Saturday 25 March 2017

What did the Prophets Say

What did the prophets Say?
 
Is there a consistent theme? Prophets we have mentioned already were calling the nation to repentance and a return to the true God – generally without success. To get a clearer picture I shall reduce the Biblical prophets messages to a few main points and tabulate the results in chronological order.


Prophet
message
reception
result
Deborah
Barak to lead army against superior Canaanite force
Obeys conditionally on Deborah coming
Israel saved, but honour goes to a woman
Unnamed to Samuel
Eli's sons' sins will bring disaster
ignored
disaster
Samuel
Long settled ministry as judge, but under attack by Philistines told Israel to get rid of idols & return to God
obeyed
Philistine attackers routed
Samuel
Announces God's judgement on Saul
ignored
Saul's dynasty ends
Nathan
Rebukes David for adultery & murder
David repents
Spared but consequences
Gad
Announces God's judgement on David
David obeys
Judgement limited
God speaks directly to Solomon
Judgement because Solomon worshipped the idols of his wives
ignored
disaster
Ahijah
Tells Jeroboam God will make him king
Only part obeys
Becomes king but no dynasty
Unnamed
Judgement against Jeroboam's shrine
ignored
Judgement fulfilled
Jehu (ben Hanani)
Judgement on Baasha for idolatry & murder of Jeroboam's line
ignored
disaster
Elijah
Calls nation to reject Baal, return to God
obeyed
Drought ends
unnamed
Tells Ahab God will defeat invaders
obeyed
saved
unnamed
Rebukes Ahab for sparing Ben Hadad
?

Elijah
Judgement on Ahab for murder
repents
Judgement postponed
Micah
Ahab going to his death in battle
ignored
Ahab killed
Elijah
Judgement on Ahijah for consulting Baal
ignored
Ahijah dies
Elisha
Many foretellings and miracles
varied
All happen as predicted
Elisha through unnamed prophet
Anoints Jehu king over Israel
obeys
Rules as king
Elisha
Tells Jehoash to perform symbolic action
for deliverance from Aram
Part obeys
Part delivered
Jonah
Nineveh will be destroyed
repent
spared
Amos
Repent or perish
ignored
disaster
Hosea
Repent or perish
Ignored
disaster
Isaiah
Many messages including …
Tells Hezekiah God has heard his prayer
-
Invaders miraculously defeated
Isaiah
Messages of eventual salvation by God
-
Fulfilled in Jesus
Isaiah
Tells Hezekiah he will die of current disease
Hezekiah pleads with God
I. sent back with message that H. spared
Micah
a) Judah to be destroyed
b) Israel to be destroyed for injustices
c) eventual salvation by God
a) Repent
b) ignore
-
a) Spared
b) destroyed
c) fulfilled in Jesus
Hulda (wife of Shallum)
answers Josiah: “God will destroy Judah for idolatry, but after your time because you worship him.”
Josiah gets rid of nations idols & renews covenant
Judgement postponed
Zephaniah
a) Jerusalem to be destroyed
b) nations esp Nineveh to be punished
c) a righteous remnant will be saved
-
-
-
Fulfilled
fulfilled
fulfilled
Nahum
Nineveh to be utterly destroyed
-
Fulfilled 612 BC
Habakkuk
Babylon is God's instrument of judgement but the nation that ravages others (Babylon?, Nineveh?) will be destroyed
-
Nineveh was destroyed and Babylon was captured
Jeremiah
Repent of idolatry and return to God
(in many and varied ways over decades!)
ignored
disaster
Jeremiah
a) foretells return of exiles to Jerusalem
b) foretells eventual salvation by God
Heeded by exiles
-
a) fulfilled
b) fulfilled in Jesus
Jeremiah
Tells Zedekiah he will be spared if he surrenders to Nebuchadnezzar
ignored
disaster
Ezekiel
a) Judgement on Jerusalem
b) god's power to restore
a) ignored
-
a) destroyed
b) Fulfilled – part in return of exiles – part in Jesus – part in Heaven
II Isaiah
God's power to save and restore
Some responded
Part fulfilled in return of exiles, part in Jesus
Haggai
Rebuild the Temple!
Part obeyed
Temple begun
Zechariah
Call to obedience & messages of hope & retoration
-
Part fulfilled at time, part in Jesus, part will be at Judgement
Obadiah
Judgement on Edom
-
Overrun by Arabs 400's BC & by Nabateans 200's BC. Blotted out.
Malachi
(no more prophets for 400 yrs. Then John the Baptist)
a) rebuke for state of religion & morals in the nation


b) promise of prophet “Elijah” to come
-



-
a)Much reserved for Judgement day & heaven
b) fulfilled in Jesus.


