 |
|
| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 4 |
|
|
| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 4 |
Hiram Kemp
Much of the religious world today views the role of the prophet as a fortune teller. However, in biblical times, the prophet was more of a preacher who spoke to his own times with an occasional message for the distant future. In our English Bibles, there are what we refer to as five major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel). Then, there are twelve books we call the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). The words “major” and “minor” have nothing to do with these books’ importance, but they indicate the length of the books. The twelve books we call the minor prophets are significantly shorter in length than those called the major prophets. Nevertheless, there are still major lessons in the twelve smaller prophetic books.
Since these books are tucked near the end of our Old Testament, it might be easy for us to overlook them, but we must be sure that we do not ignore them. If we do not dig into these books, we will fail to reap the rich treasure that is stored within their pages. Every one of the minor prophet books is named after the prophet who carried the message recorded in the book. Still, we should not think of these books as autobiographical in any sense. There is relatively little information given about the men who served as prophets because their primary task was to give the people a message from God (cf., Jonah 3:2). In this article, I want to cover a few themes that are present throughout these twelve books. As we read these volumes, we should keep in mind that their work spans several centuries and different time periods. They were not all written back-to-back. Neither were they all written to the same group of people. Yet, there are still many similarities woven through these pages of which the careful reader should take note (cf., Romans 15:4). Here are some of the major themes in the minor prophets to consider as you study these books.
The Nations Rebuked
The prophets served as God’s spokesmen on His behalf to the people of their world. Many of the prophets spoke directly to God’s Old Testament people (Israel), but not all of them did. For example, Obadiah preached to the people of Edom (Obadiah 1:1). Jonah’s message was to the Ninevites of Assyria (Jonah 1:1-2). Amos devoted an entire section of his book to messages to the Gentile nations (Amos 1:2-2:3). Nahum dealt with God’s plan to punish the people of Nineveh (Nahum 1:1). The book of Habakkuk contains a series of “woes” as God described His wrath that was to be poured out on Babylon (2:6-20). This is important because sometimes Bible students mistakenly believe God was unconcerned with nations other than Israel in the Old Testament. This is not true. God was not only concerned with other nations, but He was Sovereign over them and planned to hold them accountable for their sins (cf., Psalm 67). There are also strong rebukes within the minor prophets for God’s people in books like Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. The minor prophets remind readers that God is reigning over all creation and that we all must submit to Him or else suffer the consequences of our rebellion (cf., Hosea 8:7).
Hope-Filled Messages
We may not be as well acquainted with the minor prophets as we would like, but one thing we can see as we read these books is they are filled with hope. Just about every one of the minor prophets, while containing a fair amount of rebuke, ends with a message of hope and expectation. The people were told that while they were once not regarded as God’s people because of their reckless and worldly behavior, they will be His once again (Hosea 1:10-11). God assured Israel that if she repented, He would restore all that was lost in her punishment (Joel 2:25-27). God would abundantly pardon His people and cast their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19). Because of God’s faithfulness to His people and His promises, He can be both trusted and celebrated regardless of the circumstances (Habakkuk 3:17-19). The Lord rejoiced over His people with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17). Also, God would pour out an immeasurable blessing on those who were obedient to Him (Malachi 3:10). As we read the minor prophets, we should see a God who wants to bless, love and forgive His people (Exodus 34:6-7). We are serving the same God who was present in the days of the minor prophets, and since He does not change, we can share this hope as well (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).
The Coming Messiah
The primary focus of the prophets was on their day and the issues they were facing. Nonetheless, there were occasions when they looked ahead and made inspired predictions about the things coming in their distant future (cf., 2 Peter 1:20-21). Several of the minor prophets spoke about the forerunner of Jesus, our Lord’s work on earth and His coming kingdom. Those familiar with Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:16-36 will remember that he quoted from Joel 2:28-32 as he spoke of the Holy Spirit falling on the apostles and the work they were doing. Also, Malachi made two statements that refer to the person and work of John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1; 4:5; Matthew 11:7-15).
Micah foretold of Jesus being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6). Zechariah gave amazing details of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1-5), being betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 26:14-16; 27:3-10) and being pierced by His enemies (John 19:34; Revelation 1:7). Furthermore, Micah mentioned the church of Christ, which would begin in Jerusalem and into which all nations would come for salvation (Micah 4:1-2; Acts 2).
Those who read the minor prophets will be able to see how every one of their messianic predictions was fulfilled in the New Testament. They were preaching both to their times and beyond their times. Jonah is perhaps the most well-known of the minor prophets. Jesus often compared Himself to Jonah in His preaching as He expected His listeners to be familiar with the book of Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41; 16:1-4). The minor prophets point us to Jesus as He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament message (Luke 24:44). When we read these books, we should be looking for our Savior (cf., John 5:39-40, 45-47).
The minor prophets are in the Bible on purpose. God placed these books within the canon for a reason, and we should do our best to understand the warnings and warm messages that we find in these books. Not everything in the minor prophets is easy to understand. Some sections and chapters leave us scratching our heads and may take several readings to comprehend. However, we can benefit from their messages if we remember that they wrote and preached to warn the nations, including God’s people, about their sinful behavior, held out hope for those who repented and spoke of better days to come in the age of the Messiah. The minor prophets are worth reading. Open your Bible and see for yourself!
