The Books Of The Prophets { Exilic }

{ Jeremiah }

Jeremiah is the author of this book, he dictated the messages to Baruch. (36:4) According to the SourceView it was written "over the course of his ministry" (626-580 BC), but it started during the reign of King Josiah. (1:2) He was the son of a priest named Hilkiah and was born in Anathoth in Benjamin. (1:1) God set him apart before he was born (1:5) and Jeremiah was quite young when God sent him the first message. (1:7,8) Jeremiah is referred to as the "weeping prophet" and it is very obvious through his book that he felt deeply and carried a great burden for God's people. (13:17) For forty years Jeremiah prophesied about Judah despite his reluctance and the unresponsiveness of the nation. That is the purpose of Jeremiah, to proclaim God's impending judgement on Jerusalem. (13:24-27) He was up against false prophets, ignorant Judeans, evil kings and corrupt priests. To him was given a task that no one envied, but he sure was faithful to God in speaking them out regardless of the outcome. (20:9,10)

In Jeremiah 11:1-5 God reminds them of the covenant He made. God longs to have mercy on them. He gives them so many chances to come back to Him. This book is FULL of God's merciful and grace-giving nature. Jeremiah 31:20 says, "Is not Israel still my son, my darling child? I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That's why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him." In verse 36 of the same chapter God says, "I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!" There is no way God is going to let them go even after everything they have done against Him! It is unbelievable grace!!! 

Jeremiah 23:5,6 & 33:15,16 say very similar things. They both speak of a righteous branch that will come from the line of King David. (hint:Jesus) In 31:31-34 God talks about a new covenant with the people of Israel in the days to come, He ends by saying, "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins." Then at the end, the story of King Zedekiah and the exile into Babylon is told. So, just as 2 Kings ended with the hope of Israel resting on Jehoiachin, so does Jeremiah. (52:31-34) I really like that Jeremiah ends with hope. For a book full of darkness, there is a lot of light. 

{ Lamentations }

Lamentations was written after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, sometime after 586BC. Jeremiah is the author of Lamentations but he tells it from the perspective of the city Jerusalem. The book is made up of five poems each with its own chapter. The purpose of this book is to describe the utter despair Jerusalem was in, the deep grief of the nation. (2:2) It is a really depressing book to read. It reminds me of the song "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables" from Les Miserables. So heartfelt and so sad. The use of poetry helps paint a heartbreaking picture of the absolute desolation and ultimately the result of sinning against God. (3:39) 

Jeremiah describes God beautifully in 3:31-33, he says, "For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow." That about sums up God's character in Lamentations. What a wonderful description! I love the flow of the words and the confidence it stirs up. He doesn't like punishing, He loves Israel with a vengeance and He will continue to show compassion, for He is great and mighty. In the same chapter he says, "The faithful love of the Lord never ends!" (v22) Never!! 
   

In 3:26 Jeremiah says, "So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord." Salvation comes from God alone in His perfect timing. Later in 4:22 he says, "O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end; you will soon return from exile." Yes! There is hope in this sad lament. There is the ever present promise of salvation!

{ Obadiah }

There is a cloud of mystery surrounding the man Obadiah and when the book was written. No family or place of birth is mentioned so it is assumed by Nelson's that "he did not come from a kingly or priestly line."  Edom, was completely unsympathetic towards Judah when Babylon attacked them, so now Obadiah has been sent by God to prophesy the coming judgement on Edom, who are the descendants of Esau. The purpose of Obadiah is to show how destructive pride is. God says, "You have been deceived by your own pride…I will bring you crashing down." (1:3,4) In verse 15 it says, "All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads." It reminds me of that phrase "pride comes before the fall" because for the Edomites it was the reality. They trusted in their strength and failed to have compassion, thus they were destroyed. 

  This book sheds the most light on God's role as Judge. In verse sixteen it says, "…so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you…and disappear from history." He has no tolerance for pride or cruelty so Edom had it coming.   

