Can You Hear Me Now?

Home Group Notes: week 17 - Prophets

Introduction: Prophets and Prophecy

Covering the whole collection of prophetic literature in a page is impossible, as is expecting to cover
them in a single chapel. So what follows is a extremely brief description of prophets and prophetic
literature. Prophets are generally understood as someone who has the ability to foretell the future,
and prophecy would be predictions of things to come. Yet, while forth-telling, predictions are a part
of Biblical prophecies, they are a relatively small part in terms of sheer volume. While it is accurate
to say that many but not all (Jonah) prophets foretell, all prophets forth-tell. Biblically, it is also
possible to hold the office of “Prophet” without ever having “prophesied.” Abel, Enoch, Noah, even
Saul, are all referred to as “prophets” and yet never recorded any “prophecies.” There were hundreds
of prophets who ministered throughout the Old Testament period, but there are only sixteen prophets
who wrote books that were eventually included in God's Word. Each of the books they wrote are
titled after their name. So, Isaiah wrote the Book of Isaiah. The only exception is Jeremiah, who
wrote the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations.

In our English Bibles, the prophetic books are divided into two sections: the Major Prophets and the
Minor Prophets. This does not mean that one set of prophets were more important than the other, but
each of the Major Prophets is long, taking up a single scroll, while the twelve books in the Minor
Prophets all fit on a single scroll. The terms “major” and "minor" are simply indicators of length, not
importance. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel (Interestingly, Daniel is
not considered a “prophet” in the Hebrew Bible). The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Overview: The Major Prophets

The Book of Isaiah: As a prophet, Isaiah ministered from 740 to 681 BC in the Southern Kingdom
of Israel, known as Judah after the nation of Israel was divided under Rehoboam. In Isaiah's day,
Judah was stuck between two powerful and aggressive nations - Assyria and Egypt. Thus, the
national leaders spent much of their efforts trying to appease and curry favor with both neighbors.
Isaiah spent much of his book criticizing those leaders for relying on human help rather than
repenting of their sin and turning back to God. Isaiah also wrote prophetically about the future
coming of the Messiah - the One who would save God's people from their sins.
The Book of Jeremiah: Like Isaiah, Jeremiah served as a prophet for the Southern Kingdom of
Judah. He ministered from 626 to 586 BC, which means he was present during the destruction of
Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BC. Much of Jeremiah's writings were urgent calls
for the Israelites to repent of their sins and avoid the coming judgment. Sadly, he was largely
ignored. Judah continued its spiritual decline and was taken captive into Babylon.

The Book of Lamentations: Also written by Jeremiah, the Book of Lamentations is a series of five
poems recorded after the destruction of Jerusalem. Thus, the major themes of the book involve
expressions of grief and sorrow because of Judah's spiritual decline and physical judgment. But the
book also contains a strong thread of hope - specifically, the prophet's trust in God's promises of
future goodness and mercy despite present troubles.

The Book of Ezekiel: As a respected priest in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was taken captive by the
Babylonians in 597 BC. (This was the first wave of Babylonians conquests; they eventually
destroyed Jerusalem 11 years later in 586.) So, Ezekiel ministered as a prophet to the Jews exiled in
Babylon. His writings cover three major themes: 1). the coming destruction of Jerusalem, 2). future
judgment for the people of Judah because of their continued rebellion against God, and 3). the future
restoration of Jerusalem after the Jews’ time of captivity came to an end.

The Book of Daniel: Like Ezekiel, Daniel was also taken captive in Babylon. In addition to serving
as a prophet of God, Daniel was also an accomplished administrator, serving in the court of four
different kings of Babylon. Daniel's writings are a combination of history and apocalyptic visions.
Taken together, they reveal a God who is totally in control of history, including people, and nations.

Overview: The Minor Prophets (“The Twelve”)

The Book of Hosea: Hosea sets up a parallel between Hosea's marriage to an adulterous wife and
the Northern Kingdom of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness to God in terms of worshiping idols.
Hosea's primary message was an indictment of the Jews in the Northern Kingdom for turning away
from God during a period of relative safety and prosperity. Hosea ministered around 750 BC.

