Biblical Prophets of the Post-exilic
Before the Babylonian exile, Biblical prophesy reached its highest point. Prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel changed and molded the scope of Hebrew religion. Their writings were intelligent, insightful, well developed, and contained a great spiritual meaning. Following the Babylonian exile, however, prophesy took a depressing downward turn. There are many post exilic prophets, yet their writings are usually short, mostly irrelevant, repetitive, and, for the most part, anonymous.Though this is the case for many of these prophets, some works cannot be overlooked. Haggai and Zechariah were leaders in the cultic reform of the Hebrew people. Malachai calmed their fears, and assured them of God's love. Still other prophets told of a new, Messianic time when the word of the Lord would be held in its former glory. These were the most important works, as post exilic Hebrews needed not only protection, but spiritual guidance to sustain their society. The prophet Haggai was an integral figure in uniting the Hebrew people. Upon return to their homeland, the Hebrews found most of the infrastructure in a state of disrepair, with the people uncaring for their moral and social responsibilities, to say nothing for their religious practices.
The future society is the focus of the books of Malachai and Obadiah. The prophet known as Malachai could have been anyone. The word Malachai, in Hebrew, means "messenger". The author of the book of Malachai told of another prophet who would be born to the earth to prepare the people for the return of their God. The later editors assumed that the prophet was referring to himself, which was not necessarily the case. He brought a word of warning to the Hebrews, warning them that their half hearted attempts at sacrifice would not be sufficient. He said, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?" (Malachi 1:6) He goes on to tell the priests how they have upset him so: "You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'how have we defiled Thee?'...But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?" (Malachai 1:7,8) The Lord then goes on to invite the Hebrews to offer such inferior animals to their governor, and see if their community leader is as forgiving. One Volume Commentary on the Bible. Abingdon Press, 1971. Carstensen, Roger N. The Book of Zechariah. From The Interpreter's
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 875
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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