Tracing God's Story: Old TestamentSample

The Major Prophets

The Old Testament covers about 4,000 years of history. The books of the law and the historical books give us a fairly chronological account of Israel's history. We started with the creation of the world, then saw man's fall into sin. Next was the flood, and after that came the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We got to read about Jacob's sons forming the 12 tribes of Israel. The story continues with the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites entering the Promised Land, the tribes being united under King David, and then the tribes being split under King Solomon's son Rehoboam.

This is where the prophets entered the scene. The writers of these books started prophesying during the time of the divided kingdom when Israel was led by mostly bad kings. Scholars disagree on the exact years, but it is safe to say the prophetical books were mostly written between 900 and 400 BC.

The Israelites, God's chosen people, had turned their backs on God. There was a lot of fighting, and the people were facing spiritual and moral destruction. The prophets deliver messages to the people from God, pleading with them to repent and turn back to Him or warning they will face judgment.

During this time, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah are prophesying to the southern kingdom of Judah. Hosea, Amos, and Jonah are prophesying to the northern kingdom of Israel. A few of them did prophesy to both kingdoms.

After 209 years, the northern kingdom falls to Assyria. The southern kingdom survived another about 136 years and then fell to Babylon. Some of the Jews scatter, but the rest are exiled to Babylon. Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Obadiah all prophesied during this time. The Israelites remained in exile for 70 years, and eventually, Babylon fell to Persia, and the Persian king Cyrus allowed them to return to Jerusalem. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and possibly Joel prophesied during this time. We will read about each of these prophets and hear their messages to the people.

There were a total of 17 prophetical books in the Old Testament. There are four books called the major prophets. They are Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. They are not called major because of their messages, simply because of their length. Lamentations, which Jeremiah most likely wrote, is also generally included in the category of major prophets, even though it's a short book. Each of the major prophets focused on a different message from God: Isaiah spoke of His salvation; Jeremiah spoke of His judgment; Daniel spoke of His kingdom; and Ezekiel spoke of His glory. Each one was obedient to God and ultimately helped us see the truth of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.