like the bread of mourning, defiling all who eat it. Egypt shall punish Israel, as corrupt now as in the days of Gibeah (see Judges 19). God will send barrenness and bereavement to Israel. The root of Ephraim is dried up; they shall be wanderers among the nations.
10
Israel has emptied its vine, and has an empty throne. Israel’s high places will be destroyed, and thorn and thistle grow on their altars. The altars shall say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’ Like unruly farm animals, God will control and guide Israel and Judah, even if they kick against Him. Sow righteousness, and reap mercy. Sustained agricultural metaphors – you have eaten the fruit of lies.
11
Ephraim is represented as an ungrateful child, responding to God’s loving care with ingratitude. Assyria shall be Ephraim’s king. However, God takes no pleasure in chastening. The roar of the Lord will recall Israel.
12
Ephraim feeds on the wind. Ancient Jacob is an example of Israel’s present deceit. Though Israel is confident in its wealth, God will bring them low. The idols at Gilead and Gilgal are vanity. A connection is made between the coming exile of Israel and the exile of Jacob when he fled from Esau to his uncle Laban in Syria. Prophets delivered and preserved Israel, and therefore Israel’s rejection of the prophets will incur the Lord’s wrath.
13
God never blessed Israel when they worshipped Baal, but that didn’t stop them. The shall be as the morning cloud and the early dew that passes away. Like a lion, the Lord will tear Israel apart. The Lord is Israel’s king – where is any other? The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon Ephraim. Dryness and barrenness is prophesied.
14
Israel should turn in repentance to the Lord, acknowledging that Assyria cannot save them. The Lord will heal their backsliding, and be as a dew to them, causing them to grow like a lily or a vine. The beauty of Israel shall be like an olive tree. Renewed Israel turns away from idols. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Daniel
Heterogeneous material – the first half is narrative, the second half is apocalyptic prophecy.
The Hebrew Bible groups Daniel in the ketuvim (writings) after Esther. Christian bibles have Daniel as the last of the major prophets.
Apocalypse (revelation of a mystery) is not the same as eschatology (the study of final things), though there may be an overlap. Apocalypse is actually a unifying theme – Daniel’s ability to interpret a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten is apocalyptic; so too is Daniel’s vision, and Gabriel’s exegesis in chapter 8.
Given that the second half refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his provocative attempts to hellenise Jerusalem, there is also a link between the first and second halves in terms of holding onto one's faith in the face of coercion from a powerful non-Jew. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar as types of Antiochus?
1
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem and king Jehoiakim. The best and the brightest of Jerusalem’s young men are chosen and taken to Babylon. In Babylon, the Hebrew youths Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are groomed for the civil service, and given Babylonian names. Daniel decides that he will not defile himself with the king’s delicacies and wine. Daniel negotiates with a steward, and is allowed to live on vegetables and water. After ten days they appear more healthy than those who have eaten the king’s delicacies, so they are allowed to keep to this diet. Daniel and his companions are promoted. Daniel has understanding in dreams and visions. (Compare with Joseph – another young man promoted in exile and possessing the ability to interpret dreams.)
2
Nebuchadnezzar is troubled with a dream, of which nothing remained in the morning but an uneasy impression. The Chaldean soothsayers, when brought in before the king, could give no interpretation, as they were not in possession of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar orders the slaughter of all the soothsayers, but God reveals to Daniel Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel gives thanks to God for the knowledge granted him. Before Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel acknowledges that it was God who revealed the dream to him (compare with Joseph again). Daniel describes Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: an image appeared, having a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay. A stone, cut out without hands, struck the feet, so the rest of the image was crushed together, became as chaff, and was blown away. The stone became a great mountain and filled the earth. The interpretation is that Nebuchadnezzar is the golden head, and the other parts of the image’s body are subsequent kingdoms (Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman). When the fourth kingdom, represented by the feet, is destroyed, all other kingdoms will be destroyed along with it. The iron and clay of the feet indicates that the kingdom is partly strong, and partly weak. The fourth kingdom will be divided into ten smaller kingdoms, each represented by a toe. In this time, God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed (represented by the stone). Nebuchadnezzar praises Daniel’s God, and promotes Daniel.
