WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:02.820 Nancy: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience. 00:00:02.920 --> 00:00:04.270 Day 200 and 44 00:00:05.758 --> 00:00:06.358 Prophets 00:00:15.298 --> 00:00:17.068 introduction to Prophets. 00:00:18.688 --> 00:00:23.458 The Bible tells the story of how God chose the people of Israel for the 00:00:23.458 --> 00:00:25.738 sake of restoring the whole world. 00:00:26.428 --> 00:00:31.228 He entered into a series of covenants with Abraham and his descendants 00:00:31.558 --> 00:00:35.968 in order to move them closer and closer to this goal of being a 00:00:35.968 --> 00:00:38.488 life-giving blessing to all peoples. 00:00:39.628 --> 00:00:44.518 But over and over again, the ancient Israelites failed to honor 00:00:44.518 --> 00:00:46.798 their covenant obligations to God. 00:00:47.578 --> 00:00:53.068 The law of Moses insisted that they give the Lord their exclusive allegiance. 00:00:53.443 --> 00:00:56.533 But they repeatedly turned to worship other gods. 00:00:57.373 --> 00:01:02.443 The law provided numerous safeguards for the poor and vulnerable, but 00:01:02.443 --> 00:01:06.193 the people frequently exploited the weakest of their citizens. 00:01:06.853 --> 00:01:11.203 In short, Israel failed to be the light to the nations that 00:01:11.208 --> 00:01:13.123 God was calling them to be. 00:01:14.143 --> 00:01:18.103 But God was determined to keep working with this imperfect 00:01:18.103 --> 00:01:20.683 nation to achieve his goal. 00:01:21.553 --> 00:01:27.493 So God sent special messengers, the prophets to call the people back to him. 00:01:28.213 --> 00:01:33.103 The messages of many of these prophets have been collected and preserved for 00:01:33.108 --> 00:01:38.323 us, and they now comprise nearly a third of the Bible's First testament. 00:01:38.663 --> 00:01:44.263 The prophets play the role of covenant mediators calling the people to be 00:01:44.263 --> 00:01:46.483 loyal to their covenant with the Lord. 00:01:47.398 --> 00:01:51.238 Many of the prophets framed their arguments as covenant 00:01:51.238 --> 00:01:53.218 lawsuits against the people. 00:01:54.058 --> 00:01:59.188 The prophet Micah, for example, announces at one point, listen 00:01:59.188 --> 00:02:00.748 to the Lord's complaint. 00:02:01.018 --> 00:02:03.508 He has a case against his people. 00:02:04.138 --> 00:02:07.438 The prophets established in their arguments that the people have 00:02:07.438 --> 00:02:12.448 become unfaithful to God by failing to keep their covenant commitments. 00:02:13.738 --> 00:02:18.268 This is why the prophets typically begin their messages with warnings, 00:02:18.628 --> 00:02:22.948 followed by the announcement of necessary consequences for disobedience. 00:02:23.638 --> 00:02:27.298 But judgment is never the lord's final word for Israel. 00:02:27.988 --> 00:02:32.608 Difficult messages of correction and judgment transform into visions of 00:02:32.608 --> 00:02:35.188 restoration and flourishing life. 00:02:35.968 --> 00:02:40.228 The prophets see a new future for Israel and the world. 00:02:40.558 --> 00:02:45.268 Based solely on God's good promises and his covenant faithfulness. 00:02:46.678 --> 00:02:51.448 The prophets themselves were more street preachers than the authors of books 00:02:52.018 --> 00:02:56.848 normally proclaiming the Lord's messages at the gates of Jerusalem and the temple 00:02:57.448 --> 00:03:02.998 they normally spoke in Oracles, which were recorded and serve as the basic literary 00:03:02.998 --> 00:03:05.308 unit for most of the prophetic books. 00:03:05.803 --> 00:03:11.023 Prophetic Oracles are poems that convey a single idea through several strategies. 00:03:12.193 --> 00:03:16.303 The prophets often use visual metaphors from the natural world 00:03:16.573 --> 00:03:20.263 to help their listeners imagine or picture their messages. 00:03:20.953 --> 00:03:24.673 Sometimes the metaphors come directly from the prophets, dramatic 00:03:24.673 --> 00:03:29.173 visions from God, which cannot easily be described in human terms. 00:03:29.758 --> 00:03:33.568 At other times, the metaphors are drawn from the prophet's own 00:03:33.568 --> 00:03:35.878 circumstances or experiences. 