66…MALACHI…MY MESSENGER

                 Based on the book of Malachi (Mal)…Read more there. 

Malachi dates from just before the time of Nehemiah (BTLTL43) in mid-5th C. BC. This may not be a real name as Malachi simply means ‘my messenger’. After a resurgence of faithfulness (or simply religious compliance?) in the time of Haggai & Zechariah (BTLTL65) things have slipped again. Mal is a faithful messenger of what he sees to be the failures of the people & warns them of the fate that awaits them if they don’t get their act, i.e. God’s act, together!

Beginning with a declaration of God’s love for His people, CH.1 soon descends into a familiar rant against the arch-enemy, Edom. Memories are long! Next in the firing line are priests, whom Mal puts on notice over their indifference & slovenliness, to put it mildly. Shades of Jesus later cleansing the Temple! This theme flows into CH.2 which goes on to tackle marriages between Hebrews & foreigners; suspect because of the danger of idolatry being part of the baggage they bring. Read imaginatively we can think of what comes next as a kind of quiz show! YHWH is on one side, with Mal as mouthpiece, the people being the competing team. Mal, aligned as he is with YHWH, is hardly an impartial adjudicator, but impartiality isn’t the name of this game! What we have here is a Prophet called to face head-on a string of goings-on unacceptable in God’s eyes. The people’s responses, their would-be defences, seem hardly convincing!

CH.3 [1] begins with a passage of ‘apocalyptic’, things revealed to insiders through faith but hidden from those ‘on the outside’ [2]. 3:1-3 is later understood in the N.T. as fore-shadowing John the Baptiser & Jesus. Then, after a blast about failing to pay tithes, & the consequences of not carrying out such duties to God, CH.3 ends with more apocalyptic. 

CH.4 [1] ends this last book of the Hebrew Bible with still more apocalyptic regarding the ‘Day of the Lord’, Judgment Day. 4:5-6, like 3:1-3, are later also understood by Christians as pointing to John the Baptiser who in turn points to Jesus. 

So ends our explorations of books of the O.T. aimed at helping us appreciate the stories of our Hebrew faith-ancestors. bringingthelivingtolife.blogspot.com.au is available to anyone interested.

[1] Most versions edit Mal into 4 chapters as here, but NJB continues CH.3 to the end of the book. [2] Other examples of apocalyptic are: Ezk & Dan (BTLTL57 & 58) & Rev. in the N.T.

Q: Are we facing the realities of keeping faith in today’s world, or hiding behind our own versions of apocalyptic? 

65: REBUILDING A TEMPLE & A PEOPLE

Based on the books of Haggai (Hag) & Zechariah (Zech)…Read more there. [1]

HAGGAI

Set in the 6th C. BC, Hebrews who chose to return from Babylon are now back home. Haggai & Zechariah probably returned with Zerubbabel who had been appointed Governor of Jerusalem. Haggai exercises his role as Prophet briefly but effectively in BC.520. In CH.1 Haggai accuses the people of slacking in re-building the destroyed Temple. He tells them very stirringly the lean years they are experiencing are a penalty for putting building their own homes ahead of building God’s! Zerubbabel (descendant of King David & now Gover-nor of Jerusalem), Joshua the high priest, & a faithful remnant [2] lead a resurgence in faithfulness to YHWH [3] which leads in [CH.2] to a fore-telling of the future glory of the still incomplete Temple. Later in this chapter Haggai puts the priests through their paces as to their ritual duties, but turns the ‘clean-or-unclean’ concepts against those who don’t get his message. Haggai seems to see Zerubbabel as a Messiah in the making, but this is not to be.

Notes: [1] BTLTL 43 relating to Ezra & Nehemiah provides useful background here. [2] See Zeph 3:11+ in BTLTL 64 re this term. [3] “Seldom has a sermon had such a practical impact.” (J.B. Taylor, Minor Prophets, S.U., London, 1970 p.69). 

