In keeping with our intensive study of Israel's history this year, Jenny and I have concentrated our attention on the Exilic and Post-exilic prophets. We've included Jeremiah in this list, even though he spans the immediate pre-exilic period, leading up to the Babylonian exile.
The most enigmatic exilic prophet, most certainly, is Ezekiel. His name means "God's strength." We encourage our listeners to struggle with Ezekiel's difficulty, as we believe God has a great deal of undiscovered meaning in this text. Some of the most exciting references, for me, are those to his contemporary prophet-in-exile, Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and 28:3).
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
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5:52
THE BOOK OF JOB, Chapter 23
The book of Job is wisdom literature, like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
What can we add to what has already been written on the Book of Job?
Is it the oldest book in the canon as its historical milieu would place it, or was it written (down) much later?
Is it merely a literary story meant to illuminate the relation between God and man-in-the-created-order, or is it historical?
We are not so foolish as to claim that we know any of these answers, or how God has in fact put His word together, but we have learned not to put the plausible stories of man in the place of what He says in His word. We will never go far wrong if we simply trust what God says, being careful readers of scripture.
What we do know is that Job is a masterpiece of literature by any metric, and one of (if not) THE greatest works of wisdom literature ever crafted. I cannot help but end with a quote from another such brilliant work:
Ecclesiastes 7:23–29
All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.... Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things — which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found.... See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (ESV)
Ecclesiastes 12:10–13
The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (ESV)
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14:58
JOEL, Chapter 3
Joel means Yahweh (Ya) is god (el) in Hebrew, which is a reverse of the order of the prophet Elijah's name - God (el) is Yahweh (Ya). Both make the case that there is but one God, and He is Israel's God, Yahweh. Both names, I think, are designed to call to mind the passage from Deuteronomy enshrined in Judaism's famous Shema prayer:
Deuteronomy 6:4–5
“Hear (Heb. Shema), O Israel: The LORD (Yahweh) our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (ESV)
Jesus quotes this passage in all three synoptic gospels, so that its truth is fully established (Matthew 18:16).
We might say that the theme of Joel is The Day of the LORD - past, present, and future, and how we are to respond to it, even in the midst of the judgment:
Joel 2:12–14
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God? (ESV)
There is a great deal to think about in this book - a mix of past, present and future days of the LORD.
As usual, this summary of Joel may be useful as you read/listen to this book of God's word.
https://youtu.be/zQLazbgz90c?si=-Fho0nlpDqiqZxOH
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3:55
JEREMIAH, Chapter 28
The prophetic books of Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel mark a radical change in the life of God's people, Israel. Starting with Jeremiah, the Babylonian exile is predicted, and then experienced. Daniel is taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar during Jeremiah's ministry, and after the 586 BC fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel is called by God to minister to Israel in exile. Indeed, these prophets were aware of each others' ministries, and God's voice in them. Twice Ezekiel refers to Daniel (14:14 and 28:3), and Daniel mentions Jeremiah's prophecies (Daniel 9) as a source of his own prophetic ministry.
Reading Jeremiah should be a learning experience par excellence, as getting clear on all its details and references - seeking to understand the discoveries of biblical archaeology that relate to it, and all the history of Israel, including the two kingdoms, their kings and their successes and failures, their faithfulness and their apostasy - sets one up to understand both the whole progression of scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and God's plan of salvation set in place "before the foundation of the world."
Listen and read with a mind open to God's voice. Search the scriptures to answer the questions you encounter, search the archaeology to display the truth of God's word verified, search the language to understand better the nuances of God's meaning. Read/listen carefully, reverently and inquisitively, and God will show you amazing things!
You have HIS promise on that!
We suggest, as usual, starting here:
https://youtu.be/RSK36cHbrk0?si=KaJSPPn7n6z7x_Pl
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4:04
ISAIAH, Chapter 14
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 1:18–20 (ESV)
If you want to know that "the LORD He is God! the LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39) your search for confirmation finds its best resolution in the book of Isaiah. I would argue that Isaiah, more even than Elisha, "wore the prophetic mantle" of Elijah. Only John the Baptist was a greater merely human incarnation of the role of prophet (Matthew 11:11).
Isaiah 42:9 tells us: "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Below find two articles that discuss fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. By any objective measure, only God could do this.
As with other books of the Bible, we suggest this brief overview of Isaiah. May your listening to this great OT prophet be as blessed by God as was our reading of it!
https://youtu.be/d0A6Uchb1F8?si=Nhsvg2DCZgWRZq_7
Check out these two articles on calculations of the probability of one first-century man, Jesus, fulfilling so many OT prophecies!
https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/
https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20Jesus%20(Yeshua%20in,that%20related%20to%20the%20Messiah!
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