00:03:36.838 --> 00:03:42.778 Some oracles are based on the repetition of key ideas, litanies, or lists 00:03:43.138 --> 00:03:45.148 that drive home an essential point. 00:03:45.898 --> 00:03:51.058 Amos, for example, describes five different misfortunes that God has brought 00:03:51.058 --> 00:03:56.868 upon his people and says, after each one, but still, you would not return to me. 00:03:57.748 --> 00:04:02.668 Prophetic language is typically strong and evokes powerful emotions 00:04:02.698 --> 00:04:06.718 because so much was at stake in these interventions with Israel. 00:04:07.738 --> 00:04:10.648 Some of the prophets set their oracles to music. 00:04:11.308 --> 00:04:14.218 This was another way they could ensure that their message 00:04:14.218 --> 00:04:16.108 would spread and be remembered. 00:04:16.858 --> 00:04:23.368 Isaiah, for example, introduces one oracle with, I will sing for the one I love. 00:04:23.458 --> 00:04:25.288 A song about his vineyard. 00:04:25.903 --> 00:04:31.423 This particular Oracle presents an extended metaphor describing Israel as 00:04:31.423 --> 00:04:36.043 a well tended vineyard that failed to produce the fruit the keeper wanted, 00:04:36.493 --> 00:04:40.483 the justice and righteousness that God had been cultivating in them. 00:04:42.013 --> 00:04:46.033 We present these books of the prophets in an order that follows 00:04:46.033 --> 00:04:48.283 their general historical sequence. 00:04:48.883 --> 00:04:54.403 As Israel journeys from the time of the Empire of Assyria, through the period of 00:04:54.408 --> 00:04:59.893 the rule of Babylon and then Persia to the return of the people to their homeland. 00:05:00.313 --> 00:05:05.983 The prophets are present to speak into Israel's various historical situations. 00:05:06.673 --> 00:05:09.823 The collections cannot all be dated precisely. 00:05:10.453 --> 00:05:14.683 Jonah and Joel are particularly difficult to locate historically. 00:05:15.493 --> 00:05:20.263 They are placed last and can be read in view of the larger prophetic tradition. 00:05:21.403 --> 00:05:27.193 As Israel's wayfaring continues through the centuries, the prophets relentlessly 00:05:27.193 --> 00:05:31.753 remind the people of their true calling, even through the dark abyss 00:05:31.753 --> 00:05:35.203 of exile and the loss of land and home. 00:05:35.833 --> 00:05:37.843 Their hope for the future remains. 00:05:38.653 --> 00:05:43.993 This story is God's, and at the end of the day, he will act to 00:05:43.993 --> 00:05:47.203 save his people and his world. 00:05:52.363 --> 00:05:53.833 Immersed in Amos 00:05:55.963 --> 00:06:00.223 in the first half of the eighth century bc, the Northern Kingdom of 00:06:00.223 --> 00:06:04.333 Israel reached its greatest heights of prosperity and strength under 00:06:04.333 --> 00:06:06.013 the long reign of Jira Boem ii. 00:06:07.168 --> 00:06:11.218 Israel's leaders and nobles reveled in the glory and power of their 00:06:11.218 --> 00:06:14.038 economic success and military prowess. 00:06:14.848 --> 00:06:18.658 They believed that this reflected God's favor and blessings upon them. 00:06:19.378 --> 00:06:23.548 After all, didn't they bring lavish offerings to their gods at the temple in 00:06:23.553 --> 00:06:29.188 Bethel, which was the king's sanctuary and a national place of worship, as well as 00:06:29.188 --> 00:06:31.888 at other shrines such as Gilgal and Dan. 00:06:33.118 --> 00:06:37.048 Their self-satisfaction was disturbed by the words of a shepherd from a 00:06:37.048 --> 00:06:38.848 small town in the southern kingdom. 00:06:39.748 --> 00:06:42.418 The temples of Israel will be destroyed. 00:06:43.228 --> 00:06:46.948 I will bring the dynasty of King Jira Boem to a sudden end. 00:06:47.758 --> 00:06:52.438 Why did the prophet Amos bring these dire words to the people in the 00:06:52.438 --> 00:06:54.208 midst of their comfort and wealth? 00:06:54.568 --> 00:06:56.008 The Lord had seen the truth. 00:06:56.698 --> 00:07:01.438 They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. 00:07:02.563 --> 00:07:07.873 Israel's brash self-assurance was built on idolatrous worship, gross 00:07:07.873 --> 00:07:10.633 injustice, and mistreatment of the poor. 00:07:11.293 --> 00:07:15.163 So God sent his messenger to warn the northern kingdom of 00:07:15.163 --> 00:07:17.383 their coming judgment and demise. 