God told the prophet Hosea to do some strange and unconventional things. First, he was told to marry a prostitute. Next, their children were given bizarre symbolic names. Finally, after Hosea’s wife left him to return to her former life, he was told to go find her and take her back. All of these events […]
The book of Joel is a record of the messages of the prophet Joel. As with most prophets, Joel’s message focuses on current events, but it also has a secondary application towards the future, some of which has occurred and some of which is yet to happen. Little is known about Joel. When he lived […]
The book of Amos is a record of the messages of the prophet Amos. As with most prophets, Amos’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel (the Northern Kingdom of Israel), but also had a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus. Amos was a preacher, or prophet, in Israel; he lived […]
The book of Obadiah records the messages of the prophet Obadiah. As with most prophets, Obadiah’s message focuses on current events—in this case for the people of Edom. The book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, and nothing is known about Obadiah except that he lived during the fall of Jerusalem. […]
The prophet Jonah is perhaps the most familiar character in the Old Testament. But beyond the bit about being swallowed by a large fish, it’s largely misunderstood. It is a story of Jonah, a wayward prophet, who in his disobedience is given a wake-up call inside a large fish. Eventually, he reluctantly does what he […]
The book of Micah records the messages of the prophet Micah. As with most prophets, Micah’s message focuses on current events—in this instance for the people of Samaria and Jerusalem—and it also had a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus. Micah was a younger contemporary of Isaiah and may have been influenced by Isaiah’s […]
The book of Nahum records the messages of the prophet Nahum. As with most prophets, Nahum’s message focuses on current events, but in this case for the people of Assyria. The capital of Assyria was Nineveh, so we can read the prelude to this book in the book of Jonah. Nahum, like Obadiah, addresses the […]
The book of Habakkuk is a record of the messages of the prophet Habakkuk. As with most prophets, Habakkuk’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel, but it also had a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus. Habakkuk begins with questions about Israel’s foreign oppressors, including two revelations from God. Habakkuk […]
The book of Zephaniah is a record of the messages of the prophet Zephaniah. As with most prophets, Zephaniah’s message focuses on current events for the people of Israel, but also has a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus. Zephaniah focuses the attention of his critical remarks on the political and religious leaders of […]
The book of Haggai is a record of the messages of the prophet Haggai. As with most prophets, Haggai’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel. Haggai was a contemporary of Zechariah, and his prophetic mission was to encourage the reconstruction of the temple by the returning exiles. Haggai focused on the […]