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YALE
DIVINITY SCHOOL
LIBRARY

Gift of
Professor Clarence P. Shedd

THE WORK AND TEACHINGS OF THE
EARLIER PROPHETS

Reprinted by permission from Kent's " Israel's Historical and Biographical Narratives."

ISRAEL AND JUDAH AFTER THE DIVISION OF
THE HEBREW EMPIRE.
Copyright, 1905, by Charles Scribner's Sons.

THE
WORK AND TEACHINGS
OF THE
EARLIER PROPHETS

BY
CHARLES FOSTER KENT
Vfoolsey Professor of Biblical Literature
In Yale University
AND
ROBERT SENECA SMITH
General Secretary of the
Young Men's Christian Association
of Yale University

" For what doth Jehovah require
of thee, but to do justly, and to
love kindness and to walk humbly
with thy God."

NEW YORK
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS

Cor-YHIGHTED, 1906, BY
CHARLES FOSTER KENT
AND
ROBERT SENECA SMITH.

PREFACE.
The Hebrew prophets are unquestionably the most important
figures in the pre-Christian religious history of the human race.
Through their work and teachings they were God's agents in
moulding the life and thoughts of their own age. They also pow
erfully influenced their fellow teachers, the priests, sages and
psalmists of ancient Israel and thus left their imprint upon every
page of the Old Testament. Moreover, they were the immediate
spiritual forerunners of the Divine Teacher; for they proclaimed
many of the great religious and ethical principles which, in their
perfected and more personal form, are the central teachings of
the Gospel. Hence an intelligent appreciation of the Hebrew
prophets is the open door to the understanding of both the Old
and the New Testaments. And yet the prophets are, on the whole,
the most misunderstood of all the world's great leaders. This
widespread popular ignorance is chiefly due to the fact that they
have not been studied in the light of the significant crises and
conditions amid which they lived and worked. Each prophet has
a direct, vital message from God to the present age; but it was
first proclaimed in the language and historical setting of his own
times. The purpose of these studies is to enable the student of to-day
to become personally acquainted with these inspired prophets of
the past. Do not regard them as relics of antiquity whose worth
is buried with their bones. Think of them rather as living men
with throbbing hearts and tense muscles. You cannot hope to
know them unless you associate with them. The studies have been
arranged to make possible a daily communion with them. Aim to
dwell with these prophets each day and to become acquainted with
the environment in which they lived, and the situations which they
were forced to face; study their methods of work and their habits
of thought and expression; read their writings aloud until their
words and style are familiar ; picture each one of them to yourself
in imagination, and search with reverent and thoughtful hearts
for the great eternal principles which the Divine Father was con
tinually revealing to and through them. Then you will indeed

PREFACE.
feel that you have walked and talked with these men of God, and
through their eyes have caught clear visions of His just and gra
cious purpose.
It is impossible to use these studies apart from the Bible. The
references are the essential part of each day's work; the subject
matter of the studies is intended only as a suggestive guide and
commentary. The American Revised Version of the Bible is
necessary, as the references are based upon it. The other refer
ence books are important, and their frequent use will illuminate
the matter under discussion.
To one of the illustrious modern disciples of the prophets,
Professor George Adam Smith, D. D., we have been under con
stant obligation, both for his method of treatment and his illumi
nating interpretation, found in his commentaries on Isaiah and the
Book of the Twelve Prophets. The translations incorporated in
the text are from Kent's Students' Old Testament, Vol. Ill (now
in preparation). We wish to express our gratitude also to the
Reverend Morgan Millar of Yale, who has oiFered many valuable
suggestions and corrections.
C. F. K.
R. S. S.
Yale University, May 1906.

VI

CONTENTS.
Study I. — Work or the Earliest Prophets. page
The Work of Moses  1
Deborah and Samuel  2
The Prophetic Societies and the Work of Gad and Nathan  3
The Effect of Foreign Alliances upon Israel and the Disruption of
the Kingdom  4
The Character and Work of Elijah  5
The Character and Work of Elisha  6
Review of the Work of the Pioneer Prophets  7
Study II. — Amos: His Environment and Character.
The Situation  8
The Situation (Continued)  9
Amos, the Man  10
Amos' Problem and How He Solved It  11
Sins Abroad  12
Sins at Home  13
Review of the Week  14
Study III. — Amos' Arraignment or Israel.
Amos' Credentials  IS
The Test of a Nation's Stability  16
" Yet have ye not returned unto Me "  17
The Possibility of Jehovah's Mercy  18
The Impending National Disaster  19
False Political Confidence  20
The Death Sentence  21
Study IV. — Amos' Visions and Teachings.
The Higher Type of Prophetic Visions  22
The Interpretation and Application of Amos' Visions  23
Inevitable Judgment about to Overtake Israel  24
Sin Causes Spiritual Famine  25
Vision of the Smitten Sanctuary and the End of the Nation  26
Amos' Conception of God  27
Social and Moral Teachings of Amos  28
vii

Study V. — Hosea: Prophet of Love. page
The Need of the Hour  29
The Man Hosea  30
The Domestic Experiences of the Prophet  31
The Domestic Experiences of the Prophet (Continued)  32
Hosea's Call to Become a Prophet  33
The Relationship between Jehovah and Israel  34
Israel's Immediate and Distant Future  35
Study VI. — A People in Decay.
The Spirit of the Times  36
Jehovah's Charges against Israel  37
The Baneful Consequences of Criminal Leadership  38
Fickle Repentance  39
Social and Political Decay  40
" The corruption that is through lust "  41
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"  42
Study VII. — The Sin against Love.
The Character of God  43
The Character of God (Continued)  44
The Knowledge of God  45
The Lack of Repentance  46
The Fatal Loss of the Ability to Repent  47
The Responsibility of Love  48
"My God will cast them away "  , . . 49
Study VIII. — Isaiah's Call to be a Prophet.
The Historical Situation  50
The Vision of Jehovah  51
" Here am I! Send me"  52
Isaiah's Apprenticeship  53
The Seeds of National Decay  54
The Vision of the Restored City  55
The Underlying Principles  56
Study IX. — Isaiah's Social Sermons.
The Social Conditions in Judah and their Causes  57
The Parable of the Vineyard  58
The Fruits of Reckless Selfishness  59
The Anger of the Lord  60
The Fate of the Lawless Nation  61
The Later Portrait of the Perfect King  62
The Ideal King and Kingdom  63
viii

Study X. — Isaiah's Activity in the Crisis of 737 B.C. page
The Situation  64
Isaiah's Interview with Ahaz  65
The Sign to the King  66
Isaiah's Predictions regarding Judah  67
The Loss of National Enthusiasm  68
Isaiah's Pictorial Sermons  69
Isaiah's Work as a Statesman  70
Study XI. — The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith.
The Historical Situation in 701 B.C  71
The Hour of Jerusalem's Visitation  72
The City in Despair  73
The Fall of the City  74
The Last Temptations of Faith  75
The Victory through Faith  76
Isaiah's Work as a Prophet of Faith in God  77
Study XII. — Micah's Reform Sermons.
The Countryman Prophet of Judah  79
The Common Fate Awaiting Israel and Judah  80
Might Does Not Make Right  81
The Greed and Guilt of Judah's Leaders  82
The Climax and Effect of Micah's Preaching  83
The Prophetic Definition of Religion  84
Contrasting Light and Shadow  85
Study XIII. — The Character or the Prophets.
The Early Life of the Prophets  87
The Call of the Prophets  88
The Manner in which the Prophets Learned their Message  89
The Qualifications of the Prophets  90
The Methods of the Prophets  91
The Aims of the Prophets  92
The Eternal Need of Prophets  93

ix

STUDY I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
First Day. The Work of Moses.
i. When the forefathers of Israel left their Semitic kinsmen
in the desert and migrated to Palestine, and later to Egypt, it is
reasonably certain that they carried with them an inherited store
of traditions, customs and beliefs. In their earliest stories we
have evidence that certain customs were regarded with favor,
others with disfavor. Examine Gen. 20:9; 29:26; 34:7; 37-22.
2. When Moses was called to lead this people out of its Egyp
tian bondage, his task was primarily the development of beliefs
and customs already existing. "Moses' work," says Cornill, "does
not appear as something absolutely new, but as a supplement to
something already existing among the people" (Cornill, Prophets
of Israel, pp. 16-26).
3. But Moses was far superior to the men of his time; and
the stories that have been preserved in the Old Testament aid in
determining the basis of that superiority. What experiences led
him to assume his great responsibility? Read Ex. 2:12-15; 3:1-12.
Two factors are combined in Moses' call; cf. 3:6-8. Study in
Ex. 4:10-12 the effect of this call upon Moses, and determine the
source of his power. If your heart ever aches because of the cry
of the needy or the despised, and your eyes behold a vision of
God's infinite love and tenderness, put the two together ; they are
God's method of calling you to His service.
4. The work of Moses was more than that of a mere lawgiver.
The different forms of his activity are described in the following
passages :
(a) Judge. Ex. 18:13-16. As judge, Moses established
principles which became the basis of later laws, (b) Organizer.
Ex. 18:17-26. (c) Statesman. Ex. 4:29.— 5:3. (d) Interpreter
of the oracle. Ex. 33:7-11. (e) Prophet. Hos. 12:13. Com
pare also Num. 12:6-8, where Moses appears as the noblest type
of prophet.
5. The work of Moses, then, was the deliverance of Israel
from its Egyptian bondage; the union of many clans into a single
nation; the instruction of the primitive race in the elementary
principles of right and wrong; and finally the placing of a power
ful emphasis upon the necessity of loyalty to Jehovah.

I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Second Day. Deborah and Samuel.
I. The next account of prophetic activity is that describing
the work of Deborah, who summons and leads her scattered, de
jected countrymen to victory over the Canaanites. What position
did she hold among her people? See Judg. 4:4-5; 5:7. Read
rapidly Judg. 4:6-24. To what did Deborah owe her success as a
leader. Judg. 4:14; 5:12-13. What is the conception of the
character of God there found? Judg. 5:1-5, 31. To obtain a
clear picture of her courageous faith and holy enthusiasm, read
once more the portions of the war-song which commemorate the
victory of the Israelites over the Canaanites. Judg. 5:1-13,
19-27, 31. For a new translation, cf. Kent, Origin and Perma
nent Value of the Old Testament, pp. 91-93.
2. Samuel was a man of God who, like Deborah, was in close
touch with the men and needs of his age. He was, under Divine
guidance, searching for a deliverer, to lead the Hebrews against
their oppressors, the Philistines. In the young Benjamite chief
tain Saul, he recognized the natural qualities of physical strength,
patriotism and courage, which, when aroused, fitted him to be
Israel's savior. Read I Sam. 9:25; 10:1, noting how Samuel en
deavored to impress Saul with the fact that he, Saul, was divinely
called to undertake a great task for the people's welfare. As
Moses was the noble instrument by which the Hebrew nation was
brought into being, in like manner Samuel was the great patriot-
prophet who at the critical moment called the Israelitish kingdom
into existence by anointing Saul.
3. Moses, Deborah, and Samuel each made clear the power and
purposes of God to their countrymen. They saw with God-given
insight the needs of their day and the way such needs could be
met, and, above all, at the critical moment they had the courage
to act. Through personal effort and unselfish devotion to human
needs and the light which God gave them they became captains
courageous and noble leaders of their fellows from slavery to
victory. For these reasons, their own and later generations recog
nized them as true prophets. For the historical setting read
Kent, History of the Hebrew People, Vol. I, pp. 36-44, 74-78,
113-122.

I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Third Day. The Prophetic Societies and the Work of Gad
and Nathan.
I. Thus far, among the Hebrew people, the prophet has ful
filled his task as a solitary individual. Now a new order appears,
an order which, as early as the time of Samuel, is inaugurated by
bands of men animated by a sort of contagious religious enthu
siasm. How are they described in I Sam. 10:5-13? This is the
first reference to their activity. These men were called "Sons of
the Prophets," not because their fathers were actual prophets, but
because they were associated with certain great prophets.
2. This manifestation of ecstatic prophecy came at the time
when Israel's patriotism and religious feeling were aroused
against the Philistines. These bands of prophets were ardent
devotees of the national movement. They were enthusiasts for
the deliverance of their nation. The terrible Philistine bondage
under which Israel was living explains, no doubt, their patriotic
frenzy. They believed, however, that deliverance could be accom
plished one way only. Read I Sam. 10:6; I Kings 22:5-6.
Should religion and patriotism ever be separated?
3. These bands of enthusiasts continued in Israel as late as
the time of Jeremiah, but they were on a far lower plane than the
true prophets. Their numbers greatly increased, and, dependent
upon charitable gifts for livelihood, they often prophesied in ac
cordance with the views held by those they served. For the con
tempt in which they were later held, cf. Amos 7:14; Micah 3:5-7.
4. Look now at two representatives of genuine prophetism in
the court of David: Gad and Nathan, men who dared to be true
to their convictions. Read the account of Gad's activity in I Sam.
22 :3-5. What part did he play in the national crisis described in
II Sam. 24:15-25?
5. Recall the story of David's adulterous marriage with Bath-
sheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, as set forth in II
Sam. 11. Then read II Sam. 12:1-13, noting especially:
(a) Nathan's tact. Vss. 1-6.
(b) The source of his authority. Vss. 7-11.
(c) Nathan's courageous denunciation of his king. Vss. 7-12.
(d) David's penitence. Vs. 13.
What is the prophet's conception of God; of the duty of men to
God ; of the duty of men to their fellows ? What relation to God
does Nathan hold ? Read again vs. 1 3. What is essential before
there ean be forgiveness ? How far is this early prophetic story
in keeping with the principles of the Old Testament law raised
by Jesus to commanding authority in Matt. 22 :34-40 ?
3

I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Fourth Day. The Effect of Foreign Alliances Upon Israel
and the Disruption of the Kingdom.
I. Under the moulding influence of their political and re
ligious leaders, the Hebrews became, at length, a powerful nation
in the Canaanitish world. Although the tribes struggled each with
its own problems and sought each its own success, they were finally
united against the common Philistine foe by the masterful leader
ship of Saul and David.
2. When David died, Solomon was made king. Solomon
lacked his father's tactful ability. He lacked, also, his father's
simplicity; he had high notions as to absolutism, kingly magnifi
cence, and the like, and these he carried out at the cost of national
unity. Early in the history of the nation the northern tribes had
been separated from the southern by geographical barriers and by
differences of disposition. The northern tribes surpassed, in in
fluence and resources, those in the south and looked upon them
with little favor. When Solomon, disregarding the northern
tribes and devoting the resources they paid into the national
treasury to the adornment of his temple and palaces in the south,
sought to establish an absolute despotism, they developed a revo
lutionary spirit which after his death (937 B. C) resulted in the
complete disunion of the Hebrew people. Hereafter we shall
find these two Hebrew kingdoms, Israel on the north and Judah
on the south, engaged in a desperate struggle for national exist
ence. 3. During the reign of Solomon the civilization of the Hebrews
was materially enriched by the absorption of the culture and ideals
of the surrounding nations. But this tendency toward an Oriental
despotism which disregarded the rights of the individual was
fraught with serious dangers. Solomon's marriages with foreign
wives constituted more than mere political alliances. They were
religious as well. He was compelled to recognize the gods of his
allied peoples and to countenance their worship in his own domains.
4. What is Solomon's policy in regard to foreign gods ? Read
I Kings 11 :l-8. The evidences of prophetic activity during this
period of disruption are meagre. Determine from the following
references the prophetic attitude toward the tendency to Oriental
ism and the bearing upon this of the revolution under Jeroboam ;
I Kings 11:26-40; 12:21-24. Consider (1) the political, (2) the
social, and (3) the religious effects of the division of the Hebrew
empire. Cf. Kent, History of the Hebrew People, Vol. II,
pp. 24, 25.

I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Fifth Day. The Character and Work of Elijah.
I. In 875 B. C, sixty years after the division of the kingdom,
Ahab became king of Israel. An able and energetic monarch, he
brought together the Hebrew kingdoms in a united struggle
against their common foes. In order to strengthen the important
alliance with Tyre, which his father had effected, Ahab married
Jezebel, the daughter of an ex-priest of Baal who had made him
self king by the murder of his former master. In her honor Ahab
erected a temple to Baal at his capital in Samaria.
2. In connection with Ahab's reign Elijah appears. He has
been rightly described as one of the most titanic personages of
the Old Testament. How did he differ from the ordinary mem
bers of the prophetic guilds? What name is given him in I
Kings 17:18-24? In whose power does he perform his tasks?
I Kings 18:1; 19:9-15.
3. Elijah detected two dangerous evils in Israel's life. One
was religious, the other social. Against them he flung himself
with all the strength and courage that God had given him. It
was in such supreme efforts that the true greatness of Elijah
became manifest.
4. Read rapidly the account of the contest on Mount Carmel
in I Kings 18:17-40. Note especially verses 18, 21. What is
the nature of Israel's sin? What is Elijah's attitude toward
Baal ? What toward Jehovah ? Why was it so dangerous for the
Hebrews to worship foreign gods ? Read again verses 36, 37. The
Hebrews constantly forgot the goodness and mercy of the God
whom Moses had taught them to serve. The greatness of the
prophets lies in the fact that they knew God and were able to
reveal Him as Lord and Father; and this even when the eyes of
their countrymen were befogged by indifference and by the sinful
worship of other gods.
5. The other evil which Elijah attacked in Israel is described
in I Kings 21:1-16. It was despotic disregard of the individual
citizen's hereditary right. Read I Kings 21 :17-20, 27. Of what
two sins does Elijah accuse Ahab in verse 19? Was there not a
connection between these abuses of worship and rulership ? What
were the influences that made the patriotic Ahab a relentless
despot? Are such evils interrelated in our modern life? Ahab
was at heart a true patriot, but for the sake of national prestige
and personal aggrandizement he sacrificed the noblest religious,
ethical and social ideals of his race. His success spelled ultimate
ruin; so inevitably does the success of any man, party or nation
that employs unworthy means to attain even desirable ends.

I. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Sixth Day. The Character and Work of Elisha.
I. For a whole lifetime Elijah struggled for pure religion and
civic righteousness. He achieved neither while he lived. He suc
ceeded, however, in impressing his principles upon some of his
followers. Read II Kings 2:7-14, noting especially vss. 9, 13.
Elisha is the only prophet in the Bible called to his office by
another prophet.
2. Elisha differed from Elijah in personal appearance, in
habits of life, and in method of work. Examine II Kings 2 :23 ;
I Kings 19:19-21. He was familiar with the customs of city and
court life. "With Elijah were associated wonders within the
realm of Nature. Elisha, on the other hand, was always found
among men, healing their maladies, cleansing their fountains, and
advising king and subject. The one used denunciations, the other
diplomacy." 3. History has recorded two special fields of activity in
Elisha's life. He is known as a miracle-worker ; he is also known
as the confidant of the king and the friend of the people. What
characteristics of the man are suggested by the following passages,
and what motives appear to have prompted them? (a) II Kings
4:1-7; (b) II Kings 4:38-44; (c) II Kings 4:8-37; (d) II Kings
5; (e) II Kings 6:8-23.
4. Since the death of Ahab there had been no real change in
the religious policy of Israel; the worship of Baal was still tol
erated; and Jezebel exercised her old influence. The indignation
of the people called for her destruction.
5. At the instigation of Elisha, Jehu, the reckless, fearless,
crafty captain of the army, was anointed king. Read I Kings
9:1-3. He was a leader whose taste for blood was not satisfied
until the entire family of Ahab and all who sympathized with him
were slain. The result of this bloody revolution was the extermi
nation of Baal worship ; but Israel was so weakened that the nation
barely maintained its existence for the next half century. Elij ah's
great fight against Baalism was won at a terrible cost.
6. The permanent work of Elisha does not appear to have been
that which made the greatest external impression on the history of
the nation. Cf . Hosea's reference to Jehu's act, Hos. 1 :4.
It was by quiet tenderness, by a life that inspired confidence in
friend and even foe, by the patriotism that made Joash say of
him at his death, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and
the horsemen thereof," that Elisha made a lasting impression on
his race.

