Old Testament Survey

Lesson 36 w/AnswersObadiah, Joel, and Micah

We continue our survey of the Old Testament and our second lesson looking at the Minor Prophets. In this lesson, we will begin to survey the six prophets of Judah: Obadiah, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk. This grouping tells us that six of the twelve Minor Prophets ministered to Judah leading up to the time of the Babylonian captivity.

Bible

As a background for this study, you will recall from our brief study of I & II Kings that Judah seemed to vacillate from good and righteous kings to unrighteous and evil kings. Correspondingly, some of the six prophets ministered under good kings, while other prophets ministered during the evil reigns.

In this lesson, we will examine the first three of Judah’s prophets: Obadiah, Joel and Micah. As usual, you will have a lot of reading, but nothing that can’t be accomplished during the week.

Read the books of Obadiah, Joel, and Micah; and consider the following questions:

  1. Obadiah was one of the prophets of Judah that God sent to preach to a foreign Gentile nation. To what nation was Obadiah sent? (see Obadiah 1:1)
    1. ANSWER: Obadiah was sent to preach to the Edomites.
  2. Who was the father of the Edomites? (Genesis 25:19-34)
    1. ANSWER: Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, who tricked Esau out of his inheritance.
  3. What does God pronounce on Edom, and why? (see Obad. 1:10 and Isa. 34:1-17)
    1. ANSWER: God asserts that Esau and his seed will be covered with shame and destroyed forever because of Esau’s violence against his brother Jacob.
  4. In the book of Joel, what message is God sending to his people? (see Joel 2:1-2, for example)
    1. ANSWER: Joel sounds an alarm and warning that the Day of the Lord is coming; and it will bring with it a judgment like none before.
  5. What does God call his people to do? (Joel 2:12-17)
    1. ANSWER: God calls them to repent and to return to Him. He instructs them to call a Sacred Assembly, to sanctify themselves (or set themselves apart) with fasting, weeping and mourning.
  6. In return, what will the Lord do if they repent? (Joel 2:18-19)
    1. ANSWER: He promises to restore their land and never again make them a reproach among nations.
  7. How will God judge the various nations of the world, and when will He do it? (see Joel 3:1-4 and Matthew 11:21-22)
    1. ANSWER: When Christ returns, at the end of the Day of the Lord, He will judge these nations by how they treated His chosen people.
  8. Following God’s judgment, what will happen to Israel and Jerusalem? (see Joel 3:17-21)
    1. ANSWER: God will make Jerusalem and Israel and a beautiful place, and He will turn Egypt and Edom into desolate and deserted places because they shed blood in Judah.
  9. Known for the abundance of prophecy about the coming Messiah, Micah provides great insight into the coming King. Who does he refer to in Micah 2:12-13?
    1. ANSWER: Christ, the Lord, will be their king, and will pass before them as their head.
  10. In Micah 3:9-11, what are God’s accusations against the leaders of Judah?
    1. ANSWER 1: They judge for bribes
    2. ANSWER 2: The priests teach for money and gain
    3. ANSWER 3: The prophets tell fortunes for money
    4. ANSWER 4: And all of the above claim that Lord is with them and no harm will come to them.
  11. What three things does God say He will do to these leaders, specifically to their city, their country, and the Temple? (see Micah 3:12)
    1. ANSWER: God pronounces that Zion, their country, will be plowed like a field; Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble; and the Temple hill will be made a mound overgrown by thickets.
  12. Once God has executed His judgment, then what will He do? What is His plan? Summarize what Micah Chapter 4 tells us about God’s mountain and His plan.
    1. ANSWER 1: His holy mountain will be raised high, and will be chief among all the mountains.
    2. ANSWER 2: He will judge many people.
    3. ANSWER 3: There will be no war, and nations will turn their weapons into plowshares.
    4. ANSWER 4: He will restore Israel.

In our study, we continue to see that, through God’s eyes, unrighteous, sin and evil-doing by His chosen people and their leaders will not be tolerated. What a lesson this teaches us for today.

How is the Church today measuring up against these same standards; and how are we, as followers of Christ, measuring up? Would God be pleased with us today, or would He say similar things to us as He said to His chosen people through these prophets?

Thanks for studying with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2009]

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