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Overhead # 1:
This quarter we will study two of the Minor Prophets:
Jonah and Malachi.
If you would like to do some research, The Minor Prophets,
by Jack P. Lewis, is a good starting point and a practical
source book.
Our objective: to understand why the Old Testament
prophets have an invaluable message for us today.
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Overhead # 2:
The written prophets who had brief messages in the
Old Testament:
Christians refer to them as Minor Prophets.
1. Minor does not mean their messages were (are) insignificant.
2. Minor only referred to the fact that they were brief in
comparison to lengthy books like Isaiah and Jeremiah.
In Judaism they are called "The Book of the Twelve."
1. Only Christians refer to scriptures prior to Jesus as the "Old Testament."
2. Christians also place the books of the Old Testament in different
categories than did Israelites.
3. Israelites considered the books of Joshua through Kings as the
"former prophets." Christians refer to these books as history.
4. Israelites called the entire section of written prophets as the
"later prophets." "The Book of the Twelve" was considered a
section of the "later prophets."
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Overhead # 3:
The concept of a prophet:
1. Basically prophets were teachers guided by God.
2. They were God appointed, not self appointed.
3. Primarily they addressed the moral and religious decay
and decline in their day.
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Overhead # 4:
Things to keep in mind:
1. A man was moved by God's Spirit (the Holy Spirit). 2 Peter 1:20-21.
2. He did not introduce a strange religion, but called people back
to God's will. Deuteronomy 13:1-5.
3. When a true prophet declared something would happen, it came to pass.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22.
4. Yet, often a prophecy was conditional--human repentance was a
primary factor. Jeremiah 18:5-11.
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Overhead # 5:
The prophet Jonah:
1. This writing is about the man, not about what he said.
2. This book is the only prophet that is in narrative form.
3. He is the only prophet in which miracles play an important role:
the storm, the calm, the fish, the gourd--each shows God's power.
4. He is the only prophet to speak to foreign people on foreign soil.
5. He is the only prophet who was noted as traveling on the Mediterranean Sea.
6. He is the only minor prophet mentioned by Jesus.
7. His prophecy emphasized God is the God of all people (to an extent
not found in the other prophets).
8. He lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
9. It was a time of easy living and prosperity.
10. When he fled, he left in the opposite direction God wanted him to go.
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