Kidztown adult training

1. Kidztown adult training Unit: Judah, The Southern Kingdom – Jan 2014

2. Unit: Judah, The Southern Kingdom Week 1 – Zephaniah, Prophet to Judah (Zephaniah 1-3) Week 2 – Habakkuk, Prophet to Judah (Habakkuk 1-3) Week 3 – Nahum, Prophet to Nineveh (Nahum 1-3) Week 4 – God Called Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1)

3. Lesson1: January 5, 2014 Zephaniah, Prophet to Judah (Zephaniah 1-3)

4. Background on Zephaniah • Extensive genealogy perhaps includes King Hezekiah of Judah (715-686 BC). • Prophesied during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC). • A contemporary of Jeremiah (and maybe Nahum). • Politically, the Assyrians were losing their grip on their western empire (which included Judah) to take care of the rise of Babylon closer to home. • Religiously, if Zephaniah prophesied after Josiah’s reforms, then they weren’t completely successful. Lesson 1

5. Message of Zephaniah • Chapter 1 – The “day of the Lord” purely as doom directed at Judah. • Chapter 2 – Exhortation to repentance and prediction and judgment on Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush and Assyria. • Chapter 3 – Judgment on Jerusalem as well as future glory for the believing remnant. Lesson 1

6. Themes of Zephaniah • The “day of the Lord” Application: believers are protected in Christ. • God’s faithfulness and mercy to the remnant Application: before THE “day of the Lord” God promises to start afresh with those He spares from His judgment. • The God of Israel is the universal God. Application: no nation can escape His judgment or be refused His generous offer of grace. Lesson 1

7. Outline of Zephaniah I. Introduction (1:1) II. Day of Judgment (1:2–3:8) A. Against Judah (1:2–2:3) 1. General warning (1:2–3) 2. Judgment for Judah (1:4–13) 3. Description of that day (1:14–2:3) B. Against Gentiles (2:4–15) 1. Philistia (2:4–7) 2. Moab and Ammon (2:8–11) 3. Cush (2:12) 4. Assyria (2:13–15) C. Against Jerusalem (3:1–8) III. Day of Joy (3:9–20) A. Return of a Scattered People (3:9–10) B. Restoration of a Sinful People (3:11–13) C. Rejoicing of a Saved People (3:14–20) Larry Walker, Zephaniah, in The Expositors Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (ed. Frank E. Gaebelein; vol. 7; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 7543. Lesson 1

8. Lesson 2: January 12, 2014 Habakkuk, Prophet to Judah (Habakkuk 1-3)

9. Background on Habakkuk • Authorship – the prophet’s name, nothing else • Background period ≈ 626–586 BC. Also a contemporary of Jeremiah, perhaps of Zephaniah. • In light of the background, the audience is Jerusalem. • Purpose – seek an answer from God for His stay of justice against Judah’s breaking of the covenant. • Habakkuk’s Surprise – God would use a new, wicked nation as His rod of correction on Judah. Lesson 2

10. Message of Habakkuk • Questions and Answers (1:1-2:4) • Q #1: Why all the social injustice & Your silence? (1:2-4) • A #1: Raising up the Chaldeans to discipline (1:5-11) • Q #2: Why use someone more wicked than them? (1:2-17) • A #2: A vision of the gradual coming of the gospel (2:1-4) Lesson 2

11. Message of Habakkuk • The Five Woes (2:5-20) • Woe to the plunderer of others for he himself shall be plundered • (vv. 6b–8). • Woe to him who seeks wealth and security at the expense of others. Retribution will overtake him (vv. 9–11). This may have been spoken against Jehoiakim. • Woe to those who build cities by violence. People will not forever submit to working for nothing. And God’s kingdom will prevail (vv. 12–14). • Woe to those who lead others into indulgence and immorality. They will drink from “the cup of the Lord’s right hand,” that is, his judgment. Lebanon is specifically mentioned as a scene of such gross behavior (vv. 15–17). • Woe to the maker of “dumb idols.” His self-made gods have “no breath [spirit] at all,” no teaching to give. But God reigns and all must give heed to him (vv. 18–20). Donald F. Ackland, “Habakkuk”, in The Teachers Bible Commentary (ed. H. Franklin Paschall and Herschel H. Hobbs; Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1972), 566. Lesson 2

12. Message of Habakkuk • A Song of Faith (3:1-19) It opens with the prophet’s prayer for God’s intervention (v. 2) and proceeds to describe God coming forth to save his people (v. 13). There are many obscurities, but even with these the majestic movement of the psalm can be appreciated, specially in the RSV. The writer sees God on the march for the deliverance of his people. Hence, he concludes with a great statement of prevailing faith (vv. 17–19). Come what may, this man “will rejoice in the Lord” (v. 18). Donald F. Ackland, Habakkuk, in The Teachers Bible Commentary (ed. H. Franklin Paschall and Herschel H. Hobbs; Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1972), 566-67. Lesson 2