1. WORK OF THE EARLIEST PROPHETS.
Seventh Day. Review of the Work of the Pioneer Prophets.
I. Review briefly the studies of the week with the following
questions in mind:
(a) What specific need called forth each of these early Hebrew
prophets ?
(b) Where did they get their message?
(c) What was their vital message in each case?
(d) How did they differ from other men of their generation?
2. We are prone to regard the Old Testament prophets as
men of a nature entirely different from our own, men who were
not only specially called by God but also endowed in a peculiar
and unknowable way with the power of vision and power for ser
vice. Is there any indication in the lives of these early men that
they were at first different from their fellows? If there was a
difference, was it due to their inborn capacity to see and to serve ?
Were they ignorant or were they the best informed men of their
day ? Was their intelligent appreciation of the needs of their day
one of the chief factors in opening their eyes to the divine truth ?
Are trying national and individual experiences God's way of pre
paring His servants to receive His message? Does God ever fail
to give spiritual light to those who earnestly and persistently seek
it? Cf. Jesus' promise in Matt. 5:6; 7:7, 8. The Hebrew
prophet, however, was called not merely a seer, but more com
monly a speaker, or God's man. What other qualities besides re
ceptivity did he therefore require? Are men with the spirit and
courage of the Hebrew prophets needed in our modern life ?
REFERENCES.
Cornill, Prophets of Israel, pp. 16-36. G. A. Smith, Book of
the Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chap. 2, Section 2. Men of the
Bible Series : Moses, His Life and Times; Elijah, His Life and
Times; Samuel and Saul, Their Lives and Times. Sanders and
Kent, The Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 1-10. Kent,
History of the Hebrew People, Vol. I, pp. 36-44, 74-78, 113-122,
196-206; VoL II, pp. 24, 25, 46-54, 61-69-

STUDY II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND
CHARACTER.
First Day. The Situation.
I. The Geographical Setting. Where was Amos' home?
Amos 1:1. Consult map. Six miles south of Bethlehem and
twelve miles south of Jerusalem lies the ruin-covered hill of Tekoa,
where, nearly twenty-seven hundred years ago, Amos lived and
guarded his sheep. From its top he looked out upon a dreary
and rugged world. Grey limestone hills shut out the view of
Jerusalem's towers on the north; to the southeast, down a long
slope ragged with rocks and withered herbage, stretched the
wilderness of Tekoa; and here at night Amos listened to the
howling of the wild beasts as they came to prey upon his flocks.
In this silent, savage world, "where life is reduced to poverty and
danger; where nature starves the imagination, but excites the
faculties of perception and curiosity; with the mountain tops and
the sunrise in his face, but above all with Jerusalem so near, —
Amos did the work which made him a man, heard the voice of
God calling him to be a prophet, and gathered those symbols and
figures in which his prophet's message still reaches us with so
fresh and so austere an air." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve
Prophets. 2. The Historical Setting. Who were the kings of Judah and
Israel during Amos' period of activity? Read Amos 1:1. Fol
lowing the revolution of Jehu in 842 B. C, what great national
calamities had overtaken Israel? II Kings 10:31-32; 13:1-3,
7, 22. For a half century the Arameans, under the leadership of
Hazael, had carried on a successful campaign for territorial
aggrandizement against Israel, and a season of famine and pesti
lence had impoverished the latter 's resources. Under Joash (Amos
1:1; 797-781 B. C.) began the era of prosperity which reached
its culmination in the days of Amos. Read II Kings 13:23-25;
14:23,25,28. Consult the chronological chart. Joash's succes
sor, Jeroboam II (781-740 B. C.) took advantage of the turn in
affairs, not only extending greatly the boundaries of Israel, but
occupying also part of Damascus. His victorious armies brought
back rich spoil, and by treaty he opened again the doors of com
merce. Glance over II Chron. 26:1-15. Uzziah (782-751 B. C.)
similarly strengthened Judah. He pushed out to the Red Sea,
effectively reorganized his army, and crushed the Philistines.
Prosperity and peace reigned throughout the borders of both
Israel and Judah; the generation now growing up witnessed a
repetition of the golden age of Solomon; agriculture flourished;
literature began to appear ; commerce and wealth abounded. But
there was danger ahead. 8

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Second Day. The Situation (continued).
I. The Political Situation. Only the men of most penetrat
ing vision detected the cloud on Israel's horizon that betokened the
approaching foe. For nearly two centuries and a half after
1100 B. C, Assyria had left Palestine to herself. Resuming the
attack in 870 B. C, Assurnacirpal took tribute from Tyre and
Sidon; and by the middle of that same century his successor had
received tribute from Jehu and had pushed his conquests as far as
Damascus. Here Assyria's progress stopped for a half century.
But when Tiglath-Pileser III came to the throne in 745 B. C. the
former policy of indifference toward Palestine changed to one of
open hostility and conquest. Before this foe Israel dared to
stand. Ignorant of Assyria's real strength, lured on by Egypt's
vain promises of help, and blindly presuming that Jehovah would
never deliver His people into the hands of their heathen foes,
Israel's leaders were confident of victory.
2. Conclusions of the Prophets. The prophets, however, re
garded Assyria's advance in a very different way. Cf. Amos
6:14; Hos. 9:3-6. They saw that Israel's defiant crimes not only
stayed Jehovah's protecting hand, but completely unfitted the
people to meet the crisis that was impending.
3. The Moral and Social Conditions in Israel. The real dis
ease which the prophets discovered was deep seated in the nation's
life. What individual and national sins are attacked in the fol
lowing passages: Hos. 4:1, 2, 6-13; 8:14; 12:7; Is. 9:8-12? De
termine their precise character. Prosperity and peace followed an
age of subjection. Through commerce Israel had multiplied her
points of contact with the foreign nations from which she derived
her material civilization ; but with the wealth and refinement thus
gained there came also a deterioration of her moral standards.
Foreign ideas and ideals were cherished. Religion, externally,
took on the form of Canaanitish cults; the most licentious rites
were now practised in the sanctuaries of Jehovah. Judges were
guilty of receiving bribes; the rich, intent on wealth, forgot the
poor; the ruling classes neglected their responsibility; might, not
right, held sway. The face of God was obscured by the smoke
and blood of sacrifice, and a dangerous and defiant spirit of self-
sufficiency pervaded the national life. Like many another nation
or individual, Israel, in the time of its greatest prosperity, lost
sight of God and its responsibility to Him.

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Third Day. Amos, the Man.
I. What facts about Amos' life and character may be inferred
from Amos 1 :1 ; 3:7, 8; 4:1 ; 7:14, 15? "Amos," says Cornill, "is
one of the most wonderful appearances in the history of the
human spirit. Shepherd of his stunted sheep, dresser of the
sycamores, man of the wilderness, communer with Nature and
with his God, what a wonderful spirit !"
2. Near the spot where Amos lived the black tents of the Arabs
to-day dot the landscape. "Sometimes a shepherd is seen against
the sky, as he stands like a statue on a projecting rock, wrapped in
his sheepskin jacket and armed with a stout club, while the goats
graze about him. These shepherds are tall and straight, with
bright eyes and clearly cut features,' and a bearing that betrays a
consciousness of strength bred in them by their free and simple
life." (H. G. Mitchell; Amos, pp. 3, 4.) Such doubtless was
the prophet Amos. A shepherd, inured to hardships and strong
of limb, he probably visited and saw with his own eyes the cities
and lands of which he speaks. Jerusalem was but twelve miles
north of Tekoa, and Bethel, with its sanctuary, but twenty-two.
Here gathered every year at the annual festivals crowds of people
from other lands, Phoenicians, Moabites and Arabs, to exchange
their wares for Israel's products. Imagine Amos talking with
them and learning their ideas and customs. It was in the great
school of observation and experience that he received his education.
3. Amos was a man of convictions. Where had he learned
them ? Amos 3 :3. Note the figures from his desert life. Insti
tutions hallowed by centuries did not blind his vision of truth. If
they had lost their significance or practical value he boldly
attacked them. He was not afraid to think differently from his
fellows. Therefore God found him a ready messenger.
4. Amos looked squarely at the facts. Amos 5:21-23. He
did not play with theories. What he spoke about he knew, and
the hatred he aroused against himself in Israel was due to the
sting of truth. He did not present theories regarding the past or
the glories of the future. He drove the wedge of God's judg
ment straight to the core of Israel's sin.
5. Amos was fearless. Amos 2:6-8; 6:3-8; 7:12-17. He had
martyr's stuff in him. With the whole of Israel defying and
mocking him, this shepherd-prophet of the south did not fear to
let the nation see itself as one brave, true man saw it. Are there
men in your city or college who know the truth and dare act? Are
you one of them?

10

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Fourth Day. Amos' Problem and How He Solved It.
I. Amos leaves the simplicity of his shepherd life in Judah.
He has seen his vision, and he now enters Israel to proclaim it.
He arises at some great religious festival at Bethel and aims his
message at the leaders of the people. Around him are gathered
curious crowds, arrayed in all the lavish splendor which he had
come to denounce, and ready to participate in the perverted re
ligion which he had come to destroy.
2. How shall he win their attention? Read the text of the
book, Amos 1 :2. Reproduce its thought in your own words.
"Jehovah will roar" — the Hebrew means the cry of the lion just
as it springs on its prey. Universal destruction is near at hand.
Cf. 3:8; Is. 31:4. "Utter" conveys the impression of rolling
thunder. On the storm-cloud Jehovah is advancing. "Pastures
mourn" when the vegetation dries up ; from sheer terror the very
sap ceases to flow. Note the forcefulness of these desert figures.
A direct arraignment would only increase the people's natural
antagonism. Cf. Amos 1 :3, 6, 9, 1 1 , 13 ; 2 :1, 4. Amos attacks the
sins of Israel's neighboring foes one after another and pronounces
their doom in the name of Jehovah. These enemies are Israel's
neighbors. Their sins are the atrocities of barbarism, massacre,
and sacrilege, condemned by heathen and Israelite alike.
3. Damascus. Consult map. Express in your own language
the thought of Amos 1 :3-5. These Arameans, the best organ
ized and most formidable of Israel's neighbors, had been exces
sively cruel in their treatment of the trans j ordanic Israelites.
Note the formula in vs. 3. "Because of three crimes, . . .
yea, because of four, I will not revoke it." Concrete numbers are
given for the sake of vividness. Jehovah at first forgives, but
finally must punish cumulative guilt. "Threshing instruments," —
they were made of iron and studded with sharp basalt teeth.
Verse 4 refers to the cruelties of Hazael (842-802 B. C.) when he
invaded Gilead. "House of Hazael" is probably the dynasty
founded by him. "Eden," verse 5, was perhaps the summer resi
dence of the king of Damascus. For the fulfillment of this doom
read II Kings, 16:9- What would be the effect of these threats
against Israel's foes upon Amos' hearers? Like the prophet
Nathan reciting the story of the poor man's ewe lamb before the
royal culprit David, he not only gained the attention of his sus
picious hearers, but also led them to assent unconsciously to the
universal principles of justice and mercy which he bade them
forthwith apply to themselves.

11

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Fifth Day. Sins Abroad.
I. The Philistines. Consult map. Amos 1 :6-8. What sin is
denounced in verse 6 ? These verses apparently refer to inhuman
raids for commercial purposes. "Ashdod," vs. 8, was a Philistine
fortress on the caravan route between Gaza and Joppa. Vs. 8,
the whole Philistine race will be blotted out. Cf . Zeph. 2 :4, 7.
2. Tyre. Amos 1 :9-10. Tyre stands for the Phoenicians as
Gaza for the Philistines in vs. 6. It was famous for its com
merce and artistic products. Read II Sam. 5:11. The Syrians
are accused of acting as agents in the slave trade. Note that the
writer does not restrict himself to the wrongs against Israel; he
denounces those against humanity generally. The great destruc
tion of Tyre came in the time of Alexander the Great, when
30,000 of its inhabitants were sold into slavery.
3. Edom. Amos 1:11-12. The Edomites were a powerful
people dwelling south of the Dead Sea. David had subdued their
land, and during most of the intervening period they had been
subject to Judah. "Brother," verse 11; cf. Deut. 23:7, and the
stories of Jacob and Esau.
4. Ammon. Amos 1:13-15. The Ammonites, though also
reckoned as a brother nation, were less civilized. The hideous
practice mentioned in verse 13 was not uncommon in that day.
Read II Kings 8:12; Hos. 13:16. The Turks have been guilty
of like inhumanity in our own time. "Rabbah," verse 14, was
their capital city.
5. Moab. Read Amos 2:1-3. The Moabites were a wealthy
and prosperous people. The greatest reverence was paid in
ancient times to the tombs of the dead ; but the Moabites not only
violated the sanctity of the tomb, they burned the bones of the
king to lime. The nation is pictured as dying under the attack
of its foes. The roar, verse 2, is that of a great multitude — the
conquerors, evidently the Assyrians.
6. Judah. Amos 2:4-5. Of what sins is Judah guilty? Even
Jerusalem, the capital of Amos' own country, and the site of
Solomon's far-famed temple, will not escape destruction.
7. What ends has Amos attained by his tactful and forcible in
troduction? The three principles thus established are (1) that
all nations are alike accountable for their acts to Jehovah; (2)
that He has been long suffering, but will, indeed must, punish the
deliberate wrongdoer; (3) that each nation is responsible in direct
proportion to its opportunity and enlightenment. Are these fun
damental truths ever lost sight of by the disciples of the prophets
and Jesus to-day? 12

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Sixth Day. Sins at Home.
I. The Dramatic Situation. Amos now focuses his invective
upon the people whom he knows to the very heart. In the measure
that their civilization is the more highly developed, the greater
is their responsibility and the more exacting the standard which
he applies. Try to imagine the effect of his sudden transition
upon his hearers, as they now hear themselves not only ranked
with those whose condemnation they had commended but as they
are execrated for sins which were even more heinous.
2. The Charges. What sin is attacked in Amos 2 :6 ? Justice
had been perverted and men of authority had sold their decisions
for bribes. Again and again prophets have attacked this sin, not
in ancient Israel only but in this present age and land. It is the
eternal protest of the man of conscience against the unjust "pull"
of money and influence. The first clause of verse 7 probably
read originally, "Trample on the head of the poor." Has it
present-day significance ? As a citizen of means or influence, what
is your attitude toward those humble servants of Jehovah who are
not financially able to protect themselves? Are your sympathies
with your own class or with those who most need your help ?
3. Hypocrisy. Read verse 7, last clause. Characterize this
charge. This sin had become common and flagrant. It was con
nected with the temple. Read verse 8. The garments of the
poor, taken for non-payment of debt, should have been returned
to their owners at night. Cf . the ancient law in Ex. 22 :26, 27-
The outer garment was the only bed the poor possessed. "Every
altar," — note the universality of the sin. Nothing is more loath
some in the sight of man or God than immorality under the hypo
critical guise of religion. Read Ps. 5 1 :6, 7.
4. Israel's Ingratitude. Who is Jehovah who demands of you,
"Why do you not obey me? The Amorites were a mighty na
tion, but I Jehovah, destroyed them root and branch." Read
Amos 2 :9- "I brought you up out of Egypt and gave you po
litical and material prosperity." Read Amos 2:10. "I provided
for your spiritual needs, gave you prophets to preach and Nazir-
ites, holy men, to live pure lives as object lessons before you."
Read Amos 2:11. Cf. Num. 6:1-21. "You have not only refused
to listen, but you have perverted their holy living." Read Amos
2:12. Note the contrasts: the indifference of men (verse 6), and
the tenderness of God (verse 10) ; the suffocating lust of the
temple (verses 7, 8), and the healthful open air of the woods
(verse 9) ; the refined but sinful civilization of the people, and the
simplicity and devotion of the Nazirites. 13

II. AMOS: HIS ENVIRONMENT AND CHARACTER.
Seventh Day. Review of the Week.
I. Jehovdh's Condemnation. Read Amos 2:13-16. Verse 13,
"I will squeeze you, as the sheaves squeeze an overloaded cart."
Verses 14-16 are the metaphors of war. The end of Israel shall
be unseemly flight. Not even the swift nor the mighty nor the
skilful shall be able to resist, but, stripped of everything for
flight, shall flee the city. "National annihilation awaits you at
the hand of Jehovah; and you, O Israel, have brought it on your
selves." 2. Where did Amos get his message ? His book contains facts
and moral principles. He gained his facts from history and from
the close study of the conditions of his day; his convictions came
to him as his eyes were thus opened to receive God's revelation;
his message is an accurate and fearless combination of facts and
convictions. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God." The man who has had his eyes opened to the needs of his
age, and to perceive God's eternal truth, always has a message of
supreme importance. For only thiough such a man can God re
veal to humanity His loving character and purpose.
3- Formulate the two or three great truths which underlie
Amos 1:2 — 2:16. What two popular conceptions of his day did
Amos defy? If you are not able to state them, read Amos 3 :1, 2 :
5:21-27. 4. Memorize Ps. 51 :1 6-17.
"For Thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it;
Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, . O God,. Thou
wilt not despise."
5' "He ventured neck or nothing— heaven's success
Found or earth's failure;
' Wilt thou trust death or not ? ' He answered, ' Yes, —
Hence with life's pale lure ! '
That low man sees a little thing to do,
Sees it and does it;
This high man, with a great thing to pursue,
Dies ere he knows it.
That low man goes on adding one to one,
His hundred's soon hit;
This high man, aiming at a million,
Misses an unit.
That has the world here— should he need the next,
Let the world mind him!
This throws himself on God, and unperplexed
Seeking shall find him." Browning, Grammarian's Funeral.
references.
Cornill, Prophets of Israel, pp. 37-46. Sanders and Kent,
Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 23-33. G. A. Smith, Book
of the Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chap. 5, Sections 1, 2 of Chap. 6,
Chap. 7, 14

STUDY III. AMOS' ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
First Day. Amos' Credentials.
I. Amos has brought a capital charge against Israel. Now he
summons her before the bar of justice and, as Jehovah's spokes
man, announces the final judgment. He is not content merely
to include Israel in the general verdict against her neighbors.
Why does he give her a separate trial? Study III. is a record of
the case.
2. Read Amos 3:1. With this solemn formula, Amos sum
mons Israel before the bar of justice. Jehovah has preferred the
charges and has appointed Amos his attorney on earth. Amos'
argument proceeds slowly on the basis of responsibility. Read
and memorize verse 2. This verse is the keynote of the prophecy.
3. Reflect on your own environment. In what sense are you
responsible if you have been specially blessed by the refinements
of home, society and college associations? Recall Jesus' parable
of the talents. You stand before God, as well as men, for just
what you have received. The vital question is not what you have;
but how you have improved what has been given you.
4. Recall from Study II. that Amos is standing before a
people of wealth, culture, and religious zeal, in a time of peace
and prosperity. They were antagonistic to this humble Judean
prophet. It took courage to utter the doom of Israel; and it is
little wonder that the people strike back with the question, "Who
are you, and with what authority do you speak?" Note Amos'
strange answer in 3:3-8. These illustrations are taken from the
shepherd life with which Amos was so familiar. Two men would
hardly meet in the abandoned desert of Tekoa without previous
appointment. Examine each of these desert metaphors and de
termine what common truth they illustrate. Amos is arguing here
from effects back to cause. The Hebrews, like other ancient
peoples, connected calamities with the displeasure of the Deity.
They took no account of secondary causes.
5. Read again verses 7-8. Note the tone of certainty in verse
6. "Shall evil befall a city and Jehovah not have done it ?" Cer
tainly not. You ask who I am, I will tell you: I am a man of
God, to whom Jehovah hath spoken : therefore I cannot be silent."
6. A man who sees facts not through other men's eyes but as
God sees them, and therefore as they really are, the man who re
sponds courageously to the divine call and declares by word and
act his convictions, is the most dynamically potent factor in human
society. It matters not whether he comes from a shepherd's hut
or a palace. He is God's man, and therefore resistless. Indi
vidual and corporate injustice, hypocrisy and immorality cannot
stand before him. 15

III. AMOS' ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Second Day. The Test of a Nation's Stability.
I. "Not only is Israel's responsibility greater than that of
other peoples. Her crimes themselves are more heinous." G. A.
Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets. The heathen, even the
nobles of Ashdod and Egypt, are invited to judge the moral condi
tion of Samaria. Read Amos 3:9-10. What particular sins are
mentioned? (Verse 10). "Violence and robbery" — the nobles
store up wealth secured by oppression of the poor.
2. In the presence of these heathen witnesses, Amos condemns
Israel in the name of Jehovah. Complete destruction is impend
ing. Read Amos 3:11-12. Note the desert figure in verse 12.
This comparison with the shepherd shows both the scant numbers
and the shattered condition of the survivors after Jehovah's judg
ment has been executed. Amos' supreme contempt for idleness
and luxury is shown in verse 1 2b.
3. Read Amos 3:13-15. Bethel (verse 14), about ten miles
north of Jerusalem, was Israel's chief sanctuary. Under the pat
ronage of the king (Amos 7:13), it was the most popular sanc
tuary of the northern kingdom, and was crowded with worship
pers (Amos 9:1). For its destruction by the army of Josiah read
II Kings 23:15. The "horns of the altar," symbols of strength,
conferred safety on those who took hold of them.
4. Read Amos 4:1-3. "It is a cowherd's rough picture of
women; a troop of kine— heavy, heedless animals, trampling in
their anxiety for food upon every frail and lowly object in the
way." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets. Why is the
prophet's condemnation of the women so severe? Read again
the last half of Amos 4:1. Think of calling the society women
of Israel the "cows of Bashan!" Bashan was a fertile region
east of the Jordan. Note the picture of their headlong flight.
5. "The prophets insist that it is a moral question upon which
the fate of a civilization is decided. Is justice observed in es
sence as well as form? Is there freedom or is the prophet
silenced? Does luxury or self-denial prevail? Do the rich make
life hard for the poor? Is childhood sheltered and innocence re
spected? By these, claim the prophets, a nation stands or falls;
and history has proven the claim on wider worlds than they dreamt
of." Regardless of civilization "nothing is too costly for God's
justice." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.