OK that was an exhausting process! But by and large the prophets who spoke to the whole nation had the same message for their generation: “give up your evil living and your idol worship and seek God” Sometimes people responded, sometimes kings were inspired to push reform, but mostly people rejected the opportunity to repent and suffered the consequences! 

But the really good thing is that even where judgement was announced with no call to repent, where the person or nation did change their ways, judgement was stayed!


The message for us in the West is that we cannot expect to continue to enjoy the benefits of a civilisation shaped by godly men and women if we reject God and let injustice and evil flourish among us. Nationally as well as personally it really is: “repent or perish - but return to God and he will return to you”.




Sunday 19 March 2017

Revivals in Ancient Israel Pt 2

Revivals in Ancient Israel (922 to 732 BC) Pt 2


Even during the time of Elijah and Elisha there were two opposing sorts of “prophets”. On one hand those who were truly sent by Yahweh, and those who were not. Under Jezebel's patronage there were those who were unashamedly “prophets of Baal”. There were also what scholars call “cult prophets” which denoted those who were often claiming to be prophets of Yahweh but were associated with the organised (and officially sanctioned) religion. These were false prophets who fulfilled a social and political role – and were paid for it – but who did not rock the boat by giving unpalatable messages from God.


One beautiful illustration of this dichotomy comes at the end of Ahab's reign. The tale is told in 1 Kings 22. Briefly, Jehoshaphat pays a friendly visit to Ahab and Ahab asks him to join in a fight to “liberate” the town of Ramoth Giliad. Jehoshaphat wants to consult Yahweh, so Ahab assembles 400 of the official prophets who say; “Go, for Yahweh will give it into your hand!” (I am using the literal “Yahweh” rather than the periphrasis “the LORD” to emphasise that they were claiming to speak for God, not Baal.)


Jehoshaphat is not taken in and asks: “Is there not a prophet of Yahweh we can consult.” To which Ahab replies: “There is one, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me...”


One could not spell out better the difference between the false prophets of official religion who say what the king (or people) want to hear and the true prophet who is hated because God's real message is unpalatable!


Micaiah is fetched, with the officer helpfully telling him what the other prophets have said, and that if he knows what is good for him he will say the same! Here is one of the witty pieces of irony in the Bible which are totally misunderstood by a “literalist” approach. Micaiah does agree with the others, but in such a way – either by tone of voice or gesture – that Ahab knows full well he means the opposite and rebukes him. Then Micaiah confirms this with: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd.” and saying that a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab's prophets was God's plan of sending Ahab to his death!


Another beautiful thing which comes out here is that while it was God's purpose that Ahab go into battle and be killed as prophesied by Elijah for his judicial murder of Naboth, God gives Ahab fair warning! It says volumes about God's absolute honesty. So when Ahab chooses to believe his tame prophets and goes to his death, he has been warned!


A final interesting point: one of the tame prophets then strikes Micaiah and says: “Which way did the spirit from Yahweh go when he left me to speak to you?” Indicating that he claims to be a prophet of Yahweh!


Micaiah is proved to be the true prophet by subsequent events. Which goes back to Moses' instruction that a true prophet was proved true because God made what he said through the prophet actually happen.


So I shall only consider the work of real prophets, remembering that they will generally be the lone voice surrounded by the false prophets.


Amos: During the material prosperity of Jeroboam II 's reign religion and its everyday working out in honesty and justice were in decline. First Amos, then Hosea are sent to call the people of the North to repentance and faith in God.


