Messiah in the Minor Prophets

This morning we will spend some time in several different books of our Bible that get little attention. We are going to look at several different minor prophets from the OT.

Depending on how you date some of the minor prophets God used these 12 messengers to speak to His people for more than four centuries.

The minor prophets were used to preach God’s word to Isreal, Judah, Edom, Nineveh, and the post-exilic community.

The mission of these twelve prophets was threefold:

1). To call people to repentance so that they might avert divine judgement.

2). To warn people of the judgement to come if they did not repent.

3). To offer people hope for the future.

The message of the twelve was the same message that God communicated throughout the OT- that of covenant faithfulness. God wanted his people to remain faithful to the Mosaic Covenant.

The message stayed the same, but the method for delivering that message is what makes the minor prophets unique. The prophets were given the task of waking God’s people out of a spiritual stupor. The people had dull ears, blind eyes, and hard hearts. Yet, the prophets were sent to wake them up. Their words were like God dumping a bucket of ice water in the faces of a bleary-eyed people! They used rich imagery and powerful linguistic tools to shock God’s people into comprehension.

He used the twelve to warn of the curse for disobedience and the blessing for obedience. And he always followed his warnings of judgment with offers of hope.

Much of the time God’s message of hope was in the context of the future Kingdom and the people’s future King—the Messiah.

This morning I want to examine the message of the minor prophets specifically their message about God’s coming Messiah.

Through the message of the Messiah God offers His people hope for the future.

How does God’s message of the Messiah in the minor prophets offer us hope?

I. Messiah in the book of Hosea

Hosea ministered from 753-725 B.C. He was sent to the nothern kingdom of Israel. And his primary message to Israel was that God redeems sinners because of His steadfast love.

God told Hosea to do something very shocking to get Israel’s attention.

Hosea 1:2 ESV

2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”

Here is the shocking message for Israel. You are like a wife of whoredom! You have commited spiritual adultery. If you don’t repent I will judge you!

God used Hosea’s children to communicate this message to Israel.

Hosea 1:3 ESV

3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Hosea 1:4 ESV

4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

Child #1- Jezreel- Jezreel means “God will sow.”

What will God sow because of Israel’s sin? Judgement, bloodshed, punishment! “I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.”

Hosea 1:5 ESV

5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Because Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant and had gone after other gods like an unfaithful wife, God would sow seeds of judgement upon them for their sin.

A. The Messiah was Israel’s hope for reversal

On the heals of God foretelling of the judgement that he would bring upon his people- that he would sow punishment and bloodshed because of their unfaithfulness, God promises Israel a reversal through the Messiah.

1). A reversal from judgement to blessing

Hosea 1:11 ESV

11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Almost before Hosea can get the words of judgment out of his mouth, he foretells of the time when God will restore his people.

God will unite the kingdom once again- the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together. The union will take place through Israel's ONE HEAD. Who is this one head? This one King? It is the coming Messiah. When he comes to reign he will bring a re-gathering and a reunification of His people.

Notice the play of word at the end of v. 11!

Two phrases:

“For great shall be the day of Jezreel.”

Do you remember what Jezreel means? “God will sow.” Initially God sowed judgement, punishment, and bloodshed because of Israel’s sin. But now, under the unified rule of the Messiah what will God sow?

“And they shall go up from the land.”

This is a play on words- lit. “They shall come up out of the land.” God will plant his people in the land like seeds, and they will take root and flourish! Instead of sowing judgment, under the coming Messiah God will sow blessing! He is the hope of the Jewish people. Messiah brings a complete reversal to his people- from seeds of judgement, to seeds of blessing!

2). A reversal from rebellious to repentant

Hosea and his wife of whoredom, Gomer, had two other children (most likely they were not Hosea’s children by birth)

Hosea 1:6 ESV

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.

Child #2- “No Mercy” Shocking message!

Hosea 1:8–9 ESV

8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

Child #3- “Not My People” Shocking Message!

Why would God command Hosea to do all this? Why does God shock his people with this message?