00:07:18.523 --> 00:07:22.573 The leaders of Israel gave Amos's warning all the attention they felt it deserved. 00:07:23.203 --> 00:07:26.653 They threw him out of the kingdom and told him to peal his message 00:07:26.653 --> 00:07:28.413 back in Judah, where he'd come from. 00:07:29.488 --> 00:07:33.988 So Amos left, but his prophecies were written down to preserve them as an 00:07:33.988 --> 00:07:38.968 ongoing witness against the injustices that would doom the northern kingdom. 00:07:39.778 --> 00:07:43.918 He became the earliest of the writing prophets whose words have 00:07:43.918 --> 00:07:45.538 been collected for us in the Bible. 00:07:45.778 --> 00:07:50.428 The book of Amos begins by establishing the credibility of his warnings. 00:07:51.238 --> 00:07:54.418 Its superscription specifies that he received his message 00:07:54.748 --> 00:07:56.818 two years before the earthquake. 00:07:57.688 --> 00:08:01.858 Amos had predicted this, the earth will tremble for your 00:08:01.858 --> 00:08:04.438 deeds and everyone will mourn. 00:08:05.278 --> 00:08:08.638 The ground will rise like the Nile River at flood time. 00:08:09.148 --> 00:08:11.578 It will heve up then sink again. 00:08:12.238 --> 00:08:15.178 And when this earthquake came, it was devastating. 00:08:16.108 --> 00:08:20.488 Geologists have found evidence of multiple sites of widespread and sudden 00:08:20.488 --> 00:08:25.438 destruction consistent with a massive earthquake late in the rain of Jira. 00:08:25.438 --> 00:08:25.558 Bo ii. 00:08:26.653 --> 00:08:31.513 After this opening assertion that God truly is speaking through Amos, the book 00:08:31.513 --> 00:08:36.403 relays a cycle of Oracles against the nations that immediately surround Israel. 00:08:37.123 --> 00:08:41.323 The prophet first announces judgment against these nations, and then in 00:08:41.323 --> 00:08:45.763 the seventh, Oracle turns to speak against the southern kingdom of Judah. 00:08:46.603 --> 00:08:49.453 The listeners in the Northern Kingdom likely would've expected 00:08:49.453 --> 00:08:51.163 this to be the final oracle. 00:08:51.808 --> 00:08:54.868 They would've cheered the condemnation of their neighbors 00:08:55.138 --> 00:08:56.968 and closest rivals in Judah. 00:08:57.988 --> 00:09:02.248 But Amos has been drawing a target with Israel at the center, and he 00:09:02.248 --> 00:09:07.168 delivers his longest denunciation against the northern kingdom of Israel. 00:09:07.858 --> 00:09:12.868 Because of their wanton luxury oppression of the poor and idolatry, 00:09:13.648 --> 00:09:16.198 they will be defeated and destroyed. 00:09:17.428 --> 00:09:19.558 The rest of the book reinforces this message. 00:09:20.233 --> 00:09:24.043 It consists of loosely organized and sometimes interwoven short 00:09:24.043 --> 00:09:31.003 oracles that take up the same themes, idolatry, injustice, oppression, and 00:09:31.003 --> 00:09:36.403 debauchery will bring God's judgment no matter how strong Israel's army or 00:09:36.408 --> 00:09:38.713 enthusiastic it's religious services. 00:09:39.823 --> 00:09:44.533 As part of this message of judgment, Amos also relays a series of visions 00:09:44.533 --> 00:09:48.493 given to him by God that metaphorically depict the coming punishment. 00:09:49.228 --> 00:09:53.218 These visions are juxtaposed with an account of the expulsion of Amos from 00:09:53.218 --> 00:09:57.238 the Northern Kingdom, showing that the people have rejected both God's 00:09:57.238 --> 00:10:00.388 message and God's genuine messenger. 00:10:01.468 --> 00:10:05.758 The final oracle is the most devastating of all in it. 00:10:05.758 --> 00:10:09.868 God dismisses the Israelites as his covenant people saying that the 00:10:09.868 --> 00:10:13.648 Exodus should not make them feel more special than any other nation. 00:10:14.758 --> 00:10:18.178 Are you Israelites more important to me than the Ethiopians? 00:10:18.868 --> 00:10:19.918 Asks the Lord. 00:10:20.758 --> 00:10:24.808 I brought Israel out of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from 00:10:24.808 --> 00:10:27.688 Crete and led the Ians out of Kiir. 00:10:28.228 --> 00:10:33.058 I, the sovereign Lord, am watching the sinful nation of Israel. 