Amos himself is a Southerner. His oft quoted words; “I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet” should, but rarely do, include what follows: “But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel'.” Amos is not one of the official church's tame prophets: he is the real thing, sent by God!


One cannot help marvelling at God's use of language as one reads the opening chapters. Amos circles round announcing God's condemnation of Israel's neighbours, including Judah to the south. This is bound to engage with the audience – there is a witticism: “the perfect sermon is one that goes over your head and hits your neighbour”. But just when they are enjoying this message comes the crunch: “For three sins of Israel, even for four I will not turn back my wrath!” Now they are the target and God's condemnation of their sins is withering and comprehensive.


The eloquent denunciation-cum-appeal continues: God has sent famine, plague and enemies against them yet they have not turned to him. This reinforces a thing we noted I the time of the Judges: when the people abandoned God he abandoned them to the consequences, but in their distress they at least turned back to him and asked for help, then he rescued them. This we noted was one cause of revival. But in this case even in their distress the people did not turn back to God.


Amos preaches: “Seek the Lord and live”. Then he lays out the evidence of their rejection of God:  with a powerful poetic turn: injusticeYou cows of Bashan, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands 'bring us drink'”; “You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground”; empty religious ritual: “Go to Bethel and sin, go to Gilgal and sin even more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years … your freewill offerings … boast about them you Israelites, for this is what you love to do.and, interestingly abuse of the legal system: “you hate the one who reproves in court and despise the one who tells the truth.” … “you take bribes … and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”


Empty religious rituals supposedly worshiping Yahweh are denounced: “I hate, I despise your religious feasts … though you bring me burnt offerings … I will not accept them … away with the noise of your songs … But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.”


Amos is denounced by the priest of Bethel, home of “state sanctioned” religion, and apparently the people fail to heed his call to repentance. Then comes his prophecy of God's judgement on unrepentant Israel, but ends on a note of God's care and future restoration.


Hosea begins his ministry towards the end of Jeroboam II's reign and preaches for some 40 years, nearly to the destruction of Israel in 722 BC.

One side issue I find powerful about Hosea is an answer it gives to the question of the “in-errancy” of the Bible. By this I mean that what the Bible sets out to teach is comes from God and is accurate and reliable as a guide to faith and moral behaviour. It is not a science textbook! It is not a history book! It is a book about God and humans. But given this people still question how God can accurately inspired the writers. 


 Hosea provides one solution: as the common saying goes “horses for courses” that is God also chose the messenger for the particular message. In this case the message is a last ditch appeal by a loving God to a people who keep rejecting him and running after other gods – which are no gods at all. The man he chooses loves a woman who is a serial adulterer: he keeps taking her back and he keeps having his heart broken when she runs off with yet another man. He is by personal tragedy perfectly equipped to convey God's message that Israel is just like an adulterous wife to the God who loves it and saves it.


His heartfelt appeal ends with both judgement, appeal to repent and future redemption: “The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God.” … “Return O Israel to the Lord your God, your sins have been your downfall.” … “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.


It is a sad fact of history that there was no revival of true religion despite the powerful messages of both Amos and Hosea. Having abandoned God, he abandoned them to their political stupidity in the face of Assyrian expansionism. The country was ravaged and eventually even Samaria captured, destroyed and the populace deported and scattered over the Assyrian empire. Israel as a nation ceased to exist.


Saturday 11 March 2017

Revivals in Israel Pt 1

Revivals in Ancient Israel (922 to 732 BC) Pt 1

The “ten tribes” which rebelled against Rehoboam formed the northern kingdom of “Israel” from then on to its demise at the hands of the Assyrians in 732 BC.

Humanly the rebellion was caused by Rehoboam's lack of diplomacy and care for his subjects. Divinely it was foretold and caused by God in response to Solomon abandoning God in his old age.
Jeroboam (king 922-901) had been approached by the prophet Ahijah who said “This is what the Lord says: 'I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's had and give you ten tribes … you will be king over Israel' ”. Sadly, after the successful rebellion Jeroboam did not trust God to maintain him in power but made his own holy places at each end of the kingdom (Dan and Bethel) complete with golden calves and his own brand of priests (not Levites as God had decreed). 
 
