1. KIDZTOWN ADULT TRAINING Unit: Great Prophets – Oct 2013

2. Unit: Great Prophets Week 1 – Amos, Prophet to Israel (Amos 1-9) Week 2 – Hosea, Prophet to Israel (Hosea 1-14) Week 3 – Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh (Jonah 1-4) Week 4 – Joel, Prophet to Judah (Joel 1-3) 2

3. Background Information

4. The Minor Prophets 1. The title “Minor Prophets” refers only to the relative length of their writings compared to the “major” prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. 2. All twelve writings would fit on one large scroll 3. Prophet - Definition 4 Background Information

5. The Minor Prophets Prophet – “one who speaks for another; who utters the words that another has put into his mouth. His communications may have reference to the past, to the present, or to the future; and may also extend to absolute and universal truth. These communications constitute prophecy.” John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Introduction to the Minor Prophets (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 4. 5 Background Information

6. The Minor Prophets I. The title “Minor Prophets” refers only to the relative length of their writings compared to the “major” prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. II. All twelve writings would fit on one large scroll III. Prophet – Definition IV. Prophetic Utterance - Explanation 6 Background Information

7. The Minor Prophets 7 “Many portions of the prophetical writings are of such a character, that the writers could not have recorded them without a special communication from heaven. They are strictly speaking, Revelations. Other portions are not of this nature. They are such as must have been familiar to the sacred writers. Historical incidents were continually occurring around them of which they were cognizant. While it is evident that a supernatural knowledge was necessary in the former case, it is not so evident in the latter. They might have recorded historical events, as other historians have done, without any special divine aid. They might have done so, but they did not. In the former case they spoke by revelation, and in the latter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This they claim, and the writers of the New Testament accord it to them (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21). They preface their announcements with “Thus saith the Lord’.” John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Introduction to the Minor Prophets (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 5. Background Information

8. The Minor Prophets I. The title “Minor Prophets” refers only to the relative length of their writings compared to the “major” prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. II. All twelve writings would fit on one large scroll III. Prophet – Definition IV. Prophetic Utterance – Explanation V. Prophetic Role - Watchman 8 Background Information

9. The Minor Prophets 9 “The prophets had a practical office to discharge. It was part of their commission to show the people of God “their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”—(Is. 58:1; Ezek. 22:2; 43:10; Micah 3:8.) They were, therefore, pastors and ministerial monitors of the people of God. It was their duty to admonish and reprove, to denounce prevailing sins, to threaten the people with the terrors of divine judgment and call them to repentance. They also brought the message of consolation and pardon (Is. 40:1, 2). They were watchmen set upon the walls of Zion to blow the trumpet and give timely warning of approaching danger (Ezek. 3:17; 33:7, 8, 9; Jer. 6:17; Is. 62:6).” John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Introduction to the Minor Prophets (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 7. Background Information

10. 10 Background Information

11. Lesson 1: October 6, 2013 AMOS, Prophet to Israel Amos 1-9

12. Amos: Historical Background 12 I. Preached in Bethel of the Northern Kingdom somewhere in the period of 762-750 BC. Lesson 1

13. 13 Lesson 1

14. Amos: Historical Background 14 I. Preached in Bethel of the Northern Kingdom around 760-750 BC. II. Both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms enjoyed tremendous economic gain. III. Both kingdoms together nearly encompassed the territory held under David and Solomon. IV. The affluence was waning and catastrophe awaited the Northern Kingdom in less than 40 years (722 BC). Lesson 1

15. Amos: Historical Background 15 V. Jeroboam II – Israel (793-753 BC) Uzziah (Azariah) – Judah (792-740 BC) VI. The worship of foreign deities continued while many elements of the worship of Yahweh continued. VII. The economic success was highly concentrated among the elite and ruling classes. Lesson 1

16. Amos: Authorship 16 I. Lived in the first half of the 8 th century BC. II. Hometown was Tekoa. Lesson 1

17. 17 Lesson 1

18. Amos: Authorship 18 I. Lived in the first half of the 8 th century BC. II. Hometown was Tekoa (5 miles S of Bethlehem). III. Traditionally believed to be part of the lower classes because: A. He was a shepherd (1:1) B. Also worked as a “dresser” or “piercer” of sycamore figs trees (7:14) Lesson 1

19. Amos: Authorship 19 IV. He had no formal education like the prophets Samuel, Elijah and Elisha. V. Yet his style shows a strong influence from the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT). VI. He was never officially anointed for ministry as other prophets. VII. Apparently he was an earnest student of God’s word who answered God’s call on his life and believed God would work through him. Lesson 1

