By Billy Doolittle
Seeing the restoration of Israel in the book of the twelve changes the tone of the books as the Lord displays both wrath and mercy. Ground zero of Israel’s restoration is Jerusalem and Mount Zion. The people of Jerusalem, as referred to in Daniel and the book of the twelve, is the nation of Israel and Judah (Dan 9:7; Zech 8:22; 9:9; 12:5, 8, 10; 13:1). The Lord sits in Jerusalem and speaks from the city (Joel 3:16) and it will endure forever (Joel 3:20). The seventy sevens from Daniel 9 details the restoration which will take place after the desolator comes and destroys it. After it is desolated, the Lord will restore the city and rebuild it. Israel’s disobedience to the Lord causes the city’s destruction (Micah 3:12). Here in the city, many will come, and the Lord tells them to take their farming tools and beat them into weapons so that a war may wage on the city fronts (Joel 3:10). Continue reading “Part 3: The Theology of the Book of the Twelve and Daniel, a Thematic Approach”
By Billy Doolittle
The Lord exists as a faithful king over an eternal kingdom despite the sin of idolatry of the people is the bond that seals the minor prophets and Daniel together. The detailed punishments the Lord threatens and executes on the people and the foreign powers serve as the mode that pushes the people towards repentance. The Lord describes making a faithful remnant to triumph over all the surrounding nations in and around Jerusalem binds these thirteens books in content. The Lord will have just judgement on the people of Israel due to their unfaithfulness. This punishment the Lord will bear on them will bring the people to repentance and their restoration as a ruling nation which will bless all other nations. Each of the prophets give an interesting glimpse of what is to come through pictorial descriptions found therein of desolation and prosperity for the people of Israel and their foes. 