I will skip over the next five kings of Israel, because they all followed the same pattern. Most took over the throne by force and killed all the males related to the former king. All of them did further evil in God's sight by worshipping idols. A prophet would tell them that God was about to strike them for all the evil they had done but they did not repent and then disaster befell them.

This brings us to Ahab, who succeeded his father Omri as king. He married Jezebel who was a devotee of Baal, and between them they made Baal and Ashera worship the state religion and tried to exterminate Yahwism. Onto this stage steps the prophet Elijah.

Elijah throws down the gauntlet by declaring that, although they claim their idols control the weather there will, as a demonstration of Yahweh's power, there will be no rain until he says so.
There follows a delightful account (1 Kings 17 & 18) of the cat and mouse game: Ahab trying to capture Elijah but God hiding and miraculously feeding him. In the midst of this we learn that there has been an “underground church” in Israel. We encounter one Obadiah, a high official who still worships God and who has hidden away 100 prophets of God and supplied them with food and water.
Then comes the big contest. Elijah challenges the Baalists through Ahab to meet him on Mount Carmel before all the Israelites. 

The prophets of Baal dance all morning around the altar they have built to no avail. At the time of evening sacrifice Elijah says a short prayer and fire falls from heaven and consumes the offering on his altar. After such a demonstration the Israelites declare their allegiance to God and dispose of the prophets of Baal. Then the rains come.

In this revival of true religion, God defeats the ruthless power of the state with a miraculous demonstration of his superior power. 
 
After this, God delivers Israel twice from attacks by vastly superior forces. Even after the judicial murder of Naboth, God's sentence on Ahab is postponed because Ahab humbles himself before God.
Elisha succeeds Elijah as prophet and his ministry too is studded with spectacular miracles. The king, Ahab's son goes in awe of Elisha, and is delivered from attacks by the neighbouring Arameans, but Jezebel is still alive and we see later that while there are companies of God's prophets, there are also many belonging to Baal. I am only guessing, but this could be the reason God works so many spectacular miracles at this time.

A lesson for today I would Take from this is: God can, but infrequently does, miracles. I say this because there has on one hand been a “signs and wonders” movement that expected miracles at every turn, but on the other hand in mainline churches a lack of belief in let alone expectation of miracles. In the Bible they do happen but they are pretty rare: mostly grouped around Elijah and Elisha, then Jesus and the early Apostles. Apart from that they are sprinkled as authentications of prophecies (as for Hezekiah) and as military deliverances – although there are certainly a large number of those! As Jesus said: “In the time of Elisha the prophet no one in Israel was cleansed of leprosy, only Naaman the Syrian” 
 
My advice is: Pray for miracles, because when the situation warrants it God is more than capable of doing them: but do not expect them just whenever you think they might be useful. 
 
Next an army commander, Jehu is anointed king by one of the prophets at God's command. I am personally confused about what follows. Jehu deliberately carries out God's sentence on Ahab that all his descendants would be killed. He also disposes of Jezebel. He kills all the prophets and ministers of Baal, and purges the leading men of the country. The Bible commends him for carrying out God's sentence, but historically his purge of all the leaders weakens Israel economically for some generations. Perhaps I am wrong, but I would take two opposing lessons from this:

1) God takes the perverting of true religion really, really seriously – so that a complete purge is worth the consequent problems …. but …
2) To convert and be able to retain the leaders, influential people and intelligentsia is better still.

As God predicted, Jehu's descendants to the fourth generation are kings, thereafter they change by assassinations and coups. They do not institute religious revival. Although some like Jehoash revered the prophet Elisha, indeed he referred to him as “the chariots and horsemen of Israel”. Some, like Jeroboam II had economic prosperity, some were oppressed by Aram, and finally Hoshea by turning traitor against his Assyrian overlord caused all Israel to be deported and scattered over the Assyrian empire. 
 
So unlike Judah in the South, kings were rarely the motivators of revival in Israel.
 
We have looked at Elijah and Elisha, next I want to see what effect some of the later prophets sent to the North had.