Major QuestionsMinor Prophets

Habakkuk - God & EvilHosea - God’s Pain

Obadiah - God & PrideHaggai - God & Blessing

John - God’s arrival

The minor prophets - an introAt the end of the Old Testament there are a whole bunch of books that don’t often get a look in. They’re called the minor prophets, and they include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. They’re called the Minor Prophets not because they’re unimportant, but because they’re much shorter than the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah & Ezekiel).

But while they’re lightyears away from our culture, the questions they’re struggling over are exactly the same as the ones people are asking today. What’s God doing about evil? Does He even care about our suffering? Can’t we just ignore Him? What does it look like to be blessed by God? How would we respond if He visited?

So in this series we’re going to be hearing from 4 of the minor prophets in the old testament - Haggai, Hosea, Obadiah & Habakkuk - and one right at the start of the New Testament - John the Baptist. We’re going to be seeing their struggles (despair, hopelessness, frustration, confusion) and their hopes (it’ll get better, there’s got to be more, God can do something, God will do something).

So the minor prophets might not be the place you’d first stop in the bible. But the hope is that over the next 5 weeks you’re going to see that the questions you’re asking, and the struggles you’re having, are the same struggles people have been asking for centuries. And they’re the same questions that God has been answering since then as well.1

1 If you’re looking for a great book that gives a brief outline on the Old Testament books, grab William Dumbrell’s book ‘The Faith of Israel’. It’s gold. Gold I tell you.

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

Zephaniah

Habbukuk

NahumAm

os

HoseaM

icah

Ezekial

Jeremiah

Daniel

Ezra

Nehemiah

Haggai

Malachi

JonahIsaiah

Obadiah

ZechariahJoel

Ecclesiastes

Song of Songs

Lamentations

Proverbs

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Chronicles (narrated account)

Samuel/Kings (narrated account)

Genesis-Ruth (Incl. Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy & Numbers)

The Prophets (approximate order - many books are not dated)

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Travelling through the Old Testament

© Osborne/Harricks

Psalms and other wisdom literature

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Post Exile Books (narrated accounts)

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

Zephaniah

Habbukuk

NahumAm

os

HoseaM

icah

Ezekial

Jeremiah

Daniel

Ezra

Nehemiah

Haggai

Malachi

JonahIsaiah

Obadiah

ZechariahJoel

Ecclesiastes

Song of Songs

Lamentations

Proverbs

Kin

gd

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Div

ides

into

No

rth

& S

ou

th

Re

turn

to

Je

rusa

lem

Chronicles (narrated account)

Samuel/Kings (narrated account)

Genesis-Ruth (Incl. Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy & Numbers)

The Prophets (approximate order - many books are not dated)

Exil

e o

f th

e So

uth

to

Bab

ylo

n

Exil

e o

f th

e N

ort

h t

o A

ssyr

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Travelling through the Old Testament

© Osborne/Harricks

Psalms and other wisdom literature

Kin

g D

avid

an

d S

olo

mo

n

Ruth

Genesis

Joshua

Judges

Key

Exo

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Post Exile Books (narrated accounts)

Habakkuk - god & evilHere’s the background...Habakkuk is speaking to Judah (the southern kingdom) just before it’s destruction in 586/7 bc, when, morally speaking, Israel was at rock-bottom. It’s called an oracle, or prophecy, but more literally it’s Habakkuk’s ‘burden’. And the burden is this - what is God going to do about the evil in Israel? Habakkuk has 2 questions for God (1:2-4, 1:12-2:1), he hears God’s 2 answers (1:5-11, 2:2-20) and finishes with a prayer (3).

To start, spend some time talking about the evil & injustices you see in the world that rile you up.

Before you read Habakkuk, spend some time looking at the diagrams (page 2/3) and understanding the situation in the time Habakkuk lived.

Read Habakkuk

1 - What’s causing Habakkuk such pain as he looks out at Israel? (1:2-4)

2 - Is this something that you struggle with? Where do you see it?

3 - What does God tell Habakkuk he’s going to do about it? (1:5-11)

4 - Babylon were the hated enemy of Israel. And were seen to be much more corrupt & evil than even Israel. What, in 1:12-2:1 does Habakkuk find so disturbing in God’s answer?

5 - Consider the list of injustice & evil that you made at the start of tonight. Would you say you’re a contributing in any way, or just an observer?

