The Prophecies Of The Old Testament

The Old Testament ends with the prophecies of the Prophets. Three of the teachings that were emphasized in the prophets’ teachings were idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism. Through the teachings of these issues, the prophets were able to give a guideline according to their words in the Bible of how the people were to address these matters. The teachings of the prophets also set the guideline of how Christians should view these matters today as well. “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3 ESV). Idolatry is the worship of false gods or deities. Despite God proving himself to the Israelites many times, they still found it hard to worship a God that they could not see so they worshiped other gods.

According to Hindson and Yates (2012), “God’s sense of universal justice meant that he held these nations accountable not only for how they treated Israel but also for how they acted toward one another” (Hindson and Yates, 386). Amos reminded the Israelites that there was no exemption from God’s judgment because as God’s chosen people they were held at a high standard of responsibility and accountability (Hindson & Yates, p. 388). God’s commandments removed the burden of poverty if the Israelites obey them; the wealthy had a responsibility to care for the poor and the needy; they were to lend them money without interest and allow them to glean in their fields; debts were to be canceled every seven years; and land sold because of debt would revert back to the family of the original owner in the Year of the Jubilee (Hindson & Yates, p. 389). The issue of social injustice is also discussed in the teachings of the prophet Micah. “The Lord was angry that social injustice became common in Israel and Judah; Through various legal and illegal means, the wealthy and powerful conspired to steal the land of needy families (2:1-11) (Hindson & Yates, p. 406). The land belonged to God who gifted it to the people of Israel but because the practice of stealing land was common, Micah announced that the army would take possession of the land. Since the rich were depriving the poor of the land, now God

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:6-8 KJV). Amos insisted that God was more concerned with an individual's own ethical behavior. Rituals were meaningless and even scorned by God when the powerless of society were ignored. Devotion and sacrifice was meaningless in God's eyes. God was only interested in a just society. Amos insisted that God was more concerned with an individual's own ethical behavior. Rituals were meaningless and even scorned by God when the powerless of society were ignored. Devotion and sacrifice was meaningless in God's eyes. God was only interested in a just society. Senseless religious ritualism angered God. Religious rituals were scorned in the eyes of God if society’s needy were being ignored. In Jeremiah sermon during his temple sermon he showed God’s anger for religious ritualism. “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6