12 Minor Prophets (1): Week of 8 April 2008

THE 12 MINOR PROPHETS
8 April 2008

The 12 minor prophets are one book in the Hebrew Bible but divided into 12 books in the Christian Bibles. The main thing to know about the "minor" prophets is that "minor" does not mean lesser, but shorter. On the literary level, the style in these books is equal to the Three Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel).

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Hosea

This is the first of the minor (shorter) prophets, with one of the most famous symbolic actions in the Bible: To show God's willingness to forgive his adulterous people, Hosea marries a prostitute (whore), like God, who will remarry his people, though they are whores (that is, worshipping other gods). Hosea is the only book prophet from the North (others include the "former prophets," Elijah and Elisha, but they don't have books named after them).

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1: Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
2: So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver.
3: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
5: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

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4: O Ephraim [the north: Israel], what shall I do unto you? O Judah [the south], what shall I do unto you? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it disappears.
These are common themes amaong the prophets.
6: I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

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5: Thy calf, O Samaria [Israel], has cast you off; my anger is kindled against them.
See 1 Kings 12:28: "the king made two golden calves."
6: For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
One of the more famous lines in the Bible; cf. Blowing in the Wind by Bob Dylan:
7: For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.

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This metaphor was later used literally by gospel writers of the Nativity story, where the infant Jesus is called out of Egypt after being hidden there by Mary and Joseph:

1: When Israel was a child, I loved him and called my son [Israel] out of Egypt.

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2b: It is said of these people, "They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols."

3: Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

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Memorable metaphor: "the calves of our lips"; in other words, don't sacrifice animals, but use your lips (prayer) as a real sacrifice; let your lips be your cows/sacrifices. This metaphor, however, does not survive many translations.

2: Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Joel
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The "Day of the Lord" appears most famously in Joel and Zephaniah. This became part of the Christian mass known as "Dies Irae" ("Day of Wrath"). (English words: diet, irate.) The "Dies Irae" is one of the most famous Gregorian chants, often quoted in classical music and movies. The "Dies Irae" as part of musical Requiems is especially famous because of its sound and fury. The main point is that the royal prophets used the "Day of the Lord" to warn Israel's enemies; but these prophets use it against Israel herself:

1: Blow the trumpet in Zion, for the day of the LORD comes;
2: A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
9: They shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10: The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
A great revival text (religious revival), referred to in Luke's book of Acts. This preaches total equality of men and women, young and old, and all classes, an ideal that remains the basis of all democracies. Note another reference to the "remnant," which Christians later read to refer to themselves, as the "true Israel," a point made by Jesus to the Jews in the Gospels: "[Y]ou do not believe because you are not my sheep" (JOHN 10:26).
13: Tear your heart, not your clothes;
28: it shall come to pass afterward, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
31: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

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Note the ironic reversal of the famous text in Isaiah; now instruments of peace are used for war.
10: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11: Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen.
12: Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13: Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
14: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
20: But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

Amos

If Hosea is beloved for its metaphor of Israel as Bride, Amos is beloved for its strong stand on social justice. In fact, Martin Luther King quoted from Amos in his famous speeches.

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6: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

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A reminder that Israel is special to God but is at conflict with him:

2: You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
3: Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

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As usual, people don't like to be told their faults. Amos came from the south, but preached in the north, and was finally forced to return to the south! The "gate" refers to the public place where rulings were made:

10: They hate him that rebukes people in the gate, and abhor him who speaks justly.
11: Because you step on the poor, and take from him wheat: you have built houses of carved stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
12: For I know your many sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
The "gate" is a common reference in the Bible, because judgment was made near the gate of the city. Amos mocks the Day of the Lord, which people think will save them. Amos says it will punish them instead!
18: Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
One of the most famous texts repeating the idea that social justice is more important than mere forms of worship:
21: I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
23: Take away from me the noise of your songs.
Martin Luther King quotes the following text at least twice:
24: But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

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1: Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
This contradicts the Psalms of Zion: Zion is the place of doom, not safety, because people have forgotten God. Famous images (such as "at ease in Zion"), with neat irony: you pretend evil is far away, but you're bringing it near by your conduct.
3: You that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
The theme of the evil shepherd, as in Ezekiel 34 and John 10:
4: That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall. . . .

