No, this is not a birth announcement. It’s just the continuation of the Bible Reading Guide I wrote for my son. Haggai All of the prophets you’ve been reading so far were written before Israel and Judah were carried into captivity or while they were still in exile. But the last three prophets were all… Read More »
This book is one of the least known in the whole Bible, I think. Most people can’t remember anything about him. I think, however, that if I was teaching a class on the prophets, I might start with Zephaniah. The reason is that he’s a very normal prophet but he is short. So by studying… Read More »
Nahum God sent Nahum to predict doom for the Assyrians. Doom for the Assyrians is good news for all those who have been oppressed by them. Thus this is bad news for all nations who would oppose God, and good news for those who trust and submit to him. Habakkuk This prophet had two questions.… Read More »
Jonah You already know this story. Keep in mind the difference between how compassionate God is for people (even cruel people from Nineveh) and how uncompassionate Jonah is. It’s really a sad story in that regard. I think many Christians are like Jonah. Micah Micah is a normal prophet in that he gave good news… Read More »
Amos Amos was mostly upset with how people in the northern kingdom were treating each other. The rich were nasty to the poor, and Amos said that they would suffer for it. Some of them thought that they could offer sacrifices (their equivalent of our “going to church”) and be ok with God. Amos told… Read More »
Hosea I know you ‘re going to be flying through these small books now, so I ‘ll keep my comments briefer. The key to understanding Hosea is to recognize that the story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer is a picture of God and his unfaithful wife Israel. God always did good for his… Read More »
A lot of Daniel will be familiar, and thus easy, for you [my son]. But parts of it are tough. Let me try to help you make sense of everything. Those stories that you already know in chapters 1-6 are more than just entertainment for kids. They make a very important point: God will protect… Read More »
Most of the prophets that you ‘re now diving into have two basic messages: judgment and hope. The people deserve judgment because of their sin, but they have hope because God has made promises to Israel and God always keeps his promises. Ezekiel is like the other prophets this way, but his book is pretty… Read More »
Jeremiah Jeremiah is sometimes called the “weeping prophet” because of his statement that his eyes were a fountain of tears (9:1). That is somewhat of an appropriate title because nearly all of Jeremiah’s message is negative. He spoke just before the Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians (in 586) and the people were carried off… Read More »
Isaiah is not only a long book, it’s a difficult book. But, as you know, it’s also one of my favorite books. How do you make sense of it? As you ‘re reading, see if you can figure out which of these main themes Isaiah is discussing: 1. Judgment and exile – the people are… Read More »