Summaries of the Messages of the Prophets

Here are the summaries in one place of the spade work I've been doing on the messages of the Prophets:

I. From the Northern Kingdom (700s BC)

1. Hosea
Clearly, the dominant theme of Hosea is that Israel has been cheating on God with other gods and other nations like Egypt and Assyria. Intertwined with this "prostitution" are other indicators of the chaotic and pathetic state of Israel. It is a place of violence. It is a place of stealing. It is a place where daughters get pulled into the prostitution associated with serving other gods like Ba'al.

2. Amos
Two or three themes dominate the prophecies of Amos. Most of them have to do with the oppression of the ordinary person, the "poor." The wealthy are targeted as oppressors. They use unjust scales. They take bribes. They take advantage of those without power. Meanwhile, the affluent think they're ok because they offer their sacrifices. God doesn't care.

Yes, there is also the theme of serving other gods, but this is not in isolation from the concrete actions of Israelites toward each other. The other gods are associated with the violence of the surrounding peoples. The other gods are associated with temple prostitution, for example.

The theme of the violence of the surrounding peoples, including violence toward women, is also mentioned.

3. Jonah
(Not written to or from the northern kingdom, but Jonah was from there) Jonah is about hope for salvation instead of judgment. It is about God's willingness to hear repentance and God's love even of foreigners.

II. Pre-Exilic Southern Kingdom (late 700s BC)

4. Joel
Joel would seem to be about hope in the midst of oppression because of judgment.

5. Isaiah 1-39
Clearly, a great deal of Israel 1-39 is about judgment on the oppressors of Judah and Israel. The rest might be said to be heavily about the oppressors within Israel. Thus the theme of social justice features large. Along with all of this is the hope of salvation and a righteous Davidic king.

The proper worship of Yahweh is associated with all these things. Turning to other nations is turning to other gods, and to worship other gods in Israel is to weaken Israel. Isaiah 6 gives us a sense of the pure worship of Yahweh. Worshiping Yahweh is another strong theme of these chapters.

6. Micah
Micah has a fair amount of hope but also predicts judgment on Israel for its wrongdoing. This wrongdoing includes a lot of injustice, from violence to concrete wrongs to others to the need for social justice. All these things are associated with the worship of the true God and not idols.

III. Lead-up to Exile (late 600s/early 500s BC)

7. Nahum
Nineveh is being judged for its violence and oppression of other nations (what goes around comes around).

8. Habakkuk
A lot of hope in the midst of judgment, judgment for violence and concrete wrongs to others. A reiteration of loving God.

9. Zephaniah
General judgment of Judah's leaders for injustice and corruption, promised judgment on those who are oppressors, hope for the righteous and humble. All this goes with serving the true God.

10. Obadiah
Obadiah is against the violence and oppression Edom had done against Israel.

IV. Beginning of the Exile (early 500s BC)

11. Jeremiah
The overwhelming theme of Jeremiah is judgment for Israel's past sins. There is some strong hope also in the middle, especially around chapters 29-31. The core reason for judgment is that Judah has abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They are serving other gods and ignoring Yahweh's laws. These factors cannot be separated from concrete wrongdoing to others and the lack of justice in the land.

12. Ezekiel
Like Jeremiah, Ezekiah is primarily full of judgment on Israel for its past sins, the greatest of which are going after other gods. The need to serve God is thus primary.  There are also clear messages of hope, especially at the end of the book. Israel's sins also included its oppression, its violence, its failure to bring justice to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner. It also has themes that are unique or less common in the other prophets, purity and the need for Sabbath observance.

V. After the Exile

12. Isaiah 40-66
These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

13. Haggai
Haggai is full of hope both for a restored temple and a restored ruler.

14. Zechariah
The predominant theme of Zechariah would seem to be hope. We find traces of the other themes as well: social justice, against idols and other gods, ending concrete wrongs to others.

15. Malachi
Malachi clearly calls Israel to love God appropriately. They are only serving God superficially and half-heartedly. There is a smidge of mention of other gods. Equally is the call for "social justice" and not wronging others. Finally, there is hope for future restoration.

Messages of the Prophets

The messages of the prophets correlate significantly with their historical context. The end of the exile was a time of hope, so it is no surprise that we find increasing themes of hope as we move from Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the second half of Isaiah to Haggai and Zechariah.

Those toward the beginning of the exile, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, are very gloomy, bringing a message of judgment. More than anything else, turning away from God to other gods is the primary reason given, with mention of child sacrifice and prostitution associated with those other gods. The same emphasis is in Hosea in the context of the destruction of the northern kingdom.

At the same time, certain other critiques persist throughout this three-hundred-year period. The corruption and arrogance of its rulers and upper class. The violence, oppression, and injustice within Israel is another recurrent theme. Leaders take bribes. They use skewed scales. They perpetrate concrete wrongs against the people of Israel. 

Another theme is injustice. When the prophets talk about justice, they usually are referring to injustice toward the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner. God seems very concerned both with the abuse of power and its easiest targets. When imminent destruction or restoration does not dominate, this theme is strong, although it is always present.

The late 400s seem to have been a time of religious malaise in Judah. The priests and people only seem to be going through the motions of serving God. The same themes of social justice and stopping concrete injustice persists.