Finding Jesus in the Minor Prophets (part 3)

The Background to the Minor Prophets

Some of the most significant prophets to remember are:

• Abraham, whom God himself calls a prophet (Genesis 20:7) first mention
• Moses, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Deuteronomy 34:10)
• Samuel, who anointed two kings of Israel on God’s behalf (1 Samuel 3:19–20)
• David, a king whose Psalms were considered prophetic by the Jews (Acts 2:30)
• Elijah and Elisha, who worked miracles and anointed (and denounced) national leaders on God’s behalf (1 Kings 19:15–16)
• Jeremiah, who warned Jerusalem’s leaders that Nebuchadnezzar would take the city (Jeremiah 1:5)
• John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:9–14)
• Jesus Christ, who was called a prophet before he was resurrected (John 7:40)

Jesus…in Every Book of the Bible

The Major Prophets reveal Jesus:

• Isaiah – Suffering Servant
• Jeremiah – The weeping Messiah
• Lamentations – He assumes God’s wrath for us
• Ezekiel – Son of Man
• Daniel – The stranger in the fire with us

The Minor Prophets reveal Jesus:

• Hosea – Faithful husband even when we run away
• Joel – He is sending His Spirit to His people
• Amos – Delivers justice to the oppressed
• Obadiah – Judge of those who do evil
• Jonah – The greatest missionary
• Micah – He casts our sin into the sea of forgetfulness

• Nahum – Proclaims future world peace we cannot even imagine
• Habakkuk – Crushes injustice
• Zephaniah – The Warrior who saves

• Haggai – Restores our worship
• Zechariah – Prophesies a Messiah pierced for us
• Malachi – Sun of righteousness who brings healing

Redeemed Time for Evil Days

Ephesians 5:15 – 21 (ESV)

¹⁵Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 

¹⁶making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 

¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 

¹⁹addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, 

²⁰giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

²¹submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

• Look carefully — watch closely, take inventory, consider;
• How you walk, how you live, where you place your feet, where your steps lead;
• Not as unwise but as wise — listening to, obeying, and navigating life heeding God’s voice;
• Making the best use of the time (literally, “redeeming the time”) — buying it back from idleness, purposelessness, sin, Satan;
• — Because the days are evil.
• Akribos (careful) has the basic meaning of accurate and exact, and carries the associated idea of looking, examining, and investigating something with great care. It also carries the idea of alertness. As believers walk through the spiritual mine field of the world, they are to be constantly alert to every danger that Satan puts in their way. That is why Jesus warned that “the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life” (Matt. 7:14).

Paul is talking about wisdom and about making the most of that specific historical time God gives to us. It is as if he is asking:

“What are we to do with our moments?

How are we best to spend this day, this hour, this minute?

What does God want us to be doing?”

Against this background, Paul seems to be encouraging us to perceive what God is doing now and act in accordance with it.

Remember the men of Issachar? 1 Chronicles 12:32 (ESV)

³²Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. 

Now is the hour to denounce worldliness, refuse apathy, and cling to Jesus like never before. It is time to redeem the time while trusting God, for though the days are evil, he is forever good.

Monday Morning Moment:

“The real (revival) revolution will not be televised!”

Ezekiel 36:26 (NASB) ²⁶“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 

Be a Berean “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  Acts 17:11