4. The 12 Prophets and Kingdom Living

Week 6
Written By 3Crosses Church

Week 6 • Day 4

Day 2 of our journey through the prophets takes us to some of the most unread parts of the Hebrew Bible known as the minor prophets. One approach that has been taken to better grasp the message of the 12 minor prophets is by rearranging them in historical order. While we HIGHLY encourage you to do this exercise, we will contend that the order we have received these prophets was an intentional choice by those who compiled the ancient Hebrew scriptures. This intentionality revolves around...you guessed it…the story of the Kingdom of God - God’s powerful rule in God’s place over God’s kingdom people. Let’s dive in!

HOSEA (c. 760 - 722 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” - Hosea 1:2

Hosea (meaning “salvation” or “deliverance” in Hebrew) was penned during a time when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were outwardly prospering, but were spiritually bankrupt. Hosea is called to marry Gomer, a prostitute, in order to personify the people of God who had “whored” themselves out to other god’s. Israel had broken her covenant marriage with God and given herself to idolatry, sought the comfort of foreigners, grew distant from the Lord, and eventually became spiritually bankrupt. However, Hosea is called to counteract this unfaithfulness with hesed (meaning “steadfast covenant love” in Hebrew) toward Gomer. In the same way YHWH mercifully pursues Israel and brings them toward repentance.

Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. - Hosea 3:4–5

JOEL (c. 835 B.C. / 609-586 B.C. / 515-350 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten…What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. - Joel 1:2, 4

Did you know that a single locust can travel up to 3,000 miles and a swarm of locusts can consume in one day what 40,000 people eat in one year?

Very little is revealed about Joel (“Yahweh is God” in Hebrew). We do know that Joel speaks following the aforementioned swarm of locusts that plagued the Israelites. Joel sees this catastrophe as a symbol of the coming Day of the Lord, a day in which judgment will fall upon the enemies of God like locusts. God’s people, however, will be delivered into the renewed kingdom place of God described below!

“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” - Joel 3:17–21

AMOS (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE vs. OUR DELEGATED RULE

Because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. - Amos 5:11–13

Amos (meaning “burden-bearer” in Hebrew) speaks specifically to the northern kingdom of Israel after they had expanded their borders through succesful conquests. However, Amos accuses Israel and her neighbors of departing from God’s law and attaching themselves to idols. He foreshadows the coming destruction at the hands of the Assyrian army and compares God’s judgment to locusts, a plumb line, fire, and over-ripened fruit. In the end, Amos still offers a vision of hope through the coming ruler of the Davidic line.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. - Amos 9:13–15

OBADIAH (c. 845 B.C. / 586 B.C) - GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. - Obadiah 12–16

The relatively unknown prophet Obadiah (meaning “servant of God” in Hebrew) offers the shortest prophecy regarding the relationship between Israel and her south-eastern mountain dwelling neighbors - the Edomites. Scriptures inform us that Edom is the name given to the descendants of Esau, sparking our memories of the age-old feud between Jacob (Israel - Gen, 32:22-32) and Esau (Edom - Gen. 36:1,9). Whether it was refusing to let the Israelites pass through their land during the Exodus (Num. 20:14-21, Jdg. 11:17-18), their fighting against king Saul (1 Sam. 14:47), King David (2 Sam. 8:13-14), and the rest of the kings (2 Kgs. 8:20-22; 2 Chr. 20:1-2), the Edomites shared a long rivalry with Israel. One source outside the Bible even suggests that during the Babylonian destruction, the Edomites were responsible for burning down the temple in Jerusalem (1 Esdras 4:45). This detail is not confirmed within the Hebrew cannon, but is another piece of the puzzle that confirms the long-lasting hostility between Edom and Israel. This leads Obadiah to prophesy words of impending judgment on Edom, fulfilling the oracle of Balaam against Edom way back when they refused passage to Israel (Nu. 24:18).

Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. - Obadiah 21

JONAH (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S NATIONAL BLESSING

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. - Jonah 1:1-3, 17

A contemporary of the prophet Amos, the prophet Jonah (meaning “dove” in Hebrew) would be commissioned to go to Nineveh, which according to ancient mythology, was the “fish town”. Even though God’s people had rebellious hearts, God continued to break through with the gospel of the kingdom. God’s people were always intended to be a blessing to the nations so that even the wicked nations could experience God’s grace. After Jonah offers a nonchalant 5-word message regarding the destruction of Nineveh, the entire city repents! Yet Jonah continues to struggle with God’s grace for the nations.

And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” - Jonah 4:10–11

MICAH (c. 743 - 687 B.C.) - TOTAL KINGDOM REPENTANCE

For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. - Micah 1:8–9

The prophet Micah (abbreviated version of Mika-YHWH or “Who is like Yahweh?” in Hebrew) is known as the naked prophet whose message is the only prophecy geared toward both the northern and southern kingdoms. In 3 prophetic sermons, Micah predicts judgment on the nations (God’s Powerful Rule), destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (God’s Place), and denounces the greed and theft of the religious leaders, priests, and prophets (God’s People). Eventually, Micah provides a silver lining of hope for the surviving “remnant”, including a vision of a new kingdom led by a shepherd king from Bethlehem…if they repent!

