The teachings of Philip G. Roets & Lois Roets
The Minor Prophets
Biblical Exegesis and Commentary by Philip G. Roets STL SSL
During this same time, from the 8th to the 2nd centuries B.C., there were several other well-known teachers or prophets who developed aspects of Yahweh's personality. They are frequently called "minor" prophets — not because their messages were less important but because there is not as much of their teachings extant.
Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah I. His message was also concerned with the holiness of Yahweh and the insult that he saw in the fertility cults that had overrun the land. Hosea developed all his ideas from the viewpoint of marriage and the marriage contract. Yahweh was the husband and Israel was the wife. Israel had been unfaithful over and over again. Yahweh had forgiven but the conversion did not last. Now Israel was going to be punished in the most severe fashion ever, and the majority of the people would be destroyed forever.
Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah I and Hosea. His message was the same, the holiness of Yahweh. However, his presentation was different. Amos was a farmer, or more precisely, a vineyard-keeper. He had no formal education and, as he said, he had no finesse in his manner of presentation. He saw the evil that was being perpetrated by the people. He knew how offensive this was to the holiness of Yahweh. He would speak his piece and then get back to his vineyards.
Amos was blunt in his predictions of the punishments that were to come and was particularly explicit in his condemnation of the women of the upper class. Amos called the women "the fat cows of Bashan." Bashan was the cattle country across the Jordan. It was noted for its fat cows and strong bulls. Amos made a vivid comparison between the women of the court and those cows, and related in graphic terms what their punishment would be. He condemned the men as well but he was particularly severe with the upper class women.
His point was that their lives were an abomination to the holiness of Yahweh. Amos could not tolerate their scandal, and he would see to it that this lesson was clearly understood by all the people.
This book was written in two different time periods in much the same way as the Book of Isaiah. One part is written in the narrative style. The other part is in the apocalyptic style of the 2nd century B.C.
As in all the other prophets, the holiness of Yahweh is stressed against the sins of the people. Joel is famous for his description of the punishment as a plague of locusts. He carefully pointed out that the punishment would not be over and done with in one movement. Like the locust plague, there would be three successive waves of the insects so that absolutely no one had a possibility of escaping.
The apocalyptic description of the punishment is the exact opposite of the creation picture. The sun will no longer give its light, the moon and stars will fall from the heavens, the universe will go into a tailspin. All will be horror and destruction. The picture was very graphic in order to make the people realize how they had offended the holiness of Yahweh.
This prophecy has only 21 verses. Little is known for certain about the man or the teaching. The theme is the destruction of the people of Edam to the satisfaction of Israel. Edam was a name given to the descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob or Israel. This is probably why it is included in this part of the Old Testament. The only positive quality of Yahweh that can be learned from the writing is that he is a God who exacts total justice from everyone.
This book is entirely narrative. Most read the story in simplified form and know the main event. The prophet was swallowed by a whale. He lived in the belly of the whale for three days. Then on the third day he was set out on land, safe and sound, courtesy of the whale.
For a long time, the book was held up as evidence of the inaccuracy of the Bible stories. Whales are big animals. However the throat of a whale is very small and he could choke on a large orange. How then could he swallow a whole man? Then the sperm whale was discovered and they learned that this animal could swallow the whole rear end of a dory with no problem. Another problem was brought up. How could a person stay alive in the gastric juices of such a large animal? To these questions, there are no answers.
Most probably the story would never have gained much prominence except that Jesus referred to it as a symbol or sign of his own burial and resurrection. My own version is that it is a popular story that grew with the telling. The story was intended to amuse and instruct. It showed us a God who is demanding of penalties yet forgiving at the first sign of repentance.
Micah was a Judean, a native of Moresheth. He did his work just before and shortly after the fall of Samaria (721 B.C.) He was a peasant and had much in common with Amos. He was suspicious of city life. He tended to be blunt, almost vulgar, in his speech. He liked puns.
It is from Micah that we get the text concerning the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem (Mt. 2:6; Jno. 7:42). Micah was very clear in his threats of punishment for all those in charge of the people. He was especially hard on "false prophets." These were the people who disregarded men like Micah and told the leaders not to worry.
Micah held out hope and especially pointed out the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. He stressed that the present generations would be punished for their sins but the redemption would come because of the wisdom of God's plan and the holiness of his name.
The message of this prophet is quite short: The day of Yahweh will bring suffering and hardship not only on Israel but also on the pagan people roundabout. Judah will be punished for religious and moral corruption based on pride and a spirit of rebellion.
The most used part of this prophet is the "Dies Irae" in 1:14–18. The people had been talking about the "Day of Yahweh." For them this phrase meant their deliverance from and triumph over all enemies. Zephaniah warned them that they had a completely false picture of this Day of Yahweh.