The Book of Joel: Joel ministered to the southern kingdom, although scholars are unsure exactly
when he lived and ministered. Joel called the people to repent of their idolatry and return in
faithfulness to God. Joel also spoke about a coming “Day of the Lord” in which the people would
experience God's judgment. This prophecy was initially about a horrendous plague of locusts that
would damage Jerusalem, but it also foreshadowed the greater destruction of the Babylonians.
The Book of Amos: Amos ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel around 759 BC, which made
him a contemporary of Hosea. Amos lived in a day of prosperity for Israel, and his primary message
was that the Israelites had abandoned the concept of justice because of their material greed.

The Book of Obadiah: Obadiah’s ministry occurred after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem,
and he vehemently pronounced judgment against the Edomites (a hostile neighbor of Israel) for
helping in that destruction. Obadiah also communicated that God would not forget His people even
in their captivity.

The Book of Jonah: Probably the most famous of the Minor Prophets, this book details the
adventures of Jonah who was unwilling to proclaim God's message to the Assyrians in Nineveh,
because Jonah was afraid the Ninevites would repent and avoid God’s wrath.

The Book of Micah: Micah was a contemporary of Hosea and Amos, ministering to the northern
kingdom around 750 BC. The main message of the Book of Micah is that judgment was coming for
both Jerusalem and Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom). Because of the unfaithfulness of
the people, Micah declared that judgment would come in the form of enemy armies, but he also
proclaimed a message of hope and restoration after that judgment had taken place.

The Book of Nahum: As a prophet, Nahum was sent to call for repentance among the people of
Assyria - particularly their capital city of Nineveh. This was about 150 years after Jonah's message
had caused the Ninevites to repent, so apparently they had reverted to their previous idolatry.

The Book of Habakkuk: Habakkuk was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah in the years
right before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. Habakkuk's message is unique among the
prophets because it contains a lot of Habakkuk's questions and frustrations directed toward God.
Habakkuk couldn't understand why the people of Judah continued to prosper even though they had
abandoned God and no longer practiced justice.

The Book of Zephaniah: Zephaniah was a prophet in the court of the godly King Josiah in the
southern kingdom of Judah, probably between 640 and 612 BC. He still proclaimed a message of
Jerusalem's imminent destruction. He urgently called for the people to repent and turn back to God.
He also laid the groundwork for the future by declaring that God would gather a “remnant” of His
people even after the judgment against Jerusalem had taken place.
The Book of Haggai: As a later prophet, Haggai ministered around 500 BC - a time when many
Jews began returning to Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon. Haggai's primary message was
intended to stir up the people to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem, thereby opening the door for
spiritual revival and a renewed worship of God.

The Book of Zechariah: As a contemporary of Haggai, Zechariah also pushed the people of
Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and begin their long journey back to spiritual faithfulness with God.

The Book of Malachi: Written around 450 BC, Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament.
Malachi served around 100 years after the people of Jerusalem returned from captivity and rebuilt
the temple. Sadly, however, his message was similar to those of the earlier prophets. The people had
once again become apathetic about God, and Malachi urged them to repent. Malachi (and all of the
prophets, really) spoke of the people's failure to keep their covenant with God, which makes his
message a great bridge into the New Testament, where God established a new covenant with His
people through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Monday: Introduction
1. What future (Isaiah) for you do your parent(s) encourage? …discourage?

2. Have you ever had a friend move away or lost a valued object (Ezekiel)? Tell us about it.

3. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you feel positive about the future or negative (Jeremiah)?

4. Do you usually dream in color or black and white? Can you recall any vivid dreams (Daniel)?

Wednesday: Digging a Little Deeper

1. What one event could you point to as “the event” in your life that opened your eyes to God?


2. What is Christianity’s greatest threat today - false religion? …persecution? …apathy? …idolatry?


3. In what area of your life do you need some words of correction? Where have you “strayed”?


4. In what area of your life would like some words of comfort and assurance?
Thursday: What This Has to Do with Me
1. Who are the “prophets” of today (even if they are not predicting the future)?


2. What are some problems in our society today that the Lord might address? What would He say?

3. What do the twin messages of the prophets - judgment and comfort - tell us about God?



4. In the past God called particular people to serve as prophets, how is He calling you to serve?