The Prophets of the Decline (Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Amos, & Hosea)

206 Pages·2010·5.1 MB·English

by  Paul T. Butler

T H E
M I N O R
P R O P H E T S
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BIBLE STUDY TEXTBOOK SERIES
THE
MINOR PROPHETS
The Prophets of the Decline
Obadiah - Joel - Jonah
Amos - Hosea
Paul T. Butler
~~ ~~
College Press, Joplin, Missouri
iii
Copyright 1968
College Press
iv
PREFACE
For a number of years we have longed to put h book form
certaJn special studies we have made in the Old Testament Prophets
togerher with ten years or more of classroom exegesis, We ate
persuaded this book will serve the purpose of God to men of honest
and sincere hearts who really want to know His will as expressed in
the Prophets.
Our purpose is best expressed in the following words of John P.
Milton in his bwk, “Prophecy Ilzterpeted,” when he says:
“Since this is an age of fear it is not strange that there
should be an increased interest in prophecy, We might call it
an interest in eschatology, which has been defined as the
doctrine of the last or final things , , ,
“But all too often the emphasis in the study of prophecy
is such as to increase rather than to allay fear. There are
preachers and students of prophecy who seem to delight in
playing on the fears and anxieties of people. They magnify
the threat to peace and say little of ‘the things that make
far peace.’ They are much concerned to identify men and
nations and events today in terms of some specific Biblical
prophecy. They focus attention on ‘antichrists’ rather than on
Christ; and they seem more concerned to prove what pro-
phecy says about Russia, or about Israel, than to proclaim
. .
what it says about the kingdom of God ,
“There is in this wrong use of prophecy a mistaken
emphasis and a faulty exegesis. The emphasis is wrong be-
cause attention is focused primarily on transient events instead
of on the redemptive activity of the living God. The exegesis
is wrong because it does not understand the fundamental nature
and purpose of prophecy, and therefore ignores basic evangelical
principles of interpretation,”
Studying the Minor Prophets will be a MAJOR experience for you!
Your soul will soar to the highest heights of praise man is capable of
composing. Your heart will revel in the revelation of Gad‘s love and
faithfulness, You will tremble when you come face to face with the
Righteous Lord‘s judgment upon sin.
The message of the “minor” prophets is as relevant as this morn-
ing’s newspaper. The basic issues of life today are the same as they
were then-social injustice, lying, killing, stealicng, adultery, itrusting in
material prosperity or military might instead of God, The prophets
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MINOR PROPHETS
speak to these issues as though they were among us today. God and
His purpose is the final arbiter of history-not politics or economics.
The message of the prophets will never be out of date.
But even more important, you must understand the prophets in
order to understand what God has done in Christ Jesus. “For the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:1 0). You will
read of Jonah whose humiliating experience in the belly of the great
fish typified the humiliation of the Messiah; you will read Joel whose
prophecy of the Holy Spirit foretold the establishment of the church on
Pentecost; you will read Amos whose “rebuilt dynasty of David“ was
fulfilled when Gentiles were received into the church; you will read
Hosea whose prophecies are quoted by Peter, Paul and Matthew, and
applied to redemption in Christ.
You will know what the apostle Peter meant when he said: “we
have the prophetic word made more swe. Yau will do well to pay
attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day
dawns and the morning star rises in y m h earts.” (I1 Per. 1:19)
We shall be forever grateful to Editor, Don &Welt, and his
College Press for presenting us the opportunity to have this work
published. We are also deeply indebted to a very capable and dedicated
secretary, Mrs. Charlene Schell, for clerical assistance on the manuscirpt
as well as fulfilling other duties of our’s as Registrar of &ark Bible
College, leaving us free to devote extra time to this work. (xlr sin-
cerest appreciation to the many authors and publishers who have given
permission to borrow from their labors.
May your heart be fiilled with abundant peace and joy and your
faith in your Heavenly Father be strengthened by your study of His
Word through the agency of this commentary.
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INTRODUCTION
Prophet dntZ Prophecy: A prophet (Ndbi in Hebrew), (prophetes in
Greek), means literally, “one who speaks for another.” A prophet is one
who utters the words that another has put into his mouth. Prophecy,
his communications, may have reference to the past, to the present, or
to the future and may also extend to absolute and universal truth as
well as to specific events and persons, A prophet is not so much a
foreteller as he is a “forth-teller.” In Hebrews 1:1, the writer informs
us: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets by the prophets, bath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son.” In times past the voice of God
spoke thrwgh the prophets, Now God is still speaking, but He does it
through His Son, That word spate, according to one excellent Greek
scholar is the word from which we get our English word, “lullaby.” Of
course, Gad was not talking in the past in our ordinary sense of lullaby,
