TODAY’S VERSE:

Isaiah 55:11 “...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

We have learned about the Pentateuch, the Historical Section, and the Writings. Last up in the Old Testament is the Prophetic section. A prophet is a person who is called by God to deliver a message to His people about His plans for the future. This section has 17 books (including 1 non-prophetic book). There are 2 types, major and minor; the longer books called major and the shorter ones, minor. We will first look at the major prophets.

Isaiah
Warnings for Judah and its kings:
-to stop worshipping other gods and seeking help from other countries instead of from the Lord.
-about trouble coming from Babylon.
-about their future exile.
Also contains prophecy regarding:
-the future generations of God’s people after the exile.
-God’s holiness in judging sin and being the means to salvation, for Jews and Gentiles, through the Messiah who would bear the punishment we all deserve.

Jeremiah
-Written during the fall of the Assyrian Empire to the Babylon Empire who carried the Jews away into exile.
-God had warned Judah for more than 40 years to turn from evil and repent, but the Israelites ignored Him.
-There were many false prophets during the time of peace in Judah, so people ignored Jeremiah since he prophesied tragedy vs prosperity.
-Jeremiah also announced the coming of the New Covenant, when God’s Word would be written in our hearts, not spoken from the prophets.

Lamentations
-The only non-prophetic book in this section.
-It is considered the saddest book in the Bible, written about the loss of Jerusalem and God’s temple, which were burned to the ground.

Ezekiel
-This prophet was among the Jews who were carried away to Babylon and was used by God to continue His warnings to the people.
-God spoke to Ezekiel in dreams and had him communicate His warnings by acting them out in street shows.

Daniel
-A prophet who was in the exile to Babylon and put to work in the royal court.
-Includes stories about him and his 3 friends (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego), including how the Lord protected them when the King had them thrown into a fiery furnace.
-The most famous story about Daniel is when King Darius had him thrown into a lion’s den. Daniel was the King’s most trusted advisor, which made the other advisors jealous. They set him up so the King had to punish him. Daniel left the den left untouched because God protected him!

It truly amazing how patient, fair, and faithful God is! He disciplines us when we disobey, but He first warns us and then gives us time to repent. God loves His people and that is the biggest blessing of all!