Introduction: Just a quick review. We see the prophet’s ministry divided between three different sets of people:

1. Unbelieving world
2. God’s people who have fallen away
3. God’s people who are struggling with following God

• We have three men whom we have already looked at who were sent to convey God’s heart to a lost and broken world.
• Jonah gives two major revelations: first, that God is in sovereign control of all the nations; and secondly, we see God’s compassion and mercy being extended to them, despite where his own people are at.
• Nahum shows us that while God has great love and compassion for the whole world, people will be held accountable for their actions.
• Obadiah confronts people with their own pride, which will lead to their complete destruction.

2.  God’s people who have fallen away

• We have four men who were sent to convey God’s heart to his people, whose heritage had been in God but became polluted as they combined their faith with the religions of those surrounding them. These four men were called to bring them back to God and God alone.
•  Elijah, whose name meant ‘My God is Jehovah,’ challenged God’s people to make a choice: either worship Baal or worship the Lord.
• Elisha, who was Elijah’s disciple, carried on the work of Elijah. His name is interpreted as ‘God is his salvation.’ He spent his life showing how salvation was found in God and in God alone.
•  Amos, the burden bearer, was a poor shepherd and farmer sent to Israel to highlight their pride as revealed through their self-reliance. This was seen in their luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle, which they claimed to be the blessing of God, when in reality, it was nothing more than a testament to their own self-absorption.
• Hosea, whose name means ‘Deliverance,’ is an amazing book that reveals the wonders of God’s love and grace to a people whose hearts want nothing more than to chase after other lovers. What hope, what encouragement to those whose years have been spent pursuing other gods! Clearly, the message is: while they may have forgotten God, God has certainly not forgotten them.
•          That brings us to this last section of people—a people who are committed to the line of David, the true heritage that the Messiah will come out of, and yet are struggling with following God or remaining faithful to him because they too have compromised with the world around them.

A.    Prophets to the Southern Kingdom (2 Tribes)

                                                  1.      Micah: Who Is like Jehovah (Was to both the Northern & Southern Kingdoms)

• He was the first prophet to litigate God’s court case against Israel for breaking covenant.
• He was concerned and convinced that both the Northern and Southern kingdoms were heading for disaster because of the oppression of the poor and the idolatrous lifestyle of their leaders.
• Many of the passages indicate that he was a countryman, perhaps a peasant farmer.
• This makes sense, because with his background, he could more fully identify with the poor and the oppressed.
• Furthermore, he attacks the false prophets who he sees as exploiting God's people for their money.
• He also zeroes in on fraudulent merchants, judges who judge based on favoritism, and corrupt priests.
• He essentially attacks their whole system of corrupt values and calls God's people back to the simplistic values he originally showed them.
• Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
• Loving God doesn't have to be complicated! Being people of faith doesn't require us to be rocket scientists or suave and sophisticated.
• On the contrary, the expression of love is very simple: being just, generous in mercy, and humble.
• Lastly, he points to the coming of the Messiah, representing hope for a whole new time.
• Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
• Special note: Interestingly, he ends with a play on his own name — Who Is Like Jehovah.
• Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

2.      Isaiah: Yahweh saves

• Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, appearing more than 400 times.
• In terms of length, it ranks second only to the Psalms.
• The combination of its dramatic range of theological themes and historical perspectives has led many scholars, preachers, and poets to call this book the centerpiece of prophetic literature.
• Isaiah has been called 'The Gospel of the Old Testament' because of its rich and detailed treatment of Christ.
• Interestingly, some scholars have observed that the book of Isaiah mirrors the structure of the Bible. Isaiah has 66 chapters, and the Bible has 66 books. Isaiah’s first 39 chapters deal primarily with the history of Israel, just like the 39 books of the Old Testament. The remaining 27 chapters deal with the future of the Israelite people, including beautiful prophecies about Christ, the coming Messiah, just as the 27 books of the New Testament focus on the story of Christ.
• Isaiah’s background makes him unique. He seemed to be an aristocrat, giving him access to both kings and priests. This allowed him to interact with people of influence and power, the opposite of his fellow prophet Micah, who was a countryman, a peasant farmer, and would never have felt comfortable in those circles.
• Isaiah was a family man, married to a prophetess, and had two sons whom God also used to convey messages.
• Even though Isaiah had status and ministered to the elite, his ministry was far from easy. He was called to an agonizing task because, no matter what he said or did, God's people would not listen or see the truth.
• Isaiah 6:9-10 He said, 'Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.'
• Isaiah’s first response, understandably, was to ask, 'How long, O Lord, must I do this?' The answer was just as heavy as the calling.
• Isaiah 6:11-12 'Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.'
• Despite this difficult task, Isaiah remained faithful to the end. According to tradition, he was sawn in two by Manasseh, the last evil king of the Southern Kingdom.
• He was truly an amazing man, and one might ask, what made him so unique?
• One defining moment that set him apart was his initial encounter with God. His vision of God as holy, as Savior, and as the supreme ruler is unparalleled. Read his experience:
• Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me!
• In that moment, Isaiah saw not only how far he himself fell short, but also how far the entire nation of Israel had wandered.
• It was from this revelation that he was able to speak truth into issues of righteousness and justice.
• The book of Isaiah is generally divided into two main sections. Chapters 1–39 deal primarily with the coming judgment, which was fulfilled when Babylon conquered Israel and took the people into exile. Chapters 40–66 provide encouragement and hope during the exile, offering promises of a glorious return.
• Isaiah gave hope by drawing parallels between their experience in Babylon and their time of slavery in Egypt. Just as they were once captives in Egypt and God led them out, so now he would lead them out of Babylon.
• Isaiah prophesied that a 'way' or new exodus ('exodus' literally means 'way out') would come again when God would lead his people from the wilderness. Just like in the first exodus, God would send a messenger who would cry out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. The proud would be humbled, the broken lifted up, and the way of the Lord made straight.
• That word 'way' becomes very important. Jesus later declared that he was the 'way,' and the early church would be identified as 'The Way' in the earliest stages of their ministry.
• This way or day of deliverance would be a time of 'glad tidings.' The Greek word for 'glad tidings' in the Septuagint is 'euangelion' — the very word New Testament writers used to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and his kingdom.
• Isaiah provided some of the most beautiful insights into the coming Messiah. From Isaiah we learn that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, that he would have a ministry in Galilee, and that the Spirit of God would rest upon him, giving him wisdom and understanding.
• In the latter part of his life, Isaiah gained an even deeper revelation of the Messiah, describing him as the suffering servant, one who would endure greatly on our behalf.

