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In every age, no matter how dark the day, nor how dimly the light of divine testimony shone, God always had His men. Resolute men they were, real men, albeit made of dust. But see what God can do with dust when mixed with the water of His Word and molded on the wheel of His will. Then, taking such vessels of honor in hand, He put within them a treasure, although not half so precious as the message placed within believers today.
There were preaching prophets like Elijah and Elisha, some who both wrote and preached. Of the writing prophets, they are often divided into major (Isaiah-Daniel) and minor prophets (Hosea-Malachi). The only reason is their size, not their importance. In the Hebrew Bible, the minor prophets were in one book. In fact the Hebrew arrangement included the Former Prophets in the historical writings (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings) and the Latter Prophets with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets. Daniel, although part prophetic, was included with the “Writings” (Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 & 2 Chronicles).
As Scroggie writes; “The prophets had both insight and foresight, and foresight because of their insight. Theirs was a manifold function, for they combined in themselves preacher, teacher, statesman, reformer, and herald. They appeared at times of crisis in their nation’s history as the champions of righteousness; they were essentially the moral conscience of their age. They were men of their time and for all time.”
HOSEA: His name means “Salvation” (like Joshua and Jesus) and his message is the longsuffering love of God. Not surprisingly, he prophesied longer than any other prophet. In the golden but corrupt days of Jeroboam II, Hosea was called to feel the grief of the unrequited love of Jehovah. His wife, Gomer, had prostituted her love (whether before or after her marriage is not clear). Hosea was to seek her return, pay for her restoration, and woo her that she might truly love him. We Gentiles get into the picture as Peter links Hosea’s children with the church age (1 Pet. 2:10).
JOEL: This prophet’s name is the message of the Old Testament in four words. It is a contraction of Yahveh (Jehovah) and El—The Lord is God. The book falls into two parts. First, Joel speaks, giving a historical description of the desolation of Judah (1:1-2:17). Then Jehovah speaks (2:18-3:21) prophesying the destruction and the deliverance to come. Peter uses Joel 2 to convince the Jews at Pentecost of the reality of the work of the Spirit in their midst.
AMOS: A herdsman from Tekoa, Amos (“Burden”) lived only a score of miles from the border between his native Judah and Israel with its capital, Samaria. Imagine the chagrin for the northern ten tribes to have a lowly gatherer of sycamore fruit to prophesy to them about the wickedness of eight countries in the Levant (chs. 1-2). But how shocked they must have been when, after pronouncing woes on six Gentile nations round about them, Amos concludes with Israel and Judah! Like a great bell tolling, the sentences ring out: “For three transgressions . . . and for four,” a figure of speech describing the overflow of their iniquity. Chapters 3-6 gives a series of sermons and chapters 7-9 a series of visions. The threats of impending doom are interspersed with five calls to “seek the Lord.”
OBADIAH: The vision of Obadiah (“Servant or Worshipper of Jehovah”) came about the time of the collapse of Judah (586 B.C.). A contemporary of Jeremiah, his prophecy is against Edom. It is not so much a warning to them as it is a small ray of light in the darkness for the children of Israel that God will not let their persecutors go unpunished. It is also a solemn word to any nation that would touch the apple of His eye. Israel’s deliverance is also foretold (vv. 17-21).
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