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Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.  – Ezra 5:1-2

Haggai’s brief ministry takes place around 520 B.C., when the project of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem had been stalled for over a decade.  Today, you’ll get to read what the LORD said through him that motivated the workers to return to the task.  More importantly, you’ll read how the LORD felt about this project, seven decades after He had allowed Solomon’s temple to be destroyed. 

I want to let Haggai’s words stand on their own, so I don’t want to say too much more.  You’ll notice that there are at least four distinct oracles spanning just three months.  Remember the characters Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest from Ezra.  Remember also the resistance they experienced from the people of land, who bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose… and made them afraid to build.   This is the setting into which Haggai is commissioned to charge, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways.” 

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Haggai.  Now let’s read it!

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.  – Ezra 5:1-2

Haggai’s brief ministry takes place around 520 B.C., when the project of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem had been stalled for over a decade.  Today, you’ll get to read what the LORD said through him that motivated the workers to return to the task.  More importantly, you’ll read how the LORD felt about this project, seven decades after He had allowed Solomon’s temple to be destroyed. 

I want to let Haggai’s words stand on their own, so I don’t want to say too much more.  You’ll notice that there are at least four distinct oracles spanning just three months.  Remember the characters Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest from Ezra.  Remember also the resistance they experienced from the people of land, who bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose… and made them afraid to build.   This is the setting into which Haggai is commissioned to charge, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways.” 

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Haggai.  Now let’s read it!

Around 630 B.C.

The typical introduction returns in Zephaniah, as the opening verse tells us that this is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi… in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah.  Given the presence of Baal worship, this is probably before the restoration of the Temple in Josiah’s 18th year, and may have contributed to Judah’s repentance. 

Any comfort ends there, however, for the LORD’s first declaration is that “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth.”  Moreover, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him."

I’ve noted before that each of these twelve prophets typically has one theme that they follow or charge to make, and Zephaniah’s is obviously about the folly of trusting other gods, or wealth, or Judah’s neighbors – none of which can be counted on for protection.  For, as has already been established, it is the LORD who ultimately punishes.  Listen carefully as the LORD spirals around this theme. 

But in chapter 3 the LORD draws a distinction between Jerusalem’s fickle, treacherous prophets, her priests who profane what is holy, and do violence to the law, and Himself, who alone is righteous; He does no injustice.  “Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, for …the great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast.

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Zephaniah.  Now let’s read it!

Around 630 B.C.

The typical introduction returns in Zephaniah, as the opening verse tells us that this is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi… in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah.  Given the presence of Baal worship, this is probably before the restoration of the Temple in Josiah’s 18th year, and may have contributed to Judah’s repentance. 

Any comfort ends there, however, for the LORD’s first declaration is that “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth.”  Moreover, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him."

I’ve noted before that each of these twelve prophets typically has one theme that they follow or charge to make, and Zephaniah’s is obviously about the folly of trusting other gods, or wealth, or Judah’s neighbors – none of which can be counted on for protection.  For, as has already been established, it is the LORD who ultimately punishes.  Listen carefully as the LORD spirals around this theme. 

But in chapter 3 the LORD draws a distinction between Jerusalem’s fickle, treacherous prophets, her priests who profane what is holy, and do violence to the law, and Himself, who alone is righteous; He does no injustice.  “Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, for …the great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast.

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Zephaniah.  Now let’s read it!

Probably around 605 B.C. 

There is no “Word of the LORD” introduction for Habakkuk, no genealogy, no geographic marker.  In fact, there is no mention of Judah or Jerusalem or Zion or Israel anywhere in this book.  The only placement of any kind is the rise of the Chaldeans, who ruled from Babylon and had overrun Assyria, Egypt, and all their former lands. 

These Chaldeans are the answer to Habakkuk’s first question, looking out on the corruption among his people, Habakkuk asks: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?... The wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.”  Justice, the LORD offers, will come from the hand of these Chaldeans who “all come for violence, all their faces forward.”  But this raises an even deeper question for Habakkuk: But what then is to stop the violence of the Chaldeans? 

This conversation slows down in chapter 2, and after the LORD assuages Habakkuk’s fear, the prophet sets his eyes on the gathering enemy, taunting “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own! …Will not your debtors suddenly arise?  Then you will be spoil for them. …You will have shame instead of glory.” 

As we’ve seen with prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Habakkuk’s journey is intensely personal.  The final chapter is Habakkuk’s psalm of response.  Look for where the prophet finds encouragement and strength, and what leads to his final conclusion. 

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Habakkuk.  Now let’s read it!

Probably around 605 B.C. 

There is no “Word of the LORD” introduction for Habakkuk, no genealogy, no geographic marker.  In fact, there is no mention of Judah or Jerusalem or Zion or Israel anywhere in this book.  The only placement of any kind is the rise of the Chaldeans, who ruled from Babylon and had overrun Assyria, Egypt, and all their former lands. 

These Chaldeans are the answer to Habakkuk’s first question, looking out on the corruption among his people, Habakkuk asks: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?... The wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.”  Justice, the LORD offers, will come from the hand of these Chaldeans who “all come for violence, all their faces forward.”  But this raises an even deeper question for Habakkuk: But what then is to stop the violence of the Chaldeans? 

This conversation slows down in chapter 2, and after the LORD assuages Habakkuk’s fear, the prophet sets his eyes on the gathering enemy, taunting “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own! …Will not your debtors suddenly arise?  Then you will be spoil for them. …You will have shame instead of glory.” 

As we’ve seen with prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Habakkuk’s journey is intensely personal.  The final chapter is Habakkuk’s psalm of response.  Look for where the prophet finds encouragement and strength, and what leads to his final conclusion. 

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

The prophet Habakkuk.  Now let’s read it!

Sometime after 663 B.C., but before 612 B.C.

Like Obadiah, Nahum’s call is specifically to a foreign nation: Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh.  This ancient city on the Tigris was the primary capital of the emperor Ashurbanipal, and had been known since before Jonah’s time as a den of treachery.  Unlike his predecessor, though, Nahum was able to preach God’s judgment from a distance. 

And this is probably best, for Nahum’s opening oracle declares: The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries and keeps wrath for His enemies.  After acquainting Assyria with the power of the LORD, the prophet alerts Nineveh of its fate: “No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile."

Remember that Assyria had wiped out the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroying its capital and scattering its people.  Here Nahum steps on a prominent prophetic theme: while the LORD had removed His protection from His people, allowing them to be punished by foreign nations, these nations were nonetheless responsible for the evil they had done.  This nuance in the LORD’s character is consistent throughout the prophets, and He feels fully justified in His vengeance, for Nineveh is vile. 

In chapters 2 and 3 water is used both as metaphor and as illustration.  Nahum foresees the siege that will take Nineveh in 612, how the Medes and Babylonians will surround it, how flood waters will breach the wall, and how it will be left desolate.  Like Thebes – the Egyptian capital that Assyria had plundered – Nineveh would not be saved either by water, or by its walls, or by its army. 

As you read, remember that it’s unclear how exactly Nineveh was to get this message.  It’s possible that this was written mainly for a Jewish audience to be encouraged that Assyria would soon fall.  It’s also possible that Assyria had sent an emissary to Judah seeking help against the rising Babylonians and Medes – hence the “worthless counselor” noted in chapter 1 – and this is an intended response.  Irrespective of Judah’s alignment with Assyria, her God would have nothing to do with them, for: “There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?”

Our verse for this week is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The prophet Nahum.  Now let’s read it!