3.      Zephaniah: the Lord has hidden

• After Isaiah was martyred, there was a time of silence concerning God's prophetic voice. Zephaniah, possibly another member of the royal court, ended this half-century of quiet in a major way. He didn’t bring a message of hope like many of the other prophets. On the contrary, he brought a message of doom.
• Zephaniah 1:2-4  'I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,' declares the LORD. 'I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble. I will cut off man from the face of the earth,' declares the LORD. 'I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem.'
• One of the issues Zephaniah addresses is the widespread complacency among the people. They were fully aware of the evil around them—but they chose not to act. They saw idolatry flourishing, oppression taking root, and the weak being exploited, yet remained indifferent. Zephaniah brings home the point... that God will judge this.
• Zephaniah 1:12  'At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’'
• The clear message here is that faith is not typically defeated by direct assaults but by the slow, crushing effects of apathy—by people growing indifferent to evil, injustice, and the suffering of the vulnerable.
•  While most of Zephaniah’s message focuses on God’s judgment for sin, he also offers a glimpse of hope. He reveals God’s gracious intent to save the humble and undeserving.
• Zephaniah 3:14-17  'Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, ‘Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.’'

4.      Habakkuk: embraced by God

• He prophesied in the last days of Judah, right before Babylon was going to take them captive.
• The structure of the book is determined by a number of questions that he had for God. These questions are still relevant for us today, such as: Why hasn’t Judah been judged before this for their wickedness? How can You use someone who is even more wicked than them to bring Your judgment?
• Great questions — but even more important than the questions is that we get a wonderful picture of what it is to experience being intimate with God in the midst of great upheaval.
• And because he experienced this intimacy with God, he was able to be renewed and find the courage he needed as he waited for the enemy to attack.
• What we have here is a model of intimacy with the Father; an illustration of what kind of dialogue we can have with God — in a way that blows most of us away.
• Habakkuk 2:1–2 I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the LORD will say to me and how He will answer my complaint. Then the LORD said to me, 'Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.'
• Notice the pattern: (1) Ask, (2) Position yourself to hear, (3) Wait, (4) See, (5) Write it down.
  It was out of this kind of intimacy that he was able to say:
• Habakkuk 3:18–19 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.
• In other words, we can learn how to depend on God in such a way that we can go to great heights — like the deer he sees on the mountainsides — so that we can look back into the valley and see our circumstances through God's eyes and receive strength.
• Special note: One of the revelations he received sets up one of the main themes in the New Testament written by Paul:
• Habakkuk 2:4–5 Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith.
• We don’t live by the law, or by performing rituals, or by keeping some sort of list — but it is by faith, and faith alone!

