This brief book of the Hebrew Bible is very significant in that it is one of only two of the Minor Prophetic books that are addressed entirely to a nation other than Israel and Judah. The Book of Obadiah deals with the ancient feud between Israel and the nation of Edom, between the descendants of Jacob and those of his brother Esau. Through the prophet Obadiah, the Lord expressed His indignation at the nation of Edom. When they should have been helping their relatives, they were gloating over the Israelites’ problems and raiding their homes. “The Book of Obadiah brings an important message about oppressors and the oppressed, betrayers and those who have been betrayed. Arising out of a time of national crisis, it has a word for innocent bystanders and also survivors.” A day was coming, the day of the Lord, when all these wrongs would be righted. The Lord would bring justice to the world.
Rabbi Halpren is of the belief that this small book is worthy of theological scholarship and hermeneutical exegesis. He says; “Obadiah is more fortunate that most prophetic books of the Bible despite its miniscule size. It is one of the few biblical books read in the synagogue in its entirety and its last verse is recited daily in the Jewish liturgy. It is generally neglected as an object of study probably because of its unimpressive dimensions. Yet, it is an archetypical example of prophetic style and content.” The size of the book does not diminish its importance and worth
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were seen as people who failed to listen to God’s commandments. Despite knowing beforehand that they would be punished for their disobedience, they still continued to commit sin. God tried to deter their misbehavior by promising them many blessings, but it worked to no avail. Due to the insubordination of the Israelites, He made sure that the promises He made to them would be withheld and that they would face consequences.
Luke was a medical doctor, a missionary, and evangelist, a historian, a researcher, and the writer of the third Gospel. The book of Luke was written in a formal literacy introduction noting his purpose in writing, his methodology, and the attempts others had made in such writing. Luke is the author of the book and it was written in AD 60 in Caesarea. According to Hindson and Elmer Luke’s purpose is to give “an orderly sequence” of the events about Christ’s birth, life, and sacrificial death followed by his resurrection and ascension back to heaven. The occasion calling for Luke to write his Gospel was that Theophilus, and other new believers like him, needed a clear account of the life and ministry of Jesus as an aid to confirm his faith
The Old Testament prophetic books are filled with everyday knowledge that guides believers to live righteous before God. The prophets such as Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isiah equips the Christian perfectly to avoid any mistake made by the children of Israel in the times of the prophets. , Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah were three prophets that were passionate about Yahweh being high and lifted up. These prophets spoke truthfully concerning the issues of their time. Their life is a detailed example for all believer on fronting idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism.
The Book of Ezekiel is and the man himself is in the midst of historical event associated with the demise of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem (587 B.C.E) Ezekiel, along with other Judahites were taken into exile in Babylon in 597. In effect there were two Judahs one in the land of Judah and one in exile. One king, Jehoiachin was in exile and Zedekiah in Jerusalem. Under Babylonian bonds and rejecting prophetic advice, they refused to pay their tribute. Within a few years, the temple, city walls, and homes of Jerusalem were burned and leveled. More citizens were carried away to Babylon, and those who remained soon fled to Egypt for security. Ezekiel was told to warn God’s people that there were consequences to their lack of fidelity. God cautioned them that refusal to live by the covenant would bring its own discipline. The people did not listen to the Prophet Ezekiel: he was disliked for his words, and alienated for his message. He told the people that God would allow them to live as orphans if they chose to be orphans—to live outside of God’s covenant. After the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonian general Nebuzaraddan was sent to complete its destruction. Solomon 's Temple was destroyed. Most of the elite were taken into captivity in Babylon. Jerusalem was razed to the ground.
For some people the name Nehemiah means little but to God, he was used to rebuild Jerusalem city's walls after Israel had returned from exile in Babylon. The scripture used was Nehemiah 1:1,4,11, Nehemiah 2:1-2, and 4, Nehemiah 3:1, Nehemiah 4:14, Ezekiel 43:7, Isaiah 6:8, Ezra 1:1-4 and John 15:18-19. The purpose of this paper was to better understand the book of Nehemiah and how God used him. Nehemiah was a man who loved God and whom God gave a burden of restoring the walls of Jerusalem.
Jewish history and its overall themes are expressed through The Book of Esther, which is in The Holy Bible. This sacred text takes place in 486 BC, when King Xerxes I ruled Persia. This story is an historical interpretation of the life of Queen Esther along with the lives of the Jewish people. Even though The Book of Esther is only ten chapters, it contains many rich themes. Also, the characters exercise many different traits such as: fortitude, empathy, and divine providence. The Book of Esther explores many themes, such as faith, manipulation, and courage in order to show the Jews, who are living in exile, that it is possible to gain success in the country of one’s exile without showing one’s true identity.