00:10:33.748 --> 00:10:38.968 I will destroy it from the face of the earth, but then in a pattern, 00:10:38.973 --> 00:10:40.678 we will see again and again. 00:10:41.518 --> 00:10:44.368 The epilogue expresses renewed hope for the future. 00:10:45.118 --> 00:10:47.158 Amos, the earliest of the prophets. 00:10:47.878 --> 00:10:51.118 Sets a template that God's later messengers will also follow. 00:10:52.138 --> 00:10:56.578 There will be judgment on God's people because of injustice and unfaithfulness, 00:10:57.358 --> 00:11:02.068 but then a promised restoration will come through the mercy and love of God. 00:11:03.088 --> 00:11:04.558 The covenant will prevail. 00:11:05.398 --> 00:11:09.868 God will reinstitute himself as king and heal his land. 00:11:15.958 --> 00:11:17.518 The Prophet Amos. 00:11:19.318 --> 00:11:24.178 This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Coah and Judah. 00:11:24.688 --> 00:11:29.938 He received this message, envisions two years before the earthquake when 00:11:29.938 --> 00:11:32.788 Isaiah was king of Judah and Rebo. 00:11:32.793 --> 00:11:37.048 The second, the son of Jehovah was king of Israel. 00:11:37.888 --> 00:11:40.228 This is what he saw and heard. 00:11:41.488 --> 00:11:45.988 The Lord's voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem. 00:11:46.648 --> 00:11:50.878 The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up The grass on Mount 00:11:50.878 --> 00:11:53.218 Carmel will wither and die. 00:11:55.738 --> 00:11:57.328 This is what the Lord says. 00:11:58.438 --> 00:12:03.028 The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I 00:12:03.028 --> 00:12:04.798 will not let them go unpunished. 00:12:06.043 --> 00:12:11.323 They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron ledges, 00:12:11.953 --> 00:12:17.533 so I will send down fire on King Hazel's palace and the fortresses 00:12:17.533 --> 00:12:20.173 of King Bin Hayed will be destroyed. 00:12:21.073 --> 00:12:24.643 I will break down the gates of Damascus and slaughter the 00:12:24.643 --> 00:12:26.503 people in the Valley of Aven. 00:12:27.343 --> 00:12:31.663 I will destroy the ruler in Beth Eden and the people of 00:12:31.663 --> 00:12:33.943 Arum will go as captives to ki. 00:12:34.483 --> 00:12:35.413 Says the Lord. 00:12:36.523 --> 00:12:38.503 This is what the Lord says. 00:12:39.583 --> 00:12:43.783 The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will 00:12:43.783 --> 00:12:45.793 not let them go unpunished. 00:12:46.423 --> 00:12:51.793 They sent whole villages into exile, selling them as slaves to em. 00:12:52.363 --> 00:12:57.133 So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza and all its 00:12:57.133 --> 00:12:58.903 fortresses will be destroyed. 00:12:59.563 --> 00:13:04.603 I will slaughter the people of Ashdod and destroy the king of Ash kalon. 00:13:05.083 --> 00:13:10.453 Then I will turn to attack Akron and the few Philistines still 00:13:10.453 --> 00:13:13.333 left, will be killed, says the ign. 00:13:13.453 --> 00:13:17.623 Lord, this is what the Lord says. 00:13:18.523 --> 00:13:22.543 The people of tire have sinned again and again, and I will 00:13:22.548 --> 00:13:24.193 not let them go unpunished. 00:13:24.928 --> 00:13:28.378 They broke their treaty of Brotherhood with Israel selling 00:13:28.378 --> 00:13:30.808 whole villages as slaves to Edam. 00:13:31.558 --> 00:13:35.908 So I will send down fire on the walls of tire and all its 00:13:35.908 --> 00:13:37.798 fortresses will be destroyed. 00:13:38.938 --> 00:13:40.918 This is what the Lord says. 00:13:41.668 --> 00:13:46.138 The people of Edam have sinned again and again, and I will 00:13:46.138 --> 00:13:48.088 not let them go unpunished. 00:13:48.778 --> 00:13:53.608 They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords showing 00:13:53.608 --> 00:13:56.698 them no mercy in their rage. 00:13:56.908 --> 00:14:01.978 They slashed them continually and were unrelenting in their anger. 00:14:02.878 --> 00:14:09.178 So I will send down fire on Teman, and the fortresses of Basra will be destroyed. 00:14:10.318 --> 00:14:12.208 This is what the Lord says. 00:14:13.348 --> 00:14:17.578 The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will 00:14:17.578 --> 00:14:19.708 not let them go unpunished. 