This would be a "Day of wrath, distress, agony, ruin, darkness, gloom, battle cry and defeat." The prophet was talking about 587 B.C. when Jerusalem was sacked and the Temple was in shambles. Most of the people were destroyed and the rest were taken into captivity.
The sad part is that the Christian liturgy took this description out of context and gave it as a description of the terror of the individual's death, and the terror of the final judgment at the end of the world. This misuse of a text in the Christian liturgy has given rise to a morbidity about human life that was never intended.
There is a ray of hope at the end of the prophecy (3:14–20). There would be cause for joy and happiness in the future because Yahweh would repeal this disastrous sentence. Finally, Israel would be able to find joy, happiness, and victory in the world again.
This is an unusual prophecy in that the teacher was concerned only with the destruction of Niniveh, the capital of Assyria. He saw this as evidence of the power of Yahweh and his rule over all nations. The prophet was probably holding this event out as bait to the Israelites to repent of their sins. Then they could be forgiven by Yahweh and not be destroyed. If they did not repent, they would certainly be wiped out in the same way in a few years.
The fall of Niniveh would certainly have given hope to the people of Israel. However, they did not learn the real lesson and only a few years later, they would be sacked and wiped out in the same way.
This short booklet is rather difficult to date. This date is chosen because the prophet seemed to be speaking to the people prior to the first siege of Jerusalem in 597 B.C.
The prophet asked a bold question of Yahweh. Why was Israel being punished by people who were openly greater sinners than the Israelites? Habbakuk gave a list of five "Woes" with all the threat that this word has:
Woe to the unjust oppressors! They take what is not theirs at the expense of others. These oppressors will be destroyed by Yahweh just as they destroyed other people.
Woe to those who exploit others to build up their own material worth. All their wealth will not save them in time of trouble.
Woe to those who rule by violence: Their violence begets violence and soon will destroy them.
Woe to those who are the source of scandal or stumbling to others. Their very scandal will come back to haunt and punish them.
Woe to the idolaters. They set up pieces of wood, stone, gold and silver as their gods. They ask that which cannot speak to help them in their speech. The carved image is dumber than the one who carved it.
The prophet ended his writing with a plea for deliverance from all this punishment and destruction which only Yahweh could bring about. God is seen as one who can deliver us from all punishment.
Haggai, also known by the Latin name, Aggeus, was the first of the post-exilic writings. The whole point of view was different. Before the destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem, the prophets had talked continually of the punishment and destruction that threatened. They tried to scare the people into conversion from their evil ways. During the exile, the teachers were more concerned with consolation and encouragement. They wanted to lift the remnant out of its self-destructive sorrow and give them some new hope. Now, in the post-exilic period, after 538 B.C., the point was Restoration. The remnant, no matter how small, had to rebuild and get the people on its feet once again. Yahweh is always present — even in time of trouble.
The Temple would never reach its old glory. The people would never have the power and greatness they once enjoyed. But they must get the picture of victory and reconstruction started again. This Temple and the descendants of David would become the focus of the messianic hope.
This teacher, too, was encouraging a hesitant remnant to enter into the hard work of reconstruction. The people felt that they were inferior to the glory and splendor of the people of God in its greatness. They would not achieve the material greatness of old. The important point was to re-establish their basic goals and ambitions because they know that the promises of Yahweh were still true.
It is hard to give an exact date to this prophecy. First of all, the name means "My Messenger." Was this a deliberate attempt to hide the identity of the teacher himself and just give his message? His Hebrew name means "Messenger of Yahweh."
Two main themes run through the teaching. There was the failure of the priests and the people in their religious duties.
The language used against the priests is some of the strongest in the entire Old Testament. While sacrificing the various animals, there was much waste matter and dung. The prophet presented Yahweh as saying explicitly that he would throw the dung of their sacrifices in their faces. Put that in the vernacular and you can see how powerful the picture and words were.
This concludes the picture of Who Is God? according to the prophets of the Old Testament. As we said at the beginning, the prophets were teachers who arose because of some inner compulsion to lead the people back to Yahweh. In general, they were unsuccessful. The people went farther and farther away from Yahweh and his service because they did not listen or obey.
As stated in the Old Testament, the attributes of Yahweh are, first and foremost, his HOLINESS. He would not tolerate being associated with the objects of the fertility cults. He demanded holiness and a moral life from all who wanted to follow him or proclaim his kingship.
At times the punitive power of Yahweh was pointed out. The teachers were attempting to get the people to obey at least out of fear, if for no other reason. Yahweh was also seen as a very forgiving ruler as soon as there was the slightest indication of repentance.
Many of the other traits attributed to Yahweh would not appear clearly stated until the Didactic literature, a few centuries later. The teachers and writers of these scrolls would be the next stage in the providence of Yahweh for his people.