16

III. AMOS' ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Third Day. "Yet have ye not returned unto Me."
I. Amos now attacks Israel's religion. That religion was a
worship of Jehovah, but was expressed in mere ceremonialism.
"Your zeal is false," he seems to say, "and your religion a delu
sion." Read Amos 4:4-5. Amos summons the people to their
worship. Note the sarcasm in his invitation. Bethel, see Second
Day, 3. Gilgal was a representative sanctuary. "Bring your
tithes every morning" — they were usually brought once a year.
"Publish abroad your free will offerings," i. e., those offerings
which you make spontaneously. Read Matt. 6:2.
2. Unheeded Chastisements. Amos 4:6-11. (a) Famine.
Read verse 6 carefully. Note the contrast between "I," the living
God, and the faithless, dying people. There is a pathos in the
repeated refrain, "yet have ye not returned unto Me." Jehovah
could have saved Israel, but she would not come unto Him. What
is it to "come to God" in the sense which Amos intended? Ob
serve how he later interprets his meaning, (b) Read verses 7-8.
Drought. "Three months before harvest," if rain did not come,
the crop would perish before it could ripen. Verse 8. Cities in
the East are dependent for water on underground cisterns. Amos
pictures a city, its water supply exhausted, staggering, faint
from thirst, to a neighboring city for water, (c) Blasting and
Mildew. Read vs. 9- This was caused by the east wind or
sirocco, (d) Read vs. 10. Pestilence and Sword. Read Ps.
91 :3-6. "The boil of Egypt" is a common expression. See Ex.
9:8-10. (e) Read vs. 11. Earthquake. This is the most mys
terious of the manifestations of the Deity's wrath.
3. Five times Amos has issued his call to repentance, and
Israel makes no answer. Read vss. 12-13. Does he name the
calamity? What attributes does he ascribe to Jehovah?
4. This section, like Amos 2:6-12, is a study in contrast; be
tween "men's treatment of God and God's treatment of men.
They lavish on him gifts and sacrifices. He sends upon them
calamities. They regard Him as a being only to be flattered and
fed. He regards them as creatures with characters to discipline.
Their views of Him, if religious, are sensuous and gross ; His
views of them, if austere, are moral and ennobling." G. A.
Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.
5. In what does your religion consist? Are you content with
merely attending religious services? Are you in personal touch
with our Heavenly Father? Is Christ's spirit dominant in your
life? Have you tasted the joy of personally helping men in dis
tress and ignorance and sin? 17

III. AMOS* ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Fourth Day. The Possibility of Jehovah's Mercy.
I. Thus far, Amos has appeared as a prophet of divine wrath.
He has proclaimed the inevitable destruction awaiting Israel,
for she has repeatedly and defiantly sinned against Jehovah and
there is no escape from punishment. But in this section the tone
changes from vengeance (cf. Amos 4:12-13) to one of yearning
love. 2. It opens with an elegy over the death of Israel. Read
Amos 5:1-3. Note the pathos and beauty in vs. 2:
" Fallen never again to rise,
Is the virgin Israel
Prostrate upon her soil she lies;
There is none to raise her."
The nation is personified as a beautiful maiden, wounded and
helpless in the mire, with no strong, loving friend to help. Note
the numerical estimate of the disaster in vs. 3.
3. Read Amos 5 :4-9. Jehovah pleads with Israel. Although
she has not returned unto Him, still He entreats her once more.
It is the voice of the loving Father that we hear. "Seek Me,"
come back, learn My will, do what is good, perform the things
that are pleasing to Me. Be once more My child. What is the
warning in vs. 5 ? The names of the famous sanctuaries are made
to suggest the impending doom. With vs. 6b the prophet seems
overcome once more by Jehovah's power and majesty. He
again describes the dangers of resistance to this entreaty. To His
invitation, Israel has made no answer. Read again vs. 7. Je
hovah demands righteousness. Determine from this verse what
His people give Him. Note in vss. 8-9 the attributes of Jehovah's
power. What is the logical connection of these majestic verses
with the preceding?
4. Amos again takes up the theme of vs. 7- Read vs. 10.
"The gate," — there justice was administered. Read vs. 11. The
oppressors of the poor shall themselves be oppressed. Read vs.
12. The "bribe" was ransom money paid for the release of a
criminal condemned to death. This was contrary to Israelitish
law. Num. 35:31. Read vs. 13. What forms of bribery are still
practised in our modern commercial and political life? Why are
they so fatally pernicious? Is bribery of a public official essen
tially treason?
5. Read vss. 14, 15. This is Jehovah's final appeal. He
does not demand ceremonials, but life and deeds. Memorize vs.
14. In vs. 15b appears that first idea of a remnant, a faithful
few who will be saved, which was the hope of later prophets. Cf .
Is. 11:11, 18

III. AMOS' ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Fifth Day. The Impending National Disaster.
I. In response to Jehovah's second entreaty, Israel makes no
answer. Amos immediately sounds her death knell with 5:16;
6:14. Read 5:16-17. The "skilful in lamentation" were hired
mourners who assisted at funerals. Note the universality of the
lamentation. 2. Read vss. 18-20. Jehovah's Day meant to the Israelite
the day of His triumph over His enemies, and of His judgment of
the heathen. To Amos, conscious of Israel's guilt, it is a day of
"insidious, importunate, inevitable death."
3. What in Israel's worship did Jehovah so thoroughly de
spise, and why? Read vss. 21-24. Note the majestic swing of
these verses. What does Amos declare to be the essence of true
worship ? As a result of your life and thought, does righteousness
go forth as an ever-flowing stream?
4. Read vss. 25-27. Amos appeals to the days of simplicity
when Jehovah seemed especially close to His people; the days
when they put their trust in Him. They offered Him no feasts
or offerings then. Propitiatory bribes shall not avail to save you
from captivity.
5. Does the "Day of Jehovah" mean a single day or a gradual
development? From your knowledge of history, can you not
trace a progress in God's dealings with His people, from His
earliest revelations to that supreme revelation in Christ? What
was Jesus' teaching concerning His Kingdom and Himself as its
Head? Mark 4:28. He refused to follow that popular Jewish
conception of a Messiah of political or temporal power. The
Kingdom which he proclaimed was in the hearts of men. Did
he teach that this was a growth?
6. You have a part in the "Day of Jehovah." You are respon
sible in the society in which you live for faithfulness to your trust.
Whether you have the spirit of Christ or not, as a citizen of a
Christian nation you have a share in the world's work. If you
are untrue to your trust, the work assigned to you will never be
done. You have the ability, as no one else has, to complete fully
the task assigned to you in your special environment.

19

III. AMOS' ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Sixth Day. False Political Confidence.
I. Amos passes from the false idea of worship to Israel's un
warranted confidence in her own security. He introduces us to
a scene of blase contentment. The political leaders of the leading
nation of the world have become irresponsible voluptuaries. They
have forgotten kindness, sympathy and love.
2. Carefully read Amos 6:1-6. Determine the guilt of the
"notable men." Vs. 1. "At ease," — recklessly at ease with no
thought of impending danger. "Notable men" are the back-bone
of the nation; to them the people go to have justice administered.
Vs. 2. Though this verse is differently explained, its probable
meaning is this: Can you find, from Calneh in Babylonia and
Hamath in North Syria, to Gath of the Philistines on the South,
a single kingdom more flourishing than your own? Thus has Je
hovah blessed you, and how do you requite Him ? "The evil day,"
Vs. 3. They feel secure against the coming disaster, yet prepare
in their midst a place where violence may be enthroned. Vs. 4,
i. e., lie on beds of luxury and eat the choicest meats. Vs. 5,
"prattle idle songs." David enjoyed a national reputation as a
musician. Read I Sam. 16:18. Vs. 6. Note the gluttony ex
pressed by "bowls." But the climax of their crime is that they
do not care for the poverty and misery and wrongs of the poor.
3. The sins mentioned are the sins of selfishness. Self-indul
gence carried to such extremes always leads to social indifference.
Instead of helping to lift the load of humanity's ills, they have
added the burden of their own indifference. What is your atti
tude toward questions of social reform? Are you like that "pru
dent man who keeps silence in such a time" (5:13) for fear of
criticism and unpleasant publicity, or do you dare stand? As a
member of a college community, what is your attitude toward
existing evils; those so often overlooked yet none the less sinful?
Do you smile at gambling and drunkenness and impurity and
deceit? Or do you dare stand for the noblest principles of col
lege honor?

20

III. AMOS* ARRAIGNMENT OF ISRAEL.
Seventh Day. The Death Sentence.
I. Before the bar of justice, in the presence of Jehovah, Israel
stands condemned. The voice of Almighty God entreating her,
has awakened no response. Unrepentant, she awaits her sentence,
and it is destruction.
2. Read Amos 6 :7. How fitting that the nobles who have led
the nation should walk at the head of the procession of captives.
Note the irony. Read vs. 8. Jehovah solemnly swears that he
hates Israel. "Excellency of Jacob," — the boasted pride of her
wealth and power.
3. Read vss. 9, 10. "The death of even so large a household
as ten — the funeral left to a distant relation — the disposal of the
bodies by burning instead of by the burial customary among the
Hebrews — sufficiently reflect the kind of calamity. Note the im
pression of ghastly realism; the unclean and haunted house; the
kinsman and the body-burner afraid to search through the in
fected rooms, and calling in muffled voice to the single survivor
crouching in some far corner of them, 'Are there any more with
thee ?' his reply 'None' — himself the next ! Yet these details are
not the most weird. Over all hangs a terror darker than the
pestilence. 'Shall there be evil in a city and Jehovah not have
done it ?' " G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.
4. Read vs. 11. Even the poor and innocent must suffer.
Note the folly of the comparison in vs. 12. "Would you plow
the sea ? Yet your madness in resisting Jehovah is more astound-
ing." 5. Read vss. 13, 14. The agent of Israel's destruction is As
syria. Cf . Study IL, Second Day, 2. The territory mentioned in
vs. 14b had been recently recovered for Israel by Jeroboam II.
Cf. II Kings 14:25.
6. Make a concise statement of Israel's sins. Forget for the
moment that you have been studying a period lying nearly twenty-
seven hundred years in the past, and note the surprising modernity
of Israel's social problems.
7. Remember that a nation is made up of individuals. A na
tion is no stronger than the states which compose it. A state is
no stronger than the counties into which it is divided. The village
or city where you live is safe only as the homes which comprise it
are pure and secure. Your home is largely dependent on you,
a member of it. The test as to whether or not a nation walks with
God is whether or not its individual citizens walk with God.
Israel forgot to walk with God and she perished. It is fatal for
any nation or individual thus to forget.
references.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 33-
39. G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Part I, chaps.
8, 9. Kent, History of the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 78-85.
21

STUDY IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
First Day. The Higher Type of Prophetic Visions.
I. Thus far in his arraignment of Israel, Amos has uttered
his denunciations in the name of Jehovah without indicating in
detail the manner in which he received his message and his im
pulse to serve. With the seventh chapter, however, we find a
series of visions, variously interpreted, which suggests how this
message came to him.
2. Read Amos 7:1, 4, 7; 8:1. These verses immediately raise
the following questions: What were Amos' visions? Was there
anything in the preceding experiences of the nation to suggest
them ? Cf . vss. 4 :9, 7- Were they like the crude, ecstatic visions
that occurred in early primitive prophecy? Were they real ob-
j ective experiences, or were they mental experiences ?
3. The visions of Amos certainly were not of the frenzied
sort such as the false prophets beheld. Read Amos 7:14 and
note how he disclaims all connection with the prophetic societies.
4. Amos and the later prophets regarded their visions as ob
jective in the sense that they were caused by God. Amos 7:1-
Amos is conscious of having received a revelation. So were the
other great prophets. Sometimes they heard the message; some
times they saw it; but they were always conscious that it came
from God. Cf. Is. 6:1 ; Jer. 1:11.
5. May not these visions have been the prophets' spiritual
interpretations of existing facts and conditions, visible alike to
themselves ahd their contemporaries, but meaningless except to
the prophet with inspired insight ? This type of vision is familiar'
to psychologists. It is familiar also to believers in prayer. It is
the God-given power to see things as they really are and to inter
pret their true significance. The earliest prophets interceded
with God. Cf. Amos 7:2. They prayed to Him and were con
scious of receiving a definite answer. It is a fact of universal
experience that when a person is in close and natural communion
with God, he will surely, sooner or later, gain a clear conception
of truth and duty. The prophet's mind, in searching for truth,
was in a state of intense activity, and upon this active, intelligent
mind the Divine mind made its impression. 22

IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Second Day. The Interpretation and Application of Amos'
Visions.
I. In the books of the Hebrew prophets we commonly find
that the call of the prophet to his task is not recorded until the
latter part of his ministry. This is true of Amos and Isaiah. It
is probable that the visions of Amos recorded in chapters 7-9 were
experiences which came to him in his early ministry, but they
do not appear to have been employed by him until all other
methods had failed.
2. His sermons of invective and warning failed to change the
hearts of the people. Hence he used those visions to impress upon
his hearers the fundamental truth that Jehovah, though He be
long-suffering, cannot leave the wicked and unrepentant nation un
punished. Cf. 1:3, 6, 9, 11. These visions are really a series of
illustrated sermons. One central thought runs through them all.
Determine the nature of this thought as you take up the visions
in order.
3. The vision of the locusts. Read Amos 7:1. When do the
locusts appear? The "king's mowings" were probably tributes
levied by the kings on the spring herbage. The second crop sup
ported the people. What does the prophet do and with what
success. Read Amos 7 :2, 3. Probably such a locust plague had
occurred before. Cf. Amos 5 :9. What was there in the social
and moral condition of Israel to explain the prophet's alarm?
4. The vision of the Great Drought. Read Amos 7 :4. "The
great deep" was the subterranean waters on which the earth was
supposed to rest; it was also the source of springs and fountains.
Cf. Gen. 7:11. The figure is intended to describe the universality
and completeness of the drought. Read Amos 7 :5, 6. Both these
disasters are in the realm of nature. What is Amos' attitude to
ward them? Does he summon them as punishment upon guilty
Israel, or are they to be regarded as the inevitable consequences
of its sin? What is the basis of Amos' appeal for Israel? Is it
Jehovah's justice or His mercy?
5. A new aspect of Amos' character appears here. He suffers
with the people whose sins he denounces. The judgment which
he must proclaim fills his own soul with agony. He is not a
mere voice that announces destruction; he is a man whose heart
bleeds for his people, but who is powerless to save them. Hence
his appeals for pity. "Forth to his mission of judgment he must
go, but he goes to it from the mercy seat, and the ministry of in
tercession."

23

IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Third Day. Inevitable Judgment About to Overtake Israel.
I. The vision of the plumb-line. The two preceding visions
Were drawn from nature. This vision is drawn from city life.
Read Amos 7:7-9. How is Jehovah pictured? By what stand
ard will the nation be judged? Jehovah tests the nation by the
plumb-line. What is the result of the test? What has been the
trouble with Israel's sanctuaries? Read again 5 :2 1-24. What is
the verdict of Jehovah? Why is Amos here unable to intercede
for Israel? By comparison with the true standards of justice,
Jehovah made known to Amos the dangerous condition of Israel's
national life.
2. Amos has pronounced the doom of the sanctuaries. They
were regarded as the dwelling place of Jehovah. Naturally,
Amaziah, the priest of the sanctuary of Bethel, charges Amos
with treason against the nation and against Jehovah, the nation's
God. Read his charge against Amos in 7:10-13. To whom does
Amaziah make the charge? Had Amos conspired against Israel?
How far is the charge true? Whom did Amos represent in his
attack upon the nation? "It is a familiar scene in history where
priest and man face each other — the priest with a king behind
him, the man with God behind him. Amaziah's speech is con
temptuous, revealing only fear, pride and privilege." G. A.
Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets. What does Amaziah tell
Amos to do? Cf. 5:12. "Eat bread" implied that Amos prophe
sied for mercenary motives. Notice the utter lack of spiritual
consciousness in the final word of the priest in vs. 1 3.
3. Amos' Reply. To the charge that he is a false and mer
cenary prophet Amos makes the retort recorded in 7:14-17- What
was Amos' daily occupation ? Who called Amos to his task ? The
fearless man of God answers the challenge and then scathingly
condemns the priest who has set his office and system against
God. What terrible calamities are described in vss. 16, 17?
Amos repeats the very word which Amaziah has used in his charge
against him.
4. Vision of Summer Fruit. Read Amos 8:1-3. Tropical
summer fruit is luscious, outwardly attractive, but often inwardly
rotten. What is the conception here of the final and loathsome
end of the nation? What germs of decay were within it?

24

IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Fourth Day. Sin Causes Spiritual Famine.
i. The hypocritical worship so bitterly denounced by Amos
is the direct result of the low morals of the nation and the disre
gard of God's poor by the rich. In Amos 8:4-10 we have the de
nunciation of the merchants of Israel for their greed and dis
honesty. What have the wealthy forgotten to do? What is the
nature of their crimes as described in vss. 5, 6? The "new
moon" was observed as a holy day, a day on which trade was
suspended. "Ephah" was the measure used in selling; "shekel"
represented the money weighed out and paid by the purchaser.
The rich by their fraud forced the poor into debt.
2. What punishments does Jehovah swear to send upon Israel
in 8:8-10? An earthquake is probably described in vs. 8. It
symbolizes the complete ruin of the land.
3. Read vss. 11-14. This is the most terrible threat that
Amos has pronounced. A famine is here described. What kind
of a famine is it? The nation is thought of as tottering like a
sick man for lack of food. The food they seek is indeed a reve
lation from Jehovah. But the prophet in that day will be gone.
They will be utterly cast off by God. Vss. 13, 14. The flower
of the nation shall be destroyed. The young men and maidens
shall fall down exhausted. Those who swear by the half-heathen
sanctuaries shall perish.
4. Try to imagine all the influences of religion taken out of
your life. In trouble, sickness, loneliness, failure, try to imagine
yourself cut off from God. This is what Amos prophesies as a
natural and inevitable consequence of the nation's persistent sin.
Sin, whether national or individual, isolates a man from God.
If a man shuts his eyes to purity and honesty and sympathy and
love, and allows selfish ambition and unholy lust to ravage his
soul, he, by his own deliberate act, shuts God out of his life. And
he not only shuts out God, he shuts out also the things for which
God forever stands. He loses the ability to be pure, to be honest,
to be kind, the ability for friendship and love. Can anything
in this world be more awful than spiritual famine, spiritual starva
tion, self-inflicted?,

25

IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Fifth Day. Vision of the Smitten Sanctuary and the End
of the Nation.
I. In this last oracle the prophet dwells upon the might and
majesty of Jehovah, and then pronounces the final and unes-
capable decision. Israel will not listen; she will not obey; Je
hovah can do nothing but inflict the penalty she deserves.
2. Read Amos 9:1. As Amos turns to leave the sanctuary
he beholds beside the altar the Lord pronouncing the last fearful
denunciation. The people shall meet their death in the temple
which they have profaned. What truth does the prophet empha
size in 9:2-4? "Carmel" was thickly wooded and filled with
caves having narrow, winding entrances. The "serpent" was a
legendary sea monster which figures prominently in the oldest
Semitic traditions.
3. Then follow two beautiful verses, descriptive of Jehovah's
power. Read vss. 5-7. What attributes are ascribed here to
Jehovah? "These verses are the natural leap of the soul to the
stars. They are the passages most fondly dwelt upon by the
poetry of the desert." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.
Read vs. 7 and compare it with the verse previously studied
(3:2). Why has Jehovah dealt so bitterly with this people?
Amos' concluding words are portion of vs. 8 — "Behold, the
eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will
destroy it from off the face of the earth."
4. In the remainder of Chap. 9 (vss. 8c-15) are found many
expressions and ideas which seem to be foreign to Amos. In vs.
9 Israel is represented as being scattered among the nations.
Throughout the rest of the prophecy, however, Amos declares that
Israel will be captive to Assyria. He then also predicts the de
struction of the entire nation ; here (vs. 8c) a portion of the nation
is spared. It has often been observed that a material restoration
and prosperity of Judah, and this without any previous moral
reformation, is not only inconsistent with the ethics of Amos, but
also with the conception of God which he presents. Some
scholars, to explain this change in the author's point of view, re
gard this closing section of Amos as an appendix which was
added by some scribe after the exile in order to adapt the book
of Amos to the very different needs of the later Jewish commu
nity. Do you think that such a view adds to or detracts from the
total impression which the book of Amos makes upon you ?,

26

IV. AMOS* VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Sixth Day. Amos' Conception of God.
I. Amos was a fearless prophet of destruction. Throughout
the pages of his prophecy we can hear Israel's death knell toll
ing. Why was Israel in such extreme danger? From earliest
times there prevailed the idea that Israel and Jehovah were one.
It was a strange teaching which asserted that Jehovah would turn
against His people. Was it not a unique position for a prophet
to take? There were three grounds for this announcement of
doom: (a) blind self-confidence in the face of grave political
dangers from without; (b) religious hypocrisy and exclusiveness ;
(c) disregard by the rulers of their own obligations and of the
people's rights.
2. The moral and spiritual teachings of Amos — those, indeed,
of any Old Testament writer — cannot be studied apart from the
idea of God then prevailing. Morals, individual and national,
have their ultimate basis in God; hence the force of what men
conceive His nature and will to be. What, then, was Amos' con
ception of God ?
(a) How does Amos designate God, and what is the meaning
of the title? Amos 5:14, 27; 6:8, 14.
(b) Is He a God who reveals Himself through Nature?
4:7-11; 8:8; 9:5.
(c) Is He interested in men? 3:1,2,7.
(d) Is He the God of the world, or only of Israel? 1:5;
2:1-3; 9:2, 3; 9:7.
(e) Is He a God of mercy ? 7 :2, 3, 5, 6. Is Pie a God of
justice; and what is the relation between justice and
mercy? Cf. 1:3, 6; 7:8, 9-
(f) What is God's attitude toward sacrifice and the mere
forms of worship? 3:14; 5:21-25; 9:1.
(g) What sort of worship does God require ? 2 :6-8 ; 5 :24.

27

IV. AMOS' VISIONS AND TEACHINGS.
Seventh Day. Social and Moral Teachings of Amos.
I. Was Amos a socialist? Recall his origin and the class he
represented; recall his attitude toward the rich, the rulers, the
corrupt judges; recall, further, the charge that the royal official,
Amaziah, made against him.
2. Did Amos look for an overthrow of existing social and
political conditions ? If so, did he regard such an overthrow as
a calamity, or as a necessity to be welcomed? Did he make any
effort to avert it? Did he look for the salvation of society by
means of a fundamental reorganization of it, or by means of a
deeper recognition of individual responsibility?
3. Amos does not attack wealth; he denounces the selfish
misuse of it. He is not the champion of the poor simply because
they are poor ; he espouses their cause because they are oppressed.
He does not decry the idea of rulership; he condemns the abuse
of its sacred trusts. Amos has much in common with all socialists.
But his is a socialism that spells neither upheaval nor anarchistic
rejection of all political organization, nor the abandonment of the
heritage of the past; it is a socialism in which all men and all
nations shall recognize their part in the plan of God, a socialism
in which each man shall realize the necessity of being faithful
to his own individual responsibility. The national disaster which
Amos depicts is not merely a means to an end, nor even a remedy
for evil; it is an inevitable consequence of Israel's failure to
accept and act upon the real principles of life.
"No tendency in modern life is more destructive to social prog
ress than the tendency to weaken the sense of personal responsi
bility for social imperfection; and to fix the blame on unpro-
pitious circumstances. The obvious fact is, that for a very large
part of social disorder, the chief responsibility lies in the pas
sions and ambitions of individual men, and that no social arrange
ment can guarantee social welfare, unless there is brought home
to vast numbers of individuals a profounder sense of personal
sin." F. G. Peabody, Jesus Christ and the Social Question.
references.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 40-
44. Kent, History of the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 92-97-
G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chap. 6, Sec
tions 3, 10, 11.

28

STUDY V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
First Day. The Need of the Hour.
I. Amos has finished his message. He has thundered forth
the eternal principles of truth and righteousness. As God's
spokesman he has summoned men to a new sense of responsibility,
to a stricter devotion to their God; and, with a terrible arraign
ment of Israel's sins- — sins that were sweeping her on to inevitable
destruction — his ministry closed. There was little tenderness in
his message; it was cold and severe. There was little hope in
his ministry; it was full of despair. Hard, punitive justice in
tensified the gloom. His work was not final. It could not be.
2. Amos was the conscience of the state. He convicted men
of sin. There was needed now a prophet of repentance. The
time called for a man who embodied in himself, and could win-
somely utter to others, the great message that still remained
unspoken; a man with a heart so pure and tender that he could
allure men to God, and inspire them to know, that greater than
justice, grander than law, the deepest thing in human life, and
the highest thing in God, is love.
3. Read Hos. 7:15; 11:1, 3, 4. "How fitting that Hosea —
whose very name means salvation — should have been chosen to
deliver this message ! His was a life of sympathy with God and
with men. He came not as a prophet above his fellows. He
suffered with them and bore their sorrows. He did not alone try
to frighten men into the life of righteousness ; he sought to draw
them by proclaiming the love of God. He was the 'first prophet
of peace, Israel's earliest evangelist.' ". G. A. Smith, Book of
the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 1, Chap. 13.