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together, like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men…Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head. - Micah 2:12–13

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. - Micah 5:2

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice [follow God’s Rule], and to love kindness [care for God’s People], and to walk humbly with your God [enter God’s place]? - Micah 6:8

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love [hesed] to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. - Micah 7:18–20

NAHUM (c. 663 - 612 B.C.) GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!

The prophet Nahum (meaning “comfort” or “consolation" in Hebrew) writes to the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh about one century after Jonah goes to the Ninevites and leads them to a mass revival. The message of Nahum - a message that probably would’ve made Jonah very happy - details the inevitable destruction of Nineveh who had presumably turned back to their wicked ways and grown dependent on their own strength. Nahum applies this imagery to the nation of Babylon, a nation that God will use to purify the faithful remnant of Israel but also one that would be brought to its knees on behalf of their wicked behavior.

Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. - Nahum 1:15

HABAKKUK (c. 609 - 587 B.C) - GOD’S JUDGMENT OF EVIL

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. - Habakkuk 1:2–4

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. - Habakkuk 2:1

The prophecy of Habakkuk (“embrace” or “embracer” in Hebrew) coincides with the growing threat of the Babylonians. At this time, king Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon was growing in power and would soon make his march toward Jerusalem around 586 B.C.. Habakkuk expresses his doubts and frustrations to the Lord about why evil was prevailing in Israel and why God would ever allow a wicked nation to destroy God’s chosen people. God responds with 5 different woes upon Babylon for their violence, injustice, dishonest gain, and other wicked acts showing that regardless of the events that were about to take place, God is still the one ruling over all!

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. - Habakkuk 3:17–19

ZEPHANIAH (c. 640 - 621 B.C.) - GOD’S JUDGMENT IN ISRAEL

I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.” - Zephaniah 1:4–6

The prophet Zephaniah (meaning “Yahweh hides” in Hebrew) highlights the destruction of the wicked within the walls of Jerusalem. Zephaniah compares the destruction of unfaithful Israelites in the kingdom of Judah to the demise of the surrounding nations who do not honor the Lord. Zephaniah denounces the misguidance of Judah’s arrogant leaders and predicts that the Lord will in fact “hide” a humble remnant of faithful kingdom people.

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. - Zephaniah 3:15–19

Almost there! We have made it through 9 of the 12 prophets. The final 3 prophets speak into a situation that we have yet to read about!

Recall that in the Hebrew Bible order, we have only read about Israel’s Babylonian and Assyrian captivity. In order to cement the idea that God has kingdom restoration plans in mind, the Hebrew Bible offers us one final window into a time in which God’s people would return to the promised place and establish God’s rule once more!

HAGGAI (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” - Haggai 1:9–11

The prophet Haggai (meaning “festival” in Hebrew) is the first of the post-exilic prophets who returns with the first wave of refugees from Babylon. Haggai’s main message points out that “now” is the time for Israel to restore and rebuild the temple place which lies in ruins. Haggai also encourages Zerubbabel (the governor), Joshua (the priest), and the remnant of refugees (the people) that if they obey the rule of God, the Lord would once again bring His glory to the slowly-progressing temple and restore the kingdom through Zerubbabel (from the line of David) who would rise to become the long awaited kingdom ruler!

“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders…On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you” - Haggai 2:21–23

ZECHARIAH (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. - Zechariah 1:3–4

The prophet Zechariah (meaning “Yahweh Remembers” in Hebrew) urges the post-exilic Israelites to not be like their forefathers and return to God’s rule in this new iteration of Israel. God gives Zechariah a series of 8 different visions which all detail God’s future kingdom rule. Specifically, Zechariah predicts the coming of a priest-king who would remove the iniquities of God’s people and rule as a humble king. This king would ride to his new kingdom throne on a colt, be rejected as a shepherd, pierced in the side, and sold out for 30 pieces of silver.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. - Zechariah 12:10

There shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. - Zechariah 13:1

Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle….And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.…Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts - Zechariah 14:3, 9, 16

MALACHI (*Post-Exile* - c. 450 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” Malachi 1:2–3

The prophet Malachi (meaning “my messenger” in Hebrew) begins his ministry nearly 100 years after the Israelites return to the promised land. Malachi, who remains anonymous, offers 6 different arguments that expose how this new generation of God’s people had succumbed to the serpent and neglected the Lord. God’s people were (1) doubting God’s hesed, (2) offering unacceptable sacrifices, (3) divorcing their wives in the name of foreign marriage and idolatry, (4) doubting God's distribution of justice, (5) abusing their power by withholding temple provisions, and (6) lacking faith by rendering God’s commands fruitless. After God exposes these issues, Malachi ends with a picture of hope for the faithful remnant.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. - Malachi 4:1–3

Congratulations on making it to the end of ALL the prophets!

Before you celebrate, pay careful attention to how the prophets section concludes.

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” - Malachi 4:4–6

God’s people are encouraged to remember the law of Moses as they look out for the prophet Elijah, harkening back to two of the most important figures in the Law and the Prophets section of the Bible. Deuteronomy laments the fact that we have never seen anyone like Moses. The book of Kings also tells us that Elijah had been taken into heaven before he died. Perhaps, in this time of desperation in the Kingdom story of God, we will soon see the prophet like Moses who would shepherd God’s people back to the promised place under the rule of God’s law!

Perhaps we will soon find the prophet of God like Elijah who would crush the enemies of God and secure God’s faithful remnant in the Kingdom of God!

Share the Gospel: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

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