Hosea 2:13 ESV

13 And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord.

Isreal was committing spiritual adultery- she was worshiping a false god- Baal. Listen to how God describes this idolatry! Israel “went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord.” This parallels Hosea’s experience. Imagine how Hosea felt when Gomer went after other lovers and forgot him. That is exactly how God feels when we commit spiritual adultery!

Hosea 2:16 ESV

16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’

Remove the names of the Baals from her mouth! How would you feel if your spouse called you by the wrong name? What if your spouse used the name of another lover? How would you feel? No wonder God called Hosea’s children “No Mercy” and “Not My People!”

Refutation: Pastor Jon I would never commit spiritual adultery! I have never once have bowed down to a false idol!

James 4:4–5 ESV

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

When we make ourselves friends of this evil world’s system- we become enemies of God and we become a spiritual adulterer!

How fickle and fleeting are our hearts! How prone we are to abandon God!

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it Prone to leave the God I love Here's my heart, oh take and seal it Seal it for Thy courts above

How do reverse our dilemma? How do we stop playing the harlot? One of Hosea’s answers for the Jewish people was the Messiah!

Hosea 3:5 ESV

5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.

There is coming a day when God will draw his people back to Himself!

Hosea 2:14 ESV

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

The way God will reverse the natural inclination of the hearts of his people is through Jesus, their Messiah!

“Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king”

They will “return” and “seek” these two words bring to our minds the idea of repentance. They will understand that they played the harlot, that they were spiritual adulterers, and they will return to the Lord and they will seek him again through repentance.

Notice the condition of their hearts on that day when they seek their king!

“They shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness”

The word “fear” is not the normal term you would expect. It is not fear of the Lord fear- it is not the idea of reverence or respect. This word means to shiver, or to tremble, to approach in trepidation, or to shake. These are all sings of fear or anguish in people.

In comparison, Gomer might have viewed returning to her husband after her unfaithfulness with terror and trembling.

But notice how they will be received! They shall come in fear to the Lord and to His GOODNESS! Isreal will return in fear and yet be received in love!

Isaiah 55:6–7 ESV

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

When will they do this? “In the latter days.” or the idea is “at the end of days.”

There is coming a day when Israel will have a heart reversal! They will no longer go after false gods, they will no longer play the harlot. Instead of being faithless and rebellious they will be fearful and repentant! They will seek the Lord through the Messiah their king. He will change their hearts so that they will seek the Lord and walk in his goodness all their days!

Illustration: There was once a rebellious son who hated his father and his life. So one day he got his hands on his father’s inheritance money, every dime he could get his hands on, and he got as far away from his father as he could. He went out and lived it up. He spent all his money on “friends” and pleasure. Until one day the money ran out, and his friends abandoned him, and he was forced to work the most demeaning job possible and didn’t have enough money even to buy a decent meal. This young man finally came to his senses. He returned to his father and repented of his wrong and asked if he could just be a servant in his father’s house. And do you know how that father received his son?

Luke 15:22–24 ESV

22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

B. Jesus is our hope for reversal

1). A reversal from dead to alive

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

What you were before Jesus- spiritually dead in your trespasses and sin.

Ephesians 2:4–7 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

What you are now that you are in Christ—spiritually alive together with Christ!

2). A reversal from separated to near

Ephesians 2:11–12 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

What you were before Christ—separated from Christ, alienated, strangers, having no hope and without God.

Ephesians 2:13 ESV

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

What you are now in Christ—You have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Just like the Messiah will be Israel's hope for reversal one day, he is our hope for reversal right now!

Do you have that hope? Has your relationship with God been reversed? If not you can trust him today. If it has- then believer what a hope you have!

The message of the Messiah in the minor prophets offers hope through reversal.

How else does the message of Messiah offer hope?

II. Messiah in the book of Amos

Introduction and message of Amos:

The prophet Amos minister just before the time of Hosea, somewhere between 760-755 BC. He also primarily preached to the northern kingdom of Israel.

