Age of the Prophets From the reign of Solomon to the exile in Babylon and back home again.

What is a prophet? A prophet is one who speaks for...

GOD!!!

Amos w Was from a town called Tekoa near Bethlehem located in the southern kingdom of Judah w Was sent by God to prophesy in the northern kingdom of Israel

w His name means “load bearer” w Predicted two things: Israel would be overtaken by an enemy The people would be exiled w Was sent back to Judah by the authorities

Hosea w Began his preaching within a few years of Amos’s return w His name means “God has saved” w Delivered his message to the northern kingdom of Israel

Hosea’s key message to the Israelites was that their worship to God must be sincere.

Elijah w His name means “My God is Yahweh” w Spoke to the people of the northern kingdom

w The king of Israel was Ahab w He was married to a woman named Jezebel w She led Ahab to her false God named Baal w Elijah challenged this false god to prove that he indeed was greater than God.

Unfortunately, none of the prophets were successful in convincing the ancient Israelites to return to God and what was foretold to them by Amos came true...

Assyrian Invasion w The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians w The invasion occurred in the year 722 BC

God was not ready to give up. He sent more prophets to the southern kingdom of Judah in hopes that they would return to lives of faith, especially after seeing what had happened to the northern kingdom of Israel!

Micah w His name means “one who is like Yahweh” w He was from a town called Moresheth which was about 25 miles from Jerusalem

Micah’s message to the people is still popular today: “Live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God.”

Isaiah w His name means “Yahweh is salvation” w He lived in the city of Jerusalem w He told the people that if they were sorry and changed their ways, God would give them peace forever

Jeremiah w He is referred to as the reluctant prophet. w What do you think that means? w He told the people of the city of Jerusalem that he was their last chance. w They chose not to believe!

The Babylonian Invasion w In the year 587 BC, the Babylonians conquered the Assyrian Empire w From there, they extended their conquest to the southern kingdom of Judah

w The Babylonians were led by a man named Nebuchadnezzar w He destroyed much of Jerusalem, including the Temple built by Solomon. w What important thing would that include?

w King Nebuchadnezzar sent the Israelites into exile in Babylon w Though not slaves, they were not the free people that God wished them to be. w Do you recall what story we studied that was written during this time of exile and why it was written?

w It was during their time of exile that the ancient Israelites realized what they had been doing wrong and that their faith in God should have been everlasting. w But, by now living in exile, they came to believe that God had abandoned them as punishment for abandoning Him.

But... w We know that is not how God thinks or works! w God needed to send another prophet to them to tell them that God still loved them and would return them to their Promised Land. w And that prophet was…...

Ezekiel w He is referred to as the prophet of hope w He had been a priest at the Temple w He was with the Israelites during the Babylonian Exile

The Persian Empire w In the year 539 BC the powerful Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians w They were led by a man known as Cyrus the Great.

w Cyrus, though not a follower of God, did believe in a god of divine power. w He respected the beliefs of the ancient Israelites. w Through what is known as the Edict of Cyrus, the Israelites were free to return home and rebuild their lives and their relationship with God!

The prophets are often referred to as the “conscience of Israel.” Why is that an appropriate way to describe them?