20. Amos: Purpose 20 “The central theme of his prophecy was Yawheh’s faithfulness to His covenant and to His holy law, and the strict accountability of His people Israel to a practical observance of their covenant obligations. Amos earnestly stressed their duty of cordial compliance with the legal code of the Torah, both in letter and in spirit. Israel’s failure to present to the Lord a true and living faith and their attempt to foist upon Him the wretched substitute of mere empty profession could lead only to the utter ruin and destruction of the nation.” Gleason Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (3rd. ed.; Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 351. Lesson 1

21. Amos: Date of Writing 21 I. Traditionally agreed to the middle of latter years of Jeroboam II’s reign (≈760 BC). II. Newer scholarship estimates around Jeroboam’s death (750-748 BC). Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 370-71. Lesson 1

22. Amos: Outline 22 I. (Amos 1:1–2)—Introduction of Amos, the shepherd II. (Amos 1:3–2:5)—Oracles against “outsiders” III. (Amos 2:6–3:15)—Israel’s offenses; Yahweh’s judgment IV. (Amos 4:1–13)—Covenant infractions V. (Amos 5:1–6:14)—Lament and woes VI. (Amos 7:1–9:10)—Visions of judgment VII. (Amos 9:11–15)—Promises of restoration Elaine A. Phillips, Amos, Book Of, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz, The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012). Lesson 1

23. Amos: Theological Themes 23 I. Divine sovereignty and judgment II. Idolatry and social justice III. The covenant and the remnant IV. The Day of the Lord V. God’s Word Lesson 1

24. Hosea, Prophet to Israel (Hosea 1-14) Lesson 2: October 13, 2013

25. Hosea: Historical Background 25 I. Preached to the Northern Kingdom although Judah’s mentioned incidentally. II. Hosea picks up where Amos left off. III. Intermittent sermons which may have spanned a period of 25 or more years. (Prior to 753 BC through later than 732.) IV. The golden age of Jeroboam II came to an end. Lesson 2

26. Hosea: Historical Background 26 V. Assyria had asserted dominance once again after the death of Jeroboam II. VI. Four of the last six Northern kings would rule for less than three years each. VII. Syro-Ephraimite Conflict (735-734 BC) VIII. The Baal worship of Omri had all but disappeared but the golden calves of Bethel and Dan, the Asherah cult, and the high places were still a problem. Lesson 2

27. Hosea: Authorship 27 I. “Hosea the son of Beeri” (1:1) II. Liberal critics question authenticity of passages which mention Judah and those which discuss salvation. Lesson 2

28. Hosea: Purpose 28 “The purpose of the author is to convince his fellow countrymen that they need to repent and return in contrition to their patient and ever- loving God. Both threat and promise [is] presented from the standpoint of Yahweh’s love to Israel as His own dear children and as His covenant wife.” Gleason Archer Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. (3rd. ed.; Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 356. Lesson 2

29. Hosea: Date of Writing 29 Between 734 and 722 BC  King Menahem’s payment of tribute to to Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria (ca. 739 BC; hinted at in 5:13; 8:9; 12:1)  The Fall of Samaria (722 BC; Hosea does not mention this event)  If 5:8-6:6 is a reference to the Syro- Ephraimite Conflict, this narrow downs as well (735-734 BC) Lesson 2

30. Hosea: Outline 30 I. (Hos 1:1–3:5)—The wife/Israel and God II. (Hos 4:1–11:11)—The son/Israel and God III. (Hos 4:1–5:7)—A perverse priesthood, a wanton cult, a licentious people IV. (Hos 5:8–8:14)—A politics of self-destruction V. (Hos 9:1–11:11)—A people’s history of infidelity VI. (Hos 11:12–14:9)—The wife and son/Israel and God VII. (Hos 11:12–13:16)—God’s indictment of a nation VIII. (Hos 14:1–9)—God’s blessing of a nation Trent C. Butler, Hosea, Book Of, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz, The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012). Lesson 2

31. Hosea: Theological Themes 31 I. The Covenant – Each blessing and curse given by Hosea is based upon a corresponding type in the Mosaic Law. II. Marriage Metaphor – Hosea was the first to use so directly to represent the divine-human covenant. III. Judgment and Salvation – apostasy was the root problem led by the leaders of the nation. But God’s ultimately gracious. Lesson 2

