This final section of the Old Testament is a plea to Israel and Judah to return to the God of their fathers as a longsuffering God cries through His prophets, admonishing the people to change their wicked ways.
In the north, not one good king presided over the nation. The many years of calf worship instituted by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, eroded the moral and spiritual fiber of the nation. They became an apathetic people consumed with the pursuit of things. So intense was the desire to accumulate goods, that bloodshed and extortion were exacted neighbor against neighbor. The throne itself passed from one dynasty to another in a succession of murders.
In the south, the few good kings could not stop the growing wave of materialism and idolatry in their midst.
The pinnacle of wealth corresponded with the great military might of Jeroboam II, grandson of Jehu, in the north and with the long reign of Uzziah in the south. Through a succession of military victories, Jeroboam II extended the eastern border of Israel beyond that of Solomon’s reign. In so doing, he controlled the major trade routes of the area and great wealth flowed into the northern kingdom of Israel. At the same time, the successful campaigns of Uzziah to the south brought a period of affluence and peace to Judah.
This period of prosperity should have been a time of reflection on the source of the good gifts. Instead, worship of the God of Abraham was forsaken for worship of the sun, moon and stars and the idols of the heathen.
This world, very similar to our western societies in the late 20th century, is the setting for some of the books of the minor prophets.
Nine of the books carry the theme of warning: Return to the God of your fathers or you will be sent into exile. The last three prophets deal with the captives who returned after the exile.
In the Hebrew arrangement of the Old Testament, the 12 books represent one book. The title “Minor prophets” is in relation to the size of these books compared to the major prophetic works of Isaiah through Daniel.
Following is a short synopsis of each book.
Hosea (Yah is help)
Based on the kings listed in 1:1, Hosea’s reign could have been as long as 70 years. The contemporary kings were Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel. While Uzziah reigned 52 years, it should be remembered that during the latter part of this period, his leprosy reduced him to a co-regency with Jotham, his son.
Jeroboam II was the third and most successful king in the dynasty of Jehu. As noted in the introduction, his military campaigns were remarkably successful and he was able to extend Israel’s control over lucrative trade routes. At the same time, Uzziah greatly strengthened Judah’s defenses, secured control over all her territory and forced neighboring nations to pay him tribute.
An enacted parable involving Hosea was intended to remind the people of the exalted status they were given as the chosen people of God. In Hosea’s life, God called a wayward woman to a new life and an exalted status as Hosea’s wife. However, like Israel, the woman had no respect for her husband or the grand status bestowed upon her and returned to her former way of life. Subsequently, in the marketplace, Hosea saw her on the auction block to be sold as a slave. In great compassion, he redeemed her but did not immediately restore her status. A time of repentance was needed and had to be served both by Gomer, the woman, and Israel, the nation.
The exhortation through the prophet is to return to covenant relationship with God, to forsake idols, to restore justice, end the bloodshed and replace trust in foreign alliances with trust in God.
The parable reveals the great and abiding love of God for His people.
Joel (Yah is God)
A definite time frame is not supplied for the prophecy of Joel. The book centers around an impending invasion of the land which is likened to a plague of locusts and is given in great detail.
The fourfold invasion is portrayed by four different Hebrew words for locust. Each succeeding swarm completes its phase of damage until utter desolation is the result.
A recurrent phrase in the book is “the day of the LORD.” Considering the blessings promised to Abraham, an average Israelite might assume a day of the Lord must surely be to Israel’s benefit. However, as he should have realized from the blessings and cursing’s given from Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, national blessing was conditional upon national obedience. By forsaking the faith of Abraham and by disobeying the law, the presence of the Lord was going to mean swift judgment, as swift and thorough as the four armies of swarming locusts.
Joel’s prophecy ends with natural Israel experiencing the glories of the coming day of the Lord. But this must be preceded by a process of purging. The days of Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman and Gogian invasion lay before the nation. The message of the prophet is to proclaim a fast, return to the God of their fathers and repent from the evil of the day. Ultimately, a glorious future would be brought to pass, but, if they did not repent, the day of the Lord’s punishment rested upon them.
Appropriately, on the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted the words of Joel in relation to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. Those who would respond at that time would participate in the glorious future portrayed by Joel. But those who refused would be engulfed by the swarming Romans in A.D. 70.
While the need to return to God is expressed with great urgency, continued Jewish history reveals it has not yet penetrated the heart of the nation.
Amos (burden bearer)
The time of great wealth that occurred during the reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam II did not benefit all of the people. With the increased standard of living, an equally sharp decrease was noted in moral and civil standards. The wealthy bought up the land of the poorer Israelites, thereby destroying the perpetual family inheritance of the land. Without land to live on, the poor were oppressed and sunk deeper into poverty and bondage.
Justice was sold to the highest bidder as the ethics of local, tribal and national judges were corrupted. Morality declined and the priestly orders gave no heed to the spiritual condition of the people. Since prosperity abounded for the leading families, surely God must be with them!
Amos, a sheep herder from Tekoa, a town 12 miles south of Jerusalem, delivered the majority of his message in Bethel, one of the two centers of idolatrous worship established by Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat. The prophet’s message was against Jeroboam II and the idolatry of the people in pursuing gods of silver and gold. The site of Bethel reinforced the link between the two historical periods and should not have been missed by the people.
While the people were absorbed in their prosperity of the moment, Amos addressed the impending doom of the land for their indulgence in self and their dedication to the goods of this world. Amos did not attack wealth as such; his words were against those who made themselves rich by extortion, oppression of the poor and shedding of blood.
Among the allegories in the book is one that is particularly appropriate for our own time. A plumbline is a carpenter’s tool to ensure the straightness of a building. Our walk must be measured against that of the Lord Jesus for his life provides a straight manifestation of the principles of godliness.
Amos exhorted the people to prepare to meet their God. That meeting came quickly for his hearers. Jeroboam was the last king of Israel to have his son succeed him on the throne. The remaining years of the northern kingdom were filled with the blood of anarchy. The love of riches blinded the nation, and for this, God “would not turn away the punishment thereof.”
Obadiah (servant of Yah)
This short book deals with judgment upon Edom and expresses the enmity which existed between Jacob and Esau. When Babylon overthrew Jerusalem, Edom helped them and then took advantage of the defenseless condition of the city to plunder it (cp. II Chr 36:11-21; Obad. 10-14). Through Obadiah, God declared Edom’s doom for her action against His people.
In 582 BC, the Babylonians captured the Edomite stronghold of Petra, which was generally thought to be impregnable. The same Babylonians the Edomites had helped were used by God to bring about Edom’s destruction.
Herod the Idumean was an Edomite. Being in favor with Rome, his family harassed the Jews of Christ’s time. But the line of Herod’s ceased in 70 AD and the Edomites have vanished from history (Obad. 18).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One