What we see here is God dealing with evil through an even greater evil. And we’ll see in a moment that that’s not God’s last word. But before we hear God’s greater solution

6 - If God were to deal comprehensively with evil & justice, how would that play out for you? Are there different grades of evil? Do we overlook / justify it in ourselves?

God’s words to Habakkuk turn out to be true - Babylon is used to deal with the evil in Israel (Judah). In around 586 b.c. Babylon sweep down on Jerusalem, kill thousands and ship the elite off to Babylon as captives.

But God gives Habakkuk hope. And through Habakkuk us. He tells Habakkuk to record his response for all (2:2), and says that while it might not seem like it, he is going to deal with injustice & evil comprehensively one day - and not just in Israel & Babylon (2:3).

7 - In 2:4-20, Habakkuk lists a series of “woes” - that is, things that God is going to bring people to account for. Go through them. What would they have meant in that context, and do we see them today?

Hidden amongst the woes is a glimmer of hope - that the righteous will live by faith (or faithfulness). Habakkuk was in distress because he was surrounded by injustice he couldn’t change, heard an answer he didn’t like from God, and felt like a solution was a long way off - perhaps not even in his lifetime. But in chapter 3, we see Habakkuk respond as one of the faithful in Habakkuk 2:4.

8 - What does ‘living by faith’ look like for Habakkuk in chapter 3?

9 - How does what he knows about God shape the way he responds to the evil & injustice he sees around him?

10 - This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament - Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:37-38. Look up these verses and discuss what it means to live by faith this side of the pinnacle of God’s plan, Jesus.

As we think about the ideas of evil, injustice & what God is doing about it, there are two things for Christians to stop, consider and apply. Let’s look at 2 passages / ideas.

11 - First, we’re part of the problem. Read Romans 3:9-20 and discuss it’s implications for evil & injustice in the world and how we view it (and ourselves).

12 - Second, we’re recipients of the true faithful one. Read Romans 3:21-26 and discuss how living by faith is shaped / informed by what God has done in Jesus.

hosea - god’s painHere’s the background...Hosea 1:1 puts us in the years before the destruction of the Northern Kingdom in 722 bc (See diagram on Page 3), probably somewhere in the area of 750bc to 725bc. It’s the longest of the minor prophets that we’re looking at, so we’re just going to be looking at a select through parts. But we’re going to see God, through Hosea, give an incredibly vivid picture of the pain that Israel has caused God and why.

To start, what is the relationship between love & anger? (Or love & wrath?) Can someone be full of both at the same time? How?

Before you read Hosea, spend some time looking at the diagrams (page 2/3) and understanding the situation in the time Habakkuk lived.

Read Hosea 1:1-2:1

1 - If you’re looking for names for kids, this probably isn’t the place to look. What message / story is Hosea’s marriage and names of the kid supposed to communicate?

2 - God is obviously deeply hurt by Israel, but from these verses, what’s his desire?

While Hosea 1 focused on the children, Hosea 2-3 are going to expand on Hosea’s marriage to Gomer to highlight God’s pain.

Read Hosea 2:2-3:5

First up, we’re going to consider why God is so hurt by Israel.

3 - It’s not pretty, but what’s the picture that’s painted in Hosea 2?

4 - Have someone look up Deuteronomy 30:15-18 and read what God called Israel to, and what He promised them?

5 - It’s with this background that in Hosea 4-14 God spells out the details of what Israel have done to offend Him. Break the following passages up amongst your group, and get a feel for what they are:

! Hosea 4:1-4

! Hosea 7:8-11

! Hosea 8:1-4

! Hosea 10:3-5

! Hosea 12:7-10

! So...describe what has gotten God so riled up.

6 - What happens in Hosea 3? Using Hosea 11 as well, build a picture of what God’s relationship with Israel is like?

7 - In all this, there’s the obvious tension between God’s anger and his love. How can / do these two things sit together?

To speak about God’s anger or God’s wrath isn’t all that popular these days. But the more fully you understand one, the more fully you understand the other.

8 - Do you agree with this - that the more you understand what fires God up, what grieves him, what makes him angry - the more you can understand His love?

9 - Do you think there are things you have done (or are doing) that have grieved God?

In his book, Knowing God, J I Packer writes this:

The wrath of God against us, both present and to come, has been quenched. How was this effected? Through the death of Christ. ‘While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son’ (Romans 5:10). The ‘blood’—that is, the sacrificial death—of Jesus Christ abolished God’s anger against us, and ensured that His treatment of us for ever after would be propitious and favourable.