00:14:20.278 --> 00:14:25.198 When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders, they ripped open 00:14:25.198 --> 00:14:27.208 pregnant women with their swords. 00:14:27.688 --> 00:14:32.308 So I'll send down fire on the walls of Rabbi and all its 00:14:32.308 --> 00:14:34.258 fortresses will be destroyed. 00:14:34.978 --> 00:14:39.868 The battle will come upon them with shouts like a whirlwind in a mighty storm. 00:14:40.573 --> 00:14:45.973 And their king and his princes will go into exile together, says the Lord. 00:14:47.293 --> 00:14:49.543 This is what the Lord says. 00:14:50.293 --> 00:14:54.763 The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and I will 00:14:54.768 --> 00:14:56.803 not let them go unpunished. 00:14:57.553 --> 00:15:02.023 They desecrated the bones of Eden's king, burning them to ashes. 00:15:02.533 --> 00:15:07.873 So I will send down fire on the land of Moab, and all the fortresses 00:15:07.873 --> 00:15:10.033 and carry off will be destroyed. 00:15:10.843 --> 00:15:15.523 The people will fall in the noise of battle as the warriors shout in 00:15:15.528 --> 00:15:20.503 the ram's horn sounds and I will destroy their king and slaughter 00:15:20.533 --> 00:15:23.113 all their princes, says the Lord. 00:15:24.343 --> 00:15:26.653 This is what the Lord says. 00:15:27.403 --> 00:15:30.463 The people of Judah have sinned again and again. 00:15:30.973 --> 00:15:33.913 And I will not let them go unpunished. 00:15:34.513 --> 00:15:39.643 They have rejected the instruction of the Lord refusing to obey his decrees. 00:15:40.393 --> 00:15:45.433 They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors. 00:15:46.063 --> 00:15:50.383 So I will send down fire on Judah and all the fortresses 00:15:50.383 --> 00:15:52.663 of Jerusalem will be destroyed. 00:15:53.623 --> 00:15:55.723 This is what the Lord says. 00:15:56.593 --> 00:16:00.133 The people of Israel have sinned again and again. 00:16:00.868 --> 00:16:02.518 And I will not let them go. 00:16:02.518 --> 00:16:07.198 Unpunished, they sell honorable people for silver and poor 00:16:07.198 --> 00:16:09.118 people for a pair of sandals. 00:16:09.778 --> 00:16:14.938 They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. 00:16:15.748 --> 00:16:20.818 Both father and son sleep with the same woman corrupting my holy 00:16:20.818 --> 00:16:24.118 name at their religious festivals. 00:16:24.448 --> 00:16:28.288 They lounge in clothing, their debtors put up as security. 00:16:29.008 --> 00:16:30.538 The house of their gods. 00:16:30.868 --> 00:16:34.228 They drink wine bought with unjust fines. 00:16:35.128 --> 00:16:40.588 But as my people watched, I destroyed the Emirates, though they were as 00:16:40.588 --> 00:16:43.558 tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. 00:16:44.188 --> 00:16:48.508 I destroyed the fruit on their branches and dug out their roots. 00:16:49.198 --> 00:16:53.188 It was I who rescued you from Egypt and led you through the 00:16:53.188 --> 00:16:57.028 desert for 40 years so you could possess the land of the Amorites. 00:16:58.468 --> 00:17:02.818 I chose some of your sons to be prophets and others to be nazarites. 00:17:03.508 --> 00:17:04.918 Can you deny this? 00:17:04.918 --> 00:17:11.038 My people of Israel asks the Lord, but you caused the nazarites to 00:17:11.038 --> 00:17:17.008 sin by making them drink wine and you commanded the prophets Shut up. 00:17:18.058 --> 00:17:23.608 So I will make you groan like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain. 00:17:24.298 --> 00:17:26.938 Your fastest runners will not get away. 00:17:27.628 --> 00:17:30.268 The strongest among you will become weak. 00:17:30.958 --> 00:17:35.638 Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves. 00:17:36.178 --> 00:17:38.938 The archers will not stand their ground. 00:17:39.568 --> 00:17:42.598 The swiftest runners won't be fast enough to escape. 00:17:43.528 --> 00:17:49.678 Even those riding horses won't be able to save themselves on that day. 00:17:49.978 --> 00:17:53.758 The most courageous of your fighting men will drop their 00:17:53.758 --> 00:17:56.338 weapons and run for their lives. 00:17:56.758 --> 00:17:57.928 Says the Lord. 00:17:59.908 --> 00:18:02.788 This concludes today's immerse reading experience. 00:18:02.908 --> 00:18:04.138 Thank you for joining us.