2.9

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Second Day. The Man Hosea.
I. Read Hos. 1 :1. From this superscription, and the inter
nal evidence of the book, the date of Hosea's prophetic activity is
• placed between 745 and 720 B. C. He probably began to preach
within less than five years after Amos finished his Bethel sermons.
2. Did Hosea live in Israel or in Judah? Read 1:4; 5:1;
7:1. Hosea constantly refers to the Kingdom of Israel, and
shows an intimate connection with its history and politics. He
alludes rarely to the Kingdom of Judah, to Jerusalem never.
These facts indicate that he was a native and a citizen of Israel.
Unlike Amos, he rises as a prophet out of the midst of his own
people. 3. This may explain his intimate familiarity with the condi
tions of his day. With the certainty of a skilful physician he
diagnoses the disease of his nation. What charge does he bring
against the rulers (7:3, 5) ; against the ritual and the sanctuaries
(13:2); against short-sighted politicians (7:11)? What ugly
sins besmirch the character of Israel (4:2) ? What is the under
lying cause of this immorality of priest, king and people (4:1) ?
4. In the foregoing renunciation of the evils of his time,
Hosea is not unlike Amos; but this is a surface agreement only;
his is a far richer and deeper life than that of his predecessor.
Like Elisha, he is in the best sense a man among men. He was
more than a strident voice from the desert. Before our eyes he
lives and sympathizes and suffers and loves. There is not a
prince, or judge, or priest in Israel whose sin he fears to de
nounce; and, on the other hand, there is not a man so poor, nor
widow or orphan so desolate, nor a life so blasted by sin, that
Hosea's message of love cannot comfort and relieve. Read
10:11; 11:4; 11:10; 14:5, 6, and notice how much he cares for
nature, for the simple things of everyday life, and for mankind.
"Hosea's love steals across his whole land like the dew, pervad
ing every separate scent and color, till all Galilee lies before us,
lustrous and fragrant as nowhere else outside the parables of
Jesus. . . . The poetry of Hosea clings about his native
soil like its trailing vines. . . . His love was as the love of
that greater Galilean: however high, however lonely it soared,
it was yet rooted in the common life below, and fed with the
unfailing grace of a thousand homely sources." G. A. Smith,
Book of the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 1, Chap. 14.

30

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Third Day. The Domestic Experiences of the Prophet.
I. The first three chapters of Hosea reveal the hidden depths
of the prophet's life. They tell a story of ruined hopes and
crucified ambitions, of love that never reached its consummation,
of purity blasted in the bud, of a home life devastated by shame.
It is the story of conjugal infidelity, but this infidelity is not
mocked at or despaired of as in so much of our modern drama and
story. Let us see how Hosea deals with his heart-breaking
problem. 2. Read Hos. 1 :2, 3. What does the Lord impel Hosea to
do? Read 1:3-5. What name does Jehovah command Hosea
to give to his first son? Jezreel was the name of a plain that
had been stained by the blood of a king. Cf. II Kings 9:24.
Would not the name of the child be a constant reminder of the
calamity to befall Israel for her sins ? Read 1 :6, 7. The name
of the daughter means "unpitied." What explanation is given
in vs. 6 for this name ? Read 1 :8, 9- The name of the last
boy is, "Not my people." It is meant to suggest the repudiation
of the covenant relation between Jehovah and Israel. Instead
of pleasant names, Hosea has given to his children prophetic
names, reminders of the unpalatable message he must preach to
his nation.
3. Is it reasonable to suppose that God commanded Hosea to
marry a woman who was a harlot? Do you think that Hosea, if
his wife had always been faithful to him, would have thus pub
licly disgraced her and his home for the sake of an allegorical
illustration? Can you think of some simpler and more reasonable
explanation of the beginning of Hosea's domestic tragedy?

31

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Fourth Day. The Domestic Experiences of the Prophet
(continued).
I. The most reasonable explanation of Hosea's experiences is
that they are real. The woman whom he marries is at first pure
and faithful. At the birth of his children, however, Hosea finds
that his wife has been untrue to her marriage relations, has pol
luted herself and flouted his love by intrigues with various para
mours. She now leaves Hosea's home and becomes the concubine
of another.
2. Hosea's wife has forgotten him; she has dishonored his
name; she has abandoned his home to live the life of a harlot.
But Hosea cannot forget her. He remembers her as he loved
her in the days of her purity and wifely devotion. And he
knows that he loves her still. In the midst of this heartbreaking
trial he hears the voice of Jehovah speaking. Read Hos. 3:1.
What does the Lord tell Hosea to do? What reason is given?
What price does he pay for her? 3:2. This was the price of
a common slave; it was equivalent to about eighteen dollars.
What relation will she now bear to Hosea? 3:3. Why cannot
she become his wife once more and enj oy his love ?
" Weeping blinding tears,
I took her to myself, and paid the price
(Strange contrast to the dowry of her youth
When first I wooed her); and she came again
To dwell beneath my roof. Yet not for me
The tender hopes of those departed years,
And not for her the freedom and the love
I then bestowed so freely. Sterner rule
Is needed now. In silence and alone
In shame and sorrow, wailing, fast and prayer,
She must blot out the stains that made her life
One long pollution." Plumptre, Lazarus.
3. The account of the unfaithfulness of Hosea's wife is a
harrowing story. Now, as then, conjugal infidelity blights
the common life. Is such perfidy on the man's part condemned
as severely as it should be? The wife who is unfaithful to her
husband is reprobated; but the husband who is untrue to his wife
is not sufficiently made to feel the weight of public displeasure.
A twofold moral standard, one for women and another for men,
is too prevalent in our day. Is there any basis for this, either
in one's conscience or in the teachings of Jesus? In the white
light of Jesus' teaching there is no differentiation of purity in
man and purity in woman; men and women are alike morally
responsible ; the purity that a man should desire in his wife, that,
and no less, she has the right to demand of him.

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Fifth Day. Hosea's Call to Become a Prophet.
I. The divine summons to a great life-work does not always
come in a voice of thunder nor in some mighty event. It lies back
in the seemingly commonplace events that turned Godward the
stream of our life; in temptations resisted that gave us new
strength to resist; in sorrows that gripped but taught us ten
derness of heart and sympathy for our fellows. So Hosea's call
came. 2. Out of his own bitter experience Hosea heard the call of
God to minister to a nation full of dishonor and shame. His own
unhappy home had taught him his message. It consisted of five
great personal truths : ( 1 ) That having loved his wife, he could
never cease to love her, however much she had sinned. (2) That
the sorrow her sin caused him was in direct proportion to his love
for her. (3) That discipline was necessary in order to bring
the heart of the guilty one to penitence. (4) That penitence
must precede forgiveness and reconciliation. (5) That nothing
is to be desired more than the j oy of reconciliation.
" To seek and save the lost,
Forgetful of my calling and my fame,
To call thee mine, and bring thee back to God,
Became the master-passion of my heart." Plumptre, Lazarus.
3. Hosea came to feel that the sorrow which had blighted his
life was a common sorrow. His pain yielded to sympathy. His
tragic experience led on to his heartfelt message, namely, that the
love which he bore his wife, and the anguish her infidelity caused
him, was like the love that God had for his nation, and the
anguish that God felt when his nation ceased to care.

S3

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Sixth Day. The Relationship Between Jehovah and Israel.
I. In the figure drawn from his own life, Hosea tells the
story of Israel, and pleads with her to come back to Jehovah,
her husband. The very names of his children suggest the
estranged relations. Read Hos. 2:2-5. Israel is here pictured
as the unfaithful wife. What does Hosea urge his fellow coun
trymen to do? Why is Israel no longer Jehovah's wife? With
whom has she committed harlotry? Cf. 8:6. The figure of vs.
2 suggests the finery with which a harlot adorned herself. What
motive led Israel to go astray (vs. 5) ?
2. Since Israel has sinned, she must be disciplined. Read
vss. 6-13. How will Jehovah win his bride back to himself?
What mistake has Israel made as to Jehovah's attitude toward
her (vs. 8) ? What was the design of the punishments described
in vss. 9-13?
3. But now the threats cease, and in their place we hear the
tenderest. promises. Read vss. 14-18. Here is a sudden change
from righteous indignation to full forgiveness and reconciliation.
These verses assume that punishment has accomplished its pur
pose, that penitence has taken the place of Israel's deliberate
sinning. It anticipates a chapter in Israel's future which was
not completed until after the exile had done its work. Where
will Jehovah bring Israel? Vs. 14. What memories would the
mention of the wilderness recall to an Israelite? Cf. vs. 15.
The valley of Achor or "trouble" was the valley through which
Israel entered the promised land. Cf . Josh. 7 :24, 26. Note the
tenderness of vs. 16. Jehovah's love is so great, His forgiveness
is so far-reaching, that even the cattle (vs. 18) are included in
the renewed covenant which He makes with Israel.
4. At last the proud heart of Israel breaks, and a glorious
restoration is pictured. Read vss. 19-23. On what basis will
Jehovah's new covenant with His people be established? Vss.
19., 20. Cf. vs. 13 and 4:1. How will Israel know that God has
received her back to himself? Vss. 21-23. The names of the
children shall be changed; Jezreel, with its sordid memories, but
turned now to its truer meaning, "God sows," shall suggest the
Divine bounty. "Unpitied" shall become pitied. "Not my peo
ple" shall become "My people." Once more Jehovah shall take
back His bride to himself. "The wedding ring has been re
stored."

34

V. HOSEA: PROPHET OF LOVE.
Seventh Day. Israel's Immediate and Distant Future.
I. When the love of God was made clear, how strongly did
Israel desire the day of restoration and reconciliation? God was
ready; but Israel's attitude was proud and defiant. Read Hos.
3:4 and note the prophet's answer. They must first feel the
discipline of broken political and religious organizations and pain
ful exile.
2. But still the distant future contained a hope for the nation,
which is concretely voiced in Flos. 3:5; 1:10-2:1.
3. Is God's love alone sufficient for reconciliation? Was
Hosea's love for his wife sufficient to win her back to virtue?
What else is essential to reconciliation?
4. Recall the story of Hosea's life. Recall the five vital
truths of Hosea's message (Fifth Day) and determine how he
applies them to Jehovah and Israel. What was the central theme
of Hosea's teaching? Why was it necessary at this time? Is
Hosea less manly than Amos? Is he nearer the spirit of Jesus'
teachings ?
5. The love which Hosea makes clear — the love of God for
humankind and the love they should have for each other — is the
greatest thing in the world. By its power men have been called
to unselfish service; homes have been established; nations have
been saved. It is the inspirer of all noble conduct; to attain it
should be the goal of all effort. It is the fundamental element
in religion; without it all else has little significance.
"Love suffereth long and is kind; love envieth not; love
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself un
seemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account
of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the
truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things. Love never faileth. . . . But now
abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is
love." REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 47-
57. Cornill, Prophets of Israel, pp. 47-55. Kent, History of
the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 78-85. G. A. Smith, Book of the
Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chaps. 13, 14.

35

STUDY VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
First Day. The Spirit of the Times.
I. The third chapter closes the story of Hosea's home life.
"He steps at once to his hard warfare for his people ; and through
the rest of the book we never hear him again speak of home, chil
dren, or of wife. It was a thick night into which he stepped from
his shattered home. Here are stumbling and clashing ; crowds in
drift; confused rallies; gangs of assassins rushing across the high
ways; doors opening with lurid interiors full of drunken riot.
Voices, which other voices mock, cry for a dawn which never
comes." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Chap. 15.
2. Great changes have come to pass in the national life since
the days of Amos' ministry. Then strong kings were on the
thrones of Israel and Judah. Prosperity and peace reigned
throughout their borders. Cf. Study II. , First Day. Read
Amos 6:1. But now Jeroboam is dead. Those who follow him on
the throne are deposed by other ambitious office seekers, and these,
in turn, are the victims of murderous court conspirators. The
throne of Israel is bathed with blood. Security and peace have fled.
Society, the permanence of which rests upon the wisdom of the
sovereign, is fast crumbling to pieces in an age of uncertainty
and corruption. Glance rapidly over II Kings 15 for a first
hand impression of the unsettled condition of Israel.
3. The language of Hosea reflects the spirit of the age.
Quickly changing scenes, bitter denunciations of unthinkable vice,
the people frantically seeking help from heathen powers and
finding none, outbreaks defiant of every law; all these symptoms
betray the vitiated condition of the age.

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Second Day. Jehovah's Charges Against Israel.
I. In chapter four, Hosea, with all the power of his predeces
sor, Amos, hurls against sinning Israel Jehovah's accusation.
Read vs. 1. What three fundamental elements in a nation's life
are lacking in Israel? What particular crimes are rampant in
Israel? Read vs. 2 and compare Hos. 10:4; 7:3; 6:8, 9; 4:14.
Hosea feels that the case is hopeless. Read Hos. 4 :3.
2. Are the people alone to blame? Read vss. 4, 5. The
leaders of the people, priest and then the prophet, stumble first.
They are false guides. To whose negligence does Hosea ascribe
the lack of knowledge? Read vss. 6, 7, 8. Before God every
priest is guilty of false leadership. But most unpardonable of
all, the priests have taken delight in the people's sin. They have
grown rich from the fines and the guilt-offerings. To-day the
attitude of the priests would be labelled "ecclesiastical graft."
3. The priesthood had become synonymous with mere ritual.
The bearers of the sacred office had forgotten their moral and in
tellectual responsibility. They had become "blind guides." The
power of true religion lost, ritual fostered immoral practices. In
these the people engaged. What punishment does Jehovah
threaten? Read vss. 9, 10. What dire consequences follow in
the wake of this lost knowledge? Read vss. 11, 12. The mention
of trees and the tops of mountains (vs. 13) has reference to reve
lation in omens — flocks of birds and the like. The corruption of
religion had led Israel back to the old superstitious practices of
early days; and with these practices sensual appetite gets the
upper hand.
4. Read vss. 14-19. In this charge is portrayed the shameful
consequences of insidious error. At last the licentiousness of
priests and common people is bringing its results. The daughters
of Israel, young unmarried girls and newly married brides, are
sacrificing their purity on the altars of shame. Note how unerr
ingly Hosea placed the real responsibility in vs. 14. Immorality
is a moral gangrene that preys upon the vitals of family life.
And here in the very heart of Israel's life there is rottenness and
corruption. As it was with Israel, so with any nation whose men
corrupt themselves must the consequence inevitably be.

37

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Third Day. The Baneful Consequences of Criminal
Leadership.
i. Read Hos. 5:1-7. Against whom is the charge directed?
The shepherds of the people have encouraged lewd practices at
the sanctuaries of Mizpah and Tabor. Both Israel and Judah
are steeped in sin. Why can they not return to God? Vs. 4.
The flocks and herds in vs. 6 were probably taken for the purpose
of sacrifice; why did Jehovah reject the appeal of his people?
Read vs. 7. What in the prophet's estimation would have won
Jehovah's favor?
2. The alarm of war is sounding ; the distant foe is approach
ing; the invader will sweep down upon Israel —
"Blow the trumpet in Gibeah, the clarion in Ramah;
Raise the alarm in Bethel: After thee, Benjamin."
What calamities are threatened against Israel? Read Hos.
5:8-14. To whom does Israel appeal for help? Vss. 11, 13.
"King Jareb" is either a variation of the favorite Assyrian title
"Great King," or else it is a nickname meaning "King Pick-a-
Quarrel." Israel, situated on the great commercial highway be
tween Assyria and Egypt, was a bone of contention for centuries.
Does the prophet believe that Assyria will help Israel?
3. It is a pitiful picture that Hosea paints. The priests and
princes have lost their spiritual and moral stamina. When public
distress called for a leader, there was no leader about whom they
could rally. The enemy was rapidly advancing; destruction was
imminent; even Jehovah was obliged to turn in fierce judgment
upon His people. It is a tragic picture of the Nemesis of sin.

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Fourth Day. Fickle Repentance.
"When he slew them, then they inquired after him
And they returned and sought God earnestly."
I. Perils of land, perils of sea, sickness and sorrow, famine
and war usually make men think of God. When earthly help
fails, even wicked men, as a last resort, turn to God. Read Hos.
6:1-3. Note the idle manner with which these Israelites take
their formulas of repentance upon their dips. It is an insult to
God to treat Him with such levity and fickle praise. Even God
is perplexed to know what to do with such people. Their love,
the necessary basis for real repentance, is like the mist of the
morning or the early dew. Cf. vs. 4.
2. Jehovah has tried to impress upon the people His interest
in them and the nature of His desire for them. What methods
of instruction has He used? Read vs. 5. Instead of an answer
ing love, what does Jehovah receive from these ungrateful people ?
Read 6:7-7:2. Note the footprints of the murderer, the defiling
touch of adultery, the highway robbery carried on by a gang of
priests under the name of religion. In 7 :3-7 is vividly portrayed
the corruption of the court life. The king is pictured surrounded
by a sickening group of intoxicated cut-throats, and these only
wait for the opportunity to murder their way to the throne. In
all this seething mass of crime and despair, there is no one who
lifts his face to God.
3. Out of the chapter comes a crystal verse: "For I desire
goodness, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than
burnt offerings." There is the secret ! How often Israel has used
burnt offerings as a cloak for her sin; how often, to-day, men
use almsgiving and Sunday-religion and church attendance and
long prayers, in order to soothe their smitten conscience. The
whole wretched make-believe becomes loathsome in the sunlight of
the prophetic faith: "I desire goodness and not sacrifice, and
the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

39

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Fifth Day. Social and Political Decay.
I. Israel's leaders and people have been guilty of gross moral
and spiritual crimes; they have come also to the verge of political
disaster. Henceforth we get a picture of their social and political
decay. 2. The strength of Israel in days gone by had been its sepa-
rateness from outside powers. Seclusion had been her strength.
But now Israel, her real strength gone, the knowledge of God
overlaid with meaningless sacrifice and shameful lust, was sure
to be sucked into the whirlpool of political intrigue and confusion.
Read the first part of Hos. 7:8 and compare 8:8-10. "Ephraim
— he lets himself be mixed among the nations."
3. But relations with foreign nations do not hold all the dan
ger. The constitution of society at home is like an unbaked cake.
"Ephraim has become a cake unturned." Of equality in worship
and life, in profession and conduct, there is none.
4. Read 7:9-16. In their foreign relations, the people of
Israel will be the losers. They seek disgraceful alliances, first
with Egypt, and then with Assyria. They trust not in God,
though He could deliver them. They repay His instruction with
falsehood and lies. It is only when hunger grips them by the
maw that they look up, and howl for food. What will be Egypt's
attitude when they fall? Vs. 16. Cf. 8:7.
5. "Ephraim is a cake not turned." After all these ages of
baking, society is with us an unturned cake. "How many Chris
tians are living a life, one side of which is reeking with the smoke
of sacrifice, while the other is never warmed by a religious
thought — our worship overdone till it is cindry, dusty, unattrac
tive, with the sap and freshness burnt out of it; while our con
duct is cold, damp and heavy, like dough which the fire has never
reached?" G. A- Smith.

40

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Sixth Day. "The Corruption that is through Lust."
I. Hosea has analyzed the condition of his nation. National
unity is gone ; anarchy is the rule. No leader has yet come to the
front sufficiently strong to lead Israel in the path of moral sanity.
She has no prestige among the nations of the earth; there is only
false confidence, corruption, confusion, at home. Finally, in a
picture of the future, Hosea portrays his nation undergoing the
horrors of an impending exile. The people shall offer sacrifice
like the heathen, but shall take no delight in it, Hos. 9:1-4; all
sense of communion with God shall be then a mere memory of the
past, 9:3; yea, Israel is even now reaping the consequences of
her sin. What sort of message does the prophet utter in 9:7-9?
Revolting lust is common. It must bring its own punishment.
2. Of the singular utterances of Hosea, the most strikingly
characteristic are his transitions and contrasts. Mark the imagery
of 9:10. Here Hosea pictures Israel in her early prime, pure
and vigorous in the sight of God; then she comes into contact
with the Canaanitish sanctuaries; shameful lusts have eaten their
way into her very vitals; now there is "no more birth, no more
motherhood, no more conception." Read 9:11-17. Already
Hosea has shown Israel that prostitution impoverishes the mind
and poisons the springs of the family life. Now he points out its
ultimate deadliness. It destroys the power to produce. It kills
a nation's vigor. It forebodes the suicide of the race. The story
of undeveloped Eastern civilization, the story of the suffocating
luxury of Rome, the story of the corrupt French courts of the
Middle Ages, makes it ae clear as daylight that unlicensed disre
gard for sexual purity spells disaster for any nation.
3. But Hosea does not allow the case to rest here. Unlike
many dissectors of vice in our day, who display in drama and
story the details of corrupt living, thinking, perhaps, that diag
nosis should suggest a cure, unlike these, Hosea proclaims with
great positiveness the one sovereign cure for sin and the moral
consequences of sin; it is an unconditional surrender to the great
and loving God; "I will be as the dew unto Israel. ... I
will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely."

