WebIsaiah's time, Babylonian exile, and return to exile 21 Q Where did Jeremiah live when he was called to be a prophet? WebJeremiah is allowed to remain in Jerusalem. Israel would reply, Accept our God as your God, love and serve Him as we do, and He will do the same for you. The blessings thus assured Israel were, on the same conditions and in the same degree, assured to every nation and to every individual under the broad heavens see Acts 10:34, 35; 15:7-9; Romans 10:12, 13; etc.). In the endeavor to account for this seeming enigma, Bible expositors have set forth various explanations: 1. WebIsaiah lived about 100 years before Jeremiah. According to this view, Jeremiah said, in effect, that Jerusalem would be deserted for about 70 years, about the length of a persons life. Because I find it hard to think about BC dates, I've also included the number of years since the end of Solomon's, so that we have a scale of increasing year numbers. The gates of Jerusalem would be open continually to receive the wealth contributed to Israel for the conversion of still other nations and peoples (Isaiah 60:1-11, RSV; Psalms 72:10; Isaiah 45:14; Haggai 2:7, RSV). It was last of all that God sent unto them his son, according to Christs own words (Matthew 21:37), but they caught him and slew him (verse 39). It was their unwillingness to submit to the restrictions and requirements of God that prevented them, to a great extent, from reaching the high standard which He desired them to attain, and from receiving the blessings which He was ready to bestow upon them. The Assyrian capital city of Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the combined forces of Media and Babylonia in 612 B.C., which is, accordingly, the latest possible date for Nahum. Hearing of all the advantages with which the God of Israel had blessed His people and all the prosperity He had procured for them (Jeremiah 33:9), the pagan nations would admit that their own fathers had inherited lies (chapter 16:19). In Him I have placed my trust, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne. (Q. Thus it was with Moses, of whom, to the very day of his death, it could be said that his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (Deuteronomy 34:7). 2. The late date is taken here, without prejudice toward an early one. But Judah failed to learn the lesson, and a little more than a century later her apostasy, also, was complete (see Jeremiah 22:6, 8, 9; Ezekiel 16:37; 7:2-15; 12:3-28; 36:18-23). We should never forget that whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for the learning of future generations to the end of time, to inspire patience, comfort, and hope (Romans 15:4). Both of these extreme methods wrest the obvious intent of the Scriptures and render a sound understanding of the messages of the prophets for the church today unattainable. WebIsaiah, the first of the prophets considered "major," had an active ministry that centered in Jerusalem. EZEKIEL is born Josiah tries to purify the land 612 Ninevah destroyed according to Nahum's prophecy in the Book of Nahum 1:1-3:19 as prophecied in 663-654BC. But maybe it wasnt at that spot. It ignores the plain statements of the Old Testament that Gods promises to Israel were all conditional. Gods word is sure (Isaiah 40:8; 55:11; Romans 11:29), and His plan for the salvation of man will ultimately prevail (Isaiah 46:10). Few passages of Scripture are more commonly misunderstood and variously interpreted than those containing the divine promises made to ancient Israel through the prophets. The glorious promises originally made to literal Israel are meeting their fulfillment today in the proclamation of the gospel to all men (Revelation 14:6, 7). Its people were given no promise of complete restoration to their former power in Palestine. The student of the Bible who hopes to secure from it the greatest help will first proceed to reconstruct the historical context of each passage. What is fascinating is that the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah were all contemporaries. Scholars differ widely in their views concerning the time of Joels ministry. 