Minor Prophets

Reader’s Guide to Amos (1:3-2:5)

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Editor – I posted the wrong section last week. This goes first, obviously. Read through these oracles and then read my previous post, it will make that post seem more coherent. I’ve updated links in this post to reflect the screw up.

 

Three weeks ago, I outlined how to read the first oracles of Amos. Today, I want to point out some notes that are helpful in understanding what is going on as you read. This covers Amos 1:3-2:5 and contains the seven oracles against other nations. The best way to use this would be to go read my previous post about the structure of the oracles, then read through verses themselves while using these notes when words, phrases, or places are unfamiliar. Hope it helps.

Aram (1:3-5)
Damascus is the capital of Aram.
Modern version read “threshed Gilead” older manuscripts such as those at Qumran or the LXX inserts ‘the pregnant women.” Threshing was/is the process of removing seed from stalk. So, if this accusation is literal, it is quite heinous. Threshing spikes were used to increase the efficacy in the threshing.
Hazael was king of Aram. He assumed the throne by killing Ben-Hadad (son of Hadad, a storm god). Interestingly, Hazael’s son, once king, assumed the name Ben-Hadad. It’s unclear which Amos is referring to, but points to more than a single person or event, but rather a geo-political group.
“Gate-bar” in movies after the hero comes ridding in through the gates of the fortress after escaping the (following, attacking, pursuing) foe, they shut the giant wooden gates and then lay are large wood/iron bar across to prevent the doors from being opened. Yahweh will destroy this bar, which not only shows his power, but leaves them unable to protect themselves by shutting the gate again.
Valley of Aven and Beth Eden are places in the region of Aram. The one ‘sitting’ and one who ‘holds the scepter’ are the rulers of the area. The message is, all of Aram, not just Damascus and all those in charge, so that no other family takes over rule.
Kir is unknown, but is possibly the place the Arameans came from. Either way, they are exiled and no longer have a land their own.

Philistia (1:6-8)
Gaza was the most prominent and powerful city in the region. Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron are all areas of Philistia.
“Exiled a whole people” not just the soldiers/prisoners of war. Instead, they took whole towns communities, men women and children and sold them into slavery.

Phoenicia (1:9-10)
Tyure was the strongest Phoenician City.
“Forgot the covenant of brotherhood” the broke the treaty with someone, we do not know whom.
Same crime and punishment as to Philisia. Continue reading →

Readers Guide to Amos (2:6-3:8)

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We continue on from the previous few weeks with the readers guide to the Minor Prophets. When we left off, Amos had just announced the oracles against other nations. He now starts in on Israel. Go read the passage, then come back for the notes below and then read it again. Hopefully, this helps in understanding the text.

Israel 2:6-16
Now Amos focus on the Israelite themselves. He starts with the same pattern (for three…four, shall not turn), but here seems much worse. Instead of the ‘fourth’ we have a list of sins.
The sins are (WBC)
Sale of the poor into Slavery
Oppression of the poor
Sexual abuse
Exploitation of needy debtors
These are not specific sins, but daily occurrences in Israel

Selling into slavery, silver was a high price, for a pair of sandals (likely hyperbole) was obviously low. Basically saying, you’ll sell anyone for anything you can get.
Treated the poor like dirt.
So, we don’t know who the woman is. EBC says mother-in-law or stepmother, Tyndale says daughter-in-law by corruption of concubinage, others say just a girl. This could be a prostitute or someone at the temple. Either way, if not the both of them are engaging in general sexual sin, one of them is breaking codes of incest and adultery.
It was a common practice t the time to take an item of clothing as a pledge (such as on a debt), but you were required to give it back at night, as the poor would have nothing else to keep warm.
The wine was paid as a fine, possible unjustly imposed, that the priest then drank the wine. Fines are supposed to be for making restitution, not for getting drunk.

9-12
This is God’s indignation at Israel. He reminds them that it was He who did all these things and now they profane his name and oppress the poor. Read it as, “After all I’ve done this (the aforementioned crimes) is how you repay me.
12 – Nazerites were ‘consecrated agents of God among his people’(WBC) and among other special rules, did not drink.

13-16
I will crush you as if a full cart ran over you, driving you into the ground.

My Translation of 14-16:
You have no chance. The fast will not move, the strong will be weak, and even the might warriors will die. The archers will not even be able to stand, the quick will still die, even if they are on a horse, they cannot outrun me. Even the bravest among you will run away, naked and afraid when my wrath comes.

3:1-8
‘Only you have I known’ means you are the one I’ve made a covenant with, therefore, punishment must come.
This is followed by seven rhetorical questions. E.G. People who are traveling together, have obviously met before.  The most important of which is the final question. Basically saying, if I have commanded someone to speak, they must speak (this is over and against what we read earlier, that the prophets were told not to speak).

Cheat Sheet to the Minor Prophets

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I’m doing a few post on reading the minor prophets, specifically Amos, so I thought I’d back up and lay out some helpful things to remember/know while reading.

 

Prophet – from the Hebrew, related to fountain. So, God’s Fountain of words. The prophet is God’s spokesman. Described by one theologian as someone who cares more about the truth than being liked. Can either be spoken to by God or sees visions. The point is not to predict the future, that is not what a prophet is; though, they may receive revelations about the future.