3
Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden image, sixty cubits high. All Babylon’s dignitaries are gathered for the dedication of the image. Nebuchadnezzar gives a command to worship the statue, or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Certain Chaldeans tell Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel’s companions (whose Babylonian names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego) do not worship the statue. They calmly refuse to worship the statue, and are thrown into a furnace which is heated to seven times it normal heat. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego are thrown bound into the furnace. On account of the high temperature, those throwing them into the fire were burned up. Nebuchadnezzar’s counselors say four men, unbound, are walking in the midst of the fiery furnace, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. The three men leave the furnace unharmed. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the greatness of the Hebrew God who protected the three men. Nebuchadnezzar makes a proclamation that nothing evil should be said against the God of the Hebrews.
4
Nebuchadnezzar’s decree: how great are God’s signs, and how mighty His wonders! Nebucadnezzar recounts a dream of a mighty tree, which a watcher from heaven orders to be chopped down, and its stump bound with a band of iron and bronze. It is to be made wet with dew, and be with grazing beasts. Daniel interprets: Nebuchadnezzar will be humbled, and eat grass like oxen. Daniel’s interpretation if fulfilled that very hour: Nebuchadnezzar is driven from men and eats grass. His hair grows like eagle’s feathers, and his nails like bird’s claws. Nebuchadnezzar is finally restored to power, and praises God.
5
Belshazzar (who is now apparently king, though nothing is said of the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign) makes a great feast, with the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple at Jerusalem. They drink wine, and praise false gods. A hand writes a message on a wall. Belshazzar is troubled, and wishes to have the writing read and interpreted. The queen recommends Daniel. Daniel says that Belshazzar has not humbled his heart like Nebuchnezzar. The writing says mene mene tekel upharsin – God has numbered your kingdom, you have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting, and your kingdom is to be given to the Medes and the Persians. Belshazzar honours Daniel, but that night he is slain, and the kingdom falls to Darius the Mede.
6
Daniel is made one of three governors over the 120 satraps (regional rulers) in Darius’ administration. There is a plot hatched by the satraps, who persuade the king to sign a decree saying that anyone petitioning a god or man other than Darius will be thrown into a den of lions. Report reaches Darius that Daniel has prayed to his God. Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den; Darius tells Daniel that his God will protect him. The king fasts that night, and is not entertained by musicians. Daniel is found alive the following morning. Darius calls Daniel the servant of the living God. Those who accused Daniel are thrown to the lions, along with their familes, and killed. Darius decrees that all must honor the God of Daniel. Daniel prospers.
7
Daniel’s vision in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign: four beasts coming from the sea. The first (= Babylonian empire) was like a lion with eagle’s wings. Its wings were plucked off, it was lifted up and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. The second beast (= Medes empire) is a bear with three ribs between its teeth – it is commanded to devour much flesh. The third beast (= Greek empire) is a leopard with four heads and four bird’s wings on its back. It is given dominion. The fourth beast (= Greek empire) has iron teeth, and ten horns, which are then replaced by a single conspicuous horn. (The ten horns are the kings from Alexander on through the Seleucid empire; the single horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who sought to hellenise the Jewish religion.) There are a man’s eyes in his horn, and a mouth speaking pompous words. This beast is then slain and burnt. One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven. He comes to the Ancient of Days, and is given everlasting dominion. The interpretation: the four beasts are four kings – they are conquered by God, and their kingdoms are given to the people of God. The ten horns of the fourth beast (which made war on the saints) represent ten kings, to be succeeded by another, who shall subdue three kings, before being defeated by the Most High.
8
Daniel’s vision in the third year of Belshazzar’s reign: by the river Ulai, there is a ram, with two horns, one larger than the other. It pushes in all directions, and cannot be withstood. A male goat with a large horn between its eyes challenges and conquers the ram. The goat becomes great in power, but its horn is broken, and replaced by four others (= the four successors to Alexander the Great). One horn (= Antiochus IV Epiphanes) grows great towards the south, east and Glorious Land. The horn takes away daily sacrifices, and casts down the place of God’s sanctuary. The transgression of desolation will last 2300 days, then the sanctuary will be cleansed. Gabriel explains to Daniel that the vision refers to the time of the end. Further interpretation is given: the two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia; the male goat is the Greek empire. The Antiochus horn will destroy many, and then be destroyed without human means. The vision refers to many days in the future. Daniel responds to the vision with fainting and sickness.