32. Jonah, Prophet to Nineveh (Jonah 1-4) Lesson 3: October 20, 2013

33. Jonah: Historical Background 33 I. Preached in the capital city Nineveh of the Assyrian Empire sometime between 782 – 745 BC. Lesson 3

34. Jonah: Historical Background 34 “This makes it virtually certain that we should place the story of the book in the period of Assyrian weakness between the death of Adad- nirari III in 782 B. C. and the seizing of the Assyrian throne by Tiglath-pileser III in 745 B. C. During this time, Assyria was engaged in a life and death struggle with the mountain tribes of Urartu and its associates of Mannai and Madai in the north, who had been able to push their frontier to within less than a hundred miles of Nineveh. The consciousness of weakness and possible defeat would go far to explain the readiness of Nineveh to accept the prophet’s message.” H. L. Ellison, “Jonah,” EBC, 361. Lesson 3

35. Jonah: Historical Background 35 I. Preached in the capital city Nineveh of the Assyrian Empire sometime between 782 – 745 BC. II. Jonah’s prophetic ministry was shortly before and/or during the reign of Jeroboam II. III. This time period was the ascension of both Jewish kingdoms to their near former glory in terms of economic and military success. Lesson 3

36. 36 Lesson 3

37. Jonah: Authorship 37 I. Author is unidentified. II. Authorship depends upon historicity A. Acceptance of the miraculous – Jonah B. Rejection of the miraculous - unknown Lesson 3

38. Jonah: Purpose 38 Speaking conservatively, two views compete for the purpose of the book of Jonah. The most popular is expressed by Gleason Archer... miraculous - unknown Lesson 3

39. Jonah: Purpose 39 The theme of this prophecy (which is really a biography rather than a sermonic discourse) is that God’s mercy and compassion extend even to the heathen nations on condition of their repentance. It is therefore Israel’s obligation to bear witness to them of the true faith; and a neglect of this task may bring the nation, like Jonah himself, to the deep waters of affliction and chastisement. Archer, Old Testament, 341-42. Lesson 3

40. Jonah: Purpose 40 The book is not configuring Israel as Jonah and thereby urging action (e.g., evangelize, forgive, be compassionate, etc.). Rather it is identifying all three (Jonah, Nineveh, and Israel) as the object of God’s activity. God reserves the sovereign right to be compassionate, and he delights in performing acts of compassion—even when those acts controvert an already issued prophetic warning. Hill and Walton, Old Testament, 387. Lesson 3

41. Jonah: Date of Writing 41 I. Traditionally around 760 BC II. Critical scholars place around 430 BC around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. III. Conservative compromise view combines both of the above. Lesson 3

42. Jonah: Outline 42 I. The First Commission of Jonah 1:1–2:10 A. The Disobedience to the First Call 1:1–3 B. The Judgment on Jonah Is Exacted 1:4–17 C. The Prayer of Jonah 2:1–9 D. The Deliverance of Jonah 2:10 II. The Second Commission of Jonah 3:1–4:11 A. The Obedience to the Second Call 3:1–4 B. The Judgment on Nineveh Averted 3:5–10 C. The Prayer of Jonah 4:1–3 D. The Rebuke of Jonah by God 4:4–11 Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts: Old and New Testaments (Rev. and updated ed.; Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996). Lesson 3

43. Jonah: Major Themes 43 I. God’s Compassion – as part of His nature and His right to exercise it on whomever He will. II. God’s Anger – His anger against Nineveh gave rise to His compassion for Nineveh. III. Theodicy – we all struggle to understand why God sometimes does the things He does which seem unfair to us. Lesson 3

44. Joel, Prophet to Judah (Joel 1-3) Lesson 4: October 27, 2013

45. Joel: Historical Background 45 I. There are 12 other men in the bible named Joel and none of them can be positively identified with “Joel, the son of Pethuel” (1:1) II. Theory: so little biographical information included because he was so well known by his target audience. III. The best we can do is make observations from the book itself and make deductions. Two scenarios follow. Lesson 4

46. Joel: Historical Background-Scenario 1 46 I. Probably written after the outbreak of a locust plague (chap 1) but which one? II. Apparently the temple was operating routinely so this rules out 586 –416 BC. III. Lots of other nations are mentioned but most are traditional enemies of Israel. However, neither the Assyrians nor Babylonians are mentioned. If this fact may be argued from silence, then the book was before the domination of Assyria (mid-eighth century) or after the fall of Babylon (late sixth century). Lesson 4

