The Fiery Warnings of the Minor Prophets (Part I)

This first part of this series about the minor prophets covers the book of Hosea through the book of Amos. The Prophet Hosea lived during the middle Eighth Century BC and prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel. He was the prophet when the northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 BC. He was probably even killed during that time or taken into exile. The historical record is not clear about that point. But he had prophesied gloom and doom to the northern kingdom over its idol worship, while the false prophets at that time had been painting a rosy picture for the kingdom because of its prosperity. People are always hurt when their messengers are not telling them the truth, and the northern kingdom was clearly hurt by their prophets and priests who were not being honest with them. So it was a time in Israel that is not much unlike today in this world. There are in existence today prosperity preachers and "name-it-claim-it" preachers who paint a pretty picture that is not very close to sound biblical teachings. So that might mean that people today may need to take caution just like the people in the northern kingdom had needed to do.

The other two minor prophets, who were discussed in this text, were Joel and Amos. Joel had probably lived in the early Eighth Century BC at a time when there had been a severe, multiple year outbreak of locusts throughout the land. In writing his prophecy, he had drawn many parallels of the destructiveness of the locusts to the destructiveness of the ungodly lifestyle of the people in the southern kingdom. He was also the first prophet in the scriptures to write about the day of the Lord, which will take place at the end of the Age with the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus, and the one-thousand-year Millennial reign of Jesus on this earth. The final prophet who was discussed in this text was Amos. He was a herdsman from the southern kingdom who had been sent by the Lord to prophesy to the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom did not have many prophets in the early Eighth Century BC to warn them about their worship of idols. So the Lord sent them one, even though they for the most part ignored what he had said.

In every part of the Bible, one can learn some important truths. The book of Psalms, for example, is a collection of experiential writings by its different authors. If one is having a bad day, then he or she can find the writings of many psalmists who were having bad days. If one is depressed or troubled, then similar writings can be found in the book of Psalms. The book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom. Follow its teachings and bypass many of the troubled paths of this life. In the book of Genesis, one can find how everything in this world got started. In the book of Revelation, one can see how it will all end. In the history books of the scriptures, one can see how the Lord has worked through the children of Israel for the two thousand years before the Incarnation of Jesus. In the books of the prophets, one can see how the Lord sent His messengers to the world to warn its people when they were headed in the wrong direction. He is still sending such people to the world today. So every part of the Bible has truth and value for those who are looking for such things.