Getting Biblical in Daily Life
It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Surrounded by mighty powers, captured by foreigners, keelhauled to other countries—for the Israelites and residents of Judah, the whole world was a great big fish just waiting to swallow them up. Gulp.
For the ancient Israelites, this was a feeling that never quite seemed to go away. Consider the scholar-boggling question of exactly when the books of Minor Prophets were written.
The books themselves cover a period ranging from Israel’s mid-eighth century BCE economic boom prior to the Assyrian invasion; to the captivity and disappearance of what have become known as the Lost Tribes of Israel to the era; to the Babylonian invasion and exile; to the return to Judah under Persian rule about one hundred and fifty years later.
Some scholars contend that certain books, such as Jonah and parts of Zechariah, could have actually been written as late as the second century BCE, during the time of Greek rule.
There are even variations in the texts of the Minor Prophets found in the Dead Sea Scrolls from around the time of Christ, when Jerusalem was under Roman control. In short, the Minor Prophets cover a period of time when the imperial heads on their coins were changing practically every other week.
The Bible presents more than one explanation for the age-old existential question of why bad things happen to people. According to the book of Job, bad things happen to good people because, well, who knows? Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense, so stop whining.
In the Minor Prophets, when bad things happen to good people, it usually means that the good people are fooling themselves.