Daniel — reactions?

  • Very familiar stories and characters – Lion’s Den, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fire. Reads more like a novel more than other books. Almost like 2 different books…up to about chapter 7 and around Daniel 8, visions seem to be like Revelations.
  • Latter part of book seems to be more typical of a couple of centuries before Christ and written at a later time.
  • Conversions — presence of exiles in Babylon shows their influence to convert others to God such as the Babylonian king coming to believe in God.

Did the lion’s den ring true? Yes — God was there for him. Some didn’t read it as allegorical but that it actually occurred as opposed to other passages where they may have been allegories. Take it on faith it happened. Interesting that even the king was hoping Daniel was ok (seeing the king was changing. He saw the God of Daniel was real. In other books of the Bible the king was the type of guy who would have put Daniel to death).

Hosea and Amos

Interesting Hosea was told to marry Gomer – a prostitute and adulterer– seemed it was symbolic – comparison to Israel and Judah.

Hosea 13:14: ““I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;  I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” – foreshadowing, reappears again in New Testament.

Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll on like a river,  righteousness like a never-failing stream!” — sounded very civil rights, like something Dr. King would say.

Amos 4:13: “He who forms the mountains,  who creates the wind,  and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness,  and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name.” — have heard before many times.

Notice in Amos no big concern about the Temple, he was outside Jerusalem and sees society, how it is and the injustice.

Amos 6 — interesting criticism of those who are complacent.

Interesting how we see in many of these books the use of lotions, treatments — interesting (Esther, Daniel) how laborious the process is before someone could serve before the king. Clean/unclean — in ancient times seems common sense to focus on cleanliness.

Joel

Joel 3:10:  “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears.” — opposite of what we usual hear and is shocking. What does it mean? Maybe in the context it’s telling the Hebrews get ready to protect yourselves. Like in Micah 4:3.

Jonah

Jonah — so different than other prophets. Shows Nineveh being spared and how God cares about humanity so much He wants to forgive. Amazed how Jonah seemed subservient but then he tried to flee from God. Didn’t make sense. Where was he going to go? Maybe Jonah was young and rebellious? Clearly was hiding from God and he finally admits he’s causing trouble when confronted on the boat. A lot of Christian doubters point to this story as a reason to doubt, but many in the group didn’t have a problem with it but there was doubt as to whether to take it literally – Symbol of crucifixion and resurrection — in whale for 3 days. Remember that Assyria was an enemy and Nineveh was its capital and Jonah then hears this city will be ok. This may explain his reaction.

Micah

Micah – After reading books of the prophets and then reading the section on false prophets it seemed like oil and water.

Micah — 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” literal – whole lesson the Israelites were not learning and it’s not complicated. This is all God wants — it all comes back to this. In Micah, we get more of a message of the New Testament as opposed to all the violence and vengeance before. But, justice and mercy would not have been thought of together. But, one may not understand mercy without justice. Some want to put Justice and Mercy against one another and here they are joined. When show mercy give that person the opportunity to live again, learn and be a teacher.

More light seems to be coming through in the reading — closer to Jesus.

Habakkuk and Zephaniah

Hab. 1:3 Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Like Amos 6 regarding complacency.

Hab. – why did God allow wicked to prosper and why did God would use a country more sinful to punish his people? God knows why he used them to do something.

Hab. 2:4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;  his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” — this seemed to be a change – righteous live by faith (versus by the law). Job seemed to be example of this.

Hab. 2:18 – “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman?” Seems so clear. But, do we always recognize our idols?

Zephaniah – Judgments

Who were these minor prophets? Seemed to be ordered in chronological order. There seemed to be a prophet guild at that time. One of the prophets (Amos who was a shepherd) seemed to allude to not being of the usual lineage of a prophet. There seemed to be a tradition of Hebrew prophets. Imagined they were educated people who knew Old Testament very well.

Malachi and Zechariah

Four horsemen Zech. 6 – seems like Revelations. Interesting how God sends same vision to different people — Daniel, Zechariah, Revelations.

Zech. 8:23 stuck out for one person who read it 4 times.

Zech 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!  Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you,  righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey,  on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” — foreshadowing example to Jesus. Interesting how later in Matthew, Jesus even references the Psalms as prophetic.

Jesus as priest, prophet and king and can see pieces of these 3 roles in the reading.