The Minor Prophets

The Promise

Chapter 7
The Messengers of God

The Minor Prophets

By Edgar Jones

INTRODUCTION

Matt. 23[37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!

Twelve "Minor Prophets" prophesied and/or wrote from the mid Eighth Century BC, during the age of the divided kingdom, down to the early Fifth Century BC. Here we list them in their approximate chronological order, rather than in the order of their appearance in the Old Testament, so as to put them in their historical perspective.

1. Amos	Early Eighth Century, during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel.
2. Hosea	Mid Eighth Century, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel. Before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC.
3. Micah	Mid Eighth Century, during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah of Judah.
4. Jonah	Mid Eighth Century, during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel.
5. Zephaniah	Late Seventh Century, 640-609 BC, during the reign of King Josiah, of Judah.
6. Nahum	Late Seventh Century, following the Babylonian conquest of Nineveh in 612 BC.
7. Habbakuk	Late Seventh Century, 609 - 598 BC, prior to the conquest of Judah by Babylon.
8. Obadiah	Early Sixth Century, following the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation to Babylon in 586 BC.
9. Haggai	Late Sixth Century, prophesied in the second year of Darias, the Persian, 520 BC.
10. Zechariah	Late Sixth Century, contemporary with Haggai.
11. Malachi	Late Sixth Century to Early Fifth Century BC, probably contemporary with Haggai and Zechariah.
12. Joel	Early Fifth Century, late Post - Exilic, about 400 BC.

The dates are approximate, being rough estimates based on internal evidence in each of the prophetic books. Some of the early ones were contemporary with Isaiah, and later with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In general, they were not aggressive in their preservation of The Promise, and do not merit a separate topic for each one. The Promise is there, however, and we will copy the primary references to it, both direct and indirect, from each source in the order listed above.

It will be helpful as you read the selections below, in which the Promise is either directly or indirectly referenced, to recall that certain terms often refer to the Promise indirectly. These include "the remnant," "booth of David," "House of David," 'inherit," "promise," "land," "covenant," "Abraham," "fathers," "the branch," "kingdom," "messenger," and of course, "messiah."

I. The Prophetic Testimony to the Promise

Amos.5
[15] Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Amos.9
[11] "In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
[12] that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,"
says the LORD who does this.
[13] "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
[14] I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
[15] I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land which I have given them," says the LORD your God.

You will note the highlighted references to the promise to David, and at the end, to the promise of a land for Israel from which they shall never again be plucked up.

Hos.1
[10] Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Sons of the living God."
[11] And the people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Hos.2
[18] And I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.
[19] And I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.
[20] I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.

Hos.3
[4] For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim.
[5] Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.

Mic.2
[12] I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.

Mic.4
[7] and the lame I will make the remnant;
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and for evermore.

Mic.5
[7] Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers upon the grass,
which tarry not for men
nor wait for the sons of men.
[8] And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through, treads down
and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

Mic.7
[18] Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger for ever
because he delights in steadfast love.
[19] He will again have compassion upon us,
he will tread our iniquities under foot.
Thou wilt cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
[20] Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as thou hast sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

Zeph.2
[7] The seacoast shall become the possession
of the remnant of the house of Judah,
on which they shall pasture,
and in the houses of Ash'kelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the LORD their God will be mindful of them
and restore their fortunes.
[9] Therefore, as I live," says the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel,
"Moab shall become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites like Gomor'rah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste for ever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.

Zeph.3
[20] At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you together;
yea, I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes," says the LORD.

Obad.1
[21] Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau;
and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Hag.1
[12] Then Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, and Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared before the LORD.
[14] And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

Hag.2
[2] "Speak now to Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,
[4] Yet now take courage, O Zerub'babel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts,
[5] according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.
[6] For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;
[7] and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.

Zech.2
[10] Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.
[11] And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
[12] And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

Zech.3
[8] Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men of good omen: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.

Zech.6
[12] and say to him, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
[13] It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest by his throne, and peaceful understanding shall be between them both.