ZECHARIAH

Hot on Haggai’s heels, Zechariah [CH.1:4] [4] starts with a vision of horsemen (God patrolling a peaceful earth?) the 1st of 8 visions, reminiscent of Ezekiel [5]. We can at least get the gist of them, & they mark a stage in the development of post-exilic Judaism. CH.2 [4] has the 2nd vision: four horns (world powers?) & four blacksmiths (God’s powers?), & also the 3rd: a surveyor (Jerusalem will be so big it won’t need walls?). CH.3 starts with the 4th vision: the cleansing & clothing of the High Priest, Joshua. This may have been to deal with a rift over Joshua’s fitness for his role [6]. CH.4 opens with a 5th vision: a seven-lamp stand (God’s omni-presence among the community )[7] & two olive trees (Joshua & Zerubbabel the religious & civil leaders chosen by God). CH.5 contains vision 6: a huge scroll, a curse, flying through the air singling out evil-doers; & 7: a woman in a barrel, carried away by angels to Babylon (where idolaters belong?) There’s a big clean-up going on here in preparation for a whole new start back in Jerusalem! CH.6 opens with the 8th & last vision: 4 chariots drawn by horses of different colours patrol the earth for YHWH. This flows on to a crowning of Joshua as a kind of Messianic figure, though some think that in the original text both Joshua & Zerubbabel may have been crowned. If so, this may have led to political repercussions against the latter from the Persian over-lords. CH.7 is about fasting, & CH.8, a collection of prophecies. Some scholars - including those of the NJB - believe CH.9-14 reflect later conditions & testing times in the 4th C. BC under Alexander ‘the Great’ & need to be understood in that light. Apocalyptic, the revealing of things hidden (cf. Dan in the O.T. & Rev in the N.T.) dominates in these last chapters. Christians will find issues important to Jesus & His followers, e.g. faithful & unfaithful shepherding.

Just one more episode to come!…66: Malachi - My Messenger       

Notes: [4] Not all versions have the same numbering of verses. [5] Some later influenced the author of the N.T. book of Revelation. [6] Taylor, op.cit. in [N.3] above) p.75. [7] A seven-branched candelabra comes to be a symbol of Judaism & a feature in synagogues. 

Q:  What state is our own ‘temple’ (soul) in? Do we need re-furbishing, if not re-building?

64: FALL, FAITH, JUDGMENT…NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH

Based on the Books of Nahum (Na), Habakkuk (Hab), & Zephaniah (Zeph.)…Read more there.

NAHUM

Nahum is a Prophet in the old southern kingdom of Judea probably just before the destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, by the Babylonians in 612BC. That destruction is the main focus of this short book written, like some other ‘minor’ Prophets, in poetry. Hearing the prophecy chanted or even sung may have helped memorising. CH.1: The main theme is God’s wrath directed against Nineveh (= the Assyrians in general) who had destroyed the old northern kingdom of Israel in 721BC. vv. 12, 13, & 15, however contrast Nineveh’s fate with the prospect of a better future for Judea [1]. CH.2 continues the tirade against Nineveh & this continues still further in CH.3. After a vivid description of a war-torn city, its downfall is likened, vv.11-13 or 15, depending on editing, to the downfall of the great city of Thebes in Egypt at the hands of these same Assyrians in 663BC. 

Notes: [1] Judea, though, was itself totally subjugated by Babylon not long after this (587-6 BC).

HABAKKUK [1]

We know nothing about Habakkuk. Parts of the book bearing his name appear to come from the late 7th C BC, & others from the late 6th C. CH.1 & CH.2:1-4 consist of a question & answer session between Habakkuk & YHWH God about right-living, justice, & punishment. CH.1:5-11 introduces the Babylonians as those who will carry out God’s justice, in which case they will prove to be a two-edged sword! In N.T. times, S. Paul takes up YHWH’s response [2:4] of the “upright will live through faithfulness” (NJB) giving it a lasting emphasis in Christian theology [2]. After a brief introduction the rest of the chapter is a series of threats (perhaps more clearly seen in the editing of NJB) against various classes of evil-doers. CH.3 begins & ends with musical directions suggesting some expectation it would be sung like a psalm, but we don’t know the context for this.

First comes a prayer, then ‘appearances’ of God on earth to deal with His enemies & aid His people, & ends with a ‘towering expression of faith [1]. 

Notes: [1] “..this prophecy presents the picture of a man who believes & yet questions…a healthy & not unspiritual exercise…& closes with a towering expression of faith scarcely equalled in the O.T.” John B Taylor, p.63, The Minor Prophets, S.U., London, 1970 [2] Rom1:17, Gal 3:11. 

