Micah was contemporary with Hosea and Isaiah, prophesying during the reigns of the Judean kings, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1). His message is identified as what “he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem” (1:1), which are the respective capitals of Israel (the northern tribes) and Judah (the southern tribes). His message to Samaria is limited to the first chapter; in fact, he foretold their fall to Shalmaneser of Assyria which took place in 722 BC (1:6).
Continue reading “Micah: A Message for Samaria and Jerusalem – Bible Overview”Jonah: God’s Warning And Nineveh’s Call To Repent – Bible Overview
We know very little about Jonah. He is identified as the son of Amittai (1:1). 2 Kings 14:25 says Jonah was from Gath Hepher, which is in Zebulun. We do not know if he simply lived there or was of the tribe. In the same text, Jonah is credited with foretelling the restoration of a piece of land to Israel in the days of Jeroboam, which no doubt was a more popular prophecy than the doom and gloom and judgment spoken by his contemporaries (Amos & Hosea).
Continue reading “Jonah: God’s Warning And Nineveh’s Call To Repent – Bible Overview”Obadiah: Edom’s Judgment & The Triumph of Israel – Bible Overview
The name Obadiah means “servant of the LORD.” It is a fairly common name in the Bible with eight distinct men by that name in the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 7:3; 8:38; 9:16; 12:9; 27:19; 2 Chronicles 17:7; 1 Kings 18:3; Obadiah 1:1). We know very little about any of them men, the prophet included, but from what we do know, the name is an apt description for most of them.
Continue reading “Obadiah: Edom’s Judgment & The Triumph of Israel – Bible Overview”Amos: A Shepherd turned Prophet in Israel – Bible Overview
Amos said of himself, “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit” (7:14). He was from the village of Tekoa (1:1) just south of Jerusalem. Though he was from the southern kingdom, God called him to prophesy to Israel in the north. He began to prophesy two years before an earthquake (also mentioned in Zechariah 14:5), in the reign of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.
Continue reading “Amos: A Shepherd turned Prophet in Israel – Bible Overview”Joel: Focused on Zion and Her People – Bible Overview
We know very little about the prophet Joel. He is identified as the son of Pethuel (1:1), but there is no mention of this man elsewhere in Scripture. Joel’s name is from the Hebrew lawy (Yow’el), combining the prefix of both Jehovah and Elohim and simply means “Jehovah is God.”
Continue reading “Joel: Focused on Zion and Her People – Bible Overview”Hosea: Imparting the Knowledge of God – Bible Overview
Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah, prophesying from about 750-725 BC. His messages was primarily for the northern tribes who would be destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 BC. The people of Israel had demonstrated they were beyond turning back to the Lord, they were a nation ready to be eradicated. Though the northern kingdom was his initial audience, he also spent time speaking to Judah.
Continue reading “Hosea: Imparting the Knowledge of God – Bible Overview”Daniel: Faithfulness in a Foreign Land – Bible Overview
Daniel is the fourth of the major prophets. He was among those who were carried away to Babylon. Daniel’s name means “God is my judge.” He was an exceptional example of faith throughout his life (1:8; 6:10), and his faithfulness was rewarded with responsibility and authority, despite being an exile in the land of Babylon. He was brought to Babylon to serve in the king’s court (1:3-5, 19) and found himself promoted after interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (2:48). He was also appointed as a governor by Darius after the fall of the Chaldeans (6:2-3).
Continue reading “Daniel: Faithfulness in a Foreign Land – Bible Overview”Ezekiel: A Levite Exiled to Babylon – Bible Overview
Ezekiel is the fourth of the major prophets. He was of the tribe of Levi, and served as a priest among God’s people in the land of the Chaldeans (1:3). Ezekiel was carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 when King Jehoiachin was taken captive (1:1-2). The LORD refers to the prophet as “son of man” throughout the book of Ezekiel.
Continue reading “Ezekiel: A Levite Exiled to Babylon – Bible Overview”Jeremiah & Lamentations: The Weeping Prophet of Israel – Bible Overview
Jeremiah spent over 40 years as a prophet of God. He began in the 13th year of Josiah (1:2) and continued until after Gedaliah was appointed governor over Judah (40:5). His work spanned the reigns of five kings in Judah (Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoichin and Zedekiah). The work of at least five other prophets (Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Joel, Daniel and Ezekiel) intersected the work of Jeremiah.
Continue reading “Jeremiah & Lamentations: The Weeping Prophet of Israel – Bible Overview”Isaiah: Prophet of the “Little Bible” – Bible Overview
Isaiah is the first of the four major prophets in the Bible. The timeframe for Isaiah is given in 1:1, “…in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” He wrote and prophesied from 740-681 BC. The northern tribes were destroyed by Assyria about half way into Isaiah’s tenure.
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