Slideshow image

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.    

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

As a result of Solomon’s sins, God split the 12 tribes of Israel into 2 nations (931 B.C. and 1 Kings, chapter 12). 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).

After the Babylonian Exile, a Remnant Returns to Judah

The exile that God had predicted through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:1-11), first came to fulfillment in 605 B.C. when the Babylonians overthrew Jerusalem and began deporting Jews to Babylon. That event began the 70-year exile that Jeremiah had prophesied for Judah, and that exile was God’s judgement for Israel’s violation of Sabbath laws (2 Chronicles 36:15-21). There were also deportations of Jews to Babylon in 597 B.C. and 586 B.C.

In 539 B.C., the Persians overthrew the Babylonians. Cyrus, the Persian king, soon after the victory proclaimed a decree that the Jews were allowed to return to Judah & build a temple in Jerusalem to their God (2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1- Ezra 6:3-5). Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews back to Judah in 538 B.C.    

The primary theme of Haggai (520-505 B.C.) is rebuilding the temple that the Babylonians destroyed when they deported the Jews to Babylon. Haggai probably returned to Jerusalem with the first group of Jews (approximately 50,000) to leave Babylon, led by Zerubbabel (538 B.C.).

Once in Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple started in 536 B.C. but the laying of the temple’s foundation cause some to rejoice while the old men wept (Ezra 3:10-13) because the old men realized that the new temple’s glory would not begin to compare with the glory of Solomon’s temple. However, Haggai prophesied that, “’The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former’, says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9).

Then the building of the temple was delayed several years as leaders of surrounding territories filed an official objection with the Persian Kings (Cyrus, Darius, Ahasuerus/Xerxes) in Babylon. These enemies claimed that Israel would incite rebellion and not pay taxes to the King if the temple was to be rebuilt (Ezra 4). However, a search of the King’s records revealed that the rebuilding of the temple had indeed been decreed by King Cyrus & was therefore legal (Ezra 6).

Haggai motivated the people to finish the temple, and God promised that as the people worked to finish it that He would bless them (Haggai 2:15-19). Haggai also prophesied that God would make Zerubbabel “like a signet ring” (Haggai 2:23). Apparently, this was God designating Zerubbabel as the representative of King David’s descendants, now that the upheaval of the exile was over, that would be the line of descendants to the Messiah.        

The prophet Zechariah (520-470 B.C.) was a contemporary of Haggai. They both started their ministries about the same time (520 B.C.), and God used both prophets to motivate the people to rebuild the temple (Ezra 5:1-2), which was finished in 516 B.C. However, Zechariah’s ministry was much longer than Haggai’s ministry.

The book of Zechariah can be divided into 3 sections. The first section (1:7-6:15) is a series of 8 visions that God gave to Zechariah in a single night. The second section (chapters 7-8) addresses a question about whether there should continue to be a national fast to commemorate the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. This question is answered negatively in chapter 7 but is answered positively in chapter 8. The third section (chapters 9-14) predicts the rejection of the Messiah’s first coming to earth (9:1-11:17), and the Messiah’s acceptance when He returns to earth the second time (12:1-14:21).

Events described in Zechariah 12 indicate that before the Messiah’s second coming there will be a great repentance among the Jews where they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Zech. 12:10-13:1). Zechariah 14 describes the events on the day that the Messiah returns to earth and intervenes against Israel’s enemies.      

Last of all, the prophet Malachi (437-417 B.C.) was used by God to give God’s last prophetical revelation of the Hebrew scriptures. Malachi’s ministry takes place approximately 100 years after the first group of Jews left the Babylonian captivity and returned to Jerusalem (536 B.C.) and finished rebuilding the temple (516 B.C.).

Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall in 445 B.C. but returned to Persia in 433 B.C. Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem around 424 B.C. and took action on several of the issues (Nehemiah 13) that Malachi addressed. Therefore, it is likely that Malachi’s message was proclaimed and written in that period that Nehemiah was away from Jerusalem.

The book employs a question-and-answer format over a series of issues. Those issues include the quality of sacrifices (chapter 1), as well as corrupt priests, marriage to pagans, and divorce (chapter 2). In chapter 3, Malachi proclaims the coming Messiah who will purge and purify the people, then the prophet addresses disobedience in tithes and offerings. In chapter 4, there is a prophecy that God would send the prophet Elijah before the Messiah comes.

Notable passages in the book of Malachi include God’s invitation to test Him in the area of us giving tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8-12). Also in chapter 3, there is the mention of a book of remembrance being written before the Lord, “so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16).

(Note: all scripture quotations are from the NKJV. In this 3-part blog series, many thanks to The MacArthur Study Bible, 2 ed., Thomas Nelson, for historical references and book summari