  God's redemptive plan is seen in verses 17-21. He proclaims hope to Judah. "But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance." (17) What a beautiful picture of restoration! 

{ Habakkuk }

  Habakkuk was a prophet to the nation of Judah and he wrote it "just before the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem." (610-605BC) (SV) King Jehoiakim was ruling at the time and incredibly wicked and leading Judah into deep sin. He refused to listen to God's messages. This book is unlike the other prophet books because it is a conversation, a personal struggle with honest questions for God. I call this book the "Christmas book" because it is divided between God (red) and Habakkuk (green). The main purpose for Habakkuk is to show that it is okay to question God and to wrestle with His ways. God is so big and so sovereign, yet He doesn't shy away or condemn us when we ask honest questions. (1:12) I love Habakkuk's heart. I love how he ends with praise even though the circumstances are so crazy and seemingly out of control. 

    In 1:5 God says, "…For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it." He doesn't do things that we understand most of the time, if at all. God is Creator, Author and Sustainer, and He isn't confined to a box or a certain way of doing things. He is uncontainable and answers to no one. We can't see the full picture. Through it all though, God is trustworthy. "Even though…even though…even though the flocks die…and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord…He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights." (3:17-19) Habakkuk, in the middle of war and crisis knows that God is trustworthy regardless of circumstance; regardless of His questions. 

    Habakkuk says of God in 3:13, "You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones." God pursues and He redeems passionately. He always has a plan and that plan is to save. 

{ Zephaniah }

 Zephaniah is "the great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah" which means he has a royal lineage. (N.262) In 1:1 he tells us the four generations and that he prophesied when King Josiah was on the throne of Judah. This book is number two in-between Jonah and Nahum. It takes place before Jerusalem and Nineveh are destroyed. The prophecies are aimed mostly at Judah with Assyria touched on. It is another somber message to Judah concerning the coming judgment. (3:1) The purpose for this prophet is to call God's people back to Himself. In 2:3 it says, "Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands…Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you." 

"Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord's judgment is near." (1:7) God's absolute authority is seen and the unquestionable reverence that He requires. Zephaniah 3:8 shows God's jealousy for His people. In 3:5 it says, "But the Lord is still there in the city, and he does no wrong." God's faithfulness and constant presence! Wow! He didn't leave them despite their awful sins and He doesn't leave us now!

    I love Zephaniah's one speech in the book, he says, "Cheer up Zion! Don't be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears." What an encouragement! God says at the end, "On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again…" (3:20) I love that He uses the word home it is so comforting; it is an amazing, redeeming promise. 

Personal Application:

For me, Zephaniah 3:9 hits close to home. I have had two experiences with God purifying my lips; once a year ago during a worship school my lips tingled and burned, and second a week or two ago, my lips trembled. God is real and present and closer than our skin. He spoke to me so clearly about purifying my lips for what would come out of them, when it came to leading worship, would be glorifying to Him. My words matter, they have power and they effect the atmosphere. I pray that I would take my words seriously and only speak life and seek to glorify God always with "the words of my mouth."

Point of Passion:

Zephaniah 3:17 says, "…With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." I love that image! I think in worship I sometimes, if ever, remember that God is singing over us! It is not just us glorifying and lifting up His name but Him loving us and singing over us! It is a relationship. Ah, I love that.

{ Ezekiel }

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was also the son of a priest; Buzi was his name. (1:3) Ezekiel is written in the first person, save 2 verses, and makes it clear that Ezekiel is the author of this book of the same name. Ezekiel was among the group of exiles brought to Babylon, in 597BC, the same time as King Jehoiachin was taken, and was a prophet to the Jewish exiles. (3:4-9) Five years after his arrival in Babylon, in 593BC, Ezekiel was given his first vision and his ministry lasted twenty years. The purpose of this prophet was to give the exiles hope of a return to Jerusalem and to encourage them to turn back to God because restoration was attainable. There is a large portion dedicated to calling out false prophets which leads me to the conclusion that they were a huge problem at the time. (13:1-23) 

   In Ezekiel 6:8-10 God talks about the exiles finally remembering Him and "hating themselves for all their detestable sins. They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I am serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them." God follows through on His word and judges them because He loves them, as a parent disciplines their children. He doesn't allow them to forever wallow in their sins, He calls them higher. 

