Major and Minor Prophets

The Pentateuch: Genesis – teaches us about the origin of the universe and records Israel’s roots and early history.

Exodus – teaches about the enslavement and deliverance of the Israel and the history of their journey toward Canaan under the leadership of Moses.

Leviticus – contains over 600 laws that Israel was to live by. Numbers – records the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Deuteronomy – contains a repetition of the laws given shortly before Israel entered Canaan.

The 12 Books of History: Joshua – is the book of the conquest of Canaan as promised by God. Judges – records the 12 judges over Israel and history of Israel’s continual rebellion against God when a judge died. Ruth – is the story of the life of Ruth and how she became an ancestor of David and of Jesus. 1 & 2 Samuel – is the history of Samuel and the beginning of Israel having kings. 1 & 2 Kings – records the early history of the kingdom of Israel and then its division into Israel and Judah. We are introduced to Elijah and Elisha.

1 & 2 Chronicles – mainly covers the history of David, Solomon, and the kings of Judah up to the time of their captivity. Ezra – is a record of the return of the Jews from captivity and the rebuilding of the temple.

Nehemiah – gives us an account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and how the God’s people recommitted themselves to keep the Law of Moses. Esther –the story of Esther and how she made it possible for the Jews to be saved from the plot of Haman.

The 5 books of poetry: Job – teaches us what Job had to endure by the testing of Satan, how he had great patience, and in the end he was found faithful and God blessed him with more than he had before. Psalms – is a collection of 150 spiritual songs, prayers, and poems by different authors some of which are unnamed, and they cover a variety of topics. Proverbs – is a collection of moral and religious maxims on such topics as wisdom, temperance, and justice.

Ecclesiastes – shows us how all life is vanity without God in the picture. Song of Solomon – is a love song that shows the deep love between a couple that gets married.

Over the next couple of years, we will be looking at these 16 Major and Minor Prophets that are contained in 17 books. The time of these writings are from 800 – 400 B.C.

The main theme of these prophetic books is the justice, sovereignty, and mercy of God.

Deuteronomy 18:20 'But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' 21 "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' -- 22 "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

• Amos and Hosea spoke to Israel. • Jonah and Nahum spoke to Nineveh. • Daniel spoke to Babylon. • Ezekiel spoke to the captives in Babylon. • Obadiah spoke to Edom. • Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk,

Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi spoke to Judah.

The 5 books of the Major Prophets

The Book of Isaiah is one of the longest and most important books in the Old Testament. It covers the life of Isaiah and what he said and did as a prophet of God.

Isaiah began prophesying around 759 B.C.

The Book of Jeremiah records how God made this young man into a prophet though he was reluctant at first. He lived about 100 years after Isaiah and he prophesied for about 60 years from 626 B.C. – 566 B.C.

Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

The Book of Lamentations is a collection of 5 poems that express grief over the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews.

The Book of Ezekiel covers the prophecies made by Ezekiel. Ezekiel had been carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar around 597 B.C. and started prophesying 5 years later.

The Book of Daniel is about the life of Daniel and the dreams he interpreted. Daniel was part of the first group of Jews taken into captivity around 606 B.C.

The 12 Minor Prophets

The Book of Hosea is about the prophet Hosea. He preached his message to Israel from about 786 B.C. to 726 B.C. while Isaiah and Micah were preaching to Judah.

The Book of Joel is about the prophet Joel. We do not know for sure, but some think he may have been the first prophet to preach to Judah.

The Book of Amos tells of how Amos, who was shepherd, preached about how Judah would not escape punishment for her sins, and he preached many other prophecies about other nations.

He was preaching around the same time as Joel and Hosea around 786 B.C. – 726 B.C

The Book of Obadiah is about the prophecies of the prophet Obadiah. It is believed that he preached around the time Judah was overthrown around 586 B.C.

The Book of Jonah is unique in that is not full of visions, but records a small portion of the life of Jonah who is known as the reluctant missionary. We learn from 2 Kings14:25 that Jonah preached during the time of Jeroboam II around 749 B.C. – 790 B.C.

The Book of Micah is about the prophet Micah who preached around the time of Isaiah and Hosea around 740 B.C. – 700 B.C.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what with your God?

is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly

The Book of Nahum is about the prophet Nahum and his message to Judah. He was preaching around 630 B.C. around the same time as Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.

The Book of Habakkuk is about the prophet Habakkuk who preached to Judah around 628 B.C. to 608 B.C. He had a complaint against God. He wanted to know why their nation should be destroyed by a more wicked nation.

Habakkuk 2:4 … But the just shall live by his faith. (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).

The Book of Zephaniah is about the prophet Zephaniah who was a descendant of King Hezekiah. He prophesied during the reign of Josiah in Judah around 630 B.C.

The Book of Haggai has two chapters in which the prophet Haggai delivers a message from God to the Jews after their return to Jerusalem by the order of Cyrus around 520 B.C.

The Book of Zechariah is about the prophet Zechariah who also came back with Zerubbabel, and he worked with Haggai.

Zechariah made several prophecies about the coming Messiah:

• His atoning death for the removal of sin (3:8-9;

13:1)

• As builder of the house of God (6:12) • His universal reign as King and Priest (6:13;

9:10)

• His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (9:9) • His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (11:12) • His Deity (12:8) • His pierced hands (12:10; 13:6) • A smitten shepherd (13:7)

The last book of the O.T. is Malachi. It talks about the prophet Malachi and his message. He was the last of the O.T. prophets who prophesied about 100 years after Haggai and Zechariah around 450 B.C. – 425 B.C.

Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.