ZEPHANIAH

The introduction tells us Zephaniah operated in Judea in the reign of the reforming king, Josiah (BC 640-609) meaning he overlaps the ministry of Jeremiah. CH.1 spells out Zeph’s main theme: the day of YHWH’s visitation is near, & it will be terrible for those who fall foul of Him! The warning of CH.2:1-3 rounds off the judgment theme of CH.1 but also holds out hope (v.3) of being saved from destruction by turning to YHWH. This is a hope that emerges in the O.T. & carries over into the N.T. Faithless Hebrews, though, will suffer the same fate as the enemy & idolatrous nations who ‘cop a serve’ in vv.4-15. Although CH.3 begins with a ‘serve’ to the people of Judea itself, the focus again shifts in vv.6-8 to an attack on other nations, softened (v. 9) to a note of hope & con-version. This is expanded into one of the great legacies of the O.T., the idea of a faithful remnant remaining true to God no matter what others are doing. The Noah story from pre-history sows the seeds of this idea of finding new life in God & it is later taken up in the N.T. [1]. And there’s still more to come…65: Rebuilding a Temple & a People…Haggai & Zecharaiah

Notes: [1] ‘They who participate in this new life are the new Israel…& the remnant according to the election of grace’ [RO 11:5] Richardson (Ed.), Theological Word Book of the Bible, SCM, London, 1956, p.191

Q: Can we find one thing in each of the above books clearly relevant to our own life & faith? 

63…MICAH: GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL

Based on the Book of Micah (Mi)…Read more there

Scholars believe parts of Micah may have been added after the return from Babylon (after BC 538) but most of the book bearing his name comes from the early 700s BC when he was a Prophet in the old southern kingdom of Judea. The issues Micah (& Isaiah) address in Judea are much the same as those Hosea & Amos address in Israel in the north. The ‘nutshell’ of Micah’s good news is found in CH.6:8..”what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, & to love kindness, & to walk humbly with your God?” [NRSV] [1]. Christians believe Jesus later embodies this ‘life-style’. Suggestion: Read the rest of the book in the light of 6:8.

CH.1 refers to the people of Samaria, capital of the Northern Kingdom which fell to the Assyrians in BC 721, but beginning with v.8 Micah turns it against the southerners too. CH.2 & 3 attack the ‘bad guys’ who are the living antithesis of Micah’s ‘nutshell’. Over- privileged & under-caring, government & other rulers, false prophets, all cop a serve! Are there those among us who still need to heed YHWH’s word through Micah, later expanded & demonstrated in Jesus? CH. 4 speaks of better things ahead for Jerusalem & its people. CH.5 introduces the theme of a Ruler (Messiah) to come, & vv. 2-5 have become part of Christian ‘back-grounding’ of the later birth of Jesus the Christ (Messiah) in Bethlehem. The rest of the chapter, though, is pretty threatening. CH.6 begins with YHWH setting a court scene to try people failing Him. We’ve already seen the centrality of vv.6-8 above, we may recognise v.3 in liturgies of Holy Week, & Jesus quotes CH. 7:6 [MT:10: 35-36]. So much for Micah being ‘minor’! 

In CH.7 he highlights the country having lost its moral compass. That compass, not so much lost as thrown overboard, is of course YHWH Himself, who must be restored to His rightful place in society before there can be change in the required direction. The key to this necessary change lies in Micah saying [v.7] “As for me I will look to the Lord…..”. In effect, personal responsibility starts with me! The rest of the chapter heralds new hope for the Israelites, but takes a passing swipe at nations that will not turn to YHWH, before ending with a noteworthy prayer of faith & confidence [2]. And still there’s more to come…64: FALL ,FAITH, JUDGMENT…NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH

Notes: [1] A possible summary: ‘act justly & compassionately & walk humbly with God.

[2] ‘The book that begins with the faithlessness of human beings ends on the note of the faithfulness & goodness of God’. J.B. Taylor: The Minor Prophets, SU, London,1970, p.60, 

Q: What ‘moral compass’ bearing are we ourselves taking personal responsibility for steering by?

63…MICAH: GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL

Based on the Book of Micah (Mi)…Read more there

Scholars believe parts of Micah may have been added after the return from Babylon (after BC 538) but most of the book bearing his name comes from the early 700s BC when he was a Prophet in the old southern kingdom of Judea. The issues Micah (& Isaiah) address in Judea are much the same as those Hosea & Amos address in Israel in the north. The ‘nutshell’ of Micah’s good news is found in CH.6:8..”what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, & to love kindness, & to walk humbly with your God?” [NRSV] [1]. Christians believe Jesus later embodies this ‘life-style’. Suggestion: Read the rest of the book in the light of 6:8.