Henceforth, instead of showing Himself to be against us, He would show Himself in our life and experience to be for us. What, then, does the phrase ‘a propitiation . . . by His blood’ express? It expresses...precisely this thought: that by His sacrificial death for our sins Christ pacified the wrath of God.

10 - What do you think of this? What impact does this have on how you think God views you, your past sin, your present sin and what you will do in the future?

In Romans 5:9, Paul goes on to say that ‘since we have now been declared righteous by [Jesus] blood, [how much more] will be saved through [Jesus] from wrath.” The implication here is that knowing God’s righteous anger, and the extent He’s gone to forgive us, it should (and will) be life shaping.

11 - Is your life lived in the knowledge of God’s love, or the fear of God’s wrath?

obadiah - god & prideHere’s the background...this story is set against the background of Jacob & Esau in Genesis 25:23-34. Twins, where the older (Esau the patriarch of Edom) is robbed of his birthright by the younger (Jacob the patriarch of Israel). They made peace while they lived, and Israel when entering the promised land were commanded not to attack the Edomite’s because they were their brothers (Deuteronomy 23:7). They were neighbouring countries, linked by blood.

But the point at which Obadiah is written, their relationship had gone sour. When Babylon attacked Jerusalem & God’s people in 586/7 b.c., Edom helped. And God’s not happy.

To start, how would you describe pride? What does it look like in practice?

Before you read Obadiah, spend some time looking at the diagrams (page 2/3) and understanding the situation in the time Obadiah was writing.

Read Obadiah

1 - What is it that has built up Edom’s pride? (v.2-3)

2 - Psalm 137 also talks about what Edom did to Israel. What does God promise the future of Edom will be in verses 3-9?

3 - How would you describe (from verses 10-14) what they’ve done that has God & Israel so angry?

4 - For Edom, the extreme violence we see here is the outworking of pride. Look at some of the areas it touches on, and talk about how this might strike a chord with how pride takes root in our lives:

! Material wealth as security (verse 3)

! Self-assurance (verses 3-4)

! Apathy / Aloofness (verses 11-12)

! Rejoicing / benefiting from others downfall (verses 13-14)

Edom is the focus of this book, but they are also representative here of those who oppose God. And in verses 15-21 the view broadens to all nations.

5 - These verses (15-21) describe the ‘Day of the Lord’. This is shorthand in the Old Testament for saying the time when God will visit his people and bring justice. What is this time going to look like for Edom & the nations? What is it going to look for God’s people?

When we get to the New Testament, the arrival of God isn’t quite what people expected. It’s not with fire, brimstone & judgement - but in gentleness, love & sacrifice. Justice wasn’t meted out on the deserving, but on the one who was undeserving, in the hope that those who were full of pride might be saved by the one full of humility.

So if God hates pride, it’s worth exploring what the opposite of pride, humility (Isaiah 66:2) looks like in practice. There are two great passages that are worth talking over. Have a read of them both, and then discuss what humility looks like in contrast to pride.

1 Peter 5:5-7

Luke 12:22-34

6 - How do we encourage each other towards humility & away from pride?

haggai - god & blessingHere’s the background...you can read the setting of Haggai in the book of Ezra, chapters 1-6. Judah have been in exile for about 50 years. In 538 bc. The king of Persia, Cyrus, allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. They completed the foundation pretty quickly (by 536 bc., Ezra 3) but because of opposition things ground to a halt until 520 bc (Ezra 4-5).

This is where Haggai enters to give them a kick along. He preached at the same time as Zechariah (another minor prophet), and encouraged those who returned to Jerusalem to get on with the business of rebuilding the temple - think of God before they think of themselves.

To start, is it realistic to shape life now around what you think happens after you die?

Before you read Haggai, spend some time looking at the diagrams (page 2/3) and understanding the situation in the time Haggai was writing.

Read Haggai

Haggai is speaking to an unmotivated & demoralised people. People who had returned to the land, but things hadn’t gone to plan.

1 - From Haggai 1:2-11, what’s mixed up about their priorities?

2 - What’s God’s problem with them - what are they supposed to give careful thought to & reflect upon?

3 - Do you think God is being overly harsh here?

4 - In the passage in Luke we looked at lasts week, in talking about God providing for His people, Jesus tells them that “your Father knows that you need [material things]. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:30-31). Is this the same as what God is saying to Israel? If not, how is it different?