5.      Jeremiah:  embraced, appointed and lifted up by God

• Jeremiah prophesied through four turbulent decades, right up to the time of Jerusalem being attacked and seized, and then for a short season afterward.
• He declared the word of God to both kings and common people alike, at great personal cost.
• Jeremiah 1:4-10 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ ‘Ah, Sovereign LORD,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD.. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’
• What a calling — to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow. It’s no wonder no one liked him or received him well.
• One of his most famous teachings, which I still use all the time today, is his accurate description of the human struggle:
• Jeremiah 2:13 ‘My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.’
• Almost every struggle we have as humans can be seen through the lens of this verse. All our problems exist because we have turned away from God — who was meant to be the very source of our life, value, and security — and have gone looking for them in other places. That is no better than broken wells, for they can only give us a little water, a little life, before they run out.
• This is true for people obsessed with drugs, alcohol, sex, food, or any addictive behavior. It includes obsessions like workaholism or the constant pursuit of relationships outside the context of marriage.
• What a great message to give — but, like Moses, Jeremiah felt very inadequate for the job. He believed his youth would hamper him from delivering the word of gloom to a hostile audience, yet God promised He would protect him.
• Another interesting note about Jeremiah is that, unlike Hosea or Isaiah, God commanded him never to marry or have children — to symbolize the barrenness of the land under judgment.
• This turned out to be a good thing because, due to his preaching, he experienced a number of serious threats on his life. People even stalked him repeatedly.
• His opposition came from everywhere — even his own family. Later, a coalition of priests and prophets charged him with blasphemy. Yet God, true to His word, kept him alive. Barely at times, but still alive.
• Thus, Jeremiah stands out not only for the word he carried but for who he was in the midst of such rejection.
• Five characteristics stand out:
  a. Honesty
  b. Courageous in living out his convictions
  c. Passionate in his hatred of immoral and sinful conduct
  d. Sensitive and compassionate toward people's suffering (he wept for God's people for days at a time)
  e. A man of hope, even though he preached doom
• One of his greatest theological contributions was his insight into the human heart. The deep grip sin had on people’s hearts explains the ongoing ungrateful rebelliousness of God's people.
• He saw the heart as the center of intellectual and moral decisions, which was unfortunately deceitful and corrupt.
• Jeremiah 17:9 ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?’
• This was demonstrated to him over and over again, as people continually despised their spiritual heritage while at the same time justifying their wicked behavior.
• Therefore, there could not be any superficial solutions or sweeping political reforms that could remedy this open corruption.
• Only a new covenant — a binding relationship between a sovereign God and Israel, His people.
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 ‘The time is coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the LORD.‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the LORD. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’
• And of course, this was completely fulfilled in Christ!

   Lamentations by Jeremiah:  

• Jeremiah wrote a series of five laments over the fall of Jerusalem.
• The destruction of Jerusalem created a crisis of faith, because it was their firm belief that Jerusalem would never fall. But that illusion was quickly shattered when Nebuchadnezzar pierced the so-called impregnable walls and destroyed the Temple.
• Lamentations was written to encourage acceptance of God's judgment while offering hope beyond that judgment.
• Lamentations 3:19-26 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

6.      Joel: Jehovah is God

• Joel centers much of his message on the concept of 'The Day of the Lord.'
• Four scenes depict this decisive day, and each scene has two parts.
• The first scene found in Chapter 1, describes the immediate disaster — a devastating locust plague — which leads to a call for national repentance and prayer because of the severity of the plague.
• In the second scene, all of this is repeated, but now the plague is likened to — or perhaps implicitly identified as — an army with Yahweh at their head, accompanied by cosmic signs. The summons to repentance is now based on Yahweh's character.
• This extended metaphor of locusts could serve as a kind of code word for the Babylonian armies that invaded Judah.
• In the third scene, God reaches out to His people by giving them a very famous promise: Joel 2:25
  'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten...'
• And then, adding to that, God gives a second special promise to encourage His people — that there is hope ahead of them — a new age of the Spirit, which points them to a glorious future:
• Joel 2:28-29 'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.'
• The fourth and final scene in chapter 3 depicts God's second response by bringing judgment against the nations in the form of a great battle. The scene ends with a picture of God's extraordinary blessing on His forgiven and purified people.
• Unlike other prophets, Joel makes no mention of the specific sins that precipitated these calamities. Instead, he focuses on the solution — repentance.
• From this, he begins to unfold his understanding of 'The Day of the Lord.' This phrase appears five times: 1:15, 2:1, 2:11, 2:31, and 3:14.
• He gives us five different aspects of this great and marvelous day:     

a. It transcends time: 

This phrase is used by Peter in Acts 2:17-21 to describe the outpouring of God’s Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It was fulfilled then, and yet there is more to come before we reach the full consummation of the Kingdom of God.

b. It is both great and terrible: Depending on where you are in your relationship with God. If you are in a good place, this will be a great day of rejoicing. If not, this day will be horrific.

c.  It is a day of judgment: Joel gives us a lens to perceive judgment through. We are to see it in such a way that we don’t fear it but embrace it, respond to it, and find security in it. Let it do its work in our hearts — which is to purify and cleanse us. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 'But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.'

d. It is a day of decision: Since this day transcends time, we must make our choice — who will we serve? — because there will come a time when we don’t get to choose anymore.

e.  It is a day of consequences.

• -        At this point, we find ourselves transitioning into a new era in the life of Israel, known as the time of exile.