7. They forfeited Gods blessing because of failure to fulfill His purpose in making them His chosen people, and thus brought ruin upon themselves. Malachi 3:12), and their God the only true God (Isaiah 45:14). Several prophecies followed a few months later (Zechariah 1:7 to 6:15). Isaiah 2:2-4). A clear understanding of these aspects of the problem is essential to the formulation of a valid procedure for interpreting the messages of the Old Testament prophets. But it was not until his 3rd year in captivity, the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar, that young Daniel gave the first proofs of his prophetic calling (chapters 1:5, 17; 2:1, 19). Obedience to the law of God would make them marvels of prosperity before the nations of the world, living witnesses to the greatness and majesty of God (Deuteronomy 8:17, 18; 28:11-13). There was nothing God could have done for them that He did not do, yet they failed. In Israel, there was sometimes more than one prophet, and sometimes there were many prophets. All rights reserved. Jeremiah 22:26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born--and there you both will die. Nick Baumgardner, a senior writer from the same publication, predicts Notre Dames all-time sack leader will fall to the early third round in his latest mock draft.. Daniel Jeremiah, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, concurs. All the visions of Daniel recorded in chapters 7-12 were received during the last years of his life, the first one (chapter 7) in Belshazzars 1st year (552 or possibly later), and the last one (chapters 10-12) in the 3rd year of Cyrus, 536/35 B.C. It is thought that Isaiah and Micah lived at the same time and addressed different audiences. The older generation place him in the 9th century B.C., whereas most commentators are now inclined to assign him either to the time of King Josiah or to the postexilic period. This call came to him in the 13th year of King Josiah (chapters 1:2; 25:3), about 627. Indeed, this secondary application is for us today the more significant. The prophet was a citizen of Judah, but delivered messages to the kingdom of Israel as well. This form literally means that the stretching of the heavens was completed or finished some time ago. The state was still to be administered in the name, and by the authority, of God. 1:1, 6:1 - 8). Again and again He had warned His people that captivity would be the result of disobedience (see Deuteronomy 4:9; 8:9; 28:1, 2, 14, 18; Jeremiah 18:7-10; 26:2-16; Zechariah 6:15; etc.). In the inspired utterances of the prophets of old the sincere seeker for truth will thus find messages of inspiration, comfort, and guidance for today. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is impossible with God. or during the early years of his reign. In the prophetic picture God is represented as gathering the nations to Jerusalem (Joel 3:1, 2; Zephaniah 3:6-8; cf. God designed that Israels experience should prove to be a warning to Judah (see Hosea 1:7; 4:15-17; 11:12; Jeremiah 3:3-12; etc.). All who turned from idolatry to the worship of the true God, were to unite themselves with His chosen people. 4. In Gods Economy toward His Chosen People 1. WebThere are four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. As the nations of antiquity should behold Israels unprecedented progress, their attention and interest would be aroused. Post Exile c. 530 BC First view (and traditional one) is that Daniel was written immediately after the Babylonian exile ended and many Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Returning to their homelands, the Gentile ambassadors would counsel their fellow countrymen, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord (Zechariah 8:21, 22; cf. This Upper Egyptian capital city, better known by its Greek name Thebes, was destroyed by King Ashurbanipal in 663 B.C., a date that provides the upper time limit of Nahums prophecy. These observations seem to place Zephaniah in the early years of Josiahs reign, perhaps about 630 B.C., as a contemporary of Habakkuk. chapter 9:7; Isaiah 66:23). But when the Jews rejected Christ there was no such assurance of reinstatement. Without this, the people of Israel would not qualify to receive the material blessings God designed to bestow upon them. WebA radical reinterpretation of the biblical prophets by one of America's most provocative critics reveals the eternal beauty of their language and the enduring resonance of their message. To pray by faith for God to fulfill His promises, we must be obedient to Gods difficult commands. On the other hand, the destruction of Nineveh is described as an event still future (chapter 3:7). Accordingly, Abraham became in a special sense the Friend of God (James 2:23) and the father of all them that believe (Romans 4:11). The fourth school of interpretation may, at times, arrive at a valid application of the predictive portions of Old Testament prophecy to the church today and to its future experience, but neglects the primary application of these messages to their historical setting, and proceeds, quite arbitrarily, to determine that certain selected passages were written more or less exclusively for the church today. He would have come, He would have died, and would have risen again. After the murder of Gedaliah, the new governor of Judea, the Jews of Mizpah, fearing the revenge of