How Do the Prophets Speak to the Following Issue: Idolatry, Social Injustice, and Religious Ritualism

Did Amos Fortune live a good life? The answer to this question is only determined by what one considers a good life. Is a good life having anything one wants, or is it something more? Perhaps a good life is living unto God, with sacrifice and suffering. Amos certainly did not get everything he wanted, and suffered greatly. Amos Fortune did not live for himself, he lived for others. Because of his selflessness, Amos’s life was well lived, though he did not have a good life.

“A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor

The prophet Isaiah played an important role in the development and expression of Judaism as a dynamic, living religion through the impact of his works. The impact of Isaiah is evident in both the development and expression of Judaism both in his time and in modern society, as his teachings, for the Jewish people, prove to be relevant to the times. Considered among Jews as one of the greatest prophets, Isaiah has contributed to and affected the life of adherents in the Jewish faith through his political and religious influence, his prophetic messages concerning

The Exegetical Task: Some parts of the Bible call for time and patient revision to understand. Some people find help in Bible dictionaries, commentaries and Bible handbooks (Fee/Stuart p189). Fee and Stuart feels that everyone needs to understand both the prophets’ era and the context of a single oracle (Fee/Stuart p190). The words spoken by the prophets at a variety of times and places are written down without any indication as to where one oracle ends and another begins (Fee/Stuart p193). The prophets employed an assortment of literary forms. 3 of the most common are: “The lawsuit”, God is portrayed as the plaintiff, prosecuting attorney and judge against the defendant, Israel (Fee/Stuart p194). The Woe, Woe oracles implicitly or explicitly contain an announcement of distress, the reason for distress and a prediction of doom. “The promise”, This contains an allusion to the future, a mention of radical change and blessing (Fee/Stuart p195). Hermeneutical Suggestions: What is God’s word to us through these inspired oracles, spoken in another time to God’s people? Once we understand what God said to them then, we will hear it again in our own surroundings (Fee/Stuart p199). The prophets’ messages were concentrated on the near rather than the distant future (Fee/Stuart p200). Sometimes the New Testament makes reference to Old Testament passages that don’t seem to refer to what the New Testament says they do

The Book of Jeremiah is of prophecy genre. Jeremiah is appointed a prophet to the nations by the Lord. Israel is unfaithful and Jerusalem is attacked. Jeremiah addresses the people of Judah and declares that false religions are worthless. The covenant is not kept. Jeremiah complains to God of the wicked. God answered

Several times in the Bible, the Lord commissions a person to serve as a prophet and a leader for his people. While those who are commissioned are elevated by that choice, those commissions are not always positive. On the contrary, the Lord is frequently responding to something that people have done that He finds disappointing or upsetting. As a result, the commissioning often have an ominous tone to them, even though they reflect the Lord's pleasure with one of his servants. Isiaiah 6 and Jeremiah 1 both demonstrate how a commission was both an honor and a burden for the men who received them in the Bible. They also demonstrate that the prophets were tasked to do difficult things.

Jeremiah may be one of the most intriguing and revealing of the Old Testament prophets. With his continual return to god and the constant struggle between his heart and the voice of god. This elevates him as a human being and not just as an instrument of god (Paterson 144). He is one of the most human of prophets mentioned in the Old Testament and at the same time most Christ like in aspects of his sermons and works. His story has intrigued many for it is of human weakness and strength (Paterson 139). Let us now take a look at his life and at his works.

The book of Amos is the earliest preserved example of classic prophetic writings. It consists of nine chapters, but Amos did not write the entirety of them. “A majority of scholars think that not all of the material in Amos goes back to the prophet himself but was added later by ancient editors of the book.” The anthology contains a variation of materials: prophecies, visions and addresses from Amos to the people of Israel. Two major themes of the book are the social injustice in Israel, and the impending doom in Israel’s future.

Even with these experiences there were Jews who adopted Paganism while in captivity and brought along those practices. However these practices never threatened the national policy. There were influences of Hellenism and circumvention in the word “God” was used. This circumvention led to phrases such as “the God of heaven” “the heavens” “the power” and the Blessed One”. This was done to drive a wedge mentally between God and Israel. (Scott, Jewish background of the New Testament 2000:267-269)

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the main themes of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The main themes of Isaiah are: (1) Son’s Names as Signs. (2) Servant. (3) Holy One of Israel. (4) Redeemer. (5) Eschatology. The main themes of Jeremiah are: (1) God’s Policy with Nations. (2) New Covenant. (3) False Prophets.

In the textbook's introductory material (Ch. 1 - 4), Hays presents the central focus of the prophets being the covenant and social justice. The covenant is presented within a three-part formula: "I will be your God; You will be my people; I will dwell in your midst" (p. 35). Hays elaborates on the justice aspect on p. 71: "The Prophets and Social Justice Today".

The main point of this article is social ethics as it pertains to the prophets, and we must understand what the author means by social justice as he mentions it several times in the section dealing with social ethics. Bratcher means that social justice is the failure to function socially in a way that defends the weak and powerless in

The Old Testament consisted of a set of documentations of religious scriptures, which were written by different people at various times for a different audience. Most of the Old Testament contains short stories of traditional stories and those stories of distinguished ways God established mankind. These stories are often told to the people in narrative form, which are guidelines often referred to as laws, songs, genealogies, and a list from these authors that composed the Old Testaments. The pressing of set documentation is essential because it is the framework for the lives of God 's followers. The term “Old Testament” originated as a means to express spoken traditions and God 's creation of that particular era. It is an method of philosophical investigation was designed to answer the why questions within these spiritual text documentations. These religious documentations consisted of four parts. These four sections retrieved from the Old Testaments are the laws, history, wisdom and prophecy. The laws are a rule of behavior enforced within the community. The rules are sometimes called “Torah.” When analyzing this Torah, these rules viewed within the first five spiritual books of the Bible. For example, in the first Torah in Genesis, it explains the creation, Noah’s Flood, Abraham and Isaac, and Joseph’s coats of many colors. However, the laws in Exodus were in regards to the going out. The going out took about 40 plus years, until the people led to

Many Christians believe that ancient Israels understanding of God was monotheistic from the beginning. However, when someone does study the concepts of monotheism in ancient Israel they can conclude that many Israelites were not in fact monotheists. Many people of ancient Israel did have a hard time accepting the belief in YHWH alone. When Joshua did renew the covenant with the new generation of Israelites he told them, “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14)” There are hundreds of examples in the Bible to remind the people of Israel to worship no other gods but the God, YHWH. During the time of Hosea and Micah there were only a handful of faithful people who still worshipped YHWH alone. In Micah 4:5, “For all the peoples walk, each in the

The Old Testament ends with the Minor Prophets. These prophets provided insight on many issues the Jews were facing. All of the prophets had the same ideas of a warning of impending judgment because of the nations’ sinfulness, the coming judgment, a call for repentance, and a promise of future deliverance of God’s grace. Idolatry, social injustice and religious ritualism are three issues that the prophets emphasized on in their teachings and can be inspired in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets’ teachings are just as important today as they were in the past. The teachings about God, the way man lived, social issues, and religious rituals are all relevant in the today’s society.