The primary message of the prophet Amos was that God judges and holds all nations accountable for their sins.

He was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore figs. He ministered during the “Silver Age” of Israel’s history. It was a time of prosperity and relative safety. Amos warned Isreal that she was guilty of sinning again and again and for forgetting how to do right. Thus, Isreal was ripe for divine judgement!

Yet at the tale end of Amos’ message, after foretelling of Israel's destruction for their sin, Amos gives a message of hope centered around the coming Messiah.

A. The Messiah was Israel’s hope for restoration

Yes, God was going to judge Israel for her sin. God was going to hold the nations accountable for their sin.

Amos 9:8 (ESV)

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord.

Yet, as the prophet finishes uttering his words of judgement, “I will destroy it from the surface of the ground.” He follows it up with a message of hope, “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.”

And central to that hope is the coming Messiah, the one who will restore the kingdom of David.

Amos 9:11 ESV

11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,

“In that day” - a reference to the coming Day of the Lord.

“I will raise up the booth of David”- the word “booth” refers to a makeshift kind of dwelling similar to a tent.

In Leviticus 23 God commanded the Israelites to keep the feast of booths (same word).

Here God makes reference to the booth or the tent of David. This likely speaks of David’s dynasty. At one time David ruled as a mighty king over a strong house. Now is Amos’ day that strong house was tottering and in need of repair. It was merely a tent. And it was a tent that had fallen and had many breaches. It was in ruins and needed rebuilding. The king and the kingdom had become a shadow of its former glory.

But, God promises his people that one day He would restore the kingdom of David to its former glory. He would rebuild the house of David. He would repair its breaches and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old. How would God do this? By raising up the Messiah to sit on David’s throne. By establishing Messiah’s kingdom and causing Him to become King with glory as in the days of old.

Notice who will get to share in this glory!

Amos 9:12 ESV

12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.

The restored Davidic Kingdom, with Messiah sitting on David’s throne will include “the remnant of Edom” and “all the nation who are called by my name.” Do you know who that is referring to?

C.F.

Acts 15:13–17 ESV

13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

Clearly, James applies Amos 9:12 to include Gentiles. That means we get to be part of Messiah’s kingdom as well! And it was foretold in the OT!

What will that kingdom be like one day?

Amos 9:13 ESV

13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

“The plowman shall overtake the reaper.” This pictures a harvest so abundant that the gathering of one crop will not be finished before time to plant the next crop takes place!

“The treader of grapes him who sows the seed.” The harvest of grapes will be so abundant that the workers who press the grapes into juice will not be able to finish harvesting before it is time to sow new seeds.

The harvest will be so great that the mountains will drip with sweet wine and all the hills flow with it!

Illustration: Last year we were blessed to put four deer in the freezer. It normally takes my dad and I about three to four hours to process the deer and get all the meat put into the freezer. Then we sometimes make it until next September before we run out of venison. Imagine if the harvest of venison was so great we could not even finish processing the deer to put all the meat in the freezer before the next hunting season arrived. Let alone eat all that meat!

When Messiah comes it will be a time of great restoration to the creation. And we will be part of that kingdom!

Amos 9:14–15 ESV

14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

Messiah was a great hope to the people of Isreal for future restoration!

B. Jesus is our hope for restoration and redemption

This same hope of restoration and redemption is given to us as church age saints because of Jesus our Savior.

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Here we see our current situation- sufferings of this present time. But Jesus is our hope and one day He will come again and bring with Him GLORY!

Romans 8:19–22 ESV

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

We too have the hope of seeing the created world set free from the bondage of the curse of sin. We will be part of the that future kingdom where Christ restores the world to its former glory! How marvelous that will be! What a hope we have to look forward to!

But our hope is not only centered on the created order.

Romans 8:23–25 ESV

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Just as Jesus will bring restoration to His creation one day, so he will also bring redemption to us, his disciples! We will be given glorified bodies free from the corruption of sin, fully restored to their originally intended glory. It is for this hope we were saved. We have much to hope for and look forward to.

