https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/OverviewOfOldTestamentsProphets.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Hosea 14<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. The Old Testament is divided into three major sections: the Law, the Psalms, and the\nProphets – Luke 24:44\n A. The Law refers to the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and\nDeuteronomy\n
B. The Prophets or teachings were divided by the Jews into two sets:<\/p>\n 1. The Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II\nKings\n 2. The Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve smaller\nbooks from Hosea to Malachi\n C. The Psalms or holy writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth,\nLamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Chronicles and II\nChronicles.\n
D. Today we divide the Old Testament differently.<\/p>\n
1. The Law still comes first: Genesis to Deuteronomy<\/p>\n
2. History covers Joshua to Esther and is roughly in chronological order<\/p>\n
3. Wisdom is Job to Song of Solomon<\/p>\n
4. Major Prophets are Isaiah to Daniel<\/p>\n
5. Minor Prophets are Hosea to Malachi<\/p>\n E. We are going to focus today on these prophets because they are often used to state\nthings never intended\n 1. The prophets taught faced the problems in their days and taught the eternal\ntruths from God to counter those problems. Truths that we still often need\ntoday.\n 2. They knew that the sins of Israel would lead to the captivity and\ndestruction of their nation.\n 3. Inspired by the Spirit of God, they foresaw the coming of the Messiah and\nhis kingdom to right the many wrongs caused by man.\n 4. Their job was to encourage the people to remain faithful and trust in God’s\nability to carry out His will and His triumph.\n
II. What was a prophet?<\/p>\n
A. Three basic classes<\/p>\n 1. Jeremiah 18:18 – Priests involved in the Law, Wise men or elders involved\nin counsel, and Prophets involved in the Word.\n 2. Ezekiel 7:26 – Prophets had visions, Priests had the Law, and Elders had\ntheir Counsels.\n 3. Thus elders or wise men functioned in Israel’s society to give counsel,\napplying the teachings of God to day-to-day living\n 4. Priests were teachers of the law, both in declaring what it said and helping\npeople understand the Law’s meaning. They also performed duties under\nthat law, such as the offering of sacrifices.\n
5. Prophets communicated to Israel God’s will<\/p>\n
B. A prophet was God’s spokesman<\/p>\n 1. Exodus 7:1 – Aaron function for Moses in a manner similar to how\nprophets functioned for God\n
2. Exodus 4:16 – Aaron was Moses’ spokesman or his mouth<\/p>\n
3. In speaking of the future Prophet – Deuteronomy 18:18<\/p>\n
4. Prophets relayed God’s revelations – Amos 3:7-8<\/p>\n
C. Other terms<\/p>\n
1. Seer – A person who sees, such as visions<\/p>\n
2. Man of God – A person who belongs to God or serves God<\/p>\n
3. Servant of God<\/p>\n
4. Messenger of the Lord<\/p>\n
5. Watchman – A person to watch events and give advance warning<\/p>\n D. “Someone has said, ‘There are two classes of preachers – the good preachers who\nhave something to say, and the poor preachers who have to say something. But\nthere is yet another and higher class. It consists of those who both have something\nto say and who have to say it. Such are the prophets.’” [Homer Hailey, “Ancient\nProphets in a Modern World”]\n
E. False Prophets<\/p>\n 1. As might be expected, men arose claiming to be prophets though not sent\nfrom God.\n 2. Some were mercenary, they prophesied for money; others were political,\nthey prophesied for position and power – Micah 3:5-7\n
3. Micah, in contrast, was a true prophet – Micah 3:8<\/p>\n
III. What was a prophet’s job?<\/p>\n
A. People have a tendency to stray from God – Romans 3:9-23<\/p>\n
B. In Israel the people did as they saw fit – Judges 21:25<\/p>\n
1. Religious corruption – idolatry<\/p>\n
2. Social corruption – not following the law<\/p>\n
3. Political corruption – men grabbing power for their own purpose<\/p>\n
4. In other words, people then are much the same as now – Ecclesiastes 1:10-11<\/p>\n
C. Israel was doomed unless they changed.<\/p>\n
D. The prophet’s job was<\/p>\n
1. To call Israel back from idolatry<\/p>\n
2. To denounce the sins of the people<\/p>\n
3. To warn of impending judgment if they did not repent<\/p>\n
E. It was a message of repent or perish – Ezekiel 18:31-32<\/p>\n
IV. The Era of the Prophets<\/p>\n A. While prophets existed stretching back to the beginning of time, it was during the\nage of the Divided Kingdom when we see the prophets come to the forefront\n 1. Generally it is with Elijah and Elisha in the 9th<\/sup> century B.C. are considered\nthe beginnings of the prophets, working hard to turn people back to the\ntrue God.\n a. Other prophets of this era are Obadiah, Joel, and Jonah<\/p>\n
2. During the 8th<\/sup> century B.C., during height of the Assyrian empire were:<\/p>\n a. Amos and Hosea who prophesied to Israel (the northern kingdom)<\/p>\n
b. Isaiah and Micah who prophesied to Judah (the southern kingdom)<\/p>\n 3. During the 7th<\/sup> century B.C., as the Babylonian empire began to rise there\nwere also four prophets: Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.\nThey spoke to Judah as the Assyrians had wiped out Israel in 722 B.C.\n 4. In the 6th<\/sup> century B.C. came the time of the captivity during which Ezekiel\nand Daniel spoke.\n 5. Finally came the prophets of the return: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.\nThese form the last three books of our Old Testament.\n B. An example from during the rise of the Assyrian empire (8th<\/sup> century B.C.)<\/p>\n 1. This was a period of great prosperity for both the northern and southern\nkingdoms – Isaiah 2:6-9\n a. But such wealth brought trouble<\/p>\n
b. People became self-confident and lax in their religious beliefs<\/p>\n
2. We find it to be a period of both moral and religious corruption<\/p>\n 3. In addition, the success of the Assyrians made it seem that the Assyrian\ngods were superior to Israel’s God. Many left the worship of God to follow\nthese idols.\n
