A Crash Course Through The Old Testament, Part 10 - (an overview of The Prophets)

Something To Gnaw On:  A Crash Course Through The Old Testament, Part 10 (Overview of the Prophets)

Welcome to the Something To Gnaw On Podcast, a short podcast for the Christian with a short attention span…  and this A Crash Course Through The Old Testament, where we’re breaking the Old Testament down, section by section, book by book, to make it a little less intimidating, and easier to process.     And if you are a seasoned student of the Bible, well, just look at this as a refresher course.   And I’m your host, Nate Vainio.

This episode is Part 10, An Overview Of The Prophets.

A story is told of two preachers talking about the altar call portion of a particularly awkward revival service.  It was one of those 15 minute altar calls with 13 verses of Just As I Am, and nobody went down front despite every altar call trick in the preachers playbook.  The kids in the youth group were contemplating going down to the altar, to take one for the team, just to bring an end to the service…. But nobody manned up.

In a private conversation with the older preacher, the younger preacher was bemoaning the lack of response by the people.  He couldn’t figure it out.  He had spent plenty of time in preparation.  He knew the text, the context, the sub-texts and all the  potential pre-texts.  He had spent plenty of time praying for God to move in the meeting.   The time of praise and worship was excellent.  Church members had invited friends and family members to hear the fiery young preacher.

The young preacher delivered a well crafted sermon. 

It had a captivating introduction, culturally applicable points with acute biblical references posted on the multi-media screen.  His transitions flowed smoothly. His illustrations and jokes were proportionate and on point.  His tone ebbed and flowed to keep from erring on the side of too monotone, or too loud,… his inflection was perfect.

And his conclusion was sheer power.

Sheer ACADEMIC power… but nobody came forward to receive Christ, Repent, Rededicate their lives or otherwise exhibit some commitment to change as a result of the sermon.   All that preparation and effort and nothing to show for it after the hype of this ‘revival’.

The younger preacher wrapped up his complaint by saying something to the effect of “I don’t get it, I know there were people there who need to hear the Gospel, and I believe I presented it to the best of my ability.   I don’t get it, why didn’t anyone comeforward?.”

The other preacher, a more seasoned – silver haired preacher, leaned in and simply said in a sagely manner, “sometimes you gotta get ‘em lost before you get ‘em saved”.

I fear we live in a culture that has driven the Church to focus solely on the Love of God, the soft, compassionate, and gentle side of the Divine, so much so that people think that they can come and go as they please, that it is all there is to the equation, that it’s a choice that can be made on humanity’s terms, and if God is a God of Grace, we’ll then he can wait for me to finish sowing my oats… If he is a God of love, then he can wait it out and  love me then too ….  We live in a generation that thrives on this while being unable to see the inherint insult of the same behavior.

And all of this to the extreme avoidance of another part of God’s character, that of His holiness, His Justice, …  the only problem is that you can’t disconnect God’s Love for us from His Holiness, that part of his essence that demands justice and a price to be paid for sin.

And when someone tries to address this, or present this, they are often labeled as judgmental, or legalistic, or works based, and labeled a disturber of the peace, one who upsets the spiritual status quo.   And if you doubt me on this issue…. Simply look at the prophets….  It’s nothing new.

One of the most common misconceptions of the books of the prophets is that they are about Judgement…..   and that would be right, but only half right.   The truth of the matter is The books of the Prophets are about hope, and restoration, and salvation.

Listen to me carefully when I say this, if God is talking … even if it’s a tough word, it is a good thing…  ask Ninevah!   The fact that God takes a moment to give them a warning is a sign of His love and concern for them.  A lack of preaching about God’s holiness and the consequences of our sin should be what scare’s people… that should flat out terrify people.  

The reality of the prophets is that no matter which book you look at, it has both of these elements.  It has the elements of judgment, and the elements of hope and restoration and salvation.  

I love what Chuck Swindoll said about this, and keep in mind that, if you don’t know Chuck Swindoll, he is a master communicator of the Gospel and a shepherd at heart… a pastor…. And before that… he was a marine!.... but I am getting off target here….. this is what Swindoll had to say about this combination of Judgment and hope in the prophets, especially Isaiah:
  

·         “Having read the book, one might wonder about the strong presence of judgment that runs through the first thirty-nine chapters when the theme is salvation. How can the two coexist? The presence of judgment indicates its necessity for salvation to occur. Before we can have salvation, we must have a need for it!”

