39 books constitute the Old Testament in our protestant Bibles. 17 are called the Prophets. 5 of the 17 are referred to as the Major Prophets because they constitute lengthier writings. They are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The remaining 12 are called the Minor Prophets because they are shorter in length. They include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Judeans considered the “minor prophets” to be one book and the Talmud says of them: “Our fathers made them one book, that they might not perish on account of their littleness.”
The designation “major” and “minor” prophets were assigned by man rather than by God. In fact, these books were not called the “minor prophets” until the time of Augustine and Jerome when the Latin Church designated them as such because of their brevity. It is erroneous to conclude that the “major” prophets are of major importance and the “minor” prophets are of minor importance. The man-given title of “minor” has nothing to do with their importance or content.
God’s messages in the minor prophets are just as important as His messages in the major prophets for His intended purpose and benefit for His people. A better knowledge of the minor prophets will lead to a deeper understanding of the New Testament, especially when it comes to the book of Revelation.
Therefore, in our Sunday morning auditorium class we are going to be working through the 12 books of the minor prophets. 3-4 men, including myself, Mark Horton, and Michael Hurley, will take turns as we go through each of these 12, relatively short, but very important books of the Bible. Mark is currently wrapping up the study of Hosea and I believe he has a couple of more lessons but he is out of town this week. So, I will be taking the auditorium class this Sunday and we will be looking at the book of Obadiah. Once Mark wraps up Hosea, Michael Hurley will begin a study from the book of Amos. Growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ requires that we study the whole word of God, not just the easy parts or the New Testament. Our hope is that you will embrace this study from the minor prophets as we all seek to grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15).
Praying everyone has a blessed week,
In Christ,
Gary T.