Minor prophet – just means shorter books. Shorter in latin is something like minus, which just became minor. There are 12 of them and the writings combined fit in the middle, lengthwise, of the four major (longer) prophets. Sometimes there combination is called the Book of the Twelve.

Jerusalem – Northern Kingdom, made up of 10 tribes, sometimes referred to as Jacob or Joseph (or house thereof); also sometimes (especially in Hosea) called Ephraim. Capital was Samaria. Spiritual center was Bethal.

Judah – Southern Kingdom, made up of 2 tribes (Ben). Split when north wouldn’t recognize Rehoboam as king, after Solomon dies in 931. Capital was Jerusalem.

Ephraim – Most powerful tribe, descendant of Joseph.

Edom – Sovereign nation south of Judah; descendants of Esau. On and off war. More oracles against it than anyone else.

Assyrians – World badasses from 1000 to 605. Destroyed the temple in 722 and owned North Kingdom from 722 to 605.

Babylonians – World badasses from 605 to 539. Had both kingdoms. Jews were exiled. Nebuchadnezzar  defeats Assyrians. Destroys Jerusalem.

Persians – World Badasses from 585 to 330. Cyrus defeats Babylonains. Allows Judah to return, rebuild temple.

Baal – god of thunderstorms, fertility and agriculture; lord of Heaven. Jews worshiped him and God. Had ritual prostitution at the temple.

Day of the Lord – Basically the end of the world, where God sits in Judgment. In the Ancient Near East, they didn’t have endless wars. After a few battles, they could tell who would win. An area could be conquered in months, weeks or even days. God, being the most powerful will conquer and Judge the world in a day.

Major Themes of Minor Prophets

  • God’s Sovereignty
  • God’s people needing to return to worship of God and God alone
  • Peace, Justice and fair treatment of the poor/foreigners
  • Pre-exile, future destruction
  • Post-exile, future return to homeland
  • David King and continuing Kingdom, Temple/Jerusalem restored

 

Timeline

931 – Solomon dies; United Kingdom divides into North and South.

 Pre-Assyrian Prophets – Obediah (most likely 845), Joel (probably, between 875ish to 830ish, could also be 750ish to 720ish), Amos(755), all in the South and Jonah (probably, 785-775) and Hosea (750-725ish) in the North.

735ish-695ish – Micah

 722/21 – Destruction of Temple

 Assyrian Captivity (722-605)

Nahum in the north

Zephaniah and Habakkuk (non-concurrent) in the South

 Babylonian Captivity and Exile (605-535)

605 – First Jews deported

586 –  Fall of Jerusalem

Obadiah may be floating around here if not earlier.

539 – Cyrus defeats Babylon

 536 – Jews return to Judah, start to rebuild Temple

520 – Haggai and Zechariah

516 – Temple completed

445 – Walls of Jerusalem rebuilt

440ish – Malachi

Readers Guide to Amos

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This is my attempt to help in reading the Minor Prophets. Today we hit on Oracles against the Nations (1:3-2:16).

Amos is speaking for Yahweh and judgements/condemnations that start off are against foreign nations (Aram, Philistia, & Phoenicia). The would have been met with applause by the hearers. He then moves in relative nations (Edom, Ammon, & Moab), then judgment against Israel’s sister nation (Judah). Finally, after spending 20 verses on those first 7 oracles, he drops 10 verses on Israel.

We have the narrowing in of judgement. We have something like this – consider for a moment that the Ancient Near East is now the Modern ‘Western’ World. The first three judgements would be some countries in Europe, perhaps German, France and Spain. The next three would be England, Ireland and Scotland and the seventh Canada. Continue reading →

Reading the Minor Prophets

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“What makes them less important?”

This was the first question I was asked as we started discussing the Minor Prophets. In the spring of 2015, I was searching for a topic or book of the Bible to study with my group. For some reason, I felt compelled to dig into the Minor Prophets. One reason being that I knew almost nothing about them. I’ve seen verses used in other context that are pulled from Micah (6:8) and maybe something from Hosea or Joel. I once had a pastor spend a few weeks in Hosea, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a sermon from any of the others. I had certainly never read in books, commentaries or Bible studies on them.

Ignoring these books is crazy when you think about it. There are 66 books in the Bible, and we are excluding 12; that’s almost 20% of the books (granted, by volume, it is considerably less). Honestly, I can see ignoring Deuteronomy or something like Chronicles. They are long and have lists of names, dates, laws and histories. The Prophets aren’t like that. They are a mix of short stories and sermons (not dissimilar to Christ’s parables or the Sermon on the Mount). Instead, they receive considerable less attention than the Epistles.

Imagine if you had never read or heard a sermon preached on 1, 2, or 3 John; Timothy, Titus or Jude; 1 or 2 Peter; 1 or 2 Corinthians; or Galatians or Ephesians. Think of the treasure of scripture you would be missing out on.

So, that brings us back to the question, “What makes them not as important as the other prophets”? The short answer is, nothing, they aren’t less important and should not (and never have been) viewed that way. Minor is really a bit of a misnomer. Continue reading →