Reading the Prophests Heather Zampel Amazed and Confused Several years ago, a friend of mine commented, “I really hope I don’t get seated next
to Obadiah at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, because I’m going to have to tell him,
‘I’m really sorry, dude, but I never read your book.’”
I laughed, but I also embraced a new mission to help people navigate the odd world of
prophetic writings. They seem so weird and irrelevant. In Handbook on the Prophets,
author and professor Robert Chisholm admits:
The prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible presents great interpretive obstacles.
Its poetry, though teeming with vivid imagery that engages the imagination and
emotions, challenges the reader’s understanding because of its economy of
expression, rapid shifts in mood, and sometimes cryptic allusions. The reader of
the prophetic literature quickly realizes that these books were written at
particular points in time to specific groups of people with whom the modern
reader seems to share little.
So true. However, Chisholm also contends that they demand our attention because
they are the Word of God and contain a message that transcends time and space by
helping us see dimensions of God’s character more clearly and challenging us to relate
to Him and the world around us according to His ways.
As I read the prophets with new eyes, I realized they were more relevant than I had
thought. The prophets accepted the tension of living in a fallen world while waiting
hopefully for a new world to come. Their hearts pounded for justice, and they warned
that religion was empty unless accompanied by action. They lived through
circumstances that didn’t make sense, questioned authority, and challenged people to
live at a level higher than the rest of culture expected of them. To me, it seemed the
Prophets might be the most real, raw, and relevant writings in the entire Bible. The world
in which these authors lived, though separated from my own by thousands of years and
thousands of miles, also felt very familiar. Their voices and their messages were as
critical and germane to my life as they were to a distant generation; it just took some
unraveling and cultural and historical insight to ensure their words resonated in my ears
the way they hit their original audiences.
The prophet Habakkuk begged God for revival and that He would turn the hearts of
faithless people back to Him. God’s answer to Habakkuk was “Take a look at the
nations and watch what happens! You will be shocked and amazed” (1:5, The Voice).
The vision God gave Habakkuk was on of warfare and exile. Not exactly the response
you’d expect from a “good God.”
Have you ever prayed for something or someone in earnest, seeking God’s will, only to
be left confused by God’s response? Have you questioned why a good God would
allow bad things to happen to good people? Has a long-standing prayer request gone
unanswered? In Amazed and Confused I’ll tackle these questions head-on by exploring
the book of Habakkuk,
How do you respond when God’s actions seem out of line with his character and
promises? Amazed and Confused proceeds systematically through the book of
Habakkuk, exploring the prophet’s prayer, God’s response, and the prophet’s journey
from confusion to worship. Please join me on this journey of discovering the Minor
Prophets and the wealth of wisdom they have to share. I would love to hear your
thoughts and feedback if you do. Leave me a message on my website,
heatherzempel.com or connect through social media, Facebook.com/heather.zempel
or twitter.com/heatherzempel.
**Amazed and Confused is part of the InScribed book collection. Lean more about
InScribed and other books in this collection by visiting InScribedStudies.com. Parts of this
blog are excerpts from my book, Amazed and Confused, released March 4, 2014
through Thomas Nelson.
Heather Zempel is the discipleship pastor at National Community Church in Washington,
DC where she oversees small groups, directs leadership development training, and
serves on the weekend teaching team. Heather lives on Capitol Hill where she can be
found searching out the best barbeque joints, watching college football, and enjoying
theater with her husband Ryan.