The Fiery Warnings of the Minor Prophets (Part II)

By: James Thomas Lee Jr

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this second part of this study of the Minor Prophets, the writings of Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk are examined. With Obadiah, one can see the land of Edom and why the Edomites had thought that they were safe from outside attackers. Their land was very mountainous and easy to defend. Nevertheless, in about 583 BC, they did fall to the Babylonians. With Jonah, one can see the viciousness of the Assyrians in the Eighth Century BC. Everyone was afraid of them because of their brutality against their enemies. Nevertheless, at the preaching of Jonah, they had repented, and the Lord did not destroy them. Then in a complete ironic twist, the Assyrians overthrew the northern kingdom about fifty years or so after Jonah had gone to Nineveh. After the book of Jonah was the book of Micah. In Micah's prophecies, he wrote three oracles. The first was to wake up the heathen nations around Israel. The second was to condemn the evil practices of the wealthy against the poor. The third was to have a mock public trial against Israel.

In the book of Nahum, the Lord through Nahum had next indicated His judgment against Nineveh and had then described its fall in four different ways. Nineveh became a violent, bloody city. Nineveh was destroyed by debauchery and sin. Nineveh was destroyed when the men became like women. Nineveh was destroyed by fire, the sword, and locusts. Then in the book of Habakkuk, which was written at some time before the southern kingdom fell to Babylon, the Lord through Habakkuk had written about the rise and fall of Babylon. So what was apparent in the book of Nahum and then in the book of Habakkuk was that the Lord had used Babylon in 612 BC to punish Assyria for having been so cruel to the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom never existed again after falling to the Assyrians in 722 BC. The Lord had then used the Medes and Persians in 539 BC to punish Babylon for having been so cruel to the southern kingdom and for destroying the temple in 586 BC. The southern kingdom was then in captivity in Babylon for seventy years before returning home.

So in every part of the Bible, one can learn some important truths. The book of Psalms, for example, is a collection of experiential writings by its different authors. If one is having a bad day, then he or she can find the writings of many psalmists who were having bad days. If one is depressed or troubled, then similar writings can be found in the book of Psalms. The book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom. Follow its teachings and bypass many of the troubled paths of this life. In the book of Genesis, one can find how everything in this world got started. In the book of Revelation, one can see how it will all end. In the history books, one can see how the Lord had worked through the children of Israel for the two thousand years before the Incarnation of Jesus. In the books of the prophets, one can see how the Lord had sent His messengers to the world to warn its people when they were headed in the wrong direction. He is still sending godly people to this world today. So every part of the scriptures has truth and value for those who are truly looking for such things.