A Divided Kingdom

Northern Southern
kingdom kingdom
● was called ● was called
Israel and Judah and its
sometimes capital was
Ephraim. Jerusalem.
 EARLY OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS
Prophet
A person called and inspired by God to deliver His message.

➔ Prophets used IMAGERY and SYMBOLISM to proclaim their

message.
➔ They received God’s message through: Vision, dreams and ecstacies
( intense delight)
Major and Minor Prophets refers to the length of the respective
compositions and not to any distinctions in the prophetic office
◆ Ex. Amos’ vision
● Spoke of God’s disappointment with the
Israelites
● “This is what the Lord God showed me: a
basket of ripe fruit… Then the Lord said to
me: The time is ripe to have done with my
people Israel; I will forgive them no
longer.”
— Amos 8:1-2
Ezekiel
A prophet who was famous for
acting out their message. When
God told him about the coming
exile of Israel, he was given
these instructions:

Ez 12:3,5-6
Elijah: Call to Faith in the True God
Elijah was called by God
to prophesy to the
northern kingdom of
Israel during a period of
idolatry.
Elijah: Call to Faith in the True God
Elijah
➔means “Yahweh is my
God”, pointed his
mission of fighting for
the true God.
Elijah: Call to Faith in the True God
➔Elijah made enemies of
the king and his wife.
➔He was called “Troubler
of Israel.”
➔Aside from his outright
attack on Baal, Elijah
denounced of the king’s
injustice to the poor.
THE TRUE GOD OF ISRAEL
1. The contest at Mount Carmel
- Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal
to prove who the real provider of Israel
was.
 2. A quiet God
➔ Elijah climbed to the top of Mt. Horeb.
◆ Elijah encountered God in silence. This teaches
us that God’s presence can be felt not necessarily
in great events of history but in the small and
seemingly insignificant affairs of life.
“Be still and confess that I am God
— Ps 46:11
3. Seizure of Naboth’s vineyard
- The story concerns a case on social
injustice (land grabbing) by King Ahab and
his wife Jezebel, to Naboth, a simple
farmer.
 Amos: Teaching Us
to Act Justly
Amos
➢ A shepherd from Tekoa in
Judah who lived during the
reign of Jeroboam II.
➢ Most of the Israelites seemed
to be more concerned with
Prophet accumulating wealth rather
Amos than doing what was right.
 Amos: Teaching Us
to Act Justly
1. Amos exposes Israel’s
sins
➢ Amos as a fiery prophet
who pointed out the sins
of the Israelites in the
Prophet roaring voice of God.
Amos
2. Amos condemns
Israel’s sins of injustice.
➢ Amos angrily scolded
dishonest businessmen and
traders for using wrong
weights and measures. (Am
8:5-6)
➢ He also accused money-
lenders of charging very
high interest rates on loans.
2. Amos condemns
Israel’s sins of injustice.
➢ In the town of Bashan,
Amos called the rich
women “cows” as they
fattened themselves at
the expense of the
weak and hungry
people around them.
(Am 4:1-3)
3. Amos warns of God’s judgement.
Hosea’s Call to Faithful
Love
Hosea
➔ A native of Israel who preached
after the time of Amos.
➔ He spoke to the Israelites the
way Amos didand passionately
criticized Israel’s sinful ways. His
tone was softer and his message
was full of love and sympathy.
Hosea’s Call to Faithful
Love
➔ God told Hosea to name his
children Lo-Rouhama and Lo-
Ammi, which meant “not loved”
and “not my people”.
➔ The names not only expressed
Hosea’s frustration with Gomer,
but also God’s disappointment
with Israel.
1. Hosea presents
insights into God’s
love.
God told Hosea to love a woman
“as the Lord loves the people of
Israel, though they turn to other
gods” (Hos 3:1)
2. Hosea challenges us
today.
Hosea challenges us to look at
our own ungratefulness. His
broken marriage is an image of
our relationship with God. His
story forces us to reflect if we are
like Gomer. It makes us ask
ourselves if we are ungrateful and
unfaithful to the One who loves
us faithfully.