Our hope for restoration and redemption is centered in Jesus!

Application: Is that your hope? Do you long from the coming restoration in the Kingdom? Do you live for the day when the tent of David will be restored? And we the Gentile nations will seek the Lord? Is the restoration that Jesus will bring one day your constant source of joy and hope? It is so easy to become earthly minded. It is so easy to place our hope in government, or in our jobs, or in our family. As Christians, our true living hope is in the coming restoration that Jesus, the Messiah will bring!

III. Messiah in the book of Micah

Micah ministered just after Amos, from 750-700 BC. His ministry was to both Isreal and Judah. His primary message was that God judges and forgives sin.

His name means “Who is like Yahweh?” He most likely ministered during the same time as Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea.

The structure of Micah is cyclical. It is based on two themes that repeat themselves- judgment and salvation. One of the ways Micah preaches the message of salvation is to highlight the coming Messiah.

A. The Messiah was Israel's hope for security

There is coming a day when Messiah will establish His kingdom, and it will be a kingdom of great security! In what way will his kingdom be secure?

Micah 4:1 ESV

1 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it,

Messiah’s kingdom will be greater than all other kingdoms!

Micah 4:2 ESV

2 and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Nations will come to Jerusalem, to the throne of David, so that Messiah will teach them His ways and so that the nations will walk in His paths!

What a contrast to the kingdoms of earth today!

Illustration: Man going to a Pride parade in Washington state, and simply reading the bible. Insulted, assaulted, bible kicked around on the ground and thrown in the toilet. 10 police officers showed up and arrested the preacher!

Folks we are strangers and exiles in this world. We don’t belong. The world hates us and ungodly people want to destroy us. All those who live godly will suffer persecution.

But there is coming a day when Messiah will set up his kingdom. It will be a secure kingdom and all the nations will travel to Jerusalem to learn his ways and walk in his paths! For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the world of the Lord from Jerusalem!

Micah 4:3 ESV

3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;

“He shall judge between many peoples and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away.” We won’t need supreme courts, we won’t have to worry about the filibusterer being abolished, or who gets elected to congress. Jesus will bring perfect justice and perfect judgement to the people. He will decide disputes for the nations. No need for litigation or prosecuting attorneys. Jesus will reign in righteousness! What security that will bring!

His justice will be so complete that nations will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

We won’t have to worry about the Putins starting WWIII, or Iraq developing nuclear weapons. There will be wold wide, absolute peace because of Jesus!

Micah 4:4 ESV

4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

We will sit under our own vine and under our own fig tree. We will not have to worry about food or our property being stolen. There will be nothing on the entire earth that will make us afraid.

Micah 4:5 ESV

5 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

And the kingdom of Messiah will be forever and ever. Peace, safety, security forever and ever, Amen! Even for the most vulnerable of people!

Micah 4:6–7 ESV

6 In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; 7 and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.

Jesus will be our shepherd and we will dwell secure in his care forever.

Micah 5:4–5 (ESV)

4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace.

B. Jesus is our hope for eternal security

As believers we too hope in Jesus. He is our hope for eternal life, eternal security!

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Your hope / your inheritance cannot perish, it cannot be defiled, and it will never fade away. How do we know that? Because it is being kept in heaven for you and it is being guarded by God’s power all the way to the end!

Revelation 22:1–5 ESV

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Here is our security! We will reign with Jesus, with the Messiah, forever and ever!

Application: What is your hope? What are you trusting in for security? Is your hope in your bank account or your 401k? Is it in your elected officials? Is it in your family or friends? The only hope that will never fail and will always hold you secure is Jesus. He is coming again and we will rule and reign with him forever and ever!

Conclusion:

Proposition: Through the message of the Messiah God offers His people hope for the future.

Question: How does God’s message of the Messiah in the minor prophets offer us hope?

Jesus offers us hope through: 1). Reversal

2). Restoration and redemption

3). Security

Put your hope firmly in Jesus the Messiah! Trust him, look for him, long for him to return. And in the mean time live your life for him in obedience until He comes.