Concluding Remarks:
Theology of the Minor Prophets
Allen Johnson
Rt. 1, Box 119-B
Dunmore, West Virginia 24934
Theology of the Minor Prophets
Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. Tom McDaniel
Fall, 1994
I
I entered into this class, Theology
of the Minor Prophets, with the anticipation and intuition that this study
would bring some break-through into my theological quest. I have not been disappointed—light indeed
has shined into previously dark, obscure corners.
For years I have been drawn to the
works of the canonical prophets, yet inasmuch as my theological bent tends
toward perceiving and discerning contemporary culture and society, I had not
made space for an in depth study of the biblical prophets. This course as a requirement has forced my
hand, which I have accepted with eager willingness.
What exactly is a prophet? The term floats loosely and irregularly
through society today: Martin Luther
King, Rush Limbaugh, while Simon and Garfunkel sing of guerrilla graffiti,
"The signs of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement
halls." The term prophet conjures
up images of seething, volcanic anger at injustice, red-heat passion, and
crusty ideologues. On the other hand,
there are those in Christendom who call themselves (or encourage themselves to
be called) prophets. I am particularly
referring to strands within the charismatic movement (and I know this milieu
well) in which a prophet will read a
person's heart or foretell his or her future.
Then of course there are those who, while not labeling themselves as
prophets per se, don the mantle of prophetic interpretation of the Bible and
current events toward a prediction of the future. Their number is legend if one includes "wannabes", but
prominent representatives include Hal Lindsey, John Walvoord, and Harold
Campion.
What exactly is a prophet?
II
The Old Testament does not precisely
define a prophet. We learn the
attributes of the prophets by studying the lives and ministries of the men (and
in fleeting glimpses women) who walked in the calling. Klaus Koch in his two-volume set, The
Prophets, describes an evolution of sorts in the concept and array of
prophetic ministry. Clairvoyance and
divination are most ancient, a practice almost universal in people groups
everywhere since the dawn of history, continuing yet today even among highly
educated, sophisticated people today.
Ancient stories reveal the baru
interpreting signs as guidance for the ruler of a nation.[1] One is
reminded of the flap when Nancy Reagan was revealed to have been consulting an
astrologer.
The precursors of the nabi begin to appear on the scene by
twenty-third century BC in Syria (Koch, p. 9). The nbi’im emerged in Hebrew society as the prevailing
conception of prophet. According to
Koch, during the monarchical period the nbi’im
emerged into a prominent role within the politico-religious institutions (Koch,
p. 16). Yet some nbi’im did not seem to relate to the court but lived as itinerants,
such as Elijah and Micaiah ben Imlah (Koch, p. 25). Indeed it seems that generally speaking those prophets that stand
out in the Old Testament as exemplary had tenuous ties to the established order
at best, and it appears that some of the early canonical prophets even
repudiated the entire civil-religious institutional order of the day.[2] Nevertheless
a survey of the Old Testament prophets (which necessitates delving into the
major prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel—the preliterary mantics, as well as
the minor prophets) reveals a wide array of societal involvement and prophetic
focus. Haggai for example sought the
re-establishment of the temple cult.
Yet common threads unify all the true prophets as a seamless garment.
III
The prophets had a zeal for the
honor of God. They were advocates for
God's side of the covenant.[3] In
their very beings the prophets lived out the passion of God. They experienced the rejection that God
experienced; they suffered the inner anguish of the blindness and infidelity
that was the response of the people toward God; they hoped to a future of
restored harmony as God hoped. In a
sense, the prophets prefigured Christ, for they represented God to the people,
and the people to God.
The prophets all upheld the
covenant, although perceptions of the covenant varied. Yet in one accord they denounced idolatry
and spiritual adultery. Fidelity must
be to Yahweh only!
Perhaps deriving out of this zeal
for the honor of God and His covenant, the prophets all upheld a powerful ethic
of justice and righteousness. In
particular they seethed at mistreatment of the poor by powerful interests. The distinguished Jewish theologian Abraham
Heschel writes, "Moralists of all ages have been eloquent in singing the
praises of virtue....what is lacking is a sense of the monstrosity of
injustice....the distinction of the prophets was in their remorseless unveiling
of injustice and oppression..." [4] Yet God is
not perceived as a crouched predator eager to pounce upon an errant
people. God seeks intimated relatedness
and communion with humankind. This
pathos of God permeates the prophets to their very core, exemplified perhaps
most strikingly in Hosea. Even Jonah, a
cold, pitiless individual, is contrasted to the merciful God who cares even for
the cruel Assyrians and their animals.
Walter Brueggemann describes in his The
Prophetic Imagination two attributes that pulsed through the prophets
within a dialectical dimension. The
first he terms "prophetic criticizing", whereby "the prophet
brings to public expression the dread of endings, the collapse of our self-madeness,
the barriers and pecking orders that secure us at each other's expense, and the
fearful practice of eating off the table of a hungry brother or sister."[5] The prophet
grieves God's grief over the current paralysis, impasse, yea, even spirit of
death that holds a people in its vise grip, seeking to move the people to a
corresponding grief. "The prophet
is engaged in a battle for language, in an effort to create a different
epistemology out of which another community might emerge" (Brueggemann, p.
