Books of the Old
Testament
The Books of The
ProphetsNebeeim
THE LATTER PROPHETS: Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Minor Prophets
from The Names and
Order of the Books of the Old Testament
by E.W. Bullinger
The three “greater”
prophets foretell the coming of “the servant
of Jehovah”. In Isaiah He is presented as
coming as the salvation of Jehovah; in Jeremiah
as the suffering witness; while in Ezekiel we see
Him as the mighty God subduing all enemies under
His feet, reigning in glorious peace as “Jehovah
Shammah” - the Lord is there - which are the
closing words of Ezekiel.
Isaiah
The Salvation of Jehovah [Yahoveh]
In the Septuagint version the book is
called "Esaias"; and in the Vulgate,
"Prophetiae Isaiae".
Isaiah lived midway between Moses and Christ, and
prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the
reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
four kings intimately associated with the ruin
and hope of the nation.
Uzziah apostatised, and was “cut off from
the house of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:21).
Jotham “entered not into the temple of the
Lord” (27:2). Ahaz “shut up the doors
of the house of the Lord” (28:24). Hezekiah
“opened the doors of the house of the Lord”
(29:3).
Isaiah's prophecy opens with a description of the
religious degradation of the people - a
degradation seen in the fact that the people were
never more religious or zealous in ritual
observances, and never a greater abomination in
the sight of God (Isaiah 1:10-15).
Thus the way is prepared for the revelation of
“the salvation of Jehovah”, as the name
Isaiah means. In no other book of the Old
Testament (except the Psalms) is the word “salvation”
so frequently found. It will prove a fruitful
study to read the book with this word in the
mind, and to interpret it in the light of the
meaning of the name of Isaiah. The book
prophesies the coming of Him who should be
Jehovah’s salvation to the end of the earth
(49:6).
He is called forth “in the year that king
Uzziah died” (6:1). He sees the king of
Judah driven forth from among men - smitten with
leprosy and cut off from the house of the Lord;
and he beholds another king - “the Lord
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and
his train filled the temple”!
Thus side by side with the death of the earthly
king is presented the King of heaven, whose own
arm was to bring Salvation (59:16).
It is the book where several important things are
mentioned for the first time; “The day of
the Lord” (chapter 2), a definite “Messiah,”
the Bride, the new heavens and the new earth
&c., &c.
It is worth remembering that all the earlier
editions of our English Bible had the opening
words of this prophecy printed on the title page,
and most significant and suitable they were in
such a connection:
“Hear O
heavens
And give ear O earth:
For the Lord hath spoken.”
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Jeremiah
Whom Jehovah [Yah
o veh] Launches
Forth
Or raised up and
appointed by Jehovah (see 1:5,7) to be his
witness against man (1:17-19). That this is the
leading thought of the book may be seen from 1:2,3;
7:2; 11:6; 19:1-3; 20:3; 22:1; 25:1,2,17,26; 26:1,2;
27:2,3; 28:15; 29:1; 36:2; 42:8; 44:1; 46:41.
The more faithful God’s witness is, the more
he will be hated by man (2 Timothy 3:12).
Jeremiah was persecuted not only by the kings (Jehoiakim
and Zedekiah 36:26; 32:2,3; 33:1; 37, &c.)
against whom he witnessed, but by his fellow-townsmen
(11:18-21), and by his own family (12:6; see also
12:5,6; 15:10; 18:18; &c.). The chief priest
put him in the stocks (chapter 20). In 26:7,
&c., he is falsely accused by the priests and
acquitted. According to tradition he was stoned
in Egypt by his own countrymen, and later on his
grave was stoned in Cairo.
Our own day is remarkably like that of Jeremiah.
Religious corruption is proceeding apace, open
apostasy is approaching. The word of God is being
cut up, not with pen-knives by its enemies, but
with pens, by those who profess to be its friends.
And the few faithful witnesses whom Jehovah
raises up and sends forth to testify against the
evil have to suffer as Jeremiah suffered.
We are at no pains to defend the book of Jeremiah
from its many critics, because we need those very
prophecies and Jeremiah’s example to
stimulate us as good soldiers of Jesus Christ to
meet and withstand them, and if need be to suffer
for His sake. The leading thought of the book
lies in the meaning of the prophet’s name -
the witness sent by Jehovah. This is why
in so many points he is a type of Him = “the
prophet” - “the faithful witness”.
Those who desire to study this point may
profitably compare:
29:27 with John 8:53; Matthew 21:11
29:26 with John 2:20; 10:20,39
20:10 with Luke 11:54; Psalm 55:12,13
26:15,16 with John 10:21; Luke 23:13,14,15
26:11 with Matthew 26:65,66
26:15 with Matthew 27:4-25
18:23 with John 11:53 (Contrast Luke 23:34)
13:17 with Matthew 26:38; Luke 22:41
11:18 with Isaiah 11:2; John 2:25
11:19 with Isaiah 53:7,8 (Contrast Isaiah
53:10)
11:20 (Contrast Isaiah 53:11)
Lamentations 3:14 with Psalm 69:12
Lamentation 3:48 with Luke 19:41
Lamentation 1:12 with John 1:29; Isaiah
53:10
Lamentations 3:8 with Matthew 27:46 <--
Ezekiel
Whom God
Strengthens
The compound is with El, God (not Jah,
Lord) like Daniel and Joel. El is the
mighty God, and His strength is seen not only in
the name, but in the references to it, 1:3, 3:8,9,14.
In Hebrew it is Yechedseq-el; in the Septuagint
it is Yezeki-el, while in the Vulgate
it is Ezechi-el. Luther spelt it Hesekiel.
The meaning of the name is in conformity with the
special message of the prophet, and the character
of the time; for the names of the prophets are
divinely given.
God, the strong one, strengthens His messenger
against the face of his enemies, and uses him to
strengthen the souls of the faithful, who would
see in his name and his mission and his message
the blessed hope that the strength of God would
bring future and final redemption for His people.
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