Do the prophets’ judgement oracles apply today?

The prophets’ judgment oracles are a challenge to read. Many popular and academic discussions of these texts see them as promoting xenophobia and unjustifiable violence. The Old Testament judgment oracles left the stage of history long ago. Do they have any continuing relevance for us?

Thankfully, they do. The prophets present their critiques of the nations with a theological finesse that helps us to understand their significance both then and now. We can blunt the critiques and sharpen our understanding of them by answering two key questions: Who is to be punished and why?

[…]

Both Nahum and Isaiah 10 directly condemn those who oppose God and his purposes and seek to glorify themselves, gain power, and legitimize false gods. These people are what they do in relation to God. At the bottom, they’re idolaters.

Because worldview and idolatry are at the heart of these prophetic condemnations, these oracles also condemn contemporary beliefs and behaviors, regardless of their connection to imperialism as a political model. Widespread denial of God’s existence in the West doesn’t mean the West doesn’t worship! No, gods as varied as materialism and secular humanism elicit people’s commitment and fuel their hopes. But though they’re dressed up in contemporary garb, they’re just as idolatrous. Epistemological pride, craving recognition, hope in cultural ideals that lack biblical foundations, and grasping after power all go against God’s absolute primacy and incomparability.