Day 28
So begins the minor prophets and the final stretch of the Hebrew Bible. I have a handful of apocryphal books to finish up and then I’ll get to end with the remaining nine minor prophets. Hosea, Joel, and Amos provide different perspectives and different time periods for their prophesying. They’re also deeply personal.
Hosea is confusing at first. He uses his family as a metaphor for God’s judgement and mentions “whoredom” far too often. But a closer look at the text and you realize (as with the cute graphic below) that his wife was unfaithful to him. He saw a parallel with Israel and Judah being unfaithful to God. Not having that context stated plainly makes the text rather difficult to read. It was almost comical how many times he used images of prostitution. You know how sometimes someone just goes on and on and you realize there’s some hidden damage there. Anyway, that’s what Hosea felt like. But he gets to his point. Israel has betrayed their God and themselves, but just as he remains faithful to his adulterous wife, so God will ultimately remain faithful to Israel. It’s hard to see through the weeds sometimes in these books, but with Hosea it’s a little easier (as opposed to someone like Ezekiel).
Joel was a beautiful read. It was full of oracles of destruction as you would expect, yet they were all farming, geography, or weather related. I enjoyed the imagery. We’re never told Joel is a farmer or shepherd, like Amos, but you get the impression. It was also a nice change of imagery from the anger Hosea unleashed on the pages. All of these, so far, present a similar message but a different perspective. Which is interesting — here are disparate prophets proclaiming the same message over and over.
Amos was also a joy to read. Out of these three, we learn the most about Hosea but Amos gives us a good solid glimpse into his life. He’s a “herdsman…dresser of sycamore” (Amos 7:14) and as such his verses are concerned with the poor, justice, and vindication of the oppressed. Reading these prophets left me with the impression they were people of simple faith. They were uncomplicated. Ordinary people with ordinary problems. They used the situations in their lives to discern truth about themselves, their culture, and their beliefs.
What continues to strike me here are the verses about the poor. Liberation theologians will say that God favors the poor. I can certainly see that message loud and clear in these texts.
One Word for Hosea: Unrelenting
One Word for Joel: Grounded
One Word for Amos: Humble
Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me
- Hos 9:7, Don’t Listen to This Guy. Hosea confronts his critics openly. He seems a little unhinged at the beginning of the text, so I can see why. But it’s also true that anyone speaking truth to power is often portrayed as a madman.
- Hos 11, Heart of the Book. I felt like Hosea finally got to the heart of the matter in chapter 11. This continues until chapter 14. The clearest charges against Israel are presented. You can really feel the lament.
- Hos 13:14, Death Has No Power. “O Sheol where is your destruction?” That question gave me chills.
- Joel 1:11-12, Put On Your Overalls. Farming metaphors are Joel’s bread ‘n butter. Along with weather and geography metaphors, that’s the bulk of his oracles. I loved ’em.
- Joel 2:21-22, Soil Has Fear. Yeah, the soil is told not to be afraid. Animals, too. I guess everything’s covered.
- Joel 3:14, So Many Multitudes! This line is just exquisite: “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision!” I don’t know why, but I love that verse.
- Amos 1-2, Nope Sorry. God will not revoke his punishment. You’re outta luck Israel, Damascus, Moab, Tyre, etc.
- Amos 4, You Did Not Return. A series of oracles with the refrain: “Yet you did not return to me.” The rhythm was striking to these verses.
- Amos 5, Just Read the Whole Thing. This chapter is full of great verses, including: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like and ever-flowing stream.” (5:24)
- Amos 8:4-6, God Favors the Poor. Tramping on the needy will exact the wrath of God. It’s been a theme throughout.
This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.