41

VI. A PEOPLE IN DECAY.
Seventh Day. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he
also reap."
I. Once more in this section of Hosea, the prophet attacks the
hollowness of Israel's religious and political life. Read Hos.
10:1-3, and note how the material prosperity of Israel brought
about false worship. Why is the prophet so bitterly opposed to
these manifestations of Canaanitish worship? Have the people
lost altogether their faith in God? What is the popular attitude
toward the king? Can you trace any connection between loss of
faith toward public men and loss of faith toward God? What
will happen to the images that have been worshipped at Bethel?
Read 10:5, 6. What mockery is this! The very gods they have
worshipped shall be sent as tribute money to the king of Assyria;
in the hour of peril their help does not avail. Even the king of
Israel is tossed about like a chip on a roaring river. There is no
stability or certainty anywhere. The rock of confidence is gone.
Cf. vs. 8.
2. Men have become powerless, kings have failed, destruction
is imminent; this is the harvest from seed deliberately sown.
Read 10:13. "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped in
iquity." Israel's whole history has been one of blind folly.
There has been no moral or religious progress. False gods,
crooked diplomats, puerile kings and pseudo-prophets cannot
alter the harvest. The eternal laws of God's universe must work
out their course. "O Israel, what shall I do unto thee?"
3. "Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his
own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
unto the spirit shall of the spirit reap eternal life." Gal. 6 :7, 8.
How may a man sow unto his own flesh ? How may he sow unto
the spirit? What are some of the immediate fruits of spiritual
sowing? REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 57-
70. G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chaps.
15, 16, 17.

42

STUDY VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
First Day. The Character of God.
"When Israel was a child, then I loved him
And from Egypt I called him to be my son."
I. Hosea cannot leave the fearful sentence of death which he
has pronounced upon Israel without one final appeal. It is the
cry of a father to his wayward child, pleading with him that the
tender care shown in the days of childhood may yet be remem
bered; it is the anguish of parental love unrequited, of yearning
solicitude never answered. In this final and most spiritual appeal
of the whole book, Hosea reveals his idea of the character of God.
2. Read Hos. 11:1 and compare 2:15. Reflect on the wonder
ful care of God for this slave people in Egypt. Remember how
God, in the selection of His chosen people, had passed by the
mighty kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria, and had allowed His
choice to fall on the obscure Jewish slaves. It was this call of
God, this evidence that God loved them and had given them a
work to do, that transformed them from serfdom to the rank of a
nation through whose life the world's redemption was to be ful
filled. 3. But God not only called the children of Israel to be His
sons; He trained them for sonship. He called them from servi
tude to freedom. Is such freedom mere liberty to do as one
pleases? What means had God used? Read 11:2. Note the
paternal tenderness of vs. 3. Here is the picture of the father
caring for his child, bearing him on his arms, teaching him to
walk, before the child could appreciate the meaning of such
fostering care.
4. Here again the figure changes. Read vs. 4. What meta
phor does the prophet employ ? Is it not the figure of the driver
coming down from his cart to lift the yoke and cheer the dumb
beast whose load is too heavy to be drawn ? How adroitly Hosea
can change from the figure of careless childhood to that of man
in the hard work-a-day world plodding along under burdens,
grinding and heavy. Does God let us feel His presence when
our burdens are heaviest? Like the humane driver, "He comes
and takes us by the head; and through the mystic power which
is above us, but which makes us like itself, we are lifted to our
task." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets,

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Second Day. The Character of God (continued).
" How am I to give thee up, O Ephraim ?
How am I to let thee go, O Israel ?
How am I to give thee up ? "
I. As the prophet continues his pleading we forget that it is
he who is speaking ; it is as if it were God Himself stooping down
over His beloved child, pleading with him to come back and ac
cept the Father's love. Read Hos. 14:1-3. At last the writer,
with true insight into his message, feels that Israel has heard;
and in the beautiful language of hope, he pictures Israel returning
to God. Note the intimate dialogue form in which Israel re
nounces her trust in foreign help and in foreign gods. Read
God's reply, 14:4-6. It is the figure of the future, of the restored
Israel. Then the prophet speaks in vs. 7, and God answers in
vs. 8. Imagine the joy that would come to a father's heart when
he felt that his fond dream had come to realization.
2. But over the prophet there comes an immediate change of
feeling; is the pleading of any avail; does Israel after all re
spond to the memory of her childhood ; will the dream really come
true ? Read 1 1 :5-7. The first part of vs. 7 holds the key to
the whole matter. Was Israel's lamentable plight God's fault?
3. Again, fatherhood in God rises above justice and wisdom.
It is the fatherhood which cannot relinquish the hope that some
time the child will return and respond to the call of love. Read
vss. 8, 9- Admah and Zeboim were cities by the Salt Sea which
had been utterly destroyed because of their guilt. Note the
reason for this continued entreaty in vs. 9- "For I am God
and not man, the holy one in the midst of thee." It is the char
acter of God, the character of fatherhood and forgiving love.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets and stoneth
them that are sent unto her ! how often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37.)

44

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Third Day. The Knowledge of God.
I. Underlying the specific sins openly manifest in Israel's
life, and constantly reiterated in the prophet's invective, is the
nation's unpardonable ignorance about God. Review Hos. 4:6;
4:1; 5:4, and recall the relation of open crime to this lack of
knowledge. It was a lack of understanding, that is, of a sense of
appreciation, which wrought such havoc in Hosea's home; it was
that which likewise brought Israel's estrangement from God.
2. But what does Hosea mean by knowing God? Does it
mean more than knowing with the intellect? What contrast is
there between seeing and knowing in Is. 6:9: "It is not to know
so as to see the fact of, but to know so as to feel the force of;
knowledge not as acquisition and mastery, but as impression and
passion . . . It is knowledge that is followed by shame,
or by love, or by reverence, or by a sense of duty." G. A. Smith,
Book of the Twelve Prophets.
3. There is a lack of knowledge on the part of the people
which is characterized as the want of political wisdom and of
sensibility to danger. Read 7:93 11 ; 12:1. But the greatest igno
rance is of God Himself. "They have not known the Lord."
Have they remembered God's dealings with them from the early
days in Egypt? Does the memory of the leaders and prophets
whom God has given them make any impression on their calloused
souls? They have forgotten whose people they are. They have
ceased to be dependent on God. They have sold their birthright
for a mess of pottage.
4. How closely now, as then, are sin and ignorance related!
Recall 4:11-12. The man into whose life no ray of Divine sun
shine falls is open to the contagion of sin and shame; and, with
equal truth, the man whose vision is blurred by dishonest outlook
and impure living can neither know God nor be sensitive to His
pleading.

45

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Fourth Day. The Lack of Repentance.
I. "The more the prophets called them, the more they went
from them." Had Israel not been so precious to Hosea he would
never have treated her as tenderly as he did. For with each new
offence, with each new apostasy he pleads the more earnestly
that she return to God.
2. It is interesting to study Hosea's method of dealing with
an unrepentant people. He tries to reach (1) the element of
pride in the public conscience. Think how such denunciations
as occur in Hos. 4:2; 4:14; 10:5-6; 12:1, would sting the heart of
a sensitive people. Can a man's pride ever keep him from sin?
He tries also (2) to bring about repentance by awakening a con
sciousness of guilt. Read 9:1; 13:1-3. What other method (3)
does he employ in 13:15-16? Still another method (4), used re
peatedly as each of the others fail, is the appeal to God's loving
care. "When Israel was a child, then I loved him." The last and
greatest appeal of all (5) is suggested by Hosea's own experi
ence. Who suffered most as a result of Gomer's sin, she or Hosea ?
What is the most dreadful aspect of the nation's sin, the pain
which it brought the nation or the pain which God suffered ? Read
11:8. In final analysis, the strongest appeal, the one that ought
to crush the pride and bend the will of the most stubborn, is the
appeal of God's infinite love and mercy.
3. We have seen how Israel has made answer. 6:1-4. There
is no penitence for sin here; no sorrow for the suffering that
Israel has caused God; no break with the past; no return to
righteousness. And God can only answer "What am I to do with
thee, Ephraim?" Repentance is something deeper than words
and farther-reaching than verbal praise. It is a genuine sorrow
that grips the soul until a man rises and tramples on his sin,
loathes it, forsakes it. Nor does it end even there. It does not
close with the desire of the prodigal son to return home; it in
cludes the homeward j ourney, and the long weary days of struggle
on his father's farm, while he proves to his father his desire to
be reinstated as his son. "Turn thou to thy God; keep kindness
and justice, and wait for thy God continually."

46

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Fifth Day. The Fatal Loss of the Ability to Repent.
i. One after the other the appeals and threatenings of the
prophet come back to him, unheeded like empty echoes. Israel's
nerve of pride has ceased to tingle, the conscience of the nation
makes no answer to the charge of guilt, love awakens no love in
response; even the certainty of oncoming destruction calls forth
hardly more than a passing shudder. Israel has lost the capacity
to repent. Read again Hos. 12:6, and then note the prophet's
comment on the people's answer in vss. 7-1 1-
2. From the book of Hosea can you draw any other lesson
than this, that a man may sin, or a nation may plunge itself into
iniquity, until it is powerless to stop? Here is the crux of the
whole matter: A man, by decree of Almighty God, has in his
own hand the power to make his life or to blast it; he may live
on in indifference, in indulgence of open sin, in bitterness of
heart, in denial of God, until his will loses the power to accept
pardon. Yet God waits with yearning love for the prodigal to
come home. There are, alas, prodigals innumerable who cannot
return; prodigals who have lost the power to take the first step
on the homeward journey. The appeal to pride is of little avail,
for there is hardly a spark of self-respecting pride left; the call
to conscience only bores them, for their conscience is stone deaf;
the love and anguish of the Father's heart evokes at best only a
sentimental tear; through a human world of unspeakable riches,
they wander with empty souls.
3. Read Matt. 12:31-33. What is the unpardonable sin men
tioned in these verses? Is it a word spoken at one time against
the Holy Spirit, or is it an attitude of self -centered indifference
to the voice of God speaking evermore within us ? To whom were
the words of Jesus addressed? Is Israel's experience an illus
tration of this same fact of human experience?

47

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Sixth Day. The Responsibility of Love.
I. In the progress of human thought and feeling, that is, in
the unfolding of what is deepest in humankind, the greatest con
ception of God's nature that can take captive the mind and
heart of man is none other than that which Hosea spent himself
so completely to proclaim, namely, that God is love. It is this
that makes Hosea the evangelist of the early world.
2. It is an event of tremendous importance when a man first
realizes that God is love. The very fact that love is His nature,
and that love is the ruling principle of His kingdom, means not
only a wide privdege, but a deep responsibility. What truth is
set forth in Hosea's attitude toward Gomer? Recall how he
loved her (3:1, 2), and what agony her disloyalty caused him.
Love unanswered brings bitter pain to him who loves. If it be so
for us, what must it be for God ?
3. But there is also another side to the matter. The fact that
God loves us, and has given us the power of loving, means that
we should use that power. Failing to use it, we lose it. "Extirpa
tion by disuse" is one of the most indubitable laws of life. Cf.
9:17. He that refuses to live the life of love, becomes hard, sel
fish, cynical; alien not only to his human nature, but alien also
to God.
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every
one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another." I John 4:7,
10, 11.

48

VII. THE SIN AGAINST LOVE.
Seventh Day. "My God will cast them away."
I. But though God is love, He does not force a man to love
Him, or even to recognize His love. The power of moral choice
God gave man when He made him in His own image and started
him on the highway of life. Would it have been better for man
had he been created unfree? It is the prophet's deepest sorrow
that the love which God yearns to bestow is not Israel's glad
choice. Review Hos. 7:13; 9:10; 11:1, 2, 3, 12.
2. "That is the peril and terror of this love, that it may be
to a man either heaven or hell. Believe then in hell, because you
believe in the love of God, not in a hell to which God condemns
men of His will and pleasure, but a hell into which men cast
themselves from the very face of His love in Jesus Christ. The
place has been painted as a place of fires. But when we contem
plate that men come to it with the holiest flames in their nature
quenched, we shall justly feel that it is rather a dreary waste of
ash and cinder, strewn with snow — some ribbed and frosty Arctic
zone, silent in death, for there is no life there, and there is no
life there because there is no love, and no love because men, in
rejecting or abusing her, have slain their own power ever again
to feel her presence." G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.
3. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one
another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another." John 13:34, 35.
"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved by my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him."
John 14:21.
"Then shall he (the Son of Man) say also unto them on the
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire pre
pared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and ye did
not give me to eat; I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink; I was
a stranger and ye took me not in; naked and ye clothed me not;
sick and in prison and ye visited me not. Then shall they also
answer, saying. Lord, when saw we thee hungry or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto
thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto
you, inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it
not unto me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment;
but the righteous into eternal life." Matt. 25:41-46.
REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 70-
76. G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Part I, Chaps.
18-23. 49

STUDY VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
First Day. The Historical Situation.
I. While Amos and Hosea were struggling in the northern
kingdom to lead their people to a higher morality and a purer
faith, there was growing up in Jerusalem, the chief city of the
southern state, a loyal, ambitious youth whose fiery sermons
against political intrigue, moral abuses and perverted faith were
destined to shake the Hebrew nation from border to border. This
youth was Isaiah, son of Amoz, the first statesman-prophet.
2. During what reigns did Isaiah live and prophesy? Read
Is. 1:1 and cf. 6:1. Can you recall from your study of Amos
what King Uzziah had accomplished for Judah? If not, read II
Chron. 26:1, 5, 15. Under Uzziah Israel's natural resources had
been developed, her commerce built up, her territory enlarged,
and her defenses strengthened. Can you imagine what effect the
life and power of such a king would have upon an ambitious boy?
3. Likewise, the world at large which Isaiah could study from
his vantage point in Jerusalem must have deeply influenced his
growing ambition. The larger world was Western Asia and a
corner of Africa. Study map. The great empires, Assyria and
Egypt, in some ways counterparts of each other, were at the two
ends of the known world. Each nation was afraid of the other.
Each was jealous of the other's progress. Between them lay the
country of the Phoenicians, strong in its wealth and commerce.
Upon this nation and her confederated colonies and trading posts,
both Assyria and Egypt looked with covetous eyes. Inland from
the coast territories of the Philistines were Israel and Judah and
their sister states, small and compact, sometimes independent,
sometimes tributary to either Assyria or Egypt. Within Judah
clamored social and political problems like those that aroused the
activity of Amos and Hosea in the north.
4. Assyria's hands were tied by Babylonia, Assyria's former
master, but now a rebellious subject state. Egypt dared not move
northward because of her own internal dissensions. All the little
states between the two turned now toward the great Assyrian
power on the east, and now to the less reliable Egypt on the
southwest, hoping that if they were attacked by one they would
be rescued by the other. Among these states of the ancient world,
thus closely thrown together and thus jealous of each other, not
one state could move without stirring a wave of fear throughout
the rest. 50

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Second Day. The Vision of Jehovah.
I. It is easy to appreciate the feeling of false security that
came to Judah in such troublous times through the strong and
able rulership of King Uzziah. In the year 740, however, after
a long and prosperous reign, Uzziah died. His son, Jotham, a
prince with few of the qualities of his father, succeeded him.
This fact, and the insecurity in the world politics of the day,
enable one to understand the feeling of apprehension in the minds
of the more thoughtful in Judah.
2. In this same eventful year, Isaiah stepped forth from his
obscurity. Now his hero worship ceases ; now he puts away youth
ful dreams, and becomes a man, for the sake of the nation in dis
tress. It was in this year that he saw his vision and heard his
call. Where was he standing? Read Is. 6:1. Read the account
of the vision in vss. 1-4. What is the central figure in the vision?
Who surround Him and how are they described ? What attributes
do they ascribe to God ? Were such ideas of God common among
the Hebrews? Cf. Ex. 3:1-5; I Sam. 6:20. What do you think
the angelic host meant by "holiness" ? What effect did the vision
have upon Isaiah? Read vs. 5. Why did the prophet feel his
unworthiness ? Why does he feel that his "lips" rather than his
hands, are unclean? Recall the prophetic function.
3. Why do you think the vision came to Isaiah in the temple ?
It was the place of the people's worship ; but how had they treated
it? Read Is. 1 :13. Was it not here that the prophet's conscience
had been most aroused ? What a wonderful vision this is ! How
it breaks beyond the shaking threshold and temple confines ! How
the language struggles to express the inner spiritual apprecia
tion of the holiness and majesty of God! Standing on the earth
the young Isaiah has looked into heaven; in the midst of his
people's sin he has seen a vision of what they ought to be; con
scious of his own unworthiness, he has been brought face to face
with the transcendent holiness of God; and the vision has
crushed him.
4. Nor is it altogether different to-day. God is ever seeking
to give us visions of Himself and of our duty. Sometimes they
rise out of the ashes of our own past mistakes. Sometimes they
flood in upon us as we enter the door of a great opportunity.
Sometimes they flash upon us as we stand before an appalling
crisis. What form will the vision take when it comes to you?
That will depend on where you are and what you are doing and
the clearness of your sight. Perhaps it may come to you as a new
and inspiring vision of the holiness of God, or of the purity of
the Christ: " No face: only the sight
Of a sweepy garment, vast and white,
With a hem that I could recognize."
51 Browning's Christmas Eve.

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Third Day. "Here am I, send me."
I. It was not enough for Isaiah to have the vision of God's
holiness. Before he could go out to his work there must come
to him a call and a commission. But how can he be first freed
from the consciousness of sin ?
2. Read Is. 6:6, 7. Does Isaiah, following the custom of the
time, offer an animal sacrifice in the temple? What does he do?
Is this a symbol of real repentance? Instead of beholding the
body of some victim burning for his sin, he feels that from his
own sinful lips the fire of purification must burn the guilt away.
"In the Divine Presence, Isaiah is his own altar ; he acts his guilt
in his own person, and so he feels the expiatory fire come to his
very self directly from the heavenly hearth." Like all true re
pentance it is personal and from the heart.
3. Now that the sin has been purged away, Isaiah can hear
the call of God. And to this voice he makes answer. Read vs. 8.
Does God call Isaiah or does he issue a general call? Does he
try to force Isaiah to do this work for him? In what spirit does
Isaiah make answer, and what is the significance of his accept
ance? 4. Then follows the commission. It is the solemn charge of
God to the servant who has taken upon himself the pledge to
work for Him. Read carefully vss. 9-13. What do you think
then is the meaning of the commission in vss. 9, 10? Do you
think God actually told Isaiah to make this charge to his people?
Notice the implication that all the natural, God-given faculties
shall be turned to a use contrary to that for which they were
originally intended. Do you think that this accords with the
holiness and love of God ?
5. May this not be the interpretation: that the story of
Isaiah's call was written late in his ministry in order to give his
faithful disciples some account of the way in which he became a
prophet, and that he naturally read into the account the character
of the reception which the people gave his message ? The people
had spurned him, despised his entreaties and rejected his coun
sels. During the long and dreary years through which he walked
alone, still must he hear God's voice. Though the hearts of the
people be fat and unimpressionable; though the eyes of the peo
ple be dim that they cannot see; though their ears be heavy
that they cannot hear; yet he has seen, heard and accepted his
commission, and therefore he cannot turn back.

52

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Fourth Day. Isaiah's Apprenticeship.
I. Chapters 2 to 4, in their present form, give us three pictures
of the capital city, Jerusalem. They are the impressions which
the problems of the city and nation have made upon the sensitive
prophetic consciousness. The first and third portray the ideal city
of God, the second the real Jerusalem of Isaiah's day.
2. Read Is. 2:2-4. How is the city pictured? What will
Jerusalem's position be among the nations of the earth? In what
spirit will they recognize Jehovah? What position will Jehovah
have among the nations of the earth ? What wonderful picture is
contained in vs. 4 ? It is the picture of the universal kingdom of
God, with Jerusalem as its center.
3. But alas, how unlike this ideal picture is the real Jerusalem !
Suddenly the picture changes. Compare the following verses and
note carefully the searching contrasts between the ideal and the
actual. Compare vss. 5 and 6 with vs. 3. Compare the worship
described in vs. 8 with that of vs. 3. Read vss. 7, 9-1 !> and
compare with vs. 4. Read vss. 12-195 and contrast with vs. 2.
Remember with what exaltation Isaiah went forth from the vision
in the temple to begin his work. How often a man's most ambi
tious dreams take flight before the grovelling actual. And yet,
no true prophet blinks the facts or is cowed by them, however
appalling they may be.

53

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Fifth Day. The Seeds of National Decay.
I. The black cloud of anarchy overshadowed the city. Read
Is. 3:1-3. The substantial elements of the city's life were passing
away. What was the real character of Judah's rulers ? Cf . vs. 4.
Instead of justice and mercy, what principles governed men in
their relations with one another? Vs. 5. Where were the rulers?
Read vss. 6, 7. What a dramatic picture of the pass to which
society has come !
2. Now comes the proclamation of the calamity so often an
nounced by Amos and Hosea. Cf. vs. 8. Jerusalem must fall.
Read again chapter 2 :2. How far away this is from the ideal
picture ! How it must have hurt Isaiah, the noble patriot, to utter
such a prophecy! Could it have seemed other than heresy and
treason thus to predict the end of all that had been holiest and
best in his nation's history? Jerusalem must fall. It is not
Isaiah's judgment; it is God's judgment through him. "The
eyes of the glory of the Lord burn through every rank and con
dition of society until all lies bare and open." Cf . Chapter 2 :9-
None escapes, whether righteous or wicked. Read 3:9-11. Who
are to blame for it all? Read vss. 12-15.
3. With bitter sarcasm Isaiah lays bare the vanity of the
women of the city. Read rapidly 3:16 to 4:1. How unprofitable
seemed all such vanities when the city was about to perish. This
display covered, but did not conceal, cruel and corrupt hearts;
but now even the more natural cravings of the heart for marriage
and motherhood would be denied. Cf. 4:1. The daughters of
Israel had forgotten that they were daughters of God.

54

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Sixth Day. The Vision of the Restored City.
I. An ordinary patriot would have been overwhelmed with
despondency, but the inspired prophet sees beyond present con
ditions, and dark though they are, beholds for the future a vision
of good. Read carefully Is. 4:2-6. In what respect does this
picture correspond to the one found in 2 :2-4 ? Note the quiet
simplicity of the verses, the humility, the sense of rest after the
storm. Note the national pride in 2 :2. Is there any such pride
in 4:2-6? Note the exaltation of the city in 2:2-3. Is the city
itself glorified in 4:2-6? Note the relative prominence of/
Jehovah's activity in the two passages. Compare also the ab
sence of any reference to a divine judgment upon Jehovah's
people in 2 :2-4, and its fundamental importance as a means to
salvation in 4:2-6. Read carefully 4:4-5, and note the result of
God's work as described in 4:3.
2. Here is the prospect of the city, redeemed and restored.
It is not the sentimental outlook of a disillusioned realist; it is
not the fancy of an ecstatic dreamer; it is a vision of spiritual
triumph, of victory through the grace and power of God.
3. Grant, O Holy One, that the foul stains of our cities may
be washed away. May Thy spirit of justice burn away the evil
and reveal the good. Inspire in each heart a deep sense of the
responsibility and sanctity of citizenship. May the ties of broth
erhood and mutual helpfulness bind together all classes. Help
those who are called to rule to act justly, to love mercy, and to
walk humbly before Thee, the Source of all justice and love.
Help us to be faithful citizens of both Thy earthly and Thy
heavenly kingdoms. This we ask in the name of Him who wept
over the sins of the ancient city. Amen.

