Page 155 - Advanced OT Survey Revised
P. 155
Chapter 14: 3 Minor Prophets (post-exilic)
Connect…
God does fulfill his word. He promised that he would bring back the Jews to their land from the exile and
He did it. These last three Minor Prophets prophecy to the remnant of the house of Judah who came
back from the exile…
Objectives…
1. The student should be able to l discuss what these three books of the Minor Prophets are all
about.
2. The student should be able to discuss the important questions such as: what, when, where, how
for each book.
3. The student should be able to discuss the main message and main divisions of each individual
pre-post-exilic minor prophetic book.
4. The student should be able to discuss the applications from these books.
The Lesson ...
Post-Exilic Minor Prophets (3 books)
Introduction
As mentioned earlier, the last three books of the Old Testament, the Minor Prophets Haggai, Zechariah
and Malachi fall in the Post-exilic period of Jewish history. The time frame and historical context for
these books provide us with a glimpse of the political, physical and spiritual condition of the remnant of
Judah with returned from the Babylonian captivity, covering about 100 years from the decree of Cyrus in
538 BC to 420 BC. Haggai and Zechariah fit with Chapters 1-6 of the book of Ezra, dealing with the
rebuilding of the temple between 536-515 BC during the first return from exile under Zerubbabel.
Malachi corresponds to Nehemiah who led the third return in 444 BC to rebuild the city walls. Malachi
focuses primarily on the spiritual condition of the people as the Old Testament closes and sets the stage
for the coming of John the Baptist as the last Old Testament prophet 400 years later to announce
Messiah.
153
