|
Summaries of the Minor Prophets
Hosea
| Text: | 14 chapters |
| Time: | Reigns of Uzziah through Hezekiah in Judah, Jereboam II in Israel |
| Summary: | God calls Hosea to take a harlot as his wife to symbolize
the people's harlotry against God. God tells the people He will
withhold His blessings so they will know that His blessings are
not to be associated with worship to idols. God calls
Hosea a second time to buy his wife and then refrain from physical
contact with her, while forbidding her to have contact with others.
This act is to illustrate that God will leave his people in a place
where there will be no king, idols, altars, etc. so that the people
will hunger for God. God also says that He will send his people away
and curse them, because the more He blessed them the more they turned
to idols. God finally says that Assyria will overtake Israel, yet He
will eventually restore them. |
| Verse to Note: |
11:1 " ... out of Egypt I called my son"
13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?"
|
Joel
| Text: | 3 chapters |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | Judah is on the verge of destruction, but God might relent
if they will repent. Eventually, God will send His spirit and He will
judge the nations who have fought against Judah. |
| Verse to Note: |
2:28-32 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance . . . "
|
Amos
| Text: | 9 chapters |
| Time: | Reign of Uzziah in Judah and Jereboam II in Israel |
| Summary: | God will render judgment on the nations: Damascus of Syria,
Gaza of Philistia, Tyre of Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, Israel.
God recalls his attempts to bless Israel and their abominable responses.
Israel will be destroyed, for they have not returned to God despite
his warnings. After a while, the people tell Amos to stop prophesying
in Israel, but Amos says that God has called him and he will continue
this work. Finally, Amos prophesies that Israel will be utterly destroyed,
except for a remnant which will remain. |
Obadiah
| Text: | 1 chapter |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | Edom will be ransacked and destroyed because of their
disrespect for Judah when they were taken captive. Israel (Judah)
will be glorified again, but Edom will not. |
Jonah
| Text: | 4 chapters |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | God called Jonah to go prophesy against Nineveh, but he
fled on a ship to Tarshish instead. God sent a storm to stop the ship,
and the crewmen threw Jonah overboard to calm the storm. Jonah was
swallowed by a large fish, in whose belly he stayed three days. After
Jonah prayed to be released and was vomited on shore, God again called
him to prophesy to Nineveh that they would be destroyed in forty days.
On hearing this message, the people of Nineveh believed God and repented,
so God relented from his punishment. Jonah was upset about Nineveh's
repentance and forgiveness so he went outside to mope. Here, God
caused a plant to sprout, give shade to Jonah, and then whither.
God then reprimanded Jonah for having more compassion for the plant
than for the city of Nineveh. |
Micah
| Text: | 7 chapters |
| Time: | Reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah |
| Summary: | Israel will fall, their sin is incurable and their destruction
is certain. The injustices of the officials bring God's judgment on
the lands, both Judah and Israel. Judah will overcome Assyria, but
the people of Zion (Jerusalem) will be taken as captives to Babylon.
God will later re-establish his name in Jerusalem among the remnant of
those who are left. Eventually, God will send the people a savior
from Bethlehem. |
| Verse to Note: |
4:3 "He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sward against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
5:2-5 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of your will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace."
6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
|
Nahum
| Text: | 3 chapters |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | Judgment against Nineveh. Nineveh will be completely destroyed. |
Habakkuk
| Text: | 3 chapters |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | God is sending the Chaldeans (a.k.a. Babylonians), people
who are idolatrous and whose strength is their god, to render judgment
on God's people. Yet the Chaldeans will not go unpunished. Chapter
three is Habakkuk's prayer where he extols the power of God, saying he
will praise God in the coming day of distress. |
Zephaniah
| Text: | 3 chapters |
| Time: | Reign of Josiah in Judah |
| Summary: | God will completely wipe out Judah and Jerusalem. His
punishment will be strong and thorough. All the surrounding nations
will also be destroyed in this day of the Lord, from Ethiopia, to
Philistia, to Assyria. Yet a day will come when God will forgive
his people, when they will be righteous, and when God will glorify
them again. |
Haggai
| Text: | 2 chapters |
| Time: | Second year of King Darius (ruler of the Persian Empire) |
| Summary: | God calls for the temple to be rebuilt before He will
bless the people with fruitful produce again. So Zerubbable and Joshua lead
the people in rebuilding the temple during the reign of Darius. God says this
new temple is not as grand as the original, but He will fill it with a greater
glory and will give it peace. God promises to bless the people from now on.
He also says that He will overthrow the powers of the kingdoms again and He will
make Zerubbabel like a signet ring, for God has chosen Zerubbabel. |
Zechariah
| Text: | 14 chapters |
| Time: | Reign of King Darius (ruler of the Persian Empire) |
| Summary: | God calls the people in captivity to return to Him. He says
that Judah will be restored, He will punish those who oppressed Judah,
and He will return to His people. The high priest Joshua is called to
rejoice, and Zerubbabel lays the foundation in Jerusalem. A curse is
sent on all those who steal and swear, while in the land of Shinar a
temple is erected to Wickedness. Finally, Zechariah is called to make
an ornate crown and place it on Joshua the high priest. |
| Verse to Note: |
9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle
and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey."
11:12-13 "I told them, 'If you think it best, give me my pay,
but if not, keep it.' So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter' -- the handsome
price at which they priced me. So I took the thirty pieces of
silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter."
|
Malachi
| Text: | 4 chapters |
| Time: | Not stated |
| Summary: | God loves Israel more than Edom, for Edom will never be
rebuilt. Yet God hates the sacrifices and offerings his people bring,
for the people are offering the worst of their flocks and produce as
sacrifices to God. God also rebukes the priests, for they have turned
away from His covenant. The people have "divorced" (rejected) God and
"married" a foreign god. God will send his messenger, and He will come
to purify the people. God tells the people that if they will bring the
whole tithe, instead of holding back a portion, he will bless them
abundantly. Also, the prophet says that a day is coming when God will
again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked in judgment. |
| Verse to Note: |
3:1 " 'See, I will send my messenger before me, who will prepare the way
before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his
temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come'
says the Lord Almighty"
4:5-6 " ' See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and
dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their
fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.'"
|
Restricted access |