·         And this is where the Silver Haired Sage Preacher’s comment comes into play:  Sometimes you gotta get ‘em lost before you can get ‘em saved!”

And for the most part this is the theme throughout the prophets.  The names and faces may be different, the timelines are different, the rulers are different, but the process is still the same…  God’s people are usually breaking the law, breaking God’s heart, and there is a time of reckoning coming.  And amid the reckoning, God still has a fatherly hand upon His people throughout the correction process.   And, no doubt, there is a final judgment, which thoroughly jives with God’s holiness, but the desire along the way is that the understanding of what is to come brings a change in behavior and a change of heart.

So what’s the difference between the major and minor prophets…… it’s really simple:

The major prophets wrote a lot…… and the minor prophets didn’t 

The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel…. And these four authors account for 5 books, which I thought was an interesting detail that piqued my trivial pursuit mind…. But the first 5 books of the gospels were written by 4 guys, Luke wrote his Gospel and the Book of Acts.   Also, Jeremiah wrote his book (with the help of a secretary named Baruch), and a shorter book that is considered part of the Major Prophets called Lamentations.  ….. so there is you daily dose of bible trivia.  By chapters Lamentations should be in the Minor’s, but based on it’s authorship…… it’s lumped in the Majors….. Go figure.

It would also be good here to mention that sometimes people think of prophecy, or the prophetic, as apocalyptic or something like the end of the world, or something relating to a message in the future…. Or foretelling the future.  The apocalyptic dynamic is pretty thick in Ezekiel and the last few chapters of Daniel, and the visions and descriptions initially seem pretty wild.

But, in addition to foretelling, in relation to the future, prophecy is also about forthtelling….  Or speaking God’s word in the moment, in a present moment. 

In the same way that we see history in the books of the law (or section 1), and we see  elements of poetry and wisdom in the history books (or section 2), and elements of messianic prophecy in the Psalms (or section 3), we see these elements of prophecy take the form of history and storytelling in some parts of the Prophets (sections 4 & 5).

The words from God to Hezekiah are recorded and delivered by the prophet Isaiah in real time, and a few short chapters later he is prophesying about the Messiah.   The same happens in Jeremiah, as he is dealing with the people of Israel in exile in real time, talking to them, talking to God, and writing letters to them in Babylon in Jeremiah 25-29, then prophesying about the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31.  

In one set of chapters, both prophets are speaking of what God is saying in THAT moment to THAT group of people, and a chapter or two later – they are foretelling the future, one about the Messiah, one about the New Covenant.

One last generalization I will make about the prophets is to simply classify the prophecies in terms of what is judgment, what is messianic or new covenant related, and what is apocalyptic (that total end of the world – final judgement – kind of writing).   

In the history books I mentioned how many years could pass between chapters of a book.  In the  Prophets, that isn’t so much the case as it is possible for one paragraph to be about the judgment of Babylon years in the future, and the next paragraph to be about a completely different timeframe, maybe a messianic timeframe…. And it is not uncommon for these timeframes to bounce back and forth.  I don’t say this to scare or intimidate…. It is just one of those things that you will run into when you read through the prophets, this way you won’t be blindsided by it.

As I have mentioned with books like Job and Ecclesiastes, reading with a basic study bible will help point out some of these key details.  It is sometimes difficult to know whether the prophet is referring to a current king, or a future king…. A future servant, savior, or judgmental event.    It never hurts to hear other people teach on these books, but don’t deny yourself the blessing of reading it for yourself.   It may get thick from time to time, but a simple – easy to read – version and a study bible should be sufficient…. And you will be amazed what God reveals when you get into His Word!!!  

And remember that sometimes you have got to get people to realize how hopelessly lost they are before you proclaim how miraculously saved they can be.

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So, let me give you a few easy tools for reading the prophets that should set you on a good trajectory for understanding what is being written.

·         First, Get a timeline and study what the background of the Prophet and the time in which the book is written.

o   I will include a link to a timeline that can help.   Pay close attention to two things on the chart.  

§  Notice who the king, or kings, were during the time of the prophet’s writing.

§  Notice what other Prophets may have written books during the same timeframe…  see what other prophets of the same timeframe are saying.

