Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, we ask you to bless all of us who have come here tonight
to immerse ourselves in the study of your Word.
Give us the light of your wisdom
As we study your servants, the prophets after the fall of the Davidic Kingdom.
And as you taught us to pray together:
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Upcoming major holy days: The Season of Advent begins Sunday, Dec 1 to Dec 24.
Quote of the Week:
“Human history is the long, terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” – C.S. Lewis
TODAY:
· Why are we supposed to fear God if He is a God of love? Didn’t Jesus say, “Fear not!”?
· Weekly Theme: Bible Timeline: The Prophets 1000 BC to 30 AD
Why are we supposed to fear God if He is a God of love? Didn’t Jesus say, “Fear not!”?
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be and favored. – Psalm 128:1-2
The idea of fear is disliked by all, although without it the human race may have died out long ago. Fear is like pain – it is an internal warning system designed to make us pay attention and so we can stay alive.
Over time, we have come to understand that there are different nuances to what fear is.
A good example might be raising a child. With young children, a parent might warn, “DO NOT TOUCH THE STOVE.” Hopefully, a parent will instill enough fear in them so that they don’t burn themselves by touching the stove. We warn them – instill fear in them – for their own good, because we love them. Would you call this a good kind of fear? A fear based on love?
As children mature, we begin appealing to their reason in order to encourage good behavior. The child develops a respect for fire and learns that fire is not only frightening, but it can also do awesome things. It can heat our home, cook our food, and we can enjoy sitting in front of a campfire or our fireplace. The same is true for water: water is life-giving, and it can also take life away. We are teaching reasoning skills and discernment.
What is fear?
Dictionary.com says:
- a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
- reverential awe, especially toward God.
The “fear of pain or danger” and “reverential awe” seem very different from each other, yet they have some things in common. Can you guess?
1) A sense of something greater than us/that we don’t control is very near.
2) The need to pay attention.
If we dig a little deeper, we find that we could define fear in two ways – good and bad fear, or better – perfect and imperfect fear. Let’s think of them on a sliding scale.
Imperfect Fear Perfect Fear
Although fear can work to our benefit/safety regardless of where we are on the scale, as fear moves from left to right, we move towards a more loving basis for it.
A combination of both the fear of pain/danger and reverential awe can be seen as similar to a child’s fear of upsetting his or her father. If the father is a good and loving person, the fear will be more healthy (to the right) than if the father is not a good person (to the left). A fear based on love actually has a name – filial fear. Filial fear is the fear of repercussions (or just disappointment) based on love and reverence for the one who is feared, be it a good boss, a loving parent, a great leader … or God.
Bible
After the fall of man, humans more often than not abused their power of free will via selfishness to inflict injustice and violence on others, i.e., murder, theft, rape, pillaging, etc. When God gave man the Ten Commandments (~1400 BC) instructing them not to murder, steal, lie, etc., He also used warnings (fear) should they fail to follow them, knowing they would eventually learn the wisdom and love underlying them. They would learn that God’s warnings were out of love, for our own good, and that He was a loving Father.
What were the warnings?
God warned them that if they failed to uphold His commandments, they would lose His protection and they would be conquered by their neighbors.
He was teaching them that their free-will actions could either bring about God’s closeness and protection, or it could distanced them from Him. He would then teach them that this also had eschatological implications.
What does “eschatological” implications mean?
End of time, judgment day, the afterlife.
So then, what was God saying would happen after this life if we turn away from Him during this lifetime?
Just as we distance ourselves from God here, we would distance ourselves from Him permanently. Hell.
This is frightening, is it not? Do you think this fear is based on love or cruelty?
It’s based on love, which is proven by the fact that if we mess up – no matter how many times – God will forgive us if we ask. What could be more loving that that?
As it turns out, the more we move to the right on the spectrum, the wiser we get. And the wiser we get, the more we realize that the greatest danger (fear) of our entire existence is to lose our relationship with God.
As an atheist, I was full of hubris, especially with regard to religion. When I started entering into a relationship with God, I still had hubris, but God tolerated me out of love and brought me along. Over time, the closer I came to God, the smaller I became and the greater He became. Not in a bad way, but in an awesome way. In a “there is no way I deserve Him” way. This is the “reverential awe” fear of God, not the scary version.
Eventually I learned that, contrary to modern thinking, “Fear of the Lord” leads to true freedom: freedom from sin and the slavery to things of this world. What enslaves us is fear of the wrong things – our possessions and our losing our possessions; our reputation and losing our reputation; fear of weakness, loneliness, etc. The fear of these lesser things leads us into sinful responses out of desperate need to control the situation or avoid suffering. That isn’t freedom.