Zech.8
[6] Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, says the LORD of hosts?
[11] But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts.
[12] For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

Zech.12
[7] "And the LORD will give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah.
[8] On that day the LORD will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, at their head.

Zech.13
[1] "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Mal.2
[10] Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Mal.3
[1] "Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap;
[3] he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the LORD. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Joel.3
[1] "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
[2] I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehosh'aphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land.

II. They Wanted a Restoration

When the Minor Prophets referred to the Promise, they sought to give renewed hope to a battered, wayward people who, by the Fourth Century BC, could only remember their mighty kings of old and pine for a lost kingdom. Every one believed that, through the Patriarchs and the Prophets, God had chosen them for great blessings above all the tribes of the earth. Yet after the fall of Samaria in 722 BC and the fall of Jerusalem in 598/597 BC, they had only one disaster after another to count for all their appeals to God to keep his Promise to the Patriarchs and Prophets. They grieved for the lost Kingdom of David, but where was it? Where was the promised messiah who would restore all things? Where was the Son of David? Where was the Branch?

Zech. 12
[8] On that day the LORD will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, at their head.

They wanted their king and their kingdom back!

And the Promised Land! That, too, was lost to overlords and rulers from other peoples, while they were carted off to Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and elsewhere. So we have this plaintive refrain:

Amos 9
[14] I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
[15] I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land which I have given them," says the LORD your God.

They wanted their land back!

They had built a new temple in the post exilic period, but somehow it did not compare with the magnificent structure built by King Solomon. So they yearned and prayed for the restoration for temple worship as of old, and the prophets accommodated them with such as this:

Zech.6
[12] and say to him, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
[13] It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest by his throne, and peaceful understanding shall be between them both.

They wanted their temple and their priesthood back in all of the former glory!

So they dreamed and prayed and yearned for former times, and the prophets encouraged it all by what they wrote in the bad times. They just wanted everything like it was!

Amos.9
[11] "In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;

III. The Minor Prophets Promised More

Not satisfied with a restoration of all things as in the days of old, these prophets, like the Major Prophets, went much further. What they had, their glorious history, came to an end. The Restoration would be different -- it would be forever:

Mic.4
[7] and the lame I will make the remnant;
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and for evermore.

And their past glory was a troubled one, filled with one war after another. They yearned for everlasting peace. The future glory would be different:

Hos.2
[18] And I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.
[19] And I will betroth you to me for ever;

The days of old had not always been days of plenty. There were droughts, disasters, failures of the land to bear fruit, sometimes hunger. Things would be different in the Restoration:

Amos.9
[13] "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
[14] I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
[15] I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land which I have given them," says the LORD your God.

They wanted it all back, and better, and forever. The Minor Prophets accommodated their earnest hopes and encouraged them to continue to hope in God, while also rebuking the evil, idolatrous ways of both Israel and Judah. The mid Eighth Century Hosea was surely one of the most effective in expressing the full message of God to his people, Israel and Judah. The prophet accused Israel, and to a lesser extent, Judah, of being spiritual harlots, adulterers who were always wandering off from the God, to whom they were betrothed, to commit adultery with strange gods and other peoples. In an effort to make his portrayal wholly realistic, he took to wife one Gomer, a harlot, who represented the two adulterous nations. The prophet represents God as a husband of mixed passions, angered by the harlotry of His beloved wife, yet holding her in the grasp of his ever lasting love and forgiveness, so that the Promise remained sure:

Conclusion

Yes, the Minor Prophets clung to the Promise and kept it alive in Israel for hundreds of years, even as the Major Prophets did the same. In the fullness of time, our Lord came to grant a fulfillment. Alas, they refused to accept his fulfillment, which was much grander than the past glory of Israel -- so grand, indeed, that they could neither conceive it not receive it.

We have but one more prophet to cover in this survey of the Old Testament Promise of God to Israel and Judah, which is Daniel. Then we will complete the survey with an examination of the Psalms and other poetic works before proceeding to Part Two, which will be a survey of the gospels to examine the evidence for the manner in which God has kept his Promise.

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