Major Profit From the Minor Prophets: Introduction

Why the minor prophets?

Out of all the books in the Bible, the minor prophets are usually the ones most Christians are least familiar with. Plus, they are seldom preached on. For example, Bible Gateway put out a list of the 10 least popular books of the Bible. They base it on how many people look at these books on their website and it’s a massive sample size. BibleGateway.com has over 150 million views per month.

10. Habakkuk

9. Jonah

8. Joel

7. Zephaniah

6. Philemon

5. Haggai

4. 3 John

3. 2 John

2. Nahum

1. Obadiah (Anyone have a guess which is the least popular?)

7 of the 10 least popular books of the Bible are minor prophets. And the top 2 least popular books are minor prophets.

One of the reasons I felt led to do this study is because the Minor Prophets are often neglected and that’s super sad because there is a lot major profit to be had from the Minor Prophets.

Which books of the Bible are the “Minor Prophets” and why are they called that?

There are 12 Minor Prophets. They are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

There are 5 books of the Bible that are considered the Major Prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel. But those 5 are actually 4 Major prophets because Lamentations was written by Jeremiah.

Why are they called major and minor prophets?

The designation Major and Minor has to do with the grouping of the books. In the Hebrew Bible, what we call the Major Prophets were each their own individual scrolls. Isaiah was 1 scroll. Jeremiah and Lamentations were each independent scrolls, both authored by Jeremiah. Ezekiel was its own scroll and so was Daniel.

In contrast, the 12 books were call the minor prophets, were not individual books. The scribes originally included them all in one single scroll and that scroll was simply called “The Twelve”. In our Bibles, we separated each of the 12 books out and titled them according to the name of their authors.

So that’s one of reason they are called major and minor. It is about how they were originally grouped together in scrolls.

The other reason is because the Minor Prophets are much shorter in length than the Major Prophets…for the most part. Daniel is one of the Major Prophets but there are two minor prophets with more chapters than Daniel.

Anyone know which Minor Prophets are the longest?

Hosea and Zechariah both have 14 chapters.

Anyone know which Minor Prophet is the shortest?

Obadiah. It has 1 chapter.

When were the minor prophets written?

Chronologically, the Minor Prophets come after the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, which ended around 800 BC. All 12 were written between about 800 to 420 BC

Obadiah is the oldest, written right around 800 BC.

Malachi is the most recent, written between 440-420 BC.

The minor prophets are primarily clustered around three significant time periods:

1. The Northern Kingdom of Israel’s Fall (722 BC): The first six books of the Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah) are from the time leading up to and surrounding the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s fall to the Assyrian Empire. They cover about a 100 year period of time in the 8th Century BC. Isaiah also prophesied during this time period.

Hosea, Amos, Jonah and Joel were prophets of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the only minor prophets that were. All the others were prophets of Judah or the fully restored kingdom after the exile.

2. The Kingdom of Judah’s Babylonian Exile (586 BC): Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah are all from the time around Judah’s fall. Jeremiah and Ezekiel both prophesied during this time as well. These books cover about a 50 year period of time in the 6th Century BC leading up to Judah’s fall to Babylon and the Babylonian captivity or exile.

3. The Kingdom of Israel’s Restoration (538-430 BC): The last three books of the minor prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, come after Babylonian Exile during the building of the second temple through the end of Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s reforms. They cover about a 100 year period of time the last part of the 6th Century BC through the middle of the 5th Century BC.

Important Side Note: Daniel is the only one of the Major or Minor prophets that was written during the Babylonian Captivity and Exile. It was written by Daniel in Babylon. We know this because according to Josephus, Daniel never made it back to Israel and was buried in Babylon.

Does anyone know which Minor Prophet was the one one to at least partially be written outside of Israel?

Jonah! Most scholars believe parts if not all of Jonah was written by Jonah in Assyria.

All 12 Minor Prophets Are Directly Quoted or at least Referenced in the New Testament.

They also all contain prophecy about Jesus 500-800 years before most of the events actually took place. Some of the events still haven’t taken place because they are in connection with the Second Coming of Christ.

Hosea: (Matthew, Luke, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter & Revelation)

Hosea 11:1 (NASB)

1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

Matthew 2:13–15 (NASB)

13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Joel: (Acts & Romans)

Joel 2:28–29 (NASB)

28 “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Acts 2:2–18 (NASB)

2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 “And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.” 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy.

Amos: (Acts & Revelation)

Amos 8:9–10 (NASB)

9 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight. 10 “Then I will turn your festivals into mourning And all your songs into lamentation; And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins And baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

Matthew 27:45–54 (NASB)

45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Obadiah: (Acts, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews & 1 Peter)

Obadiah 21 (NASB)

21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Hebrews 12:21–23 (ESV)

21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

Jonah: (Matthew & Luke)

Jonah 1:17 (NASB)

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:39–40 (NASB)

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Micah: (Matthew & Luke)

Micah 5:2 (NASB)

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Matthew 2:4–6 (NASB)

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Nahum: (Romans)

Nahum 1:15 (NASB)

15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace! …

Romans 10:9–15 (NASB)

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Habakkuk: (Acts, Romans, Galatians & Hebrews)

Habakkuk 1:5 (ESV)

5 “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

Acts 13:14 (NASB)

14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

Acts 13:40–42 (NASB)

40 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; For I am accomplishing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’ ” 42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

Zephaniah: (Revelation)

Zephaniah 3:13 (NASB)

13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble.”

Revelation 14:1–5 (NASB)

1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

Haggai: (Hebrews)

Haggai 2:21 (NASB)

21 “Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

Haggai 2:23 (NASB)

23 ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ ” declares the Lord of hosts.

Hebrews 12:26–28 (NASB)

26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Zechariah: (Matthew, Mark, John, Ephesians, Jude & Revelation)

Zechariah 9:9 (NASB)

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:1–5 (ESV)

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

Malachi: (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans & 1 Peter)

Malachi 4:5–6 (NASB)

5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Luke 1:15–17 (ESV)

15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

The New Testament affirms, the reliability of the Minor Prophets.

They testify about the birth of Jesus, His public ministry, His death and atoning sacrifice, His resurrection, and His second coming.

Any thoughts or questions?

Next week we will look at Hosea chapter 1.