I might add that we generally don’t trust what we perceive to be weak. So, again (counterintuitively), this awesome fear of God as our Almighty Father becomes a necessary foundation for trust. We can absolutely trust that God can do what He promises us He’ll do.
So when Jesus enters the Upper Room on Easter Sunday, he tells the frightened Apostles, “Fear not.” Indeed, He has now conquered the devil and death, so to be with Him is to be saved and safe for all eternity, no matter what happens in this lifetime.
Faith over Fear
Bible Timeline 7:35
Where we left off:
The era of the prophets is generally considered to be the period after the Davidic Kingdom splits into two. However, there were prophets before that from including the Patriarchs – especially Moses, who was considered the greatest prophet by the Jews. And there were the prophets in David and Solomon’s time, just before the kingdom split.
Nevertheless, most prophets in the Bible came after the David/Solomon’s Kingdom is divided (see below).
The first two famous prophets we will discuss are Elijah and his successor, Elisha. The did not have books named after them. They are found in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
These post-Davidic kingdom prophets are classified into “major” and “minor” prophets, which is not based on their significance but on the length of their writings.
1. Major Prophets: There are four major prophets in the Old Testament:
1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Ezekiel
4. Daniel
Again, these prophets are termed "major" because their books are longer and contain more extensive writings compared to the minor prophets.
2. Minor Prophets: The minor prophets consist of twelve individuals, whose writings are shorter. They are:
1. Hosea
2. Joel
3. Amos
4. Obadiah
5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habakkuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi
In summary, the Bible contains four major prophets and twelve minor prophets, making a total of sixteen recognized prophetic figures in this classification.
Although there is not a book named after him, we will also cover John the Baptist, whom Jesus named as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.
The most notable prophets of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
Elijah (~880-842 BC) – 1 and 2 Kings
Elijah was a religious leader in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Kings Ahab. He emerged during a time of rampant idolatry, particularly against the backdrop of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel’s promotion of Baal worship.
The Queen was responsible for the expansion of idolatry worship and had a cadre of Baal priests that would make you blush.
The Queen was also killing off the prophets of Yahweh. Elijah was the last one left and was in hiding. Finally, Elijah issued a challenge to the King and Queen. “Bring all your 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah and meet me at Mount Carmel” – 1 Kings 18:19-20.
Elijah was challenging them to a showdown: Elijah with his God Yahweh against their 850 priests and their god Baal.
Once everyone was gathered, he issued the challenge: set up an altar, put the sacrifice on the altar, and call on your gods to bring down fire to burn the sacrifice.
The priests were ordered to do it. The built the altar, put the sacrifice on it and began praying and dancing around the altar singing and crying to Baal and Asherah to bring down fire.
This went on for hours and hours. Elijah finally said, “Maybe you should sing louder! Maybe your gods need to be woken up!” The priests continued into the night and the next morning before giving up exhausted.
Then it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar for the sacrifice and dug a trench around it. He asked for water to fill the trench, and it was so ordered. When all was ready, he prayed to Yahweh, “Oh LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the true God of Israel and that I am your servant…” (1 Kings 18:36-37).
Then in a loud explosion, the Lord God sent fire down and burned up the sacrifice and the whole altar and all the water in the trench around it. And then silence.
All the witnesses gathered on Mt. Carmel fell to the ground and screamed, “The Lord is God, the Lord is God alone!”
You would think this would have been enough to turn the tide against Baal but King Ahab was weak. Jezebel was outraged and ordered her soldiers to kill Elijah. Elijah fled to the desert and escaped.
Elijah’s life exemplifies the typical role of a prophet as an intercessor, urging the people to return to true worship and conversion of heart. It also exemplifies the resistance of humans.
Elijah’s significance extends beyond his time, as he is seen as a precursor to John the Baptist and was present at the Jesus’ Transfiguration along with Moses representing the prophets of the Old Testament.
How did Elijah depart this world?
“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. – 2 Kings 2:11-12.
Elisha (~850-795 BC) – 2 Kings
Elisha, the successor of the fiery prophet Elijah, emerges as a beacon of hope and divine power in ancient Israel.
Anointed by Elijah, he performs over 30 miraculous deeds, from multiplying oil and flour for a poor widow to resurrecting a child.
His ministry is marked by bold confrontations against idolatry, healing the leper Naaman, and even raising the dead.