¦55

VIII. ISAIAH'S CALL TO BE A PROPHET.
Seventh Day. The Underlying Principles.
I. The call of the prophet and the three-fold vision may mir
ror your life and mine. Do you know what it is to have your heart
burn within you, to be lifted clear above yourself, to be blessed
with' the vision of the man you may be and ought to be? Per
haps the vision has been evoked by some dear memory of the
past; perhaps it has overtaken you in the throng and press of
life, or in the solitude of the woods, or as you have walked under
the stars; perhaps it has come in response to some master strain
of music or some master word of life; perhaps it has lifted
itself unbidden, as you have faced heroically some painful trial
in your own life or some call to difficult duty for the common
weal. Cherish the vision, however it has come; it is the immortal
in you ! It is a holy visitant to shame away your sordidness and
selfishness and sin, and liberate all your powers for the service
of Him who loves us and gives Himself to us.
2. Perhaps the vision has transformed your life and sent you
forth, as it sent Isaiah, with a sense of noble mission. And
have you, likewise, met the shock? Has ignorance and misery
wrung your heart; has luxury smiled a sickly smile at your
plea for simpler life; has low-browed corruption and canting
greed undermined your effort for social well-being; has Worldly-
wise sneered at your holiest ideals; has doubt held in derision
your faith both in man and God; have you met all this and felt
it to the bottom of your soul — then rejoice and be glad, you
are of the great and noble company of prophets who hold the
future of the world in their hands.
3. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I
have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness, that the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give
me at that day; and not to me only but unto all them also that
love His appearing." II Tim. 4:7, 8.
REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 79-
91 ; Isaiah, His Life and Times, in the Men of the Bible series.
Kent, History of the Hebrew People, pp. 127-133. G. A. Smith,
Book of Isaiah, Vol. I, Part I, Chaps. 2, 4.

56

STUDY IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
First Day. The Social Conditions in Judah and Their
Causes.
I. In the realistic vision of the present Jerusalem (Cf. Study
VIII., Fifth Day), Isaiah disclosed some of the social evils which
had become a fatal menace to Judah's life. Recall the lack of
sturdy leaders in public positions (Is. 3:2), the want of sym
pathy on the part of one class for another (3:5), the foolish
extravagance and love of display (3:16), the merciless treatment
of the poor at the hands of the rich (3:15).
2. In this study we shall take up, step by step, some of the
more glaring social abuses which Isaiah's sensitive mind was
quick to see; we shall notice how apparently oblivious were the
people themselves to the conditions threatening them and to the
punishment impending.
3. But what were the causes of these deep-seated social
abuses? Is. 2:8 contains more than a passing suggestion of the
difficulty. What light does 2:17 shed upon the problem? What
is the thought in 3:12 in its relation to the present question?
But why do all such secondary causes as these references ex
emplify exist ? Is the fundamental difficulty similar to that which
Hosea described? Cf. Hosea 4:6 and review Study VII., Third
Day. Then read Is. 5:13.
4. What great teaching have Hosea and Isaiah here given to
their world and to ours ? Formulate it in your own words. What
is the core of the teachings of Christ? Cf. Paul's testimony in
Ephesians 1:15-17: "For this cause I also, having heard of the
faith in the Lord Jesus, which is in you, and the love which ye
show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, mak
ing mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him."

57

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Second Day. The Parable of the Vineyard.
I. Since the general denunciation of Judah's social vices (dis
cussed in last week's study), the people had probably consid
ered and discounted its truth. In the chapters now before us, we
shall find that Isaiah explains more carefully and emphasizes
more completely the truths already proclaimed.
2. The difficulty was the same as that to which Amos referred.
Read Amos 3 :2. To the task of overcoming the popular fallacy,
the young prophet Isaiah brings remarkable tact. He first com
mands attention by requesting permission to sing a vineyard song.
The theme and the meter, associated as they were with the most
joyful event in Isaiah's life, at once attract attention. Read
Is. 5:1-7. In imagination we can see the people crowding about
him as he sings of the vineyard on the fruitful hill. While they,
like David of old before Nathan, are nodding assent to the
prophet's questions (vss. 3-6), quick as a flash comes the per
sonal application, and behold (vs. 7) they stand condemned by
their own witness.
3. Notice the fidelity of the parable to the relation between
Judah and God. Reflect upon God's care for Israel through
leaders and prophets. Does it seeem natural that God's love and
watchfulness should eventuate in "wild grapes"? Think of all
that God and Christ have done for our nation and for ourselves.
Read again Is. 5 :7- If oppression and misery and crime follow
upon God's husbandry, is not the fact unnatural? God has done
His part for the vineyard. What have we tried to do?

58

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Third Day. The Fruits of Reckless Selfishness.
I. But the parable of the vineyard must be interpreted and
cpplied. Isaiah has told his audience that the vineyard contains
only wild grapes. He now explains what the wild grapes are.
His explication is expressed in a series of passionate "woes."
Read Is. 5:8-10, 17. How would you phrase in your own words
this "woe"? Does Micah 2:2 suggest the answer? Remember
that the parable of the vineyard lays bare a misuse of God's
husbandry. The first woe deals with the abuse of a divine trust.
It is the misuse of land and property privileges. Notice that
Isaiah says nothing about the peculiar land laws of his people.
He lays down principles. And principles, if they be true, are
valid for every age and civilization. There is danger present,
says Isaiah, when the rich, absorbing easily the land and prop
erty of the many, fatten themselves upon their own possessions,
and the poor have no place to lay their heads and no means of
satisfying their hunger. Isaiah suggests no legal remedy, but
he asserts that the use of land and property is of concern to God
and that all men have the right to an equality of opportunity.
2. In vss. 11-16 Isaiah describes the second social evil. We
have noticed that in the first woe the crime of the rich was a sel
fish appropriation of the nation's limited natural resources.
Against what is this second woe directed? Wherein does the
great danger lie ? What is the direct result of this abuse of one's
own life? Read vss. 12, 13. Isaiah's strong figure (vs. 14)
has lost none of its pertinence. The disease and poverty and
crime which statistics heap upon the drink evil haunt thoughtful
men to-day ; here in our midst "Sheol has enlarged its desire and
opened its mouth without measure."
3. Isaiah's third woe concerns those who put forth all their
energies in wrongdoing (vs. 18), and then defy Jehovah to
smite them (vs. 19). The fourth woe is directed against Israel's
sophists (vs. 20) who declare their evil actions good and thus
pervert their own moral sense and that of the community. The
fifth woe (vs. 21) is against those who are too full of self-satis
fied conceit to appreciate their own ignorance and moral depravity.
Again, in vs. 22, the prophet reverts to those who devote them
selves to strong drink and thereby corrupt the fountains of jus
tice. Then, in an announcement of speedy retribution (vs. 24),
such as one would expect from Amos or Hosea, we get the mean
ing of the "wild grapes" parable. The cause of the blighted
fruitage is not greed alone nor appetite alone; it lies deeper
than both; it is, "Because they have rejected the instruction of
Jehovah and despisad the word of the Holy One of Israel,"
59

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Fourth Day. The Anger of the Lord.
I. The prophet's description of God's judgments upon Israel
is cast in titanic language. "The elements of nature and the ele
mental passions of man have been let loose together; and we
follow the violent floods, remembering that it is sin that has
burst the gates of the universe, and given the tides of hell full
course through it. Over the storm and battle there comes boom
ing like the storm bell the awful refrain, 'For -all this His anger
is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.' " G. A.
Smith, Isaiah.
2. Read Is. 5:25. To what does "therefore" refer? Note
the realistic description of the earthquake. How may an earth
quake verify God ?
3. What effect did such calamities produce upon the people
of Israel? Read 9:8-10. Disaster fails to make some people
thoughtful. Israel evidently tried to forget both the calamity
and the cause. What new reminder of His power does God send
upon them? Read 9:11-12. Note the significance of vs. 13.
4. In 9:14-17 Isaiah describes the devastations of war. Who
is at fault for this war? Upon whom does the horror of the
defeat fall? Why has the Lord no pity on the young men,
widows and orphans? The horrors of war reveal how closely
bound together are the fortunes of all classes in a community.
Not even God himself could protect the widows and orphans
from the consequences of the errors committed by the nation's
leaders. 5. In 9:18-21 the prophet describes the horrors of internal
anarchy. Read thoughtfully vss. 19, 20. The animal fire of men
has been fanned into a hot flame until they rave like beasts of
the field or roar like the lions of the desert. The scene is like
the anarchy of the Roman proscriptions, or the fury of the French
Revolution, where each party sought the life blood of its rival,
forgetting to cover its own throat in its murderous attack.
" If that the heavens do not their visible spirits
Send quickly down to tame these vile offenses
'T will come
Humanity must preforce prey on itself
Like monsters of the deep." King Lear.

w

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Fifth Day. The Fate of the Lawless Nation.
I. Isaiah turns to the future and, with prophetic insight, de
clares the coming fate of the lawless nation. He is speaking
to his own countrymen in Judah. What is the reason for this
threat of captivity? Cf. Is. 10:1-2. Do not read these verses
as the deliverances of a fanatical reformer. Do not treat them
either as the mere iteration of Amos and Hosea. Such men do
not clamor for trifling causes nor struggle for unattainable
dreams. Injustice, oppression, grinding poverty cry out to
heaven, and they demand an answer. What shall the answer
be? The unjust countrymen of Isaiah make no answer. Read
10:3-4. What, therefore, does he prophesy? What is to be
their fate?
2. But the nature of the captivity must be explained. Je
hovah has tried in every way to touch the conscience of the nation.
Il will not respond. What does he new do in 5 :26 ? How do the
enemies of Israel answer his call ? 5 :27. Read the grim account
of their attack; note also their readiness for battle and almost
animal-like appetite for blood. 5:27-29- One verse tells the
story of the conflict, 5 :30. Through all the recital one feels the
roll of the dread word,
" For all this His anger is not turned away,
And His hand is stretched out still."
3. The stern warning against the dangers of sin had been
sounded over and over again. Israel made one response only.
Read 9:10. Her answer was an answer of proud derision. She
was blind to the real nature of her calamity. Wise is the man
or nation that knows how to act under the stress of trial; to at
tempt to ignore it or to mistake its meaning is blind folly; to
listen humbly to its message is to hear the entreaty of God
Himself.

61

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Sixth Day. The Later Portrait of the Perfect King.
I. Investigation of social conditions not infrequently pro
duces a pessimistic attitude toward the prevailing social system.
An agitator seizes at random an odious fact, and uses it as the
text for a sermon against those who are rich or those who are
in authority. A prophet, on the other hand, is not a mere icono
clast. To be worthy the name of prophet he must know things
as they are; he must also trace the relation of existing conditions
to their causes. He must, further, have a definite and worthy
ideal and be able to point out the way to attain it.
2. Thus far in this study, Isaiah's efforts have been directed
mainly to the denunciation of social evils. It was evidently his
purpose to arouse the conscience of his nation to a higher mor
ality and a greater sense of individual and social responsibility.
The nation made no satisfactory response. But one thing more
remains, namely, to present the ideal of what ought to be. The
question whether this was done by Isaiah or, as is held by a grow
ing body of scholars, by one of his later disciples, is unimportant ;
the ideal is best studied in the light of its present setting.
3. It will not be difficult to understand the character of this
ideal, if we keep in mind the definite situation which Isaiah's ser
mons revealed. Read Is. 3:1, 2, 15. Read 7:1, 2. What was
Israel's sorest need? It is noticeable that these pictures of the
Perfect King have for their present background the reign of
Ahaz. Ahaz was selfish, cowardly, a traitor to the best interests
of his nation. The nation was likely to fall a prey to Assyria or
Egypt. The crisis demanded an able, brave, considerate leader.
The picture, therefore, is of the Ideal King, the Perfect Leader,
who shall rally the nation and save it from anarchy within and
the invader from without.
4. Study the first picture in 9:1-7- Determine what this King
shall do. Notice the contrast between the dark background of
Ahaz's reign and the light of the coming day. The burden of the
oppressor shall be broken; war shall be no more. Cf. II. Sam.
7:8-16. What is the new King's four-fold name? The name de
scribes the character of the perfect ruler. Contrast "Wonderful
Counsellor" with the foolishness of Ahaz; "God-like Hero" with
the cowardly acts of Judah's reigning king ; "Everlasting Father"
with Ahaz's selfish disregard for the welfare of his subjects;
"Prince of Peace" — the one who will bring strength and harmony
into life — with the warlike policy of Israel's leaders. None of
Israel's later rulers realized this exalted ideal, until at last the
Perfect Prince of Peace established his eternal rule, not at Jeru
salem, but in the hearts and lives of men.
62

IX. ISAIAH'S SOCIAL SERMONS.
Seventh Day. The Ideal King and Kingdom.
I. A companion picture is found in Is. 11:1-5. What is the
meaning of the figure in vs. 1 ? How is this prince distinguished
from the rulers whom Isaiah denounced? Study the attitude of
this new ruler toward the poor and the wicked. With what
spirit will he rule? What is his relation to God? Notice that
he "will not judge according to that his eyes see or his ears hear."
2. Read also the character of the ideal kingdom as set forth
in 11:6-10. It is to be the great era of peace, the golden age
when even the hostility of the brute creation shall give way to
love. 3. But there is a further element to these prophetic portraits
which later generations have cherished. Back of this ideal picture
there is the steadfast faith of a man who knows that Jehovah is
a living God. However weak, however hopeless the condition of
the nation or the character of the king, he always knows that
God lives and that his "zeal" will make the wrong things right.
"Some day," said the faith of this God-inspired prophet, "the
ideal will be realized, salvation will come, and men will gladly
call their deliverer, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlast
ing Father, Prince of Peace. That was as far as the prophetic
insight and faith could anticipate the Divine purpose.
4. But to us has been vouchsafed a fuller knowledge. The
revelation which to Israel was but a glimmer on the edge of the
night breaks as a glorious sunrise in Jesus Christ. In the light of
that life we know what God is and what man is, and the knowledge
inspires us with courage and cheer.
REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 92-
95. Cornill, Prophets of Israel, pp. 56-70; Isaiah, His Life
and Times, in the Men of the Bible series. Kent, History of
the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 134-140. G. A. Smith, Book of
Isaiah, Vol. I, Book I, Chaps. 3, 5, 7.

63

STUDY X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF
737 B. C.
First Day. The Situation.
I. About the year 737 B. C. the king of Judah consummated
an alliance with Assyria which was destined to work destruction
in the land of the "chosen people." Isaiah has recorded only
the briefest summary of the events. Read Is. 7:1. Uzziah, the
benign and powerful monarch, had been dead three years. His
grandson, Ahaz was now on the throne. He was a "perfect type
of the Oriental despot, capricious, extravagant, profligate, cruel,
acknowledging only his own will as the highest law." Cornill.
2. A more detailed story of the situation is depicted in II.
Kings 16. Vss 1-4 describe Ahaz's personal character and the
nature of his rule. Samaria and Aram (incorrectly called Syria)
had been trying to effect a Pan-Syrian alliance against Assyria.
Evidently they had tried to induce Ahaz to enter their coalition.
This he refused to do. Aroused by Ahaz's weakness and cow
ardice, and bitterly revolting against the tribute which they had
been forced to pay Assyria, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah,
king of Samaria, planned a joint attack against Judah. Find
Samaria, Damascus and Judah on the map. The attention of the
king of Assyria had been absorbed for two years by events in the
Far East; but it was the wildest folly for such small kingdoms
to weaken themselves by internal warfare when such a mighty
conqueror was eager for spoil.
3. The joint attack was partially a success. Judah was
driven out of Edom and Jerusalem threatened with siege. In
his distress Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria,
for help. It was speedily given. Read II. Kings 16:7-9- A
little later Samaria and Aram were conquered and made subject
States. Ahaz had invited the aid of the great conqueror. The
fatal alliance had been consummated and sealed with tribute
money. Cf. II. Kings 16:8. This decision of Ahaz vitally af
fected Judah's political and religious life for the next thirty
years. We shall now see what part Isaiah took in the crisis.

64

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Second Day. Isaiah's Interview with Ahaz.
I. Ahaz's dangerous plotting reached the ears of Isaiah. Is.
7:2 reveals the temerity of both king and people. The king
and his advisers were making preparations for the siege, and
Ahaz was inspecting the city's water supply. Isaiah, with his
son — whose prophetic name, Shear-jashub, means a remnant shall
return — met the king at the upper pool. Read 7 :3.
2. The most profitable method of studying Isaiah's conduct
in this crisis is to contrast it with that of Ahaz. What is
Isaiah's advice in 7:4? "Damascus and Aram," he says, "are
only stumps of smoking firebrands. Do you think they can set
Judah on fire?" Read vss. 5-9. "The head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Are you afraid of him?
Take unto you the shield of faith. You have lost your head
among all these things. Hold it up like a man behind that
shield; take a rational view of affairs. Rate your enemies at
their proper value. Believe in God. Faith in Him is the essen
tial condition of a calm mind and a rational appreciation of af
fairs." G. A. Smith, Isaiah.
How transcendent a faith this seems beside the timorous cow
ardice of Ahaz. Ahaz's vision could penetrate no farther than
the attack of Samaria and Aram. Isaiah could see Assyria, and
back of everything, God. "Faith" was his watchword. God was
over everything. "See Him," he said repeatedly, "and all else
will appear in its true proportions." Is not this true in all the
crises of life, whether they be great or small? How can we gain
a clear vision of God and keep that vision undimmed?
"Once to every man and nation comes
The moment to decide
In the strife of Truth and Falsehood,
For the good or evil side."

65

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Third Day. The Sign to the King.
I. Ahaz had determined upon his policy. He could not be
persuaded to alter it. He believed that Assyria offered the only
solution to the impending disaster. With confidence born of
God, Isaiah made one more appeal. Read vs. 10. It was a
brave challenge from the prophet of faith: "Ask a sign any
where of Jehovah, thy God. He will reveal to you the danger of
this plan."
2. Was the belief in signs firmly fixed in the days of the
prophets? Read I Sam. 12:17-18; I Kings 13:1-3. To whom
were signs usually given and for what purpose? Recall Jesus'
teaching as you attempt to answer the question. Who demanded
the signs from Him and what was His answer? Read Matt.
12:38-39. Sometimes a crisis, or the stupidity and prejudice of
those in authority, seem to make necessary a sign from heaven
that truth may be established and confidence restored. Signs are
sometimes used to force faith. It is by their attitude toward
signs that men are distinguished from each other; an appeal to
conscience and service is enough for wise and true men ; the weak
and halting must see a visible sign.
3. What do you think Ahaz meant by his reply in vs. 12?
Read now the prophet's answer, and note the sign which he gives.
Here again is a sharp contrast. Isaiah wanted Ahaz to ask for
a sign of salvation. The sign which Isaiah is forced to give is
the exposure of the fatality of Ahaz's choice. Read vss. 13-17.
Can you explain Isaiah's riddle? A young woman shall bring
forth a child, and he shall eat curds and honey — the food of pri
vation — (cf. vss. 21, 22) and before the child shall reach the
age of discretion the land of Aram and Samaria shall be laid
waste, and Judah shall be the spoil of Assyria.
4. Read again vs. 14. The name of the child is Immanuel,
God-with-us. How dear the hope of a glorious Davidic prince
had been to Israel's heart! And now "Ahaz had by his unbelief
not only disestablished himself; he had mortgaged the hope of
Israel. . . . His resolve will devastate the golden future and
disinherit the promised king." G. A. Smith, Isaiah. So one
man's obstinacy becomes a nation's ruin; and one man's folly a
death of hope. How great a solidarity exists in every society.
"No man liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself."

66

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Fourth Day. Isaiah's Predictions Regarding Judah.
I. Isaiah goes on to disclose the shortsightedness of the
king's policy. What a cost Judah must pay for this temporary
rescue! In Is. 7:18-25 Isaiah gives a series of pictures which
describe the oncoming desolation. How would you characterize
them in your own words? Read 7:18-19. What is the picture
in 7:20? Note the picture of extreme destitution in vss. 21-22.
Remember that curds and honey are the food of privation. What
a picture of complete desolation is given in vss. 23-25 ! But to
all these appeals the king makes no answer.
2. The truth which Isaiah has revealed to his monarch with
such ill success must be heralded abroad that the people may see
and act themselves. This was always Isaiah's method. He re
garded the people as ultimately responsible; and by their judg
ment he felt that the nation must stand or fall.
3. Read 8:1-4. Note the graphic manner in which Isaiah
makes known his unwelcome prediction. What is the significance
of the "great tablet" ? He is to write upon it in the language of
the common people that it may thus be recognized. Look up the
marginal reading for the meaning of the name which is given the
prophet's son. It is a harsh sounding, crashing word, and one
can hear in it the coming of the distant foe. Within a year or
two (vs. 4) the enemies of Judah shall be the spoil of the Assyrian
conqueror. 4. Are you not impressed by the certainty with which Isaiah
delivered this message? How can you account for such confi
dence as he manifests in the truth of his prediction ?

