Text2 Kings 21-23; Nahum; Zephaniah;

Habakkuk

Next week’s assignment:• 2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah;

Lamentations

5 Examples of the Lord Seeing the End from the Beginning

1. The Foreordination of the House of Israel

2. King Cyrus’ Release of the Jews3. The Fall of Babylon4. The Redemption of Covenant Israel 5. The Atonement of Christ

Isaiah 53

5. The Atonement of Christ

Isaiah 53

… as a root out of dry ground…

Text

Nazareth was an out-of-the-way village of about 50 houses, covering only about four acres of land.

John 1:45-46“Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.“And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”

… there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Heb: sickness & diseaseHeb: beat to pieces; crush; shatter

Heb

: bla

ck &

blu

e m

arks

; wou

nds

Alma 7:11-13

Isa. 49:25-26

Heb:“…it was the will of...”

ie: “

He

was

tak

en b

y fo

rce

w/o

just

ice”

Isa. 52:7; 2 Ne 2:8

Heb: Shalom• Peace• Happiness• Health• Prosperity• Safety• Wholeness

ie: …

the

puni

shm

ent

that

bro

ught

us

peac

e…

Text

Heb: sickness & diseaseHeb: beat to pieces; crush; shatter

Heb

: bla

ck &

blu

e m

arks

; wou

nds

Alma 7:11-13

Isa. 49:25-26

Heb:“…it was the will of...”

ie: “

He

was

tak

en b

y fo

rce

w/o

just

ice”

Isa. 52:7; 2 Ne 2:8

Heb: Shalom• Peace• Happiness• Health• Prosperity• Safety• Wholeness

ie: …

the

puni

shm

ent

that

bro

ught

us

peac

e…

2 Kings 21

Let’s review some history…

Can One Person Make a Difference?

Do You Remember How Judah was Protected?

Why were they spared?

2 Kings 18

Can one person make a difference?

Manasseh

Hezekiah

Why was Manasseh considered one of the worst kings of Judah

ever?

2 Kings 21:1-6, 9, 16

Can one person make a difference?

“Manasseh … barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem was overflown with blood.”

Flavius JosephusRoman-Jewish Historian

(Antiquities of the Jews, bk. 10, chap. 3,

par. 3.)

Jewish tradition says that Manasseh also destroyed every copy of the scriptures he could locate as well as the people who owned them (so they couldn’t recreate them from memory).

What would happen if true prophets, true scripture, and true temple worship were snuffed out

of our society for the next 50 years?

780 BC

760 BC

740 BC

720 BC

700 BC

JUDAH: SOUTHERN KINGDOM

ISRAEL: NORTHERN KINGDOMMAIN KINGS

Jeroboam II

Menahem

Pekahiah

Hoshea

Pekah

Assyrian Captivity

MAIN PROPHETS

Jonah

AmosH

osea Obed

MAIN KINGS

Uzziah

Ahaz

Manasseh

MAIN PROPHETS

IsaiahM

icah

Hezekiah

Jotham

680 BC

660 BC

640 BC

620 BC

600 BC

580BC

Josiah

Jehoiakim Zedekiah

Babylonian Captivity

Nahum?Zephaniah

?Jeremiah Lehi

Habakkuk

Alma 46:9“Yea, and we also see the great

wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.”

Can one person make a difference?

Manasseh

Amon

Josiah

Hezekiah

2 Kings 22:3-7

One 18 year old king…. … found one copy of the scriptures.

The scriptures changed him....… and he changed his world.

2 Kings 22:8

Text

2 Kings 22:10-11

King Josiah’s Reform

2 Kings 23:1-25

“I feel strongly that all of us must return to the scriptures just as King Josiah did and let them work mightily within us, impelling us to an unwavering determination to serve the Lord.“Josiah had the law of Moses only. In our scriptures we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness; and if a taste is sweet, in fulness there is joy.

Spencer W. KimballPresident

(Ensign, July 1985, p.1-3)

“The Lord is not trifling with us when he gives us these things, for ‘unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.’ (Luke 12:48.) Access to these things means responsibility for them. We must study the scriptures … and we must let them govern our lives and the lives of our children.”

Spencer W. KimballPresident

(Ensign, July 1985, p.1-3)

780 BC

760 BC

740 BC

720 BC

700 BC

JUDAH: SOUTHERN KINGDOM

ISRAEL: NORTHERN KINGDOMMAIN KINGS

Jeroboam II

Menahem

Pekahiah

Hoshea

Pekah

Assyrian Captivity

MAIN PROPHETS

Jonah

AmosH

osea Obed

MAIN KINGS

Uzziah

Ahaz

Manasseh

MAIN PROPHETS

IsaiahM

icah

Hezekiah

Jotham

680 BC

660 BC

640 BC

620 BC

600 BC

580BC

Josiah

Jehoiakim Zedekiah

Babylonian Captivity

Nahum?Zephaniah

?Jeremiah Lehi

Habakkuk

Nahum• Nahum prophesied between 663—

612 B.C.

Text

Text

Nahum 1: Foretells Nineveh’s Doom

Nahum 2: How Nineveh will meet its

Doom

Nahum 3: Why Nineveh deserves its Doom

Zephaniah• His name means: “the Lord hides.”• He prophesied during King Josiah’s reign.

His preaching likely helped with the spiritual reform of Judah in that day.

The Dualism of Zephaniah’s Prophecies

Near Future

DistantFuture

Babylonian destruction of Judah

Destruction of the wicked in “the day of the Lord.”

Zephaniah

The Coming DayZephaniah 1:14-15

Who can survive this day?Zephaniah 2:1-3

“The Lord Hides”Zephaniah 2:3

Colossians 3:2-3“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

Before retiring, I gave Brother and Sister Johnson some instructions on the priesthood; and putting my hand on the knee of William Clayton, I said:

“Your life is hid with Christ in God, and so are many others. Nothing but the unpardonable sin can prevent you from inheriting eternal life for you are sealed up by the power of the Priesthood unto eternal life, having taken the step necessary for that purpose.”

Joseph Smith(History of the Church, 5:391)

Zephaniah’s Message of Hope

Zephaniah 3:8-20

Habakkuk• Most likely prophesied between 605—597

B.C.• This would make him a contemporary of

Lehi and Jeremiah.

Habakkuk’s Questions for GodHabakkuk 1:1-4

Q: How canst Thou, being righteous and holy, be indifferent to the violence, contention, immorality and widespread corruption in Judah? How canst Thou do nothing? Where is Thy judgment upon the wicked who surround the righteous?

A: Habakkuk 1:5-11

Habakkuk’s Questions for GodHabakkuk 1:12-17

Q: Why wouldst Thou allow the wicked (not to mention cruel) Babylonian force to punish a people who are more righteous than them?

A1: Habakkuk 2:2-4

“… the just shall live by his faith.”

Alternate translation: “the righteous will be

preserved by their faithfulness.”

Heb: righteous

Heb: be

preserved

Heb: faithfulness

In 1 Nephi 22:17, 19 he says:

“Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power…. For behold, the righteous shall not

perish.”He DOESN’T say:

“Wherefore, he will preserve the less wicked by his power…. For behold, the less wicked shall not

perish.”

Habakkuk’s Questions for GodHabakkuk 1:12-17

Q: Why wouldst Thou allow the wicked (not to mention cruel) Babylonian force to punish a people who are more righteous than them?

A1: Habakkuk 2:2-4A2: Habakkuk 2:5-20Summary: 5 “woes” are pronounced against Babylon. They will ultimately pay. “I know what I’m doing. Be still.”

Habakkuk’s ConclusionHabakkuk 3:17-19

End