CH.1 refers to the people of Samaria, capital of the Northern Kingdom which fell to the Assyrians in BC 721, but beginning with v.8 Micah turns it against the southerners too. CH.2 & 3 attack the ‘bad guys’ who are the living antithesis of Micah’s ‘nutshell’. Over- privileged & under-caring, government & other rulers, false prophets, all cop a serve! Are there those among us who still need to heed YHWH’s word through Micah, later expanded & demonstrated in Jesus? CH. 4 speaks of better things ahead for Jerusalem & its people. CH.5 introduces the theme of a Ruler (Messiah) to come, & vv. 2-5 have become part of Christian ‘back-grounding’ of the later birth of Jesus the Christ (Messiah) in Bethlehem. The rest of the chapter, though, is pretty threatening. CH.6 begins with YHWH setting a court scene to try people failing Him. We’ve already seen the centrality of vv.6-8 above, we may recognise v.3 in liturgies of Holy Week, & Jesus quotes CH. 7:6 [MT:10: 35-36]. So much for Micah being ‘minor’! 

In CH.7 he highlights the country having lost its moral compass. That compass, not so much lost as thrown overboard, is of course YHWH Himself, who must be restored to His rightful place in society before there can be change in the required direction. The key to this necessary change lies in Micah saying [v.7] “As for me I will look to the Lord…..”. In effect, personal responsibility starts with me! The rest of the chapter heralds new hope for the Israelites, but takes a passing swipe at nations that will not turn to YHWH, before ending with a noteworthy prayer of faith & confidence [2]. And still there’s more to come…64: FALL ,FAITH, JUDGMENT…NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH

Notes: [1] A possible summary: ‘act justly & compassionately & walk humbly with God.

[2] ‘The book that begins with the faithlessness of human beings ends on the note of the faithfulness & goodness of God’. J.B. Taylor: The Minor Prophets, SU, London,1970, p.60, 

Q: What ‘moral compass’ bearing are we ourselves taking personal responsibility for steering by?

62: POISON (!) & PARABLE (?)

Based on the books of Obadiah (Ob) & Jonah (Jon)…Read more there

OBADIAH

The Edomites whom Ob attacks with such vitriol in this short (only 21 vv.) book that bears his name are descendants of Esau, Jacob’s (Israel’s) twin brother. Though the two had ‘made up’  [GEN  Ch.33] there were always ongoing tensions between their descendants. When the Babylonians over-ran Judea & took many of the Jews into captivity (BC. 586-7) instead of coming to their distant relatives’ aid the Edomites joined with the Babylonians! PS 137, from the days of captivity, ends with a burst of raging hatred. This is the back-ground against which Ob spells out the bad things he believes YHWH will do to the Edom-ites before & after Judgment Day! Many of these predictions come to pass. The infamous N.T. Herod dynasty were Edomites! Still at it frustrating what God was doing among the Hebrews, but for everyone, in the Person of His Son, Jesus.

JONAH

It’s most likely Jon is a ‘parable’ & like Daniel to be read imaginatively, not literally. Let’s look at it that way now.Ch.1: Jonah is sent by God as a ‘missionary’ to Nineveh, once the capital of the Assyrian empire. Jon, though, is probably from the 4th C. BC, & Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC! But the memory of the Assyrians destroying the old Northern Kingdom, Israel is still strong even after the eventual return from exile in Babylon. The ‘half-caste’ (as the Jews saw them) Samaritans were one legacy of the Assyrian conquest. Instead of going to Nineveh as God requires of him, Jonah takes passage on a boat sailing for Spain to avoid his mission. When a storm blows up & the ship is in danger of sinking, Jon is eventually thrown overboard by the crew. That the storm calms & they survive impresses the sailors, who are deeply shocked at Jonah’s running away, & they are ‘converted’ to YHWH who can catch up like this with those who go AWOL as Jonah does [1].

Ch.2 relates the biggest & hardest to swallow ‘fish’ story of all time. Note Jonah’s psalm-like & prayerful meditation in the belly where he expects to die. After three days & nights, on YHWH’s instruction the ‘fish’ vomits Jonah up onto dry land! Jesus makes much of this [MT 12: 39-41 & 16:4] as He foretells his own incarceration in a tomb & resurrection.