67

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Fifth Day. The Loss of National Enthusiasm.
I. A weak and often-subject nation frequently regards its
own resources and power as of little consequence in comparison
with the superior strength of the nations which surround it. The
growing nation is similar to the growing boy. There is a time,
after he comes in contact with the world, when all his former
plans and friends seem cheap, and he affects a more ambitious
manner and more assuming companionships. Judah had come
in contact with the great Eastern civilizations. How poor she
seemed to herself, how cramped and dwarfed her little aqueduct
"Shiloah" (Is. 8:6), when compared with the rivers of Samaria
and Aram.
2. There was danger in such a policy, as Isaiah hastens to
point out. Read 8:5-8. What will be the effect of this search
for outside help? It was a great calamity for a people to
lose its enthusiasm for the native land in which its youth was
spent and its strength developed. It was a worse thing to lose
the faith in God that was the foundation and the inspiration of
that national patriotism.
3. Yet through it all Isaiah never loses his vision. It is the
same vision that he saw in the temple, the vision of God's power
and holiness. What matters it that the people take counsel to
gether, vss. 9, 10? God had spoken, and He was with Judah.
He could neither conspire with them nor share their fear, vs. 11.
Only one in all the world shall be feared or worshipped — Jehovah
of hosts, vs. 12. Note the striking figure in vss. 14, 15. The
stone could be an altar of safety to those who recognized it; or
a stone of stumbling to those who knew it not.
4. Throughout Isaiah's theology we find the thought, "A rem
nant shall return." Whenever Isaiah feels that judgment is in
evitable and that sure destruction is coming, he always utters the
heaven-born hope of the noble remnant — the future Kingdom of
God. So here, vss. 16-22, he gathers about him a band of
kindred spirits, whom he calls his disciples, to "bind up the testi
mony and seal the law" for him and them. They shall be a
refuge in the times when wise men fail and prophets cease, vss.
19, 20. In the reactionary days of Manasseh and in the great
reformation of Josiah, Isaiah's faith in his disciples was amply
justified. 5. Countless are the men and women who have been kept and
inspired by the testimony which is "bound up" in the Bible. It
has been the palladium of sober, honest, righteous living through
out the centuries. " O Word of God incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth, unchanged, unchanging,
O light of our dark sky;
We praise Thee for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps
Shines on frorr. z~.z. i 

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Sixth Day. Isaiah's Pictorial Sermons.
I. We shall turn for a little from the events of the crisis of
737 B. C, in which Isaiah's warnings were disregarded, to the
other crisis in 711 B. C, in which he humiliated himself for the
sake of his nation. The Assyrians had fastened their yoke upon
Judah, as Isaiah had foretold. In 715 B. C. Ahaz was succeeded
by his own son Hezekiah, a man who was easily influenced by his
councillors. The national party, which favored an alliance with
Egypt in order to throw off the Assyrian bondage, attained
supremacy over the king. Sargon was king of Assyria. He
was a brilliant warrior-king, whose campaigns were replete with
victorious conquests. It was folly to revolt against him.
2. When in 711 B. C. the national party was about to yield
to the promises of Egypt, Isaiah acted out one of his most striking
pictorial sermons. Read chapter 20. Isaiah appeared in the
streets as a prisoner of war. What did his action symbolize?
How would it affect the people? Here again Isaiah, as in chap
ter 8, has taken his case before the bar of the people. It was a
way of challenging the people to come and reason together.
Egypt was a "big mouthed, blustering power, believed in by the
mob; to expose her Isaiah must resort to a public, picturesque and
persistent advertisement."
3. Compare the different methods used by Isaiah to impress
his message on the minds of the people. The influence of the
prophets depended not only on the greatness of their message, but
upon the great devotion with which they used every legitimate
means to proclaim it. Isaiah cared so much for his people that
he willingly faced ridicule and the danger of being misunder
stood, provided only the truth might find expression. Have we
any such devoted prophets in our day? Cite some definite
examples.

69

X. ISAIAH'S ACTIVITY IN THE CRISIS OF 737 B. C.
Seventh Day. Isaiah's Work as a Statesman.
I. Review the work for the week and write out your concep
tion of the statesman-like qualities which Isaiah has revealed in
these crises.
2. In what instances, under review, do you think he manifested
courage, tact, patience, far-sightedness or faith?
3. In his political activities Isaiah impresses one as primarily
a man of faith. He saw things in their right proportions and
with true perspective. Amid false public confidence and blind
fear and confusion, he kept a steadfast policy and an unfaltering
faith. It was not faith in public men, for they were faithless;
it was not merely faith in the people, for they did not respond to
it. It was always faith in a supreme, holy God. "God," to
Isaiah, "was all, man was nothing." Isaiah had a clearly grasped
conception of universal history, for he felt that all the nations of
the earth were under God's rule, and that they could never suc
cessfully oppose His great world-purpose. It was such a vision,
such a faith, that made him fearless in this crisis.
4. Isaiah kept his eyes fixed on God. How it disarms men of
fear, prejudice and obstinacy when they have such supreme faith.
"Let men believe that life has a central authority, that God is
supreme, and they will fling their prejudices and superstitions to
the winds. When we know that God reigns, how quiet and free it
makes us. When things and men are part of His scheme and
working out His ends, when we understand that they are not
monsters but ministers, how reasonably we can look at them ! By
the reasonable government of God, let us be reasonable ! Let us
take heed and be quiet. Have faith in God and to faith will come
her proper consequent of common sense." G. A. Smith, Isaiah.
references.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 96-
102. Kent, History of the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 141-150.
G. A. Smith, Book of Isaiah, Vol. I, Part I, Chap. 6.

,70

STUDY XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
First Day. The Historical Situation in 701 B. C.
1. In the year 701 B. C. took place the great political crisis
of Isaiah's life. King Hezekiah had been on the throne for four
teen years. For forty years Isaiah had been engaged in his pro
phetic ministry. During all those years Isaiah had predicted
with varying intensity, but with ever-increasing certainty, first,
the Assyrian invasion of Palestine, and later the fatal conse
quences of rebellion against this invincible power. Recall the
grounds for these predictions. What had been the prevailing
attitude of both Assyria and Egypt toward the smaller countries
which lay between them? How would Judah withstand such an
invasion of Assyria? Recall the criticisms of her social life, the
inability of her leaders, and the temper of her people. Read Is.
2:8; 3:1-4; 3:5; 7:1-2.
2. Isaiah's account of the events of the year is supplemented
by the annals of Sennacherib, a work which will be discussed in
the fourth day's study. The events are also described in II.
Kings 18:13-16. Sennacherib, in his plan of invasion of Pales
tine, began with the Phoenician cities. Thence, marching south
ward by the level coastland, he met his most formidable enemy,
Egypt, in the southern part of Palestine. Having put to rout the
Egyptian forces, he despatched a portion of his army to overrun
Judah and Jerusalem. The ,long-dreaded siege of the city began.
Judah, like Northern Israel, had sown the wind, and now must
reap the whirlwind (Hos. 8:7).

71

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Second Day. The Hour of Jerusalem's Visitation.
I. Already the Assyrian army had arrived in Palestine. The
little Judean kingdom was shaking with fear from border to
border. The mighty warrior Sennacherib was leading his con
quering hosts against her; soon she must actually see the glare
of burning cities, the bands of armed horsemen and the flash of
glittering steel. Sober reflection gave way to wild tumult;
patriotism yielded to intrigue. The king's courage failed and the
hearts of the people sank within them. Well may they now re
member the prophetic words of Isaiah! Read Is. 5:26-30 and
10:1-4. 2. To whom could the people appeal for assistance? Dire
calamity usually drives a community to worship God. And the
form of worship will be the form with which the people are
acquainted. One can hear the cry throughout the city, "To the
sanctuaries of Jehovah, to the sacrifices of burnt offerings; per
chance these may save us." What is Isaiah's terrible rebuke?
Read Chap. 1:10-15. What a fearful answer to the cry of his
clamoring people! "When ye spread forth your hands, I will
hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear : your hands are full of blood." The prophetic lesson this
people would not learn ; now, alas, the time is past !
3. There was one other quarter to which the nation might
appeal. For many years Egypt had made flattering advances to
Israel. But now Egypt also goes down in disgraceful defeat;
and when the news of this disaster reached the city of Jerusalem
it seemed as if the city's own deathknell had been tolled. Read
Is. 22:1-4 for the prophet's statement of the lost hope.
4. All through his life Isaiah had been struggling against
these two dangers : the formal worship of Jehovah and the alliance
with Egypt. In the hour of threatening danger his efforts had
proved unavailing, and now Assyria was thundering at the gates.
The crisis had come. The people were powerless to meet it.

72

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Third Day. The City in Despair.
I. The whole city was in confusion. Few stopped to reason
out the cause. Few were calm enough to suggest plans of action
or means of escape. The words of Isaiah are bitter and piercing.
Read slowly, and aloud if possible, Is. 1 :2-8. Notice the con
victing power of the language. What is Isaiah's analysis of the
situation and to what folly does he attribute it ?
2. Read 1 :21-23. Do not these revelations of the city's cor
ruption make clear the reason for the lack of faith and instability
of purpose manifesting itself in these crises? The life-long
habits of a community or of an individual betoken, unmistakably,
the manner in which severe tests will be endured.
3. The city does precisely what we should expect it to do.
Read carefully 22:5-14. Notice in vs. 13 the philosophy which
despair often begets. "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we
shall die." The city has lost its hope, it has also lost its faith;
it has never sincerely trusted God, it cannot trust Him now. So
it gives itself over to voluptuous self-indulgence. In the face of
such a condition Isaiah can hold out little promise. "Surely this
iniquity shall not be forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord
Jehovah of Hosts." How truly had been fulfilled the words of
the prophet uttered in connection with his call, "Go and tell this
people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed,
but perceive not. Make the heart of the people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their
eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and
turn again and be healed." Is. 6:9-10.

73

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Fourth Day. The Fall of the City.
I. The calamity which the prophets had predicted overtook
Israel. Read Amos 6:7; 9:7-10; Hosea 5:13-15; Isaiah 7:18-19.
2. The results of the siege are attested (1) by the Hebrew
record in II Kings 18:13-16, and (2) by the two duplicate ver
sions of Sennacherib's account which are preserved in the British
Museum. The Assyrian narrative reads:
"But Hezekiah of Judah, who had not submitted to my yoke,
forty-six of his fortified towns, together with the innumerable
fortresses and small towns in their neighborhood, with assault
and battering rams and approach of siege-engines, with the attack
of infantry, of mines ... I besieged and captured. Two
hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty-one persons, young and
old, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen and sheep,
without number, from their midst I brought out and counted them
as spoil. I shut him (Hezekiah) up like a bird in a cage in the
midst of Jerusalem, his royal city. . . . The terror of the
glory of my lordship overwhelmed Hezekiah himself, and the
nations, and his trusted soldiers, whom he had introduced for the
defense of Jerusalem, his royal city, laid down their arms." For
a fuller account of the invasion see Vol. II, pp. 499-502, Kent's
Student's Old Testament.
3. Isaiah's predictions had been fulfilled; but he did not
assert the fact triumphantly. Read Is. 1:18, 16, 17- Notice
how he gathered the king and people together. He became their
counsellor. Nothing was undertaken without his knowledge and
advice. In a song of triumph, of hope and of faith, he brings
the people before God in prayer. Read 33:1-6. Amid the deso
lation of a conquered city he, or some one of his late disciples,
sees rising a glorious, restored Jerusalem (33:17-24). Only
divinely given courage and faith can inspire such a spirit in the
face of disaster.

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Fifth Day. The Last Temptations of Faith.
I. The Assyrian inscriptions, together with the discovery of
recent fragmentary texts, seem to indicate that Sennacherib
undertook another western campaign some ten years later. His
goal was the conquest of Egypt, and he was unwilling to leave
such a strong fortress as Jerusalem behind him in the hands of
Egypt's former ally. Accordingly he demanded an unconditional
surrender. This time Judah had right on her side. Curiously
enough the engagement was not to be one of arms, but of speech,
a contest between the "subtlest arguments of the world and the
bare word of God."
2. The story of this struggle is given in Isaiah 36. Read
vss. 1-3. Note that bothsthe kings of Assyria and Judah are rep
resented by ambassadors. The rabshakeh, the deputy from the
king of Assyria, is a proud, clever, diplomatic demagogue. Note
his arguments.
3. What clever thrust does he make in vss. 4-6? Remember
what a sore spot this was to Judah's leaders. Note the attack
which he makes in vss. 7-10, and the knowledge he displays of
Judah's internal affairs. First he makes sport of the fact that
their king has compelled them to give up the worship of Jehovah,
except at the Jerusalem altar. Then he boldly says that their
God is aiding his army in its conquests.
4. There was danger in such an agitation of the common
people. The ambassadors of the king of Judah become terrified.
What do they beg the rabshakeh to do in vss. 11-12; why and
with what results ? His answer to this request is but added plain
ness of speech to the common people and soldiers, who are dread
ing the horrors of a siege. What tempting proposition does he
make? Vss. 13-17- What convincing argument from actual
facts does he deduce in vss. 18-20? What do Hezekiah's repre
sentatives now do? Vss. 21-22.
5. What a bitter temptation this was to give up a nation's
faith and a nation's God. The horrors of siege were imminent.
Was it worth while to stand out for a narrow principle when a
"broader way" was presented ? How often such temptations come
to men to give up their most sacred principles and beliefs for a
more worldly method of life. There is extreme danger in it.
Beware of the rewards that are offered. They may lead to
slavery. "To the heart of man there will always be captivity in
selfishness; there will always be exile in unbelief."

75

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Sixth Day. The Victory Through Faith.
I. Hezekiah and his counsellors were mourning within the
gates of the city. They were powerless to suggest any means of
escape from the Assyrian army. Their representatives returned
from the interview and reported the proposition of the rabshakeh.
Is. 37:1 tells how the king and his counsellors received the tidings.
Had the nation gone mad? Had it lost all faith in the God of
its fathers?
2. What does Hezekiah do according to vss. 2-4? "The chil
dren are come to birth, and there is not strength to bring forth."
It is the disconsolate cry of one whose faith is so weak that the
impulses and plans which it conceives can never be born into
action. It is with no great confidence that he sends his message
to the prophet, vs. 4. Consider the effect which Isaiah's answer,
in vss. 5-7, would have upon the king. The rabshakeh is discom
fited, and he returns to his master.
3. It is the hour of the greatest political crisis. If Hezekiah
yields to the demands of Assyria, he must forfeit Jerusalem. If
he refuses, the army is ready to thunder at the gates. Note care
fully his action. Was Isaiah responsible for Hezekiah's action?
Read vss. 14-20. In what spirit is the prayer offered, and with
what earnest desire?
4. Through the prophet comes the answer from Jehovah.
How clear and reassuring it is! Read vss. 21-25. Notice the
confidence of the city in the newly-found power of God. Against
whom are all these threats uttered? How do vss. 26-29 answer to
vs. 10? Read vss. 30-32. They voice the eternal hope of the
remnant of Israel. In vss. 33-38 Isaiah once more confidently
asserts his belief that the Assyrian army will go away and never
more return.
5. What will the result be? Will Isaiah's pleading and
prayers and prophecy and faith in Jehovah be of no avail?
Witness his triumph! Through his calm faith the nation was
saved from humiliating surrender. Read the Hebrew version of
the deliverance, vss. 36-38. Herodotus states that an army of
field mice came in the night and ate up the quivers and bow
strings of the Assyrians and they fled in rout ; the Assyrian annals
speak of Sennacherib's hosts retreating to Nineveh. The Hebrew
records rightly recognize Jehovah's hand in the sudden deliver
ance. Whatever be the exact facts, we know that Jerusalem was
left unharmed. This was Isaiah's last triumph — the triumph of
faith in God, which enabled one man to withstand an army and
save his own city and people. Upon his own and later ages it
made a profound impression, but it was not Isaiah's greatest vic
tory. Read again Is. 6:1-8. 76

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Seventh Day. Isaiah's Work as a Prophet of Faith in God.
" God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in time of trouble.
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change,
And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof."
I. This might well have been the text of Isaiah's whole min
istry. In every crisis through which he passed, whether of social
corruption or political upheaval, he always proclaimed the un
changeable holiness, power and love of God.
2. As you review the studies in Isaiah's life as here outlined,
search for this element of unflinching faith. Consider, in this
connection, Study VIII, days 2, 3 and 6; Study IX, days 6 and
7; Study X, days 3, 4 and 5 ; and all of Study XI.
3. Isaiah moves among his disheartened fellows as one differ
ent from all the rest. Yet there is nothing other-worldly about
him. He is altogether human. But he is living the transformed
life. His feet are walking the streets of the city ; but his thought
is fixed on God. His heart breaks for the sins and faithlessness
of his countrymen, but his soul pays allegiance to the Divine
King. God had not taken him out of the world. He had kept
him in it, and from its evil. He was of the world, yet above it.
What a beacon-light was he in the dark and weary land !
4. Review Isaiah's life work: (1) as a statesman; what was
his advice at the great crises of 737, 711, 701 and 690 B. C?
(2) As a social reformer. (3) As an ethical teacher. (4) As a
theologian. A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also:
The body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is for ever. Martin Luther.
77

XL THE TRIUMPH OF ISAIAH'S FAITH.
Seventh Day. Isaiah's Work as a Prophet of Faith in God.
(Continued.)
"O God of Israel, God of Isaiah, in returning to Whom and
resting upon Whom alone we are saved, purge us of self and of
the pride of life, of the fever and the falsehood they breed.
Teach us that in quietness and in confidence is our strength.
Help us to be still and know that thou art God."
REFERENCES.
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets, pp. 103-
108, 133-137, 165-169- Kent, History of the Hebrew People,
Vol. II, pp. 151-158. G. A. Smith, Book of Isaiah, Vol. I, Book
IV, Chaps. 19-24.

78

STUDY XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
First Day. The Countryman Prophet of Judah.
I. About the year 720 B. C. a new prophet appeared in Judah.
Amos had been silent thirty years, Hosea fifteen, while Isaiah was
at the height of his career. What was his title and during whose
reigns did he prophesy? Read Micah 1:1, and compare Jer.
26:18. His family was doubtless unimportant; otherwise his
father's name would have been mentioned. Cf. Is. 1:1. Yet it
must have been a religious family. His name (Micah being a
shorter form of Micaiah) means "Who is like Jehovah?" Is. 8:18
indicates what significance such a name possessed.
2. Where did Micah live? See Micah 1:1 and map. His
little home village was situated about seventeen miles west of
Tekoa, where Amos had guarded his sheep. Moresheth was sep
arated from the wilderness of Tekoa by the central range of
Judean hills. Unlike Amos' country, the valley in which Micah
lived was fertile and attractive. Crops were abundant, and there
was plentiful herbage for cattle. Moresheth was on the edge of
the open coast plains, not far from the Philistine cities, and the
dangers of warfare were rarely absent. Read Kent, History of
the Hebrew People, Vol. II, pp. 134-140. The valley at the en
trance to which Moresheth stands has frequently been the gate
way by which the invading armies have entered Judah. Already
the Assyrians had conquered Northern Israel, and had approached
to the northern and western borders of Judah. Could this petty
state hope to escape?
3. Little is known of the personal life of Micah; but his char
acter and spirit shine clearly through his work. He is the great
champion of the common people. Himself a peasant, his whole
nature revolted against the unnatural excesses of the capital city
and the grinding oppression of its poor. He is even more of an
ethical teacher than his contemporary, Isaiah; unlike Isaiah, he
has little to say about political problems. For him the future
promised nothing but the annihilation of the capital city and
temple. He suffers in common with those whose cause he up
holds. What was the attitude of the rulers toward him and his
message? Micah 2:6, 7- Like Amos, he was a fearless, rugged,
far-seeing herald of judgment. Nor did his influence pass away
at his death. Cf. Jer. 26:16. It lived on for a hundred years
to inspire others, "a beacon-light to check the vicious and cheer
the brave." 79

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Second Day. The Common Fate Awaiting Israel and
Judah.
i. Micah's fearless nature and uncompromising message are
best set forth in the first three chapters of his book. At first the
prophet speaks. Read Micah 1 :2-4. To whom are his words
addressed? With what purpose are they uttered? What con
ception of Jehovah is presented? What are the effects of
Jehovah's visitation? The idea of Jehovah's coming in the storm
was a common one in Hebrew literature. Read aloud Ps. 29.
2. In Micah 1 :5-7, Jehovah speaks. How does vs. 5 combat
the popular conception that the Hebrews were Jehovah's especial
favorites? What central doctrine of Amos is here repeated?
Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities, should have been watch-
towers of morality and religion for the whole country. What is
the condemnation of Samaria ? What shall be her fate ?
3. In Micah 1 :5-7 occurs an abrupt transition. The prophet
is speaking. Note how the coming desolation affects him. How
far he is from rejoicing in it. Micah's action is symbolic.
See Is. 20:2. "Such exuberance of emotion specially char
acterizes the Jews and Arabs; it reminds us of the Homeric
heroes. The prophets did not cease to be men when they re
ceived the gift of inspiration. Sometimes they seem to have had
a kind of double consciousness, uniting them on the one hand with
the inspiring Spirit, and on the other with their much-loved
people. Hence their abrupt transitions from stern denunciation
to tender compassion." Cheyne, Cambridge Bible, Micah.
4. Micah now foresees the approach of the invader. The
hostile army, he imagines, is to come through his own beloved
valley. In the name of each village of that valley he finds a sug
gestion of the destruction that must follow Assyria's advance.
This section (vss. 10-16) is full of Hebrew word-plays which
cannot all be reproduced in English. Vs. 10, e. g., has thus been
translated: "Tell it not in Tell-town, — weep not in Weep-town;
In House of Dust, roll thyself in dust."
G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets.
The cities are described in the order in which they would most
probably be captured in the onward march of the conqueror. The
last part of vs. 16 states the issue of the conquest.

80

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Third Day. Might Does Not Make Right.
I. Micah has expressed with profound assurance his belief in
the success of the foreign invasion of Palestine. The ground for
such pessimism is not difficult to discover. For Micah, the reason
was not to be found in the gaudy fashions of the city, nor the
intrigues of the court. These Isaiah had decried. It was not to
be found in the prevalent luxury, idolatry nor vicious sensual
excess. These things Amos and Hosea had attacked. Nor was
the reason to be found in the shifting politics of the day.
2. Micah is the great champion of the poor. Read Micah
2:1-2. Here he attacks the greed of the landed proprietors.
How do these men spend their nights ? Of what crimes are they
guilty? Does not the real injury which they have done the poor
lie in the fact that such oppression takes away from men not only
their fields and their houses, but also their independence and do
mestic contentment? Read the prophet's condemnation in 2:3-5.
What does he say will happen to the land ? The loss of all land
wrongfully acquired hardly seems an adequate punishment, but
there never can be any restitution of land (vs. 5) in the assembly
of Jehovah, for there will be no such assembly left.
3. The rich raise their protest. "Stop your prophesying re
proaches," they say in vss. 6, 7- "We are respectable people;
we are upright ; God can do no harm to us." Then Micah attacks
their clamor of selfish glorification. Read vss. 8-10. What out
rages have they committed against peace-loving, honest men?
What against women and children ? "The land is no resting place
for you. Your sin deserves only exile."
4. Read the noteworthy comment of the prophet (vs. 11) on
the lives of these rich landlords. They were pleased only with
that prophetic message which they desired. They accepted as
divine only what they wished to hear. Is it not dangerous for a
man to listen only to what pleases him? Flattery and success
often close men's eyes and ears to the dictum of truth. Frank
criticism is a spur to action.

