The Twelve
Minor Prophets with a major influence
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me...” —Malachi 3:1 (ESV)
I just finished reading through the Minor Prophets, also called The Twelve. These twelve Old Testament books include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. They’re some of the least-read books of the Bible by Christians today, but that’s not why they’re called the Minor Prophets. They’re given that name simply because their length is far shorter than the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
It’s been a few years since I slowed down and read The Twelve, and I will confess that as I took time to soak in them over the past few weeks, it wasn’t easy. At one point in Zephaniah, after reading several oracles predicting the downfall of various ancient peoples, I said to the Lord, “This is hard to read. I don’t understand how the fall of Cush applies to me. What am I supposed to do with this?”
Immediately, the reply came: It’s not always about you.
The Minor Prophets aren’t necessarily about me, or us. But because we’ve been grafted into the people of God (see Rom 10), these stories are our stories, too. They should shape the way we understand our God—his faithfulness to his people, his patience with us in our sin, his undeserved mercy, his justice, and his judgment. And they should shape the way we understand ourselves, our relationship to God, our identity as his children, and our calling to be holy as our Father is holy.
And, even though many Christians breeze through the Minor Prophets as fast as we can or skip them altogether, The Twelve have some of the most-often quoted verses that shape our faith and theology. Here are just a few:
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. —Joel 2:28-32
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. —Hosea 6:6
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. —Micah 5:2
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? —Micah 6:8
4 but the righteous shall live by his faith. —Habbakuk 2:4
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. —Zechariah 9:9
24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. —Amos 5:24
There are many more nuggets sprinkled throughout the Minor Prophets. So, the next time your Bible reading plan takes you into The Twelve, slow down and see them! How are these books shaping your story?