59). The prophet critiques the present
paradigm that people come to realize its present despair, and turn toward hope
to a new paradigm.
The second aspect of the
"prophetic imagination" is to envision the people "to engage the
promise of newness that is at work in our history with God" (Brueggemann,
p. 63). It is hope that energizes. Brueggemann posits that it is the worship of
God, the "practice of doxology", that ignites and fuels the fires of
hope, that prepares the way for the breaking out from chains into newness and
freedom (Brueggemann, p. 69).
This, then, is another common
attribute of the canonical prophets, whether pre-exilic or post-exilic,
pro-cultic or contra-cultic, and that a polemic against the status quo and a
re-envisioning of the people to a new society.
IV
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of
the law and the prophets. Having stood
on the Mount with the principle archetypes of the law and the prophets, Moses
and Elijah, the voice descends from heaven announcing, "This is my Son, whom
I have chosen; listen to him" (Lk. 9:35).
In his person Jesus fulfills the law and in so doing shatters its old
form as inadequate. In his person,
specifically in his cross and subsequent resurrection, Jesus fulfills the
judgment of wrath and inaugurates the new community of peace.
I align with those who see all the
works of the Old Testament prophets as coming to their full meaning and person
in Jesus Christ. He is the prism,
finally, through which to interpret the prophets. This is not to mean that the canonical prophets within their
pre-Christian milieu do not contain meaning and import. The prophets ministered within the paradigm
of their own concrete historical situation (except Jonah?). We must come to know their milieu well if we
are to comprehend their message.
Furthermore, we dare not make a hasty, ill-founded trans-correlation to
the Christian situation. Perhaps we of
today see through the facade of a world largely estranged from God, yet if we
grieve we break through into the hope of the Kingdom of God in Christ
Jesus. The pulse of the prophets of
old, then, can pulse through the pages of the Old Testament to beat in step
with our hearts.
V
COMMENTS ON THE
COURSE
The obvious shortcoming for me in
this course was missing out on direct class participation. The tapes however have been much
appreciated, and I hope for the opportunity to hear those others that have
been taped.
I have found the text by Koch to be
quite useful. Two shortcomings I will
note, and these do not pertain to Koch's work in of itself. The first is that any one author is not
likely to provide the depth and perspective of theological breadth that several
authors representing varying schools of thought may. The second concern, directed more to the study of the minor
prophets, is that Koch says little about several of these prophets. While one might question the placement of
Jonah in the twelve, and obviously understand why Obadiah pales to Jeremiah and
Hosea, nevertheless I wanted to understand the theology of these other
"obscure" writings, and perhaps why they were canonized. Indeed , I attempted to find journal
articles that might illumine the theologies of each of the twelve. Rich material abounds for Hosea and Amos,
but seems to lessen in variety of theological exploration for the other ten.
I did make an effort to read
"meaty" journal articles, and was most gratified not only
intellectually but also for the spiritual strengthening several provided. I would appreciate your recommendations of
favorite journals, or a run-down of say ten or so journals and your thoughts on
each ones strengths, theological perspectives, intents, and so forth.
Of the journal articles I have read
for this course, the following would be my pick: J.Gerald Janzen's
"Eschatological Symbol and Existence in Habakkuk", for the
thoroughness of scholarly research and stunning theological conclusions; A.S.
Van Der Woude's "Micah in Dispute with the Pseudo-Prophets", a
tenuous yet fascinating hypothesis with significant implications if it can
hold; Thomas Finley's "An Evangelical Response to the Preaching of
Amos", a nice overview of the understanding of "the poor" in Old
Testament culture; and Elizabeth Achtemeier's "The Theological Message of
Hosea: Its Preaching Values", an excellent bridge from biblical
scholarship to preaching and devotional uses.
During this study I spent some time
in Abraham Heschel's The Prophets and will hope to finish. Although I am admittedly highly christocentric
in my hermeneutical approach, I feel it to be useful to understand the Old
Testament through Jewish eyes as well.
I have also started to read some
from John L. McKenzie, a noted Catholic scholar highly recommended to me. McKenzie has written extensively in Old
Testament studies, and certainly flavors to his own theological bent, as I
presume all scholars do to some extent.
I have also re-read in two of Jacques
Ellul's books. Ellul of course is
interested in theological implications to contemporary society, and can be
faulted in areas of critical scholarship.
It would seem to me that his theological presuppositions and conclusions
would shape the bent of his critical biblical exegesis. Yet this seems to me to be a usual occurrence,
and reason for the need to listen to scholars and theologians from an array of
perspectives in order to sharpen one to conclusions.
VI
If things work out I will plan to be
at EBTS January 9-13, and will hope to meet with you then. Perhaps I can pick up some more audio tapes
to listen to (unless you prefer to send them to me beforehand). Also have a notebook of journal articles on
Amos to return. Finally I may compile
some questions to run by you. For
example, taking off from Finley's journal article, I'd be interested in more
detail about "the poor" in Old Testament culture and what theological
implications can be drawn from biblical study.
I am interested in the interplay between the cult and the power politics
of the time. Anyway, I'll look forward
to a chat.
Thank you so much for agreeing to
work with me in this special course arrangement. I am truly grateful.
Blessings and peace in Jesus Christ.
Allen
Johnson