Mouw mentions that there are several ways in which humans have used the Old Testament in order to justify and reinforce racial prejudice (Mouw 71). He wants us to see the Holy City as a multinational world with no distinctions between God’s people. He says, “Christians should point to the love of neighbors as the ethical norm for the regulation of relationships among people” (Mouw 72). As it says in the Bible, Israel is God’s people and acts as a representative of the nations. Mouw indicates that both Jews and Gentiles will receive the benefits of God’s redemption. He uses the prophecy of Isaiah 19, in which the Lord refers to the Egyptians as “[His] people” (Mouw 76). People argue that the Old Testament supports the opposite view, in which gentile people are seen as inferior. In the beginning of time, God did make a covenant and established Israel as the representative of his kingdom, but he didn’t forget about everyone else. God has a plan for his creation and both blessed and cursed Israel for its position. The Holy City that Isaiah talks about reverses the curse of Babel. The curse of Babel is where God’s people let greediness and egocentrism take over their lives and God punished them by confusing their tongues and dividing them throughout the earth. Mouw believes that it’s the duty of the Christian community to pursue racial appeasement: “We must voice our protest against the suffering caused by the kinds of
Throughout the Bible, there are an abundance of customs one may come across which are typically exemplified through the stories within the books of the Bible. Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 are a chief example of how stories are used to reiterate customs, such as marriage, in the Bible. Although some stories may appear to have strange placement, it is important to remember how much detail was put into every chapter and verse which shows that there is a reason each story is where it is.
The oracle against Israel is long and highly developed. The accusations are detailed and they address injustices of the Israelites. God is disappointed, naming all of Israel’s sins. He is furious, because they let him down. He wants to punish them. Amos directs the speech against whole nations demonstrating Yahweh’s concerns for Israel’s politics and people’s welfare. The crimes listed are very specific and detailed. They reflect the background in Israel’s laws. The accusation is sharpened by reminding
The book “Deuteronomy”, of the Hebrew Bible, describes the reiteration of laws that the people of Israel are to follow upon entrance to the Promised Land. Upon reviewing Deuteronomy, the people of Israel versus Moses and why Moses was refused entry to the land raises interesting questions. By predominantly focusing on the behavior of the people of Israel, the behavior of Moses, their interactions with the God, and the language used by the author(s) it provides some insight into how and why events unfolded as they did. Moses is considered to be one of the most iconic prophets of the Hebrew Bible, yet he is forbidden from entering the Promised Land whereas the consistently sinning people of Israel can enter the Promised Land.
Paul explained to the Ephesians that when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son into the world to make known His will for the salvation of humanity. (Ephesians 1: 9-10) However, according to Paul, that plan had extended from the foundation of the world. “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” (Ephesians 1: 4) And, it is mentioned in the very first book of the Bible.
The book of Obadiah has two major themes the first of judgement on Edom, and the second of Israel’s deliverance. The book begins by explaining the vision given to Obadiah about the nation of Edom. Because of their despicable treatment of Israel the kingdom of Edom was to be completely destroyed. Throughout Israel’s troubled times Edom sought to profit from their demise. When Israel’s enemies attacked and threatened to destroy them completely they begged for help from Edom. Rather than fighting with Israel, Edom decided to fight against them going so far as to wait along the roads for those running from the fight to capture them. (verse 14) Edom’s arrogance and sin could not be overlooked any longer and according to the prophecy they would
This paper is an analysis of the books of 1 and 2 Kings. It will examine their authorship, structure, flow, and themes. In addition, it will compare their content to the writings of 1-2 Chronicles, Isaiah, and extra-biblical writers who speak of the same events. Lastly, it will examine the author’s place in history as a historian and theologian.
At first read the book of Esther is a story of a Queen who was able to achieve a heroic act that saved her people from being destroyed. However as you examine the story it’s more than a historic story of triumph, but through the actions of the characters in the story it becomes a blueprint for many aspects of leadership. By examining the different dimensions of the leadership traits of King Ahasuerus, Haman, Mordecai and Esther will represent the different facet of developing into a leader.
In comparison to this, the section of the Hebrew Scriptures known as ‘prophecy’ is a far harder collection from which to discern common threads in the sense of genre or content. Set as a continuation of the greater biblical narrative, the Prophecy section is best understood when divided further into two parts, that of the former prophets and the later prophets . The former prophets consist of the books of Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 kings and are generally referred to as ‘deutero-historical books’, expressing the role the theology of Deuteronomy plays in its