Who Are The "Minor" Prophets?

The books of these minor prophets are not assembled in chronological order, which makes it somewhat more difficult to assess their role in the history of Israel and Judah. The following prophets spoke their messages to the Southern Kingdom, that is the nation of Judah, before the Babylonians accomplished their first deportation (605 B.C.). The prophets are presented here in chronological order.    

Prophets of the Southern Kingdom (Judah and part of Benjamin)

As a result of Solomon’s sins, God split Israel’s 12 tribes into 2 nations (1 Kings 12, occurring in 931 B.C.). The northern 10 tribes were called “Israel,” or “Samaria” (and sometimes called “Ephraim” after the largest tribe), and the 2 remaining southern tribes (Judah & Benjamin) became known as “Judah” (part of the tribe of Benjamin was loyal to the northern 10 tribes, and the other part of Benjamin was loyal to the tribe of Judah).

As Judah became its own nation, their leader Rheoboam (Solomon’s son) reigned as Judah’s first king for 17 years (931-913 B.C.). Rheoboam “forsook the law of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 12:1) and began to pursue idolatry (1 Kings 14:22-24). He may have been encouraged towards idolatry by his mother since she was an Ammonitess (1 Kings 14:21). Throughout Judah’s history, some kings were faithful while other kings pursued idolatry. Those periods where leaders rejected God’s law and pursued idolatry made the nation of Judah ripe for God’s rebuke through the prophets.   

The prophet Obadiah (850-840 B.C.) appears to have been the first of the writing prophets in the southern kingdom. Obadiah actually prophesied against the nation of Edom, which came from the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother (Gen. 36:1-9). Esau showed contempt for following God’s covenant by disregarding his birthright which he sold to Jacob for a pot of stew (Gen. 25:29-34) and marrying 2 Canaanite women (Gen. 26:34-35). Many years later, the nation of Edom refused the nation of Israel passage through Edom’s territory when Israel was traveling through the wilderness (Num. 20:14-21). Still later, it appears that Edom joined with the Philistines and Arabians when they attacked Jerusalem around 845 B.C. (during the reign of Jehoram – 2 Chronicles 21:8-20). It seems the book of Obadiah was a response to Edom joining that invasion.

The Edomites lived in mountain terrain that was difficult to access. However, Obadiah’s prophecy against Edom declares that such terrain will not protect them from the Lord’s judgement (Obad. 3-4). Edom had both approved and participated in the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (Obad. 10-14), and the consequence was that eventually the nation of Edom would cease to exist (Obad. 18). Indeed, after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the nation of Edom (also known as Idumea) disappears from history (“The New International Dictionary of the Bible” by Douglas and Tenney, pg. 293).     

Then God sent the prophet Joel (835-796 B.C.). “The Day of the Lord” is the theme of Joel’s prophecy. Joel’s message is not directed at specific countries near as much as other books of prophecy. Instead, Joel’s prophecy describes a judgement that Judah is experiencing at the moment and uses that situation to draw attention to a coming day when God will display His full judgement, the Day of the Lord. People need to be warned of a day approaching when they will be accountable to God for the way that they have lived, so that they can repent (Joel 2:12-13).     

In chapter 1, Joel describes an invasion of locusts that has destroyed the land. In Joel 2:1-11, the intensity of the locusts is compared to an invading army, which leads to a call for repentance in Joel 2:12-17. If indeed the nation repents, then the people can expect the Lord’s material blessing and restoration that is described in Joel 2:18-27. Joel 2:28-32 describes a spiritual blessing that would follow the material blessing. Verses 28-32 are quoted by Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). Chapter 3 refers to a distant future time when God will gather the nations together for judgement. It is common in biblical prophecy to use the crisis of the moment to help describe and envision the intensity of a future time of judgement. That future judgement of all nations would include the scene described in Matthew 25:31-46.     

God then sent Micah (735-710 B.C.). Similar to the prophet Amos, Micah seems to be someone who lived in a rural setting but was used by God to address the political and religious practices of the nation. Micah’s introduction (1:1, 5) addresses both the northern and southern kingdoms (see also 3:8), although most of his attention concerned the southern kingdom (Judah). Micah’s reference (Micah 1:6) to the coming destruction of Samaria (the Northern 10 tribes) proves that Micah’s message started before 722 B.C.

Once the Northern kingdom was overthrown, a flood of refugees would have flowed into Judah, bringing their mixture of religious practices (both the law of Moses and Assyrian idolatry) with them as they settled in Judah. Micah addresses this, and clarifies what the Lord desires from His followers, such as Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (also quoted by President Jimmy Carter at his inauguration in 1976).       

Micah uses the terms of a lawsuit and a courtroom setting to describe the charges against Judah (Micah 1:2, 6:1-2), and those charges come in 3 cycles that start with the warning to “hear” (1:2, 3:1, 6:1). Themes include identifying the sins of God’s people, warning of consequences that will come, and the blessings for faithful followers once judgement is past.  

The ministry of Zephaniah (635-625 B.C.). As the 600’s B.C. neared the end of that century the nation of Assyria gradually weakened and gave way to the rising power of Babylon. Finally, Babylon defeated Assyria at the battle of Nineveh in 612 B.C. Twenty (20) years before the fall of Assyria, a weakening Assyria loosened its’ grip on Judah, and Judah’s King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34-35) was able to rule more independently. As King Josiah began to purge the land of idolatry, Hilkiah (the high priest) cleaned out the temple and found the book of the law of Moses (2 Chronicles 34:1-15). Reading the book before the King Josiah (622 B.C.) motivated the king to further repentance and to celebrate the Passover (2 Chronicles 34:16-35:19).

Zephaniah’s message is about the “Day of the Lord.” Most likely, Zephaniah’s prophecies helped to guide Josiah’s reforms. Indeed, the book of Zephaniah includes messages forecasting Assyria’s downfall (Zephaniah 2:13-15) and declaring Judah’s sin and corruption (Zephaniah 3:1-7). The book ends with verses that rejoice in God’s faithfulness to His people. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us “He will rejoice over you with gladness, … He will rejoice over you with singing.”

The prophet Habakkuk (620-605 B.C.) prophesied prior to the exile of Judah to Babylon. The book of Habakkuk begins with the prophet bemoaning the lack of justice in Judah and God’s apparent indifference to His law being disregarded so openly (Hab. 1:1-4). God’s response is that He is bringing the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to execute a violent judgment on the land (Hab. 1:5-11). The prophet cannot comprehend why God would use such an idolatrous people to be the means of punishing God’s people (1:12-17).

In chapter 2, the Lord assures Habakkuk that He will eventually punish the Babylonians as well. Also, Habakkuk 2:4 introduces a concept that “the just shall live by his faith.” The apostle Paul elaborates on this idea in the New Testament (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11).  In chapter 3, Habakkuk is still bewildered by all that he has heard from God, but Habakkuk does understand that the Lord is getting ready to use a pagan force to bring judgment. The prophet will stay watchful as the Lord fulfills what the Lord proclaimed (Habakkuk 3:17-19).  

(Note: all scripture quotations are from the New King James Version).