Nebuchadnezzar, went to Egypt and took with them Jeremiah as well as his secretary Baruch (chapter 43:6). His early ministry seems to have coincided with the last years of King Uzziahs reign (see Introduction to Isaiah), but his official call to the office of a prophet came in 740/39, the last year of King Uzziah (chapter 6:1). Furthermore, the fact that the people of Tyre and Sidon do not appear as hostile nations of Judah until the last decades of its history, while they are mentioned by Joel as Judahs enemies, seems also to point to a late date for the prophets ministry. It is certain, however, that he lived and labored in the southern kingdom, and that his main prophecy dealt with Assyria in general and Nineveh in particular. Even the heathen would recognize the superiority of those who served and worshiped the living God. Thereafter, God let out his vineyard [see Isaiah 5:1-7] unto other husbandmen who would render him the fruits in their seasons (see on Matthew 21:41). The prophet Zephaniah traces his genealogy back to an important personage by the name of Hizkiah, probably King Hezekiah (the names are the same in Hebrew) of Judah. Christianity is a historical religion, and its inspired messages are anchored to the hills and valleys, the deserts and rivers, of the ancient world, and to literal men and women who once walked the earth. They grasped at the material blessings so generously offered them, but refused the spiritual graces that would have transformed their lives and fitted them to be His representatives. Sinai God entered into covenant relation with Israel as a nation (Exodus 19:1-8; 24:3-8; Deuteronomy 7:6-14) upon the same basic conditions and with the same ultimate objectives as the Abrahamic covenant. Those nations that rejected the worship and service of the true God, were to be dispossessed, and Israel would inherit the Gentiles chapter (54:3). 3. Jeremiah 49:14, 16), and Joel (Obadiah 15, 17; cf. The material advantages that Israel enjoyed were designed to arrest the attention and catch the interest of the heathen, for whom the less obvious spiritual advantages had no natural attraction. It ran from the last year Judah's King Uzziah ruled (740 B.C. Accordingly, the book can probably be dated about 425 B.C. Nick Baumgardner, a senior writer from the same publication, predicts Notre Dames all-time sack leader will fall to the early third round in his latest mock draft.. Daniel Jeremiah, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, concurs. The transition from literal Israel to spiritual Israel, or the Christian church, is the subject of Romans 9-11. The profound conviction that the messages of the prophets had been fulfilled led many to believe in Christ as the Son of God. When the siege of Jerusalem was temporarily lifted at the approach of an Egyptian force, Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of the tribe of Benjamin. They are called minor prophets because their books are less in size (these books are all very small and contain few When Messiah came, His own people, the Jews, received him not (John 1:11). WebISAIAH, DANIEL, AND ZECHARIAH We need to make a comparison between the three prophets, Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah, in two matters: in Gods economy toward His chosen people and in Christ for the people of His concern. A Anathoth 51 Q Who became king of Babylon about the same time as Jeremiah was called by God? Again and again God warned Israel that blessing goes hand in hand with obedience and that a curse accompanies disobedience (see Deuteronomy 4:9; 8:19; 28:1, 2, 13, 14; Jeremiah 18:6-10; 26:2-6; Zechariah 6:15; etc.). Any interpretation that fails to give these matters due consideration does violence to the Scriptures. Feebleness and disease were to disappear entirely from Israel as the result of strict adherence to healthful principles (see Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 7:13, 15; etc.). However, there is no valid reason why Malachi should not be considered a proper name. If the nation had been faithful to its trust and had appreciated the high destiny reserved for it by God, the whole earth would have awaited the coming of the Messiah with eager expectancy. Inasmuch as it is possible to date the kings of Judah and Israel, especially the later ones, with comparatively high accuracy, the various reigns during which these sixteen prophets ministered have been entered in this chart according to the tentative chronology used in this commentary. Solomon made his great mistake when he failed to realize the secret of Israels prosperity, and with a few noteworthy exceptions, leaders and people sank lower and lower from generation to generation until apostasy was complete (Isaiah 3:12; 9:16; Jeremiah 5:1-5; 8:10; Ezekiel 