4. The prophets sought to clarify what was happening<\/p>\n a. Assyria’s success was not due to a weakness in God, but happened\nbecause God was going to use Assyria to punish Israel’s sins.\n
b. It was sin that was destroying Israel.<\/p>\n
5. They also sought to correct the people’s view of God<\/p>\n a. Amos stressed the righteousness and justice of the Lord – Amos\n2:4-9\n b. Hosea stressed God’s love and compassion using the illustration of\na husband wounded by his unfaithful spouse – Hosea 1:2-4\n c. Isaiah spoke of God’s holiness and majesty- Isaiah 6:1-4; John\n12:41\n
d. Micah taught about divine judgment – Micah 6:1-16<\/p>\n
V. We can learn from the prophets today<\/p>\n
A. The points made by these prophets would fit in today’s society as well<\/p>\n
1. God’s dispute with the people – Hosea 4:1<\/p>\n
2. Civilization becomes uncivilized – Hosea 4:2<\/p>\n
3. How good is the average man’s word today?<\/p>\n
4. How rampant is violence in our streets?<\/p>\n
5. What about our stance on marriage and sexual morality?<\/p>\n
6. My people are destroyed – Hosea 4:6<\/p>\n
a. The moral decay came about from a religious decay<\/p>\n
b. Much like it is happening in our own time.<\/p>\n
B. The prophets were send to God’s people in Israel<\/p>\n 1. But as they dealt with the sins of a nation, we see the principles God uses\nin dealing with sin.\n 2. I was reading an article called “Ancient Prophets in a Modern World” by\nHomer Hailey.\n a. Much of this lesson is based on points that he made – made in\n1952!\n
b. He thought it bad then. We know that it was just barely beginning.<\/p>\n
3. With prosperity came a lax attitude toward God. <\/p>\n a. Politicians rounded power in their offices by separating religion\nfrom political laws\n
b. Moral decisions decay as a lack of belief became rampant<\/p>\n
c. Religious leaders aren’t really religious anymore.<\/p>\n
d. Civilization becomes uncivilized.<\/p>\n C. Eventually there will be an accounting. The harvest is determined by what was\nsown.\n 1. Let us study the prophets to learn of the failures which brought ruin upon\nIsrael\n 2. Then we will be warned. We can face the immoral without fear. We can\ncall for an awakening in our own time.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hosea 14 I. The Old Testament is divided into three major sections: the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets – Luke 24:44 A. The Law refers to the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy B. The Prophets or teachings were divided by the Jews into two sets: 1. The Former…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[410,38,483,50,936],"class_list":["post-17211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-judgment","tag-morality","tag-prophets","tag-repentance","tag-teachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23579,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-first-five-books-of-the-bible-called\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":0},"title":"What are the first five books of the Bible called?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the first five books of the Bible called? Answer: \"Then He said to them, \"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16594,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-major-and-minor-prophets-are-there-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":1},"title":"How many major and minor prophets are there in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How many major and minor prophets are there in the Bible? Answer: The division of major and minor prophets come from the Old Testament. There are 17 books of prophecy in the Old Testament and they are divided into two groups: the long books (the major prophets) and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2115,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-john-the-baptist-the-last-prophet-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":2},"title":"Why is John the Baptist the last prophet in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why is John the Baptist the last prophet in the Bible? (Luke 16:16) Answer: \"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it\" (Luke 16:16). \"From the days\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-mission-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":3},"title":"The Mission of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Matthew 5:17-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is hardly a denomination in existence that does not appeal to the Old Testament for portions of their practices. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of the rituals in the Catholic church find their roots in the Old Testament, such as the burning of incense. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Protestants are not beyond dipping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12932,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-canon-of-the-old-testament-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":4},"title":"The Canon of the Old Testament \u2013 Part 2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In our prior lesson, we established the acceptance of the writings of Moses by a large number of people over a wide range of history. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The writings were not accepted because of some decree or because the documents were old, but because they were recognized as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23340,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-old-testament-points-us-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":17211,"position":5},"title":"The Old Testament Points Us to Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler The Old Testament is valuable because it points us to Christ. Jesus emphasized that the Old Testament pointed to Him Jesus said, \u201cYou search in the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness of Me\u201d (John 5:39).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/arrow-road-road-signs-sign-preview-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}