Question

This activity delves into another aspect of the Old Testament. Some of the Old Testament is narrative reading, like that we have covered already. Some is Hebrew poetry, like the psalms we read for last week. However, a majority of the content of the Old Testament is prophetic writing which speaks a message from God to some audience, either believers or non-believers. Many of the prophets and characters interacted with God, and their lives were influenced by their faith and their relationship with God. The readings this week all reflect a message from God that is drawn from the character’s experience. Job’s experience teaches believers how to deal with significant personal loss; Hosea’s experience reflects God’s faithful love for the world in a manner similar to a faithful lover in an unfaithful situation; Daniel’s experience was as a believer captured and told to serve a foreign king that worshiped other gods, and how Daniel responded. Isaiah, on the other hand, received verbal messages from God that pointed to a far distant Savior, the Messiah who we recognize as Jesus.

Read Job 1-7, 38-42; Isaiah 1-11; 40-41; 52:13-53:12; Hosea 1, 3, 11-14; and Daniel 1-6. In the first paragraph, describe in detail the experiences, good and bad, of one of the four characters in the Bible reading. Try to ensure that all four characters are represented among members of the cohort. Describe the way in which experience shaped that character, and how God uses suffering and other experiences for His almighty purpose. What did each person learn from suffering or difficulty?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Job lost his wealth, his loved ones and everything he had. During this time, he was dejected and depressed. Yet, Job chose to be faithful to God and chose not to be tempted to pursue other sources that would give him material wealth yet take him away from God.

Hosea likened the love of God to the love of a man with an unfaithful wife. The husband, just like God is still concerned about the well-being of his wife. He wants to see her back with him and well forgiven.

Daniel refused to worship the Gods of the king that captured him. In turn, the king throws Daniel in the lion’s den. His faithfulness to the God of Abraham is rewarded and the lions do not harm Daniel.

The passages from Isaiah beckon the people to move away from their traditional way of believing. God urges his people through Isaiah to move away from traditional offerings made to God. He asks the people to speak tenderly to each other and let compassion and love towards one another, be the new pillars of tradition. Isaiah also foretells of the coming of the Messiah who will act out the will of God in a wise manner and cause believers to break away from traditional constructs and please God not through tradition but through love for our brethren.

Job, Hosea, Daniel and Isaiah had the challenge to be steadfast towards god even when their circumstances made it difficult to do so. They were challenged and hence made to experience certain spiritual and emotional pains. These pains made them more sensitive and vicarious towards the suffering of others and the pain of God himself at observing his creation being unfaithful to him. The point of their pain was, therefore, to make them aware and understand the pain of others better.