47. Joel: Historical Background-Scenario 1 47 IV. The book suggests a time when the leadership was in the hands of the elders and priests because there’s no mention of kings or royal officials. Again, this is another argument from silence. Suggestions offered are postexilic or during the early reign of Joash (child king) in the late ninth century. V. Yet another argument from silence is the lack of mention of the northern kingdom. The designation of Judah as “Israel” presumes a time when the northern kingdom had been carried off into exile (722 BC). In other postexilic books Judah’s also referred to as “Israel”. Lesson 4

48. Joel: Historical Background-Scenario 1 48 VI. There are numerous agreements in phraseology and concepts between Joel and other prophetic books. Numerous reasons may account for this, but most scholars believe Joel was dependent on earlier texts. VII. God gradually reveals Himself to Israel as evidenced by the writings we have. Joel’s book speaks of God from a point of view much closer to the time of the closing of the OT. Lesson 4

49. Joel: Historical Background-Scenario 1 49 VIII. References to the dispersion of the Jews into surrounding lands could be significant for a postexilic date except such an action was a rather routine action on the part of conquering nations. Sennacherib of the Assyrians had already subjected Judah to a major deportation (701 BC). IX. Another argument from silence is the lack of a polemic against syncretized worship or the worship of foreign deities, indictments so characteristic of preexilic prophecy. X. Bottom line – late sixth century to mid-fifth century. Dillard and Longman, Old Testament, 365–67. Everything’s taken from this text. Hill and Walton follow this dating scheme as well. Hill and Walton, Old Testament, 366. Lesson 4

50. Joel: Historical Background-Scenario 2 50 I. The minority of King Joash (835–796 BC), during the regency of Jehoiada [jeh HOI uh duh], the high priest, about 830 BC because... A. The type of government implied by these prophetic utterances best accords with a regency. B. There is distinct evidence of borrowing, as between Amos and Joel. (Amos borrowed from Joel, not vice versa.) C. There is no reference to the Assyrians or Chaldeans (to say nothing of the Persians), but the foes of Judah are stated to be the Phoenicians, the Philistines, the Egyptians, and the Edomites (cf Joel 3:4, 19). This points to a period when Assyria and Babylon posed no threat, but Egypt and the surrounding neighbors of Israel were still strong and aggressive. Lesson 4

51. Joel: Purpose 51 The main event of the book is the Day of the Lord. Joel calls on the people to repent yet he doesn’t say what the particular sin or sins happened to be. Apparently the people complied for 2:18–19 presents God speaking in the past tense with regard to His favor. Hill and Walton, Old Testament, 367. Lesson 4

52. Joel: Outline 52 I. Plague of locusts as a type of the day of Yahweh, 1:1–2:11 A.Tremendous devastation by the locust horde, 1:1–7 B.This invasion a prefiguration of the human invaders of the future (Assyrians and Chaldeans), 1:8–20 C.Day of Yahweh as a day of reckoning, 2:1–11 II. Call to repentance, 2:12–19 A.External forms of contrition as well as sincere heart repentance, 2:12–15 B.Repentance on a nationwide scale, including all classes and ages, 2:16–17 C.Promise of the returning mercy of the Lord (apparently fulfilled in the reign of Joash), 2:18–19 Lesson 4

53. Joel: Outline 53 III. Promise of showers of blessing, 2:20–32 A.Terrible overthrow of Israel’s invaders from the north, 2:20 1. Sennacherib 2. The world power of the last days B.Rain from the Lord after locust plague and drought, 2:21–27 C.This rain a prefiguration of outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days (beginning at Pentecost), 2:28–32; meteoric signs the final phase of the last days (cf. Matt. 24:29) Lesson 4

54. Joel: Outline 54 IV. Final triumph of God in the day of Yahweh, 3:1–21 A.Final slaughter of unbelievers; divine judgment upon the final dictator, 3:1–16 1. Foreshadowing judgment upon Phoenicia and Philistia, now oppressing Judah, 3:1–13 2. Foreshadowing triumphs of the Maccabean age, 3:14–16 B.Millennial triumph and peace for Jerusalem, including the whole family of the redeemed, 3:17–21 Archer, Old Testament 338. Lesson 4

55. Joel: Major Themes 55 I. “God is sovereignly guiding the affairs of earth’s history toward his preconceived final goal (1:15; 2:1–4, 18, 20, 25–27, 28–32; 3:1–21).” II. “When sin becomes the dominant condition of God’s people, they must be judged (1:15; 2:1, 11–13).” III. Eschatology and The Day of the Lord. Patterson, “Joel” EBC, 234-35. Lesson 4