but a deep profound sense of the word everything that God has said
to restless, feverish, crying, agonizing humanity is a great lullaby!
Minor Proehets: The books commonly called “Minor” Prophets, are in
no way minor. They are not in the least inferior in their degree of
inspiration, authority, reliability or in the importance of what they have
to say! The entire Old Testament revelation would be tragically incom-
plete without, for example, the book of Malachi, or the book of Hosea,
or Joel, or any of the other “minor” prophets. There would be enigmas
in the New Testament without them, Yes, God spake unto the fathers
through the prophets in many sections and on many topics. But re-
member, no one prophet had the completed perfected, revelation of God.
Even a cursory glance over these wonderful writings will reveal how
marvelous are the subjects dealt with, and many sections provided; and
when we finish Malachi we can say, “Now we need The Prophet.”
The Jews had two classes of prophetical books. One was called
“the earlier prophets” which might be characterized as “prophetical
historical books.” Included in this first class were the books of Joshua,
Judges, I and I1 Samuel, and I and I1 Kings, The second class of books
called “the later prophets” might be characterized as “prophetical pre-
dictive bks.” Included in this second class were two other dasses;
“greater prophets,” namely Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel; “lesser pro-
phets,” namely Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Malachi. The “later prophets” were also re-
ferred to by the Jews as, “The Book of The Twelve,” and were con-
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MINOR PROPHETS
sidered as ow b k b y the Jews for they regulated the number of the
books in the Hebrew Scriptures by that of the Hebrew alphabet, which
consists of twenty-two letters.
AU these books were received into the Hebrew Canon as possessing
divine authority and are found in all the ancient catalogues.
Josephus (a Jewish historian of the 1st century A.D.) confirms the
canon of the O.T. exactly as we have it today. The Council of Jamnia
(about 30 A.D.), a council of Jewish rabbis who met to confirm the
canon of the O.T., establishes the canan of the O.T. in the first century
the same as it is today. We would like to discuss at more length the
canon, isnspiration, and textual integrity of the Old Testament, but that
is a separalte study which would require a large volume in itself. Each
of the five Minor Prophets dealt with in this volume has its own
Introduction at the beginning. For additional tecchnical information we
suggest reference FO either “An Introduction to The Old Testament,”
by Edward J. Young, pub. by Eerdmans; or “A Survey of Old Testa-
ment Introduction,” by Gleason Archer, pub. by Moody Press.
Mhor Propbets rmd The Dead Sea Scrolls: Perhaps this will be valuable
information which, so far as we have found, is not contained in any
of the alder, conservative commentaries on the Minor Prophets listed
in our bibliography. So far, eight manuscripts have been found (in
cave 44) of the “Baak of The Twelve,” or the Minor Prophets.
4QxllC indicates Hosea, Joel, Amos, Zephaniah, and Malachi, 4QxllD
Hosea, 4QxllE Zechariah, and 4QxllP Jonah in the contents. Cross
says: “None is complete. We cannot always be sure that all twelve
Minor Prophets were copied on a given scroll.” Portions of Micah, Jonah,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, in Greek, were among the frag-
ments brought to light by the Bedouin shepherd-boy in August, 1962,
but their provenance is unknown, Of the 382 manuscripts represented
by the fragments of cave 4Q, about 100 are Biblical manuscripts. Every
book of the Hebrew Bible, with the exception of Esther, is represented.
Not only is the integrity of the text of the Old Testament well
authenticated, its historical accuracy is also confirmed in many and
various ways. We have included here a small listing of the Kings of
bath the chosen people and heathen nations most of whom are con-
temporaneous with the period of history during which the Literary
Prophets wrote, All these kings are confirmed by archaeological inscrip
tions.
viii
DEDICATED TO
The
TRUSTEES
ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY and STAFF
and
STUDENTS
of
OZARK BIBLE COLLEGE
whose Christian faith and love have made teaching and
writing a pleasure and a privilege
and to the
PROPHETS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
whose lives best express the poem below written by
my Mother
“MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE.”
My way seemed so long and dreary
urdens were so hard to bear;
yy.”
said, “Dear Lord, please have mercy,”
But no answer came to my prayer.
I bowed my head in self-pity
Crying, “Lord, don’t you care about me?”
And then I did hear Him answer:
“My grace is sufficient for theel”
Oh God, forgive my murmuring;
I lost sight of your cruel crossl
My eyes were blind to your suffering,
Your stripes, humiliation, and loss.
Now that my eyes have been opened,
Give me courage instead of release;
Let me hear again your whisper,
“My grace is sufficient for theel“
And when I come to cross Jordan,
I know you’ll be there with a smile,
My hand you’ll hold in Your pierced one,
Trpvelling the last weary mile.
We’ll go through the gates of splendor,
My great Gad I at last shall see,
He will say, “My child, I told you,
My grace is mfficient for thee.”
by Lois Butler
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MINOR PROPHETS
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