§  Notice what other books are written during the same timframe, IE:  Kings Chronicles Etcetra.

·         Second, as I mentioned before, be sure you have a good study bible written in a version that you can easily understand…. From a perspective of ease of understanding, I would suggest the NLT if you haven’t got one dialed in yet.  I would add that the Message is pretty good at getting a visceral picture of what is being said.   I don’t think that I would ever write church doctrine based on the message translation, but don’t discount it’s value…  there are some versions that would cause you to completely miss the depth of emotion and angst in the prophets…. , just be sure you are reading a couple of translations to keep grounded.   

·         Third, use your study bible to help point out what the prophetic view is…. That is to say what is the prophet speaking to…. Is it to their present audience, or a future audience, or a future event.   Is that future event years down the road, or millennia down the road…

·         And Lastly, a word of caution:  The challenge in reading these books is not just understanding what is being said, but then knowing how to apply the principles to our lives.

o   In my opinion, one of the most commonly misused scriptures in the prophets is Jeremiah 29:11  which I am sure most of you have heard, or seen on some social media post from time to time.   The key line in there is this phrase from God Himself “for I know the plans I have for you, …. Plans to prosper you plans to give you a future and a hope….”

§  It is a true statement, and I believe it, as should you!

§  The problem comes when people claim it as a promise that is based on a HUMAN understanding of two things;               

·         First, what it means to “prosper, to have a future and a hope”.

·         Second, understanding what kind of timeline-context the message is delivered in.

§  The truth of the matter is that God has already declared in chapters and verses before this, that the people who hear this declaration will be spending 70 years in exile….  Most will die in Babylon.

·           So, to translate this and apply this to our lives in a Polyanna mind-set, would be grossly wrong.   This isn’t about our comfort and well being in the present.

§  This verse is about the long-game, that the training and correction that will occur in a difficult setting (a 70 year exile with heathen captors) will produce fruit in the long run…. Something that far exceeds your lifetime, something that is far more important than your comfort.

§  And this is why he states  in the very next verse that…. “when you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.”  

·         In this 70 years of exile, what do you think they would have found if they would have spent their time seeking the Lord?

o   Would they have Prospered?

o   Would they have had hope?

o   Do you think God would have showed them things?

§  ABSOLUTELY

o   Verse 11 is the goal, the promise, the ideal

o   Verse 12-14 is the step by step plan to accomplish it…. And really, It is one step…. “Call on Me”…Continiously Call on Me.”  No matter what your circumstances are…  or how long they last.  

o   Verse 11 is the WHAT

o   Verse 12 is the HOW

§  Let’s read the rest of 12-14 in the message

·         “When you come looking for me, you will find me.  Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.’ God’s Decree.   I’ll turn things around for you.  I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you.’  God’s Decree.  “Bring you home from the place from which I sent you off into exile, You can count on it.”

o   But keep in mind that that they’re still looking at 70 years in exile.

§  And to round this out and wrap it up, the part of this promise in Jeremiah 29 that too many people miss is that much of the promise rides on our shoulders to simply and persistantly call out, go looking, and get serious about finding God… Not to sit back passively and wait for God to act.  But to simply expend the energy seeking HIM, despite our circumstances.

§  This is why it’s important to have a timeline, a study bible, and a couple of versions you can read easily from, it’s to keep you honest and on track.

·         An accurate understanding of scripture that makes you uncomfortable is far better than a slightly skewed understanding that gives you all sorts of spiritual warm fuzzies.

In the weeks to come I am going to look at a few of the Books of the Prophets, but not all of them, Next week I plan on digging into Isaiah, but to close out today’s episode, Remember, at the core of this study, this GNAW INITIATIVE,  is the realization that life transformation happens in Christ as we get into the Bible at least 4 times per week, and there is no penalty for doing more than that.   But statistically, bad behaviors and habits are cut nearly in half, and good disciplines nearly double by getting into the Word….   My heart is to simply take the edge off of the potentially intimidating nature of such a big book…..   You’ve heard me say it before, get into it and read it like a novel…. It’s telling a story …. Get into it, and let it get into you!!!

Next week we will tear into Isaiah more in depth, in as much as you can do an in depth crash course study through 66 chapters in less than 30 minutes…..  

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And until Next week

God Bless