Monthly Archives: July 2020

Highlights From the Book of Isaiah​—II

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ISAIAH is faithfully carrying out his commission as a prophet. The pronouncements he has uttered against the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel have already come true. Now he has further word about the future of Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem will be destroyed, and its inhabitants will be taken captive. The desolation, though, will not be permanent. After a time, true worship will be restored. This is the basic message of Isaiah 36:1–66:24.* We stand to benefit from considering what is stated in these chapters because many of the prophecies in this section are having their major, or final, fulfillment in our day or will be fulfilled in the near future. This part of the book of Isaiah also contains exciting prophecies concerning the Messiah.

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Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah

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HOW shocking the catastrophes that Jeremiah proclaimed to his own people must have sounded! The glorious temple that had been a center of worship for over three centuries would be burned to the ground. The city of Jerusalem and the land of Judah would lie desolate, their inhabitants taken captive. A record of these and other judgment proclamations appears in the second-largest book of the Bible, the book of Jeremiah. It also relates what Jeremiah personally experienced as he faithfully carried out his 67-year-long ministry. The information in the book is presented, not in chronological order, but by subject.
Why is the Bible book of Jeremiah of interest to us? Its fulfilled prophecies fortify our faith in Jehovah as the Fulfiller of his promises. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) Jeremiah’s work as a prophet and the attitude of the people toward his message find parallels in our day. (1 Corinthians 10:11) Moreover, the record of how Jehovah dealt with his people highlights his qualities and should have a profound effect on us.​—Hebrews 4:12.

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Highlights From the Book of Lamentations

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THE prophet Jeremiah sees the fulfillment of the judgment message that he has been uttering for 40 years. How does the prophet feel when he personally witnesses the destruction of his beloved city? “Jeremiah sat down weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem,” says the Greek Septuagint in its introduction to the book of Lamentations. Composed in 607 B.C.E. while the memory of the 18-month-long siege followed by the burning of Jerusalem is still fresh in the prophet’s mind, the book of Lamentations vividly expresses Jeremiah’s heartfelt anguish. (Jeremiah 52:3-5,12-14) No other city in history has been lamented in expressions so touching and heartrending.
The book of Lamentations is a collection of five lyrical poems. The first four are laments, or dirges; the fifth is a petition, or prayer. The first four songs are acrostics, successive verses beginning with a different letter in the order of the 22-character Hebrew alphabet. Although the fifth song has 22 verses to correspond to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, it is not arranged alphabetically.​—Lamentations 5:1, footnote.

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Highlights From the Book of Ezekiel​—I

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THE year is 613 B.C.E. The prophet Jeremiah is in Judah, fearlessly proclaiming the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the land of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has already taken many Jews into captivity. Among them are young Daniel and his three companions, who are serving in the Chaldean court. Most of the Jewish exiles are by the river Chebar in “the land of the Chaldeans.” (Ezekiel 1:1-3) Jehovah does not leave those captives without a messenger. He appoints 30-year-old Ezekiel as prophet.
Completed in 591 B.C.E., the book of Ezekiel covers a period of 22 years. Ezekiel is meticulous in his writing. He dates his prophecies, specifying even the day and the month along with the year. The first part of Ezekiel’s message centers on the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. The second part contains pronouncements against surrounding nations, and the final part has to do with the restoration of Jehovah’s worship. This article discusses highlights from Ezekiel 1:1–24:27, covering visions, prophecies, and enactments concerning what was to befall Jerusalem.

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Highlights From the Book of Ezekiel​—II

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IT IS December 609 B.C.E. The Babylonian king has begun his final siege of Jerusalem. So far, Ezekiel’s message to the exiles in Babylon has centered on one theme: the fall and destruction of their beloved city, Jerusalem. Now, though, the subject of Ezekiel’s prophecies shifts to the doom of the pagan nations that would rejoice at the calamity upon God’s people. When Jerusalem falls 18 months later, Ezekiel’s message once again takes on a new theme: the glorious restoration of true worship.
Ezekiel 25:1–48:35 contains prophecies about the nations surrounding Israel and the deliverance of God’s people.* Except for Ezekiel 29:17-20, the account follows chronological as well as topical order. However, these four verses are in place topically. As part of the inspired Scriptures, the book of Ezekiel has a message that “is alive and exerts power.”​—Hebrews 4:12.