9
Daniel knows from Jeremiah that the Babylonian exile will last seventy years. Daniel fasts and prays, confessing the sins of his people. The curses in the Law of Moses (towards the end of Deuteronomy) have come to pass. Daniel asks that God forgive and restore Jerusalem. As he prays, Daniel is visited by Gabriel. Gabriel says that in seventy weeks (meaning seventy sets of seven years, ie, 490 years), reconciliation will be made for iniquity, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, and the Most Holy anointed. From the command to restore Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah, there will be seven weeks and sixty weeks ((7+62) x 7 years = 483 years). The Messiah will be cut off, but for the sake of others, not for himself. The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. There will be a flood, and desolations are determined until the end of the war. The coming prince will make a covenant with Israel for the final unit of seven years, completing the seventy weeks prophesied for the Jewish people and Jerusalem. The covenant will be broken in the middle of this final seven year period. On the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, until the consummation is determined.
10
Daniel’s vision in the third year of Cyrus’ reign. Daniel has been mourning for three weeks. On the banks of the Tigris, Daniel sees a glorious man clothed in linen, girded with a golden belt; his face was like lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet were like burnished bronze, and his voice like that of a multitude. Daniel’s companions do not see the vision – but they are terrified nonetheless, and flee. The glorious man says he has faced opposition from the prince of the kingdom of Persia, and was helped by the prince Michael. Daniel feels overwhelmed by weakness, but is reassured and told to be strong. The glorious person says he must fight the prince of Persia and then the prince of Greece. Michael assists him. He has confirmed and strengthened Darius.
11
Three kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be richer than them all, and fight against Greece. A mighty king’s empire (Alexander’s) will be divided into four parts at his death. The southern part shall become the strongest (Ptolemy’s). Joined by a marriage, the kings of the North and South will be allies for a while, but the arrangement will not last (marriage between Antiochus II of the Seleucids and Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II. There was peace for a time because of this marriage, but it was upset when Ptolemy II died: Antiochus II put away Berenice and took back his former wife, Laodice. She poisons her husband and has Berenice killed). From the South, an army will defeat the kingdom of the North (Ptolemy III, avenging the murder of Berenice his sister, invaded Syria and humbled Seleucus II). The sons of the kings of the North will continue the battle. One of the sons will conquer the Holy Land which stood as a buffer between the kings of the South and the kings of the North. The king of the South will gain an upper hand over the king of the North, who will occupy the Holy Land (‘Glorious Land’) (Antiochus III was defeated at the battle of Raphia, and forced to give back dominion over the Holy Land to Ptolemy IV). The king of the North will then occupy the Glorious Land (Antiochus III invaded Egypt again, gaining final control over the armies of Ptolemy V and over the Holy Land). The king of the South will give his daughter to the king of the North (Antiochus III giving his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy V of Egypt). The king of the North shall stumble and fall (Antiochus III tried to pillage a Babylonian temple and was killed by enraged local citizens). The reign of the succeeding king of the North will be brief (Seleucus III). In his place shall arise a vile person (Antiochus IV), who will use flattery and intrigue, and fail to conquer the king of the South. He will take away daily sacrifices, and place the abomination of desolation in the temple. He will exalt himself and speak blasphemies, worshipping a god of fortresses. The king of the North and the king of the South shall form an alliance to attack him. Many countries will be overthrown, but news from the east and the north shall trouble him. When he comes to his end, no one will help him.
12
Michael shall stand up at a time of trouble. The Jewish people shall be delivered, if their name is found written in the book. The dead will be resurrected, some to everlasting life, some to everlasting contempt. The righteous and wise shall shine like the stars. Daniel is told to shut up his words, and seal the book until the end of time. The time of trouble will be for a time, times and half a time (ie, three and a half years). God will purify and preserve His people, and has set a limit of days to the time of trouble. There will be 1290 days from the setting up of the abomination of desolation to the final consummation of all things. Blessed is he who waits to day 1335. Daniel is told to go his way.
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