22:23-31; Micah 3). For these reasons Daniels extended prophetic ministry can be dated approximately from 603 to 535 B.C. The kings of Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia, whose dates for this period are well established, are shown in a separate column. Prophecies of the former classification cannot now be fulfilled because they were strictly conditional in nature and limited in scope, by their very nature, to literal Israel. His call came to him sometime in October/November, 520 B.C., in the same year as Haggais first appearance (chapter 1:1). The Hebrew people were to acquire wisdom and skill in all cunning work, that is, a high degree of inventive genius and ability as artisans, for the manufacture of all kinds of utensils and mechanical devices. During the reign of Zedekiah, Judahs last king, Jeremiah was thrown into prison, being considered a traitor to his country (chapter 37:11-16) because he advised his people to surrender to the Babylonians. Strangely, no evidence suggests that any of these knew in person any of the others. Isaiah is reminded who the real king is. Salvation was to be of the Jews, in that the Messiah would be a Jew (John 4:22), and by the Jews, as messengers of salvation to all men (Genesis 12:2, 3; 22:18; Isaiah 42:1, 6; 43:10; Galatians 3:8, 16, 18). The short book of Obadiah, consisting of only 21 verses, is not dated and its chronological setting is uncertain. There, he spent an unknown number of years before his return to Judea and his discovery of the abuses described in chapter 13. Here Paul affirms that the rejection of the Jews did not mean that the promises of God had taken none effect (Romans 9:6), and explains immediately that they are to become effective through spiritual Israel. Revelation 17:13, 14, 17). Since only these two kings are mentioned, Amos seems to have prophesied during the time when both kings were sole rulers in their respective kingdoms. by means of a broken line. A less-well-defined school of interpretation bases its approach to the prophetic portions of the Old Testament on the theory that the prophet, while bearing messages to the people of his day, also took occasional excursions into the distant future, with the result that many of his forecasts did not apply to literal Israel at all, but were intended exclusively for Israel after the spirit, that is, for the church today. When they brought forth wild grapes instead of the mature fruit of character, He inquired, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? (Isaiah 5:1-7). Thus Israel was to blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit (Isaiah 27:6). And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. In a mysterious way known only to God the prophets words were sometimes intended to meet their fulfillment in the then far-distant future. In one way or another each of these attempts at interpreting the messages of the Old Testament prophets neglects significant teachings of Scripture, evades fundamental principles of exegesis, and provides a distorted picture of the predictive sections of prophecy. (27-3) Ezekiel 25:3. God entered into solemn covenant relationship with him (Genesis 15:18; 17:2-7), and his posterity, Israel, inherited the sacred trust of being Gods chosen representatives on earth (Hebrews 11:9) for the salvation of the entire human race. WebBut the words of Isaiah live with the Jewish people to this day as fresh and as relevant as ever. WebBefore we begin our review of the parts of Jeremiahs early ministry, let us first set out the usual and customary picture of it. It was therefore not alone unto themselves and to their contemporaries that the prophets ministered, but also to all sincere men and women of later generations (1 Peter 1:12). It is true, he says, that national Israel stumbled at the stumblingstone, Jesus Christ (Romans 9:32, 33; 11:11; cf. The modernist school of interpretation denies the predictive element in prophecy altogether, arguing either that the predictions were written down after the events thus foretold took place or that such predictions reflected nothing more than the prophets hopes for the future, or those of his people. But it is only against the background of the original historical context of the message that its meaning and value for us can be established with certainty. 