Tracing God's Story: Old TestamentSample

The Minor Prophets

The final section of the Old Testament is called the minor prophets. Prophetic books are generally anthologies, which means short messages put together. These messages are usually not arranged chronologically and do not appear to have any thematic order, making outlining the timeline rather difficult.

Prophecy is reminding people about the past, challenging people about their present actions, and sharing God's promises for the future. Prophecies can come in the form of sermons, poetry, visions, dreams, or even dramatic symbolic actions like walking around naked with a sign, wearing a yoke, or setting up a sandbox.

The word prophet in Hebrew is "nabi," and it can mean to bubble up, to call, or to announce. In Scripture, prophets are also called men of God, the Lord's messengers, shepherds, or watchmen. Sometimes, the messages are clear and easy-to-understand statements about what will happen, and sometimes, they aren't. Sometimes, the messages are conditional based on the people's response. Sometimes, the events prophesied about happen right away, and sometimes, they happen in pieces, and some of them haven't even happened yet. Sometimes, the messages were just a brief word of encouragement or rebuke.

The prophets came from different backgrounds and spoke to different audiences in different ways, but they were all men used by God to communicate His message to the world.

I hope the information shared in this study helps you grasp how interesting the Bible is so that you develop a passion for reading it. I pray that as you dig into Scripture, God speaks to you in exciting new ways, and your spirit begins coming to life.

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This study has been taken from the full Coming to Life course available at www.katiehauckministries.com.