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Highlights From the Book of Daniel

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“THE book of Daniel is one of the most intriguing works in the Bible,” states the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. “Timeless truths fill its pages.” Daniel’s account begins in 618 B.C.E. when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon comes to Jerusalem and lays siege to the city, and he takes “some of the sons of Israel” into captivity in Babylon. (Daniel 1:1-3) Among them is young Daniel, probably only in his teens. The book concludes with Daniel still in Babylon. Now almost 100 years old, Daniel receives God’s promise: “You will rest, but you will stand up for your lot at the end of the days.”​—Daniel 12:13.
While the first part of the book of Daniel is presented chronologically in the third person, the last part is written in the first person. Penned by Daniel, the book contains prophecies regarding the rise and fall of world powers, the time of the Messiah’s arrival, and events that take place in our day.* The aged prophet also looks back on his long life and narrates episodes that encourage us to be godly men and women of integrity. The message of Daniel is alive and exerts power.​—Hebrews 4:12.

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Highlights From the Book of Hosea

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TRUE worship has all but disappeared from the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Under the rulership of Jeroboam II, there is material prosperity in Israel, but that wanes soon after his death. What follows is a period of unrest and political instability. Four of the six succeeding kings are assassinated. (2 Kings 14:29; 15:8-30; 17:1-6) The 59-year-long prophetic career of Hosea, which began in 804 B.C.E., stretches into this time of turmoil.
Jehovah’s sentiments toward the wayward nation of Israel are vividly portrayed by what takes place in Hosea’s marriage. An exposé of Israel’s error and the prophetic judgments against her and the kingdom of Judah are the subjects of Hosea’s message. Using wording that is tender and sensitive and language that is forceful and expressive, Hosea has written all of this in a book bearing his name. As part of the inspired Word of God, its message is alive and exerts power.​—Hebrews 4:12.

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Highlights From the Book of Amos

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ALL he tells about himself is that he is “Joel the son of Pethuel.” (Joel 1:1) In the book bearing his name, Joel says so little about matters other than his message that even the time of his prophecy can only be estimated​—about 820 B.C.E., nine years after Uzziah became king over Judah. Why is Joel so reticent about himself? The likely reason is that he wants to emphasize the message and not the messenger.
Also in the days of Uzziah, Amos, a resident of Judah and “a herdsman and a nipper of figs of sycamore trees,” is commissioned to be a prophet. (Amos 7:14) Unlike Joel, who prophesies in Judah, Amos is sent north to the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Completed about 804 B.C.E. after the prophet’s return to Judah, the book of Amos is written in language that is simple but picturesque.

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Highlights From the Book of Joel

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ALL he tells about himself is that he is “Joel the son of Pethuel.” (Joel 1:1) In the book bearing his name, Joel says so little about matters other than his message that even the time of his prophecy can only be estimated​—about 820 B.C.E., nine years after Uzziah became king over Judah. Why is Joel so reticent about himself? The likely reason is that he wants to emphasize the message and not the messenger.
Also in the days of Uzziah, Amos, a resident of Judah and “a herdsman and a nipper of figs of sycamore trees,” is commissioned to be a prophet. (Amos 7:14) Unlike Joel, who prophesies in Judah, Amos is sent north to the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Completed about 804 B.C.E. after the prophet’s return to Judah, the book of Amos is written in language that is simple but picturesque.

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Highlights From the Book of Obadiah

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“THE vision of Obadiah.” (Obadiah 1) These words begin the Bible book of Obadiah. The prophet reveals nothing about himself except his name in the book that he composed in 607 B.C.E. In a book completed over two centuries earlier, the prophet Jonah candidly relates what he personally experienced in connection with his missionary assignment. The 60 years of Micah’s prophetic activity lie between those of Obadiah and Jonah, stretching from 777 B.C.E. to 717 B.C.E. All that Micah relates about himself is that he is “of [the village] Moresheth” and that Jehovah’s word occurred to him “in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” (Micah 1:1) The prophet’s familiarity with rural life is evident in the type of illustrations he uses to stress the points of his message.