Ch.3: YHWH again directs Jonah to go to Nineveh & preach to its people. He goes this time & the result is a mass-conversion leading YHWH to have compassion on the Ninevites. Ch.4 ends the saga with Jonah being angry at such compassion on God’s part. (Jon’s a recruit-in-waiting for today’s hard-line religious right!) But God has his measure & by using a castor-oil plant & the shade it temporarily gives Jonah shows him how he needs to look at things God’s way & not his own way. The tale ends with Jonah still not getting it!

While Jon is primarily a ‘parable’ about the Hebrews & their captivity by Assyria & Babylon, & being freed by the latter, ‘coming to life’ again, other possible scenarios include: being  compassionate towards all peoples; responsibility for outreach to others; & not trying to run away from God! And still they come…63: Micah…Gospel in a Nutshell.

Notes: [1] In its introduction to Jon [p.1189) the NJB likens the succession of ills that befall him to a series of practical jokes played by YHWH God!

Q. Are we ever guilty of going AWOL from God by looking at things the wrong way? 

61: AMOS…ONLY A HERDSMAN

Based on the Book of Amos (Am)…Read more there [1]

Amos, an animal herder is called by YHWH God to be a Prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam 2nd (783-743 BC). This is a time when that part of David’s & then Solomon’s once united kingdom is doing incredibly well, thank you very much! Well, the rich & powerful are, but not the poor, & not YHWH! [2] Amos’ message surely speaks of & to today’s society divided into haves & have-nots & without a ‘spiritual compass’. Motyer, quoted in the notes below, thinks what we have in the book that bears Amos’ name may in effect be his abbreviated ‘sermon notes’ & not a complete coverage of all he addresses to his hearers.

Ch.1 & the first part of Ch.2:1-3 are tirades against neighbouring countries & their treat-ment of the Hebrews. But from Ch.2:4 to the end of Ch.6 Amos turns a similarly blistering & unwelcome spot-light first, briefly, on the Southern Kingdom of Judea, then on the people of Israel for dallying with foreign ‘gods’. Israel also cops it for failing to care for the vulnerable (the ones Jesus later refers to as ‘little ones’) in society as YHWH God has always expected of His people. Perhaps at this point we might note the three brief hymns of praise interspersed through-out Amos. They occur at Ch.4:13, Ch.5:8-9, & Ch.9:5-6, the last not unlike a psalm. 

Starting with Ch.7, & featuring a series of visions, the language towards Israel softens a little & offers hope once more - providing the things God is complaining of are put to rights. But in Ch.7:10 Amaziah ‘priest of Bethel’ - there shouldn’t have been any priests of Bethel; the true Temple is in Jerusalem - hijacks the series by reporting Amos to the king. It is interesting that Amaziah  doesn’t accuse Amos of being a false prophet (that might be a pot calling a kettle black!) & strangely, we’re not told the king’s response. Amaziah, needless to say, cops a blast from Amos & writes himself into history as an example of church leaders who prefer the status-quo, secular or religious, to godly reform! By the way, it’s highly likely this section of the book, in prose unlike the poetry of the rest of it has been contributed by supporters of Amos. We aren’t told Amos’ fate, but he seems to have just slipped quietly back to his former calling of herdsman.

After being interrupted by the Amaziah incident, it’s time to return to the rest of the book! Beginning at Ch.7:1 the visions are all fairly easy to come to terms with. The 1st of them is of another plague of locusts; the 2nd, of a drought; the 3rd, of a plumb line; & the 4th, after  the Amaziah incident, of a basket of fruit. Ch.9 starts with a 5th & final vision, the bringing down of a sanctuary (probably that at Bethel) & others set up to worship idol-gods. Hot on the heels of this last vision comes a hymn of praise to YHWH (see para.2 above) & then the book concludes with a fine Isaiah-like ‘vision’ of hope.  

 And still they come…62: Obadiah & Jonah…Poison(!) & Parable (?)

Notes: [1] Some scholars think Amos has been added to in parts. [2] ‘Amos saw a society & church on its last legs, but nobody else did. It was a time of affluence, political strength & national stability & expansion.’ (J.A. Motyer, The Day of the Lion, p.16, IVP, London, 1974) 

Q: Does it take much to imagine Amos speaking to our day rather than to almost 3000 years ago?