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Another symbolic action. The Lord will not "pass by" (meaning "ignore") Israel's sins any more:
8: And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline [measuring ruler]. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

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Another symbolic action. The sins of the people have produced bitter "fruit":
2: And the Lord said, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD, The end is come upon my people of Israel.
Like today, all people care about is buying and selling:
4: Hear this, who swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5: Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah [unit of weight] small, and the shekel [unit of weight] great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6: That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes?
11: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
12: And they shall seek the word of the LORD and shall not find it.

Obadiah
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Remember the battle of the siblings Jacob and Esau (Genesis), which continued in history. Here Edom (Esau) took pleasure in the defeat of Israel so is punished by God. Edom can be a metaphor for anyone who enjoys the suffering of another ("Roman holiday"; in German: "Schadenfreude").

1: The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD of Edom;
3: Your pride has fooled you.
4: Though you raise yourself as the eagle, and nest among the stars, I will bring you down, saith the LORD.
10: For your violence against your brother Jacob [that is, Judah] shame shall cover you.
12: You should not have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction.
21: And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Jonah
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This is an odd book of prophecy, more like a fable; in fact one of the most famous tales in the Bible. It is also the clearest book of universalism in the Bible. God tells the Hebrew prophet to help a non-Hebrew people, and an evil power at that! Jonah selfishly refuses. God shows his love for all mankind. The comedy is obvious: Jews don't listen to their prophets, but these non-Jews (even the animals) promptly obey! Remember Ruth, the most righteous gentile; or Uriah the Hittite, more righteous than King David, who had him killed to hide his adultery.

1: The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying,
2: Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is great.
3: But Jonah hid from the LORD on a ship.
4: But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was almost lost.
5: Then the mariners were afraid and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah was fast asleep.
6: So the shipmaster came to him, and said, What do you mean, sleeper? arise, call your God that we don't die."
There's great humor here. First, the sinner sleeps well. Second, the non-Jews have more faith in God than the Jew!
12: And he said, "Throw me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm for you: for I know that for my sake this storm is upon you.
15: So they threw Jonah into the sea: and the sea ceased raging.
17: Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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Jesus refers to the "sign of Jonah": as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days, so will Jesus be in the belly of the earth for 3 days.

1: Then Jonah prayed to the LORD out of the fish's belly,
10: And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

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1: And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2: Go and preach to Nineveh what I ask you to.
4: And Jonah preached, "In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown."
5: So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6: For word came unto the king of Nineveh.
7: And he caused it to be proclaimed through Nineveh saying,
8: let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry unto God:  let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
10: And God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

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1: But Jonah  was angry.
4: Then said the LORD, Is it well to be angry?
5: So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6: And the LORD God prepared a gourd [plant], and made it to come up over Jonah, as a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was glad.
7: But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it died.
8: And it came to pass, when the sun rose, that God prepared a strong east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted and wished to die.
9: And God said to Jonah, Is it well to be angry for the gourd?
10: You had pity on the gourd, which you did not make grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11: And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, with more than 120,000 thousand people that do not know between their right hand and their left hand?

Micah

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Same social message: there was no Heaven for the Jews; Heaven had to be made on earth, through social justice. Note the reference to "rest": "this is not your rest." "Rest" must follow social justice, the meaning of the Sabbath. Micah mocks royal prophets too who prophesy what people want to hear:

1: Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!
2: And they covet [desire] fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
9: The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.
10: Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it [the land] is polluted, it shall destroy you.
11: If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall be the prophet of this people.

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1: But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
Verse 1 (above) is another message of universalsim. Below, also in Isaiah 2:2-4:
3: And the LORD shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4: But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.

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Messianic prophecy, popular with Christians: The King born in Bethlehem:

2: Bethlehem, though small in Judah, out of you shall come a ruler in Israel; whose goings have been from everlasting.
3: Then the remnant shall return to Israel.
4: And he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

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One of the most quoted texts in the Bible:
8: He has showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

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