13. Habakkuk for Today “Many view questioning God as sinful, but Habakkuk and Job show this is not so. Rough passages in life can produce honest doubt and perplexity, and God condemns neither Job nor Habakkuk for expressing these doubts. Only in open dialogue are misunderstandings resolved and differences righted. Even today it is better to express vexation than to let it fester, erupting into bitterness. While an answer might not come immediately (2:1), or might itself cause consternation (1:12–17), God does not ban honest questioning. God already knows the beginning from the end (Is. 46:10). He does not act in secrecy, but reveals himself to inquiring believers (Am. 3:7). It is important to address the great and awesome God with the respect due him (Hab. 3:16), but one may still address him. Comfort awaits the doubter, questioner or sufferer because part of what God is about involves salvation and help for his own (3:19). We also, like Habakkuk, expect his response to our questions and needs, not only because he met with Habakkuk in the first millennium before Christ (3:3–15), but also because he has already met us in our own personal past approaching the third millenium after Christ, and will do so again. Whether the problem arises from the acts of national entities, as Habakkuk’s did, or because of individual wrongdoing, God is there.” D. A. Carson et al., eds., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4th ed.; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 841. Lesson 2

14. Lesson 3: January 19, 2014 Nahum, Prophet to Nineveh (Nahum 1-3)

15. Background of Nahum • Author – from the town of Elkoshite • Date – anywhere from 663 – 612 BC. It’s conceivable Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah were contemporaries but not likely. • The background either predates that of Zephaniah or similar to him. • Purpose – declare the fall of Nineveh to the Ninevites and “set forth God’s vengeance and sovereign righteousness.” Lesson 3

16. Message of Nahum • God of Vengeance (1:1-15) • “Who can stand before his indignation?” (v 6) • The Fall of Nineveh (2:1-13) • One reason: “For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have stripped them and ruined their branches” (v 2) • “Where is the dwelling of the lions?” (v 11). The lion was a favorite symbol in Assyria and here is appropriately used to describe the nation itself. To the Assyrian lion that once ravaged others (v 12) the Lord says, “I am against thee” (v 13). Divine retribution will overtake this tyrant race. • Why Nineveh Fell (3:1-19) • Another reason: Moral wickedness in the form of deceiving nations in business (vv 1, 4, 16) Lesson 3

17. Nahum for Today The theme of the wrath of God is avoided by many. Yet if there is to be a moral order God must act in judgment against sin. While the punishment of the individual offender lies beyond the grave, nations are called to account at the bar of history. “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword” (Rev. 13:10). No nation, however strong, can resist the outworkings of divine justice. The greatest aggressors of history have eventually come to a day of reckoning. Though retributive justice may seem slow in coming, yet it is certain and final. But the mercy of God is to be seen even in his judgments. Israel of old and Christians of the first century were comforted in their afflictions by the knowledge that God’s kingdom will prevail. This must be our confidence. Donald F. Ackland, Nahum, in The Teachers Bible Commentary (ed. H. Franklin Paschall and Herschel H. Hobbs; Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1972), 564. Lesson 3

18. Outline of Nahum • 1:1 The title • 1:2–8 A hymn to the Lord • 1:9–15 Announcement of judgment for Assyria and salvation for Judah • 1:9–11 Judgment for plotters • 1:12–14 Contrasting futures for Judah and Assyria • 1:15 The herald brings good news • 2:1–3:19 The fall of Nineveh: description and interpretation • 2:1–13 The death throes of Nineveh • 3:1–4 Woe to Nineveh • 3:5–19 ‘I am against you,’ declares the Lord Almighty D. A. Carson et al., eds., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4th ed.; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 835. Lesson 3

19. Lesson 4: January 26, 2014 God Called Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1)

20. Jeremiah the Man • Son of Hilkiah (1:1) • Of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (1:1) • Born ≈ 646 BC (if he began ministry at age 20) • Began prophetic ministry in Jerusalem under King Josiah (626 BC) and ministered through the Fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) (1:2-3) • Never married (16:2) • A man of means (32:6-15) • Probably died in Egypt shortly after 586 BC. Lesson 4

21. Jeremiah’s Calling • Timing – before his birth (1:5) • Jeremiah’s objection – his young age (1:6) • God’s answer – • He already knows what’s going to happen (1:7) • He promised to deliver Jeremiah (1:8) • He gave Jeremiah what to say (1:9) • He gave Jeremiah power over the nations (1:10) Lesson 4

22. Jeremiah’s Message • God’s confirmation • Almond tree branch (1:11-12) • Boiling pot (1:13-15) • God’s purpose – judgment upon Judah (1:16) • God’s encouragement to Jeremiah • Be obedient and you’ll have nothing to fear (1:17) • Recognize my protection of you (1:18) • Absolutely no one can defeat you (1:19) Lesson 4