After this gee-up, under the leadership of Zerubbabel & Joshua, the people get to rebuilding the temple. And God is with their work (Haggai 1:12-14). But not everyone is that impressed with the results in Haggai 2:1-9

5 - In this section, what’s people’s problem? (2:1-3)

6 - How does God respond to their struggles? (2:4-9)

7 - For Christians, what is the tension between knowing that we have “everything” now (1 Corinthians 1:5; Ephesians 1:3) yet feeling like it’s not enough? How do you work through discontent while you wait for God to finally fulfil His promises?

One of the struggles from Israel’s history were that they often started off well, but it never continued for very long. So how is this rebuilding going to be any different to any other period in Israel’s history? That’s where Haggai goes to next in Haggais 2:10-19.

8 - Unpack God’s description of Israel’s problem? (2:10-14)

9 - Do you feel like this describes you & your life? Why or why not?

10 - And yet God paints a different future for Israel than what has been. How does he describe it in 2:11-23?

One of the struggles for us reading the Old Testament is that it never seems immediately obvious how it relates to us. There are sometimes areas where we can identify with the struggles of Israel, but that’s often where it ends. But what we need to be on the look out for are the ways in which the Old Testament leads us to Jesus, because he himself said that it was all pointing to Him (Luke 24:44).

To finish tonight, let’s follow some of the threads in Haggai (and ones we found in the other Minor Prophets) into the New Testament to see how they’re picked up by Jesus and fulfilled.

Temple - God wants to live with His people again...that’s what the temple building is about.

Read John 2:18-22. Where do we go to meet God?

Future - God has a future planned for His people...and it revolves around Jesus.

Read Philippians 2:5-11. Where’s the world heading, and who’s to be at the centre of it? (Hint...it’s not Zerubbabel, but one of his descendents.)2

Talk through the implications of this for life now.

2 It’s Jesus.

John - god’s arrivalI know what you’re thinking...John’s not a minor prophet. And you’d be right. But I’ve snuck him in here for a reason. It’s been around 460 years of silence for Israel. The reforms under Ezra & Nehemiah didn’t stick, and the nation is languishing under the rule of the Romans. Religious Zealots rule God’s people, and it must feel like for the faithful God has abandoned them. Where was the promised Messiah? Where was the new Kingdom that God had promised?

To start, if you were an Israelite (and from what you know of the problems in Israel from the Minor Prophets so far), what would you expect the arrival of God to look like?

Before you read this section in Luke, let’s just get a bit of background on John.

1 - According to Malachi 4:5-6, what needed to happen before God arrives?

When John arrives, this is how he’s pictured. Matthew 3:4 describes him dressed exactly as Elijah is described in 2 Kings 1:8 - clothes made of camels hair and a leather belt around his waist, eating locusts & wild honey.

2 - How does Jesus describe him in Matthew 11:7-15?

John is the herald of the coming of God - the one who we’ll see is set to prepare the way for the Lord. But what do you do to prepare for God’s arrival?

Read Luke 3:1-18

3 - In verses 4-6 there’s a quote from Isaiah 40:3-5. Describe what John is preparing the way for people to see.

4 - When they turn up, what’s his critique of the state of Israel in verses 7-9?

5 - And what does he tell them to do to correct it in verses 10-14?

Here’s the problem at this point - this is the same message as every prophet in the Old Testament told Israel. But there’s a difference coming.

6 - In verses 15-16, what does John identify as the difference between himself and the one he’s announcing?

The difference between John, and the person he’s announcing (Jesus) is that Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit. It’s a change the prophets Jeremiah & Ezekiel spoke about in the Old Testament. Have a look to see what they said:

7 - Ezekiel 36:26-27

8 - Jeremiah 31:33-34

So what Jeremiah & Ezekiel spoke about God doing, John arrives and says Jesus is about to make happen...but where do we see it happen? Well, the first time we see it happen is in Acts 2 at the day of Pentecost, just as Jesus promised it would happen (see Acts 1:4-8). But the Holy Spirit wasn’t just given to the first Christians, it’s for all those who place their faith & trust in Jesus. So will it look like to live with the Holy Spirit?

9 - Finally, read Galatians 5:16-26 and discuss the difference having the Holy Spirit will make in the lives of Christians?

10 - Do you see the marks of the Holy Spirit in you? How would you know?

11 - How do we encourage each other to ‘keep in step with the Spirit’?