It was Elisha who helped over overthrow the bad king Ahab and also anointed Jehu, one of the few good kings (for a while).
One of his memorable acts involved the cleansing of the Jordan, which had turned poisonous. Elisha miraculously crossed and recrossed the river and the water was purified, wining the gratitude of throngs of people present.
Elisha's life intertwines with kings and commoners alike, showcasing God's unwavering presence and mercy. With a mantle of authority (the mantle left to him by Elijah), he carries forth the prophetic mission, embodying faith and compassion, and leaving an indelible mark on the spiritual landscape of Israel.
Hosea (~770-722 BC) – 2 Kings
The prophet Hosea of ancient Israel delivered a powerful message of divine love and unyielding mercy amidst a backdrop of national infidelity and moral decay.
Commanded by God to marry Gomer, an unfaithful woman (a prostitute) so that Hosea's personal life would be a poignant symbol of Israel's betrayal of God. In other words, the prostitute was Israel, and God was marrying her to show that he was faithful to them, even though they were betraying Him.
In this way and through many lamentations over a period of 50 years, Hosea reveals God's deep compassion and desire for reconciliation, despite Israel's waywardness. Hosea's prophecies foretell both judgment and hope, emphasizing that God's love transcends human unfaithfulness, ultimately inviting the people back to a covenant relationship with their Creator.
His entire message resonates with themes of redemption and divine fidelity.
Amos (~760-750 BC) – 2 Kings
Amos, a humble herdsman from Tekoa, emerges as a powerful voice against the rampant injustice in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. His prophetic mission, marked by vivid imagery and poetic language, delivers a stark warning of impending doom due to the oppression of the poor and the corruption of the elite. Amos boldly confronts the wealthy, declaring that mere rituals cannot appease God while the needy suffer. His passionate call for justice resonates through time, emphasizing that true worship is inseparable from righteous action, making him a pivotal figure in the biblical tradition of social justice.
Jonah (~755-750 BC) – 2 Kings
Jonah is asked by God to go to Nineveh (like Mordor in those days) to tell them to repent. Yeah, right.
Jonah flees and is on a small ship when a storm comes and threatens to kill them all. The other occupants ask who has offended the gods to cause this. Jonah comes clean and says it’s him, so they throw him overboard.
Jonah is swallowed by a large fish and lives in its belly for 3 days, which is a type of Jesus – in the tomb for 3 days before his resurrection – which is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 12:40.
In the belly of the fish, Johan prays a hymn of thanksgiving. Why would he do that?
Jonah sang a prayer of thanksgiving in the belly of the fish because, despite being in a very dire situation, he realized he was still alive and that God had delivered him, leading him to express gratitude for his salvation even while trapped inside the fish. Essentially, he was acknowledging God's power to save him from what seemed like a hopeless situation.
For the second time, God tells Jonah to go preach to Nineveh, and this time he does. He tells everyone in the city they will be destroyed in 40 days if they don’t repent. ... and the people repent and fast and made penance, from the king to the animals... and God forgave Nineveh... just as Jonah feared! He did not want the Ninevites forgiven.
Jonah, angry and disappointed, wishes for death. He expostulates with the Lord, and declares that it was in anticipation of this result that on the former occasion he had wished to flee to Tharsis to begin with.
He withdraws from Nineveh and, under a booth which he has erected, he awaits the destiny of the city. In this abode he enjoys for a time the refreshing shade of a gourd which the Lord prepares for him. Shortly, however, the gourd is stricken by a worm and Jonah is exposed to the burning rays of the sun, whereupon he again murmurs and wishes to die.
Then the Lord rebukes him for his selfish grief over the withering of a gourd plant, while still desiring that God should not be touched by the repentance of a city of more than 120,000 people!
The lesson was for all Jews and readers of this story. Do not be angry at God’s mercy of others who repent. Pray for them, instead.
If you ever are so depressed you wish to die, you are in good company: Jonah, and Moses, and Elijah, and Job had the same feeling... and if you are ever so depressed that you feel you are good for nothing, in God’s mind you are still good enough to be a SAINT!
The miraculous repentance of Nineveh
Closing Prayer:
Jonah in the Belly of the Fish (Jonah Chapter 2).
Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me;
From the womb of Sheol I cried for help, and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows passed over me.
When I became faint, I remembered the LORD;
My prayer came to you in your holy temple.
But I, with thankful voice, will sacrifice to you;
What I have vowed I will pay: deliverance is from the LORD!
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.