   Of the redemptive plans seen in Ezekiel, my favourite is the "valley of dry bones" vision in chapter 37. God says, "these bones represent the people of Israel…I will open up the graves of exile and cause you to rise again…you will live again." (v11-14) The exiles thought themselves without hope and a finished nation but God assures them through Ezekiel that they will once again have life; they will once again know that "I am the Lord." (v13)
  
Personal Application:

I really liked that Randy highlighted the false prophets in Judah's day because nowadays they are everywhere yet I don't always realize it. That discussion in class helped me realize that I need to be on my guard more and ask God for the gift of discernment because I never want to stray from the truth and let false doctrine infect my thinking. 

Point of Passion:

In lecture I really liked what Randy said about our churches today and that we "settle for so much less of God than there is." We go in and sings songs for 15 minutes and expect to encounter God without truly inviting Him in and leaving room for Him to move. In the latter chapters of Ezekiel when it describes the temple 42:20 stuck out to me, it says, "…with a wall all around it to separate what was holy from what was common." And also what God says in 43:12, "And this is the bass law of the Temple: absolute holiness!" I think the church as a whole doesn't dwell on God's holiness. I feel as though it needs to be reestablished in our worship today. It is central to who God is. The priests clothing had to be changed so they did not "endanger anyone by transmitting holiness" through their clothing! What!? That is crazy holy! That is serious holiness! That blows my mind! We can't fully understand it but that doesn't mean that God won't show us a glimpse of it if we make room and press into Him. :) 

   

{ Daniel }

  Daniel was of noble birth and was taken to Babylon in the first sweep by "Nebuchadnezzar in 605BC," when King Jehoiakim was ruling over Judah. (1:3, N229) Daniel is said to have written this book and in 12:4 we see evidence of that as some of the prophecies God gave him were meant to be kept secret. "From 7:2 onward" it is written in the first person (N229) and in lecture, Andrew said that Daniel used the Kings as sources to "add influence to his message." Daniel was placed in a position of prominence despite being immersed in a pagan nation. He upheld his faith in God and was an amazing example to the rest of the Judeans in captivity in his uncompromising devotion. 

    God is sovereign over every nation and a Restorer, I see this in "Nebbi's grand adventure." (Andrew) He humbled the king in the lowest possible way and through it Nebuchadnezzar was changed and gave God the highest praise. He restored the king to his position after the "lesson" and extended such amazing grace to him. (4:1-37) He also showed His sovereignty in saving Daniel in the lion's den and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah from the furnace. That would instil so much hope in the exiles.  

    In Daniel 7:14 it says, "His rule is eternal - it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed." Later in verse 27 it says, "Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High…" and that to me is a stunning description of the future ultimate redemption of God's people. 

Personal Application:

The part of Daniel that hits me the most is what "the three" say to King Nebuchadnezzar in 3:17, "…He will rescue us from your power…but even if He doesn't…we will never serve your gods…" Wow! That is undeniable, uncompromising faith and trust in God. I can't think of a word to describe what that phrase means to me. It makes me want to cry and it makes me hate the doubt that sometimes rises in me…I pray that I will have that kind of faith when trials come my way. That I will say with confidence "even if He doesn't" I will still serve God and I will cling to Him because He is the only One who brings me life. 

Point of Passion:

  Again the way that the Three stood up to the king was amazing and it reminds me of the way that the world tries to pull us into making idols that take the place of God in our lives. We are to be living sacrifices, set apart to God; holy. When we compromise and say yes to the worldly gods it grieves the Holy Spirit and robs us of intimacy with God. Even in worship times our mind can be pulled away, that is why devotion is so important. Worship should centre our hearts and minds on God and give Him all the glory because He is the only One worthy of our praise; the only One we should bow down to.