A Kingdom of Prophets

1. A Kingdom of Prophets The Historical and Prophetic Books

2. The Historical Books • The Historical Books in the Old Testament cover Israel’s history from 1250BC-100BC; from the time of the establishment of Israel through the Hebrew Kings. • When we last left our heroes … Moses had died and Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land. • The Promised Land was inhabited by the Canaanites, a polytheistic people who worshipped Baal and Asherah. • The Israelites would occasionally fall into the worship of these false gods … Remember the worship of false gods always disrespects human life

3. Conquest • Israel’s first task would be to conqueror the land of Canaan and establish it as their own. • The city of Jericho was a stronghold of Canaan and it was taken with the help of Rahab; Rahab was a prostitute who was oppressed by the people of Jericho and her decision to help the Israelites won for her and her family freedom. Rahab is a typological character who points to Jesus’ words in the New Testament, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:31). • To take the city, Joshua ordered seven priests to process the Ark of the Covenant around the city walls for six days. On the seventh day the people shouted and the walls of Jericho fell and the city was taken. (Joshua 6:1-26).

4. Why War? • There is so much violence and destruction in the Old Testament that often people claim that the God of the Old Testament is a “bloodthirsty & vindictive God”. Who would want to follow a God like that? • There are two things that we need to do to respond: • 1. Be specific about those whom the Israelites go to war with; maybe God is using Israel to right a wrong. • 2. We need to know if war is ever justified. • Is war ever justified? • The Church teaches that there can be certain causes which are just for a nation to go to war: • 1. It must be a grave threat or the damage inflicted by the enemy must be serious. • 2. All other means of peace must have been exhausted. • 3. There must be a reasonable chance of success. • 4. War must be declared by a legitimate authority. • Lets think of Israel’s situation … they have been under attack since they left Egypt (ex. Pharaoh's army, Amalek, etc.) • They are in an environment which is hostile to their culture and religion, therefore they cannot live in peace. • The freedom to live in peace and to worship according to one’s conscience is a fundamental human right which is being assaulted. • Therefore Israel is justified in their military conquest of the land of Canaan.

5. Israel is Born! • The land of Canaan is divided up among the tribes of Israel. • In Joshua 24, Joshua reminds the people of their obligation to serve the Lord (YHWH) alone. • “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 • Israel’s promise to “serve the Lord” was shaken by the people’s lack of faith and by foreign invasion. • Therefore a new series of leaders was necessary who would sit in judgment over the people. • These twelve leaders are collectedly known as the Judges.

6. The Judges 1200BC-1000BC • The judges were flawed yet important leaders who constantly called the people to repentance and faithfulness to God’s commandments. • Three important judges were: Deborah, Gideon, and Sampson. • Deborah was a female judge and prophetess of Israel who led an attack on the Canaanites. After the battle a companion of Deborah, Jael, killed the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg. Crushing the head of a serpent – a type of Mary

7. Gideon and Samson • Gideon was an idolatrous man (a person who worships false gods) who encounters an angel and turns from his ways to worship the true God of Israel. When Gideon’s faith is strong, he unites the tribes of Israel; when it is weak he leads them back into idolatry. (Judges 6:11ff). • Samson was a strong and passionate man who led Israel. His feats of strength are well known, like tearing apart the young lion with his bare hands and defeating 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. When Samson was faithful he was a tower of strength for Israel, but when he followed his own lusts he became the downfall of the people. In the end he returns to faithfulness. • The period of the judges ends with the transition to the Jewish monarchy. Samson’s strength came from his taking of a Nazarite Vow (Judges 13:5); a Nazarite Vow was a vow which a man or woman took in order to draw closer to God through total devotion. A Nazarite would not cut his/her hair, not drink wine, nor become impure through contact with the dead. Samson’s superhuman strength comes from his faithfulness to his vow.

8. A Kingdom of Israel • Following the time of the judges, the people demanded a centralized form of government under the leadership of a king. • Samuel, the last judge of Israel, resisted the idea of a monarchy because God was Israel’s King. Eventually God allows Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king. Saul was the first king of Israel from 1049BC-1007BC. A skilled military leader and king, Saul’s downfall would come through his unfaithfulness to the Commandments of God and his jealousy of David.

9. David • King David began his life as a shepherd (an important image which points to God) who won fame when as a youth he slew the Philistine Goliath (I Sam.17:51). • David eventually becomes King and leads Israel into greatness. • Although he himself deals with personal sin and failure he pours his repentance and devotion into 150 songs which would become known as the psalms. • The psalms are the most influential prayers from the Old Testament because of their diversity of spirit. • They are divided into prayers of petition, thanksgiving, lamentation, and repentance. • The influence of David’s psalms are so far reaching that from the early days of Christianity till today they have comprised the Divine Office which is the official daily prayers of the Church recited by priests, religious, and laity.

10. Solomon • King Solomon succeeded his father David and is best known for constructing the Temple, which was to serve as a permanent structure for the worship of the Lord. The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant and was the most sacred place in all Judaism. The Temple functioned as a place of prayer and sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice (especially animal) may sound foreign to us, however, the idea that we need to offer our best back to God is a central ideal to Christianity.