81

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Fourth Day. The Greed and Guilt of Judah's Leaders.
I. In chapter 3 Micah attacks the authorities of the nation for
their criminal disregard of the poor. The striking contrast be
tween this sermon and the preaching of the false prophets, whose
attitude he satirizes, affords a true picture of Micah's character.
2. Read Micah 3:1-4. Vs. 1 suggests what the people had a
right to expect from their rulers. Cf. Jer. 5 :4-5. Misdeeds re
sulting from ignorance are sometimes excusable; sins committed
deliberately and involving widespread suffering are crimes
that defy Heaven. How have the leaders treated the poor?
Vss. 2-4. "While Micah spoke he had wasted lives and bent backs
before him. Pinched peasant faces peer between all his words
and fill the ellipses. And among the living poor to-day, are there
not starved and bitter faces — bodies with the blood sucked from
them, with the divine image crushed out of them?" G. A. Smith,
Book of the Twelve Prophets. The suffering of the French
peasants at the hands of the rich lords before the Revolution, the
hideous wrongs done to the Russian peasants in our own day, the
thousands of toilers in our great cities who have not enough to
eat or to wear, the bodies of young children pinched and dwarfed
by work which they are compelled to perform at an unlawful age,
the women who because of wretched wages are forced to prosti
tution in order to stave off starvation — all these wrongs burn into
one's mind a sense of the great inequalities which have blighted
and still continue to blight the lives of our fellow creatures.
3. Furthermore, this system in Micah's day had the support of
the hireling prophets. Read 3 :5-8. What was the difference
between the false and the true prophet? Was it doctrinal or
moral ? What was the motive for the work of the false prophet ?
What inevitable result overtakes them? Note the contrast be
tween the true and false prophets in moral discernment.
4. Woe to that land whose prophets are hirelings ! Woe to
that nation whose men of vision are in league with vice ! Social
injustice, crimes against the poor and the helpless, all the great
inequalities of earth which cry out to Almighty God, will not be
done away until the men of this generation, the men of education
and talent and faith and Godly fear, rise up together to wage
fearless, untiring warfare in behalf of justice and right.
"Man am I grown, a man's work must I do,
. . . follow the Christ, the King,
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King —
Else, wherefore born. Tennyson.

82

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Fifth Day. The Climax and Effect of Micah's Preaching.
I. Read Micah 3:9-12. Notice the conspiracy that existed
between the rulers and the religious leaders. The period was one
of great outward prosperity. The city of Jerusalem was larger
than ever before. But with what price was it being built ! What
is the general condemnation of priests, prophets and judges?
What false confidence did they all arrogantly display? They
were putting their money, thus wrongfully taken from the poor,
into the city walls and into the temple. What moral foundation
had they laid for the real city? Alas, they had forgotten the
foundation ; and there could be but one issue. Micah graphically
sets it forth in vs. 12.
2. It is of advantage to read in this connection a similar inci
dent in the life of Jeremiah, whose preaching was bitterly opposed
by the'false prophets. Jer. 26 contains the account of this appall
ing attack. What was Jeremiah's message (vss. 1-6) ; what con
spiracy did the prophets and princes make against his life (vss.
7-11); how did Jeremiah resist them (vss. 12-15); with what
arguments did certain elders defend him (vss. 16-24) ?
3. The fearless stand which these two prophets made against
the cowardly rulers of their age is both a challenge and inspira
tion to all men. They were called to preach; others are called
to work. Some are called to fight; others are called to pray.
But all men in all ages and in all nations are needed to live and
struggle for righteousness and truth, and to bring in the King
dom of God. One of the greatest dangers of this country is that
men of ability will, for the sake of selfish peace, adopt an attitude
of calm indifference or half-hearted opposition to the great moral
and social evils incident to our civilization.
"He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth
not with me, scattereth." Matt. 12:30.

83

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Sixth Day. The Prophetic Definition of Religion.
I. Chapter 6 reports the second trial scene in the book of
Micah. In chapter 1 the Lord had appeared as the judge and
executioner of punishment. Before the court of the nations of
the earth, the Israelites had been proved guilty and deserving of
destruction. In chapter 6 there is a complete transition. The
prophet is God's "plenipotentiary." He stands before the court
to urge Jehovah's case against this erring people.
2. In the trial scene Jehovah speaks, Micah 6:1. Who are
the witnesses ? Cf . Is. 1 :2. The eternal hills are called to
listen, "not because they are the biggest of existences, but because
they are the most full of memories and associations with both
parties to the trial." G. A. Smith, Book of ihe Twelve Prophets.
Then the prophet summons the witnesses, vs. 2. Note the ma
jestic solemnity of the language. Before this court of Nature,
Jehovah pleads with His people. Read vss. 3-5. What a won
derful appeal to the childhood of Israel ! Recall the barriers of
superstition, formality, ritualism, unreality, that had kept God
aloof from men. In the prophetic conception of religion, God is
near; He speaks with, nay, He even pleads with, His people.
"Religion is not a thing of authority nor of ceremonial, nor of
mere feeling, but of argument, reasonable presentation and de
bate." To what experiences does Jehovah appeal? What effect
ought such tenderness to have had upon the people ?
3. Jehovah's mercy and love arouse the emotion long hidden
away. Israel asks a pitiful question, vss. 6, 7. He has tried to obey
the law, but he has not known how. Here are portrayed earnest
seekers after God who have lost their way and are weary. Note
the extravagance of the offerings which Israel thinks will please
Jehovah. 4- " He hath shown thee, O man, what is good;
And what doth Jehovah require of thee,
But to act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6:8.
This is the prophet's answer to the sincere desire of the people.
It is his definition of religion. "To the people, God was an
unlimited despot, ruling arbitrarily, whose wrath, temper, blood-
thirst, must be propitiated with costly gifts, and with the offering
of one's self or of one's dearest possession. Micah does not com
promise with this conception or attempt to modify it; he sweeps
it away. Jehovah is a moral being, and he demands a moral
offering from the' heart of his worshippers." Duhm, Theology
of the Prophets. ¦ 84

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Seventh Day. Contrasting Light and Shadow.
I. Thus far, the prophet has predicted the destruction of
Israel, of Jerusalem and the temple of Jehovah. He has also
made clear his belief in a coming national destruction. Review
briefly the reasons for his early denunciatory sermons (First to
Fifth Days).
2. In Micah 6:9', 7:20 we have the most abrupt changes in
style and thought. The background is probably the reactionary
reign of Manasseh. Cf. II Kings 20:2-6, 16. In Micah 6:9-16
Jehovah through His prophet pours forth His complaint against
the city. How would you describe the sin here attacked? What
punishments are threatened? The people are ruled by the
cowardly, selfish ambition of the House of Omri, which ended in
death. In chapter 7:1-6 the city herself, or possibly only her
enlightened conscience, the prophet, laments over her sins.
Righteous citizens were no more; there was no longer trust,
friendliness, public faith. The poison which had affected the
rich landlords and hireling prophets (chaps. 1-3) has now eaten
its way into the body politic. Its result is widespread sham and
knavery. The passion to become rich and the pitiless rivalry
and competition consequent, had developed in Israel a thoroughly
corrupt system of trickery and a criminal disregard for the rights
of the common people.
3. There is this same grave danger in our national life to-day.
The prevalent desire "to get rich" without honest effort has led not
only to false advertisements and cheap productions, but employers
who demand the greatest amount of labor for the least possible
wages and workmen who desire to secure the greatest amount of
wages for the least amount of work. It has led producers to feel
that their obligation to their employees ceases when the weekly
wage is paid ; it has caused workmen to feel that their obligation to
their employers ceases when the factory closes at night. Is there
no corrective for this widespread misunderstanding? Micah has
but one solution; Jesus had but one solution. It is contained in
Micah 6:8 and in Matt. 7:12. It is a solution in which all men
have a share. It demands that every employer shall help his
employee to develop his body, mind, soul, family; it means that
every workman shall earn by industry and fidelity the necessary
wage; it demands that the great body of the consuming public
shall pay an adequate price for all productions. Will such a
day ever come?
4. The prophets thought it would. Micah 7 ;7«20.

85

XII. MICAH'S REFORM SERMONS.
Seventh Day. Contrasting Light and Shadow. (Cont'd.)
"I will look unto Jehovah;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
He will again have compassion upon us;
He will tread our iniquities under foot;
And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depth of the sea."
REFERENCES.
G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, Chaps. 25, 26, 29,
80. Micah, in Cambridge Bible. Kent, History of the Hebrew
People, Vol. II, pp. 134-140. Kent and Sanders, Messages of
the Earlier Prophets, pp. 1 1 1 ff.

86

STUDY XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
First Day. The Early Life of the Prophets!
I. In reviewing the life and teachings of these earliest He
brew prophets, . who poured out their lives' best strength that
through them God might shape the destinies of their nation, it is
natural to consider their work as a whole and to dwell upon those
sterling qualities which they possessed in common.
2., Unfortunately little is recorded of their childhood or edu
cation. " The result of their labors is all that history has be^
queathed to us. "By their fruits we know them." But alas> the
judgment' of men is too often based upon the fruits. Too little
do we think bf the seed, the soil, the sup, and the gentle showers.
As you recall the work of these, early men; do you think that
their tasks came. to them by chance or by undeserved recognition?
God does not thus bestow his commissions and gifts. Does not
the pioneer work of -Moses pre-suppose a training ht the essential
qualities of leadership? Does not the language of Amos reveal
the hours of hidden toil among the beasts of the desert and under
the Stars of' the heavens ? Does not the lofty purpose revealed
at the beginning of Isaiah's ministry suggest' preceding years of
faith and confidence in Almighty God? These results were not
the work of. chance. They were the certain fruition of seed in
telligently planted andof husbandry faithfully performed. It is
in the great school of experience that God trains the men whom
he commissions to be His prophets.
3. Great men are not created miraculously in a moment. They
are the result of growth. Whether it is an Amos, plodding his
rough way with shepherd's crook over the Tekoan hills; or a
Lincoln, poring over his books by the flickering light of a pine
knot, the final product — the man who achieves. — is but the "far
off interest of years.""
4. These men waited and prepared for their great commission,
not in idleness, nor yet in vain striving; patiently, faithfully,
prayerfully, obediently, they toiled and thus they grew. And
one day their call rang true and clear, their hour came, and they
emerged from obscurity into the light.

87

XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Second Day. The Call of the Prophets.
I. To the mind of the prophet, his call, when he recited his
experience or recorded it in writing for his disciples, was an
event of tremendous moment. It was both a goal and a starting
point. Here his hidden life ended; here his public life began.
The call looked backward to the days of preparation which had
made it possible; it looked forward to the days of activity which
brought it into being. It was a clear, unmistakable experience, a
challenge from the Almighty to work for Him — a challenge which
was accepted in the spirit of courage and sublime devotion.
2. Review the circumstances of Moses' call (Study I., First
day). How do you account for the calls of Amos and Micah?
Note the similarity. How did the call of Hosea differ from that
of Isaiah? Although the forms of the various calls were usually
different, in what two fundamental respects were they all alike ?
3. The early training in ethics and religion had made all
these prophets keenly sensitive to the existence of evil, and to the
character of God. The discrepancy between conditions as they
were in Israel and conditions as they ought to have been, accord
ing to the standards of heaven, constituted a mighty challenge
to the energy and faith of any man who was zealous for right
eousness and for God. There were three ways in which the
people of Israel regarded this discrepancy. Some turned their
backs upon the piteous appeals of the oppressed, the hideous
immorality of priests, princes and common people. Indifference
was one way. Some faced the situation as men face an insuper
able stone wall. They felt that they could neither climb it nor
penetrate it. They therefore gave the case up as hopeless. There
were still others, of whom the prophets are the most conspicuous
examples, who had too quick a conscience and too vital a
faith to be either indifferent or hopeless. When the call came
to them to face the facts squarely and to solve all disturbing
political, social and moral questions with sanity and godly fear,
the prophets accepted that call as a great responsibility and a
supreme opportunity to serve God. To their country and to their
God they devoted themselves, therefore, with all their God-given
faculties of body, mind and heart.
4. Review briefly the different elements that entered into the
call of every prophet./

88

XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Third Day. The Manner in Which the Prophets Learned
Their Message.
I. None of the prophets, who have been considered in these
studies delivered their entire message in one sermon. Nor was
the theme of every sermon the same. Conditions changed rapidly
in Israel ; new forms of old sins developed ; new crimes called, for
different remedies. No one should suppose that the prophet whose
keen eyes could detect the appearance of every new inclination,
national and individual, would stand still or utter over and over
the same identical message. The prophets were learning their
message every day that they lived; and the message of their
riper years was a far maturer message than that of their early
days. Their messages differed widely in form from each other,
and yet there was a wonderful similarity in the basic principles.
2. Where did Moses learn his message? In what environment
did Amos begin his critical analysis of the cruel oppression of
the rich? What was there in his environment to account for
the severity of his denunciations? Hosea learned his power of
convicting truth in a very different way. What experiences lay
back of his message? Isaiah's special training which furnished
him his ability and persuasiveness came through his intimate
connection with court life. But what other fundamental experi
ences made it possible for him to stand as a peer among his
fellows ? Read again the account of the call in the temple.
3. Gather up the results of your investigation in this day's
study. Do you think there was anything so unique in the source
of the prophet's message as to make it impossible for men of our
day to attempt to draw from similar sources ?
4. In every generation there are men whose words burn and
throb with a divine power. In times of danger, others rally
round them; in times of sorrow, others draw consolation from
their sympathy and faith; in great crises, others profit by their
wise counsel and direction. These are the prophets, the men
with a message that calms and steadies, that inspires and em
powers. Where do such men get their message? Surely not
from the animal instincts within them, for the message is noble
and unselfish; not from the earth, for it is greater than all the
visible world. Rather from God Himself, — rather from that
within ourselves which is divine, under the daily contact with the
source of all things, the Giver of Light and Life.

89

XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Fourth Day. . The Qualifications of the Prophets.
I. The prophets were not vain dreamers. They were neither
the sentimental advocates -of a Utopian ¦ world order, nor im
practical agitators for social disintegration. Nor did they belong
to that class of men who are blind to all imperfections in exist
ing institutions, and who refuse' to tolerate the vision of the ideal
either in themselves or in society. Rather they were -realists in
their keen analysis of existing conditions and yet idealists in
their vision of what ought and what ultimately is destined to be.
¦ 2.- The prophets were men whose ears never grew heavy,
whose eyes never grew dim, whose hearts never grew • calloused.
Rather their minds were ever open and alert for the divine com
mand. "They were what -the popular priests and princes had re
fused- to be. . Education ^sharpened their -perception ; contact with
criminal neglect' only stimulated their conscience. ¦ They' were
men of their own day; but they had- such a true sense of1 per
spective that they never forgot the - relations of the events of
their day to 'the past and to the future.
3. '- The prophets " were true statesmen. What qualities are
essential to true statesmanship? Answer this question by re
viewing Nathan's activity at the court of David (Study I., Third
Day); Amos' analysis of Israel's sinful civilization and the dan
gers which impended (Study IL, Sixth Day) ; Isaiah's sermons
in the crisis of 701 B. C. (Study XL, First Day).
4. The prophets were, without exception, men of calm, un
flinching courage. Often they were discouraged but never
daunted. ¦ Theirs- was the heroism that did all that human activity
could do, and then calmly left the outcome to God.
.-. ^ 'The prophets were men of. great moral calibre^ They not
only examined the situation; they pierced through it with accurate
analysis, separating the wholesome from the diseased. • 'They
were men of 'noble consecration. They were faithful not only in
moments of ecstasy; they- were true to God and to' men in the
hours of desolation and the days- of strife. They knew how
to be brave in peace as well as in war, They were men who moved
among their fellows with- untiring patience and persistence.
But most of all, the prophets held in their hands the compass
which alone could guide the nation into the harbor of God's peace
'•and -prosperity. Back of all their noble efforts was- an absolute
conviction based on their clear vision of God and truth.

90

XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Fifth Day. The Methods of the Prophets.
I. The methods which the prophets employed to impress their
messages upon the hearts of the people were as varied as the
exigencies which they had to face. ' They never sought to save
themselves from gossip or ridicule, if through any means which
they could employ they might stem the tide of social oppression
or political blundering.
2. The method most commonly used %vas that of public ad
dress. Review Amos' Bethel sermons, noting once more the tact
with which he gained the attention of the people (Study II. ,
Fourth and Fifth Days). But there were other methods, some
of which were concrete'1 and exceedingly dramatic. Recall
Hosea's method set forth in Study V., Third Day. What three
different methods did Isaiah employ as discussed in his dealings
with Ahaz (Study X., Second to Fourth Days)? What object
lesson at the crisis of 711 B. C. (Study X., Sixth Day) ? Begin
ning with Amos, the first to commit his sermons to writing, all the
remaining prophets of importance in Hebrew history have left us
literary records of their work and teachings.
3. The prophetic insight of these heralds of God is hardly
more wonderful than the rare skill and effectiveness with which
they presented their truth. If their methods were varied, they
were also adapted to producing a unified effect. If they were
clever, they were equally honest. If they were dramatic, they
were also sincere. However undignified — as we of the twentieth
century define dignity-^— the prophets may have been, however
much they kept themselves and their advice in the public mind,
they never appear to be on parade or to be talking merely to
Create a sensation.' The qualities which always gave them poise
were their terrible earnestness, their undisputed consecration and
their absolute sincerity. Allegiance to God and to His King
dom — that was the one mighty motive of their lives.' Is it
strange that in the end they commanded the minds and hearts
of men ?
"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowl
edge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things; and do count them but refuse, that I may gain
Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my
own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."
Phil. 3:8, 9.

91

XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Sixth Day. The Aims of the Prophets.
I. The ultimate aims of the prophets were in general the
same. Whatever fundamental difference existed was due to the
different crises which they met, and their own varying apprehen
sion of the character and purpose of God in the world. But the
immediate aims of the prophets were as individual as the men
themselves. These varied with their own personal equation, and
with the needs of the particular age which called forth their
prophetic utterances.
2. It is not possible to assert that each prophet had one
purpose and only one, and yet for the sake of convenience in
remembering the essential aim of their messages, it is advisable
to try to formulate the central purpose of each. To Amos, God
was pre-eminently a righteous God. Righteousness, not worship,
was essential in the body politic. Amos' great purpose was to
proclaim the doctrine of Israel's responsibility to this God of
righteousness. Hosea, in a very different manner, plead with
his nation on the basis of God's love. To turn people from their
sins by portraying the passionate love of God, to proclaim de
struction only as a last resort, when God's mercy had been for
ever spurned by unrepentant Israel, that was Hosea's message.
Isaiah was interested in the state. His great purpose was to
impress his countrymen with the fact that God was over all, that
the nation should preserve itself inviolate from foreign alliances
and social destruction, and have faith in God. Micah was the
bitter opponent of the landed proprietors in their oppression of
the poor. The destruction of the aristocrats and the capital city
was imminent and necessary, he declared, unless there was a
fundamental reform in the character and attitude of Judah's
leaders. 3. The teachings of the prophets were not primarily doc
trinal, but ethical. They contemplated actual human needs and
were based on real conditions. Formality and tradition are mean
ingless, said the prophets, apart from sincere and righteous liv
ing. To make vital the truth of God's supremacy, to lead men
to acknowledge allegiance to Him, and to impel them to discharge
their obligations to their fellow men — this was the purpose which
every prophet agonized to realize.
"The hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for such doth the
Father seek to be his worshippers." John 4 :23.

92

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XIII. THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS.
Seventh Day. The Eternal Need of Prophets.
I. The world cries out for men who have faith. Said Carlyle,
"Belief is great, life-giving. The history of a nation becomes
fruitful, soul-elevating, great, as soon as it believes. .
The great man was always as lightning out of heaven; the rest
of men waited for him like fuel, and then they, too, would
flame." The world will continue to need prophets as long as
man is what he is. Past crises have called them forth; coming
crises will demand them.
2. Whence will they come? Who will they be? What will
be their message ? Only the future can answer these questions ;
but the thoughtful student of the prophets of Israel can be sure
of certain conclusions. The prophets of to-day and to-morrow
must be men of the hour, men of heart and soul and vitality.
They must be men whose bodies have never been vitiated by ex
cess, whose minds are not paralyzed with impure or indifferent
thinking, whose hearts have not ceased to beat in sympathy with
humankind, whose souls have not grown callous to the touch of
God. They must be men of vigor, of dauntless courage, of sound
intellect, of sterling integrity, of noble mercy, of Godly fear.
They must be men who can see through sham and hypocrisy and
trickery, who love the good and hate the evil, who know the right
and always do it.
3. Who will these men be? The young men of to-day. To
day is their preparation; to-morrow their call. To-day the hid
den years; to-morrow the active struggle. In the coming years
the foundations will be revealed, the secret thoughts made
known. These prophets of the future, — what are you bequeath
ing to them? That leader of to-morrow is perhaps your older
self. What are you doing for him? His work and his message
is in your hands to shape. Are you making it possible for him
to be a prophet ? It may be that you are killing your future self ;
perhaps you are fostering an Isaiah.
God of the prophets, Father of Israel, King of our Nation,
Mighty Leader of us all to-day, help us to praise Thee by our lives
for Thine unchanging love. Be Thou our goal and our mighty
helper ; our rock and our sure foundation. In love and confidence,
in calm judgment and in sober mercy, in earnestness and in untir
ing work, help us to possess our souls. Strengthen us to do Thy
will fearlessly and unerringly, through the power of Him who
alone can make us what we ought to be. Amen.

93

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBHAMT

3 9002 02387 7369

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