9:129) This verse first They eagerly sought the power of His kingdom, but were unwilling to be guided by its principles. WebEmphasize that when God prompted Isaiah to write about the Lord Jesus it was way before Jesus was born. The prophet Daniel later prayed for more understanding about Jeremiahs time prophecy. They were the most influential prophets to appear on the scene, and their many prophecies have been preserved in the sacred Scriptures. answer. Matthew 19:16, 17; 22:36-40). This chart shows only those events that are mentioned in the Bible and that are of importance to an understanding of the prophetic messages. The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings However, there is also no reference made to Persia, which would be expected if the book was of so late a date. The blessings of health. Those in Israel who put forth their best efforts to cooperate with the revealed will of God realized, personally, a measure of the benefits He had promised. Jeremiah had been chosen by God for his office before birth (chapter 1:5), and was called to be a prophet at a tender age (chapter 1:6, 7). For instance, the prophecy of the battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38, 39 was never fulfilled to literal Israel; but John the revelator assures us that in principle, though not necessarily in all details (such as those of Ezekiel 39:9-15), this battle will occur at the close of the millennium (Revelation 20:7-9). 1 Kings 22:28). New King James Version ), through the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, to the end of King Hezekiah's rule in 686 (Isa. According to Jewish tradition Isaiah was sawn asunder. All three of these guys have overwhelming experience where they are called to be prophets. They would send messengers to Israel with the declaration, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:23). Long before Norman Podhoretz became one of the intellectual leaders of American neoconservatism, he was a student of Hebrew literature and a passionate reader of the Discover what the message meant to the people of that time. For illustrations of the reversal of threatened judgment, see Jonah 3:3-10; cf. He belonged to a family of priests whose home town was Anathoth. Only when its leaders formally rejected the Messiah and declared before Pilate their allegiance to no king but Caesar (John 19:15) did Israel as a nation irrevocably withdraw from the covenant relationship and the theocracy. Now it is spiritual Israel, in the past not a people but now the people of God, that are to shew forth the praises of the One who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9, 10). Galatians 3:27-29; see on Deuteronomy 18:15). Many messages and prophecies can be understood correctly only if seen against the background of the time in which the prophets ministered and in the light of the events that happened during their lives. The last part of the lecture turns to Second Isaiah and the famous servant songs that find a universal significance in According to tradition, how was Isaiah killed? Uzziah was sole king over Judah from 767 to 750, and Jeroboam over Israel from 782 to 753. A Nebuchadnezzar 59 Q According to tradition, how was Isaiah killed? 4:14; Colossians 2:2-4, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; Revelation 22:18). The Temple is mentioned as still existing (chapter 2:20), which shows that the book was written before Nebuchadnezzars destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. I will call them my people, which were not my people (Romans 9:25, 26). Nations that had known nothing of the true God would run to Jerusalem because of the manifest evidence of divine blessing that attended Israel (chapter 55:5). Jeremiahs prayer occurs in a context and we would be remiss to consider the prayer apart from that context, which is, Jeremiahs obedience to some very difficult commands from God. Had Judah remained loyal to God its captivity would not have been necessary. When the probationary period of 490 years ended, the nation was still obdurate and impenitent, and as a result forfeited its privileged role as His representative on earth. This prophecy must have been pronounced either before Jeroboam came to the throne (approximately 793 B.C.) Whatever the Jews, as a nation, may do, now or in time to come, is in no way related to the former promises made to them. It was probably at this time, when Daniel was nearly 90 years of age, that he was commanded to conclude his book and seal it up (chapter 12:4, 13). From generation to generation these holy men of God (2 Peter 1:21) called Israel to repentance and righteousness and kept alive the Messianic hope. These promises of prosperity and a successful mission were to have met fulfillment in large measure during the centuries following the return of the Israelites from the lands of their captivity. Emphasize to the children that the people at the time did not believe Isaiah. Nehemiahs first term lasted from 444 to 432 B.C. Jodi T. Religion. Nabopolassar 626 B.C. In contrast to Isaiah and others, Jeremiah provided more detail about himself in his book than any of the other prophets.
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