11. Solomon’s Wisdom • Among all virtues, Solomon asked God for wisdom so that he could rule his people with equity (See I Kings 4:29). • Solomon expressed his great love and thanksgiving toward God in his book the Songs of Songs (aka the Song of Solomon). • The book poetically describes the love between God and humanity in the imagery of marriage between husband and wife. • The poetic imagery is often accompanied by sexual language which testifies to the goodness of sexuality and procreation. • The love between husband and wife allow them to co-create new human life; like the love of God and humanity bring about new life in the Holy Spirit.

12. “Love the Lord your God” • The love of God is a key theme in the Wisdom literature. The Wisdom literature in the Old Testament is comprised of the book of Job, the psalms, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and the Song of Songs. • These books remind humanity that the only possible response to God is love. • St. Bernard of Clairvaux states, “Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of return however unequal though it be.” Sermon 83

13. A Broken Kingdom • After the mighty rule of Solomon, tensions between northern and southern Israel led to a division within the Kingdom which led to two separate states – the northern kingdom (still called Israel) and the southern kingdom called Judah. • The northern kingdom lasted until 722BC – it was conquered by the Assyrian Empire. • Judah endured till 586-587BC – it was conquered by the Babylonian Empire. • The Babylonian Exile of the Kingdom of Judah was a tremendous loss to the people of Israel. • Solomon’s temple was destroyed. • The Ark of the Covenant was taken from the temple. • The Hebrew people found themselves as slaves again. • The exile would last until 539BC

14. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego • During the exile to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the Hebrew slaves to worship a golden statue of himself with the refusal to do so carrying with it the penalty of death. • Three young princes, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused and were sentenced to be burned alive in a “white hot” furnace. • They were thrown into the furnace but were seen walking about within it unharmed, and singing the praises of God. • When the King approached the furnace he saw the three youths walking about and praising God, and a fourth person was among them Who is described as “one like the Son of God.” (Dan. 3:92). This is a typological story which points to the pre-existence of Christ. He was present even in the O.T.

15. The Prophets • The period slightly before, during, and after the Babylonian Exile brought about the period of the prophets. • There were four major prophets, 10 minor prophets, and two prophetic writings: Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Baruch Lamentations (of Jeremiah)

16. Universal Call to Holiness • In general the message of the prophets was a universal call to holiness and faithfulness to God’s commandments. • The prophets constantly were calling Israel back from their lives of sin to a life centered upon doing the will of God. • The prophetic message of the Church today calls all to be faithful, as Vatican II stated: • “In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ’s gift, so that … doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the people of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of the saints.” (Lumen Gentium 40). • A life of holiness through doing the will of God and serving our neighbor is not only a life for priests and religious. A holy life is for all Christians an obligation; a life of virtue and seeking after God’s will is necessary for human happiness; for God, our creator, knows what will make us supremely joyful in this life.

17. The Major Prophets – Key ThemesIsaiah • Isaiah reminds Israel that God punishes because of unfaithfulness, but He will call them back and redeem them. • Isaiah is a prophet of the Messiah; he prophesies about the coming of the Messiah in great detail. • “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Is. 7:14 • He also prophesies that the Messiah will suffer for the sins of His people.

18. The Suffering Servant • In Is. 53 he prophesied: • “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows acquainted with grief … Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.” • “Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days … he shall see the fruit of his travail.” • Roughly 700 years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah accurately foretold of the redemptive suffering of Christ on the Cross and of the fruit of His suffering – the Church.

19. Jeremiah – The Weeping Prophet • Jeremiah would foretell • of the destruction of the Temple. • He would predict the Babylonian Exile. • He called on the people to repent promising hope to those who would remain faithful. • The “faithful remnant” would be called • into a new covenant, “I will put my law • within them, and I will be their • God, and they shall be my • people.”

20. Ezekiel – Prophet of the Resurrection • Some key themes of Ezekiel’s ministry were: God’s Providence in all things, God’s Revelation to all nations, His judgment over all, and His graciousness and mercy. • The most famous of Ezekiel’s visions is in Ezek. 37 wherein he has a vision of the dry and lifeless bones of the dead. • He calls upon the Spirit of God to come over the bones and they grow flesh and become alive. • This is a prophesy of the Resurrection of the dead which will occur on the last day. • God will re-make us, though we be dust, and will bring us to Eternal life with Him and we shall see Him physically.

21. Daniel – Toward the Messiah • The key themes in the Book of Daniel are: the sovereignty of God, God’s triumph over the gods of the pagans, and the coming of the Messiah. • The book is divided into two parts: the first part chronicles the experiences of the prophet Daniel and the second part is a series of visions. • In one of the visions Daniel has a glimpse into heaven, “As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was Ancient of Days took His seat … and behold there came one like a Son of Man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.”

22. Christ the Fulfillment of Kings, Wisdom and Prophets