The Minor Prophets of the Bible are shorter books with more specific content, compared to the broader subjects of the Major Prophets. The writings of the prophets discuss how important it is for Christian people to change their ways to avoid Gods wrath, shining more of a light on the carnal intentions of people. The book of Lamentations doesnt state outright that Jeremiah wrote the book, but several expressions within the content direct many to think they are the words of Jeremiah. 0000001586 00000 n We can then read how Christ will return in the books of Zachariah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Hosea is a good example. The "major prophets" include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel b. While it is a good thing that kids get used to reading out loud and reading the Bible for themselves, elementary-aged children do not typically have the reading skills necessary to be able both read out loud and comprehend at the same time. Both are related. In fact, there is an entire section of the Old Testament that we refer to as the "Prophets." "$,Nii>QrQQ@f0,F8~_Y4^O1BCZyz[)&9oRi~f;HdE'hH&@E{ys{QvBRHYV#I5[2n@ Isaiah 1:1 explains that the prophet Isaiah received his revelations from God in a vision, one way that prophets can receive messages from God. A second use relates to scales (modes). The goal is to make it relevant and see how it applies to us. Joel was a prophet to Judah and warned them that they must repent or face judgment. 0000002165 00000 n Have the students cut out the names of the prophets and glue onto the appropriate side (Major or Minor prophet), All of the Major prophets are represented there, and a selection of Minor prophets. Also, use this time to take the topic where the students want to go. These names are a reference to when the prophets spoke in relation to the Babylonian captivity. The Minor Prophets are made up of the following 11 books: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Zephaniah called Judah back to God and promised that the faithful could look forward to when God judged the wicked. God makes it very clear what would happen if they were not faithful to Him. Tell them to draw a picture for their parents. Blair Parkeis a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com and freelance book editor who wrote her first book,"Empty Hands Made Full," in 2021 about her journey through infertility with her husband. Answer: There is no difference between a Major and a Minor Prophet. Dan 9: and the 70th week), but sometimes they were just claiming and proclaiming the promises of God to Abraham and David that he would make the nation great, send the Messiah and bring the Gentiles into the kingdom. Modern scholars often claim that these positive messages are later additions by some scribe. The exilic prophets wrote to assure the people that God would restore them to the land. There are constant warnings and condemnation of either Gods people going astray or what will happen to those who choose to reject God. This is because they came later in Israel's history, as opposed to the earlier books of Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings. A Study of the Minor Prophets Introduction Page 3 century), the Latin church employed the term "Minor" because of their brevity as compared with the "Major Prophets". 0000003250 00000 n They warn the wicked and encourage the righteous. >yx2ZC}9sGQ94{8>B YVaP}-t8b3PIKY/2G*uWxI]+1b S4!:{jn!p(,1wx 7Kt$\y\go= h2WZMU*s"nw>X\nZ*Ecq_&+0 ^,rda:}%a[0:T~]`i%npI>I&PUCe{JGG!C`b>oqyC/Lo,|?}xF#Q$[G>U4Sr7;yRa ddBh%z Q+l|"-H0o@t=. . They may or may not have been. The adult at the other end calls out a time. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? And so theres not one prophecy or Prophet thats more important than another because all Gods word is written basically under the inspiration of the Holy and the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. Moroni quoted Joel's prophecy to Joseph Smith. All rights reserved. Real Questions. In fact, unless you understand Dueteronomy 28-30 you cannot appreciate or perhaps even understand what the prophets are talking about. The Hebrew word for prophet is Nebi, which is derived from the verb action, to bubble forth like a fountain. (Just like Deut 28-30 warned) The prophets messages of sin and judgment must be seen in this light. Some prophets overlap, lived in different areas, or the chronology cannot be estimated with any accuracy. PDF Lessons From The Minor Prophets - Bible Study Guide b@iIO,[J3Fy" 2:00 means take 2 steps, etc, Before any student reaches the end, yell out "REPENT!". Some of the prophets were told to speak God's word to the Northern Kingdom, and some to the Southern Kingdom. That student will whisper the same message in the ear of the person next to them and so on down the line. )kR-9a-; g^{q&`]XQqyF[Qr bzD#rs&13]lNh!VfoKI6DcVh`YIt3sn=##|"no((x3I2"~^LtZ< They are the accumulation of several years of messages and they are not always a cohesive unit with a distinct pattern. We just learned about Jonah in the last lesson. A Judgment speech which is made up of two parts: A Woe oraclelike a judgment speech, except that it starts with "Woe", Exhortation/ call to repentanceconsists of appeal with motivation (in the form of a promise and/or threat). Wq1qa4'+4aftG |^PohSD{8yF-ElGR Just because someone was mentioned in scripture, it does not mean they were a prophet, per se. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. Learning about the major and minor prophets may sound like a reference to the major and minor leagues of baseball, but thats where the similarities end. As we explore the teachings of these godly men, we will learn what God did in their lives to impact not only their ministries but also their work for the kingdom of God, then and today. Their writings comprise five books of the Bible in the Old Testaments: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (possibly written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel. Are they better? clap and pat a rhythm and have students listen and copy the rhythm. The only difference between the two is the number of pages written. We provide a "Cliff's Notes" version of the story to help you see the big picture. The labels "major and minor" mean the length of the prophecy recorded. Also, if you are not using a storybook Bible, you can use this summary as an outline for your own teaching in class. What Does It Mean That There Is No One Holy Like God? Whisper a message into the ear of the first student in line. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Who Were the Major Prophets and What Did They Do. Who were the authors? 0000001565 00000 n By Genelle Austin-Lett. The difference between major and minor prophets is the difference in length of their books. The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Now, just because a book is referred to as a Major Prophet doesn't mean that the prophet was more important than one of the Minor Prophets. The labels "major and minor" mean the length of the prophecy recorded. If all else fails, tell them that you don't know the answer (this is okay!) I think pretty recently, I think in the when they started translating, they decided to organize the Bible in a way where you could find certain phrases. By the prompting of the Holy Spirit in response to His Word, you can encourage your children to surrender their lives to God and present the Gospel to them. https://secure.bibleask.org/donate/, Follow us on: We place everything you might need to prepare for the actual story telling here (this doesn't include Reinforcement Activity supplies, because we don't know which ones you will choose!). How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? The difference is related to the length of the book rather than the importance of the message that the prophet told. Ezekiel is remembered because his calling to be a prophet happened while in exile from King Nebuchadnezzar. The "major" prophets are so called not because the "minor" prophets are unimportant, but because the books of the Major Prophets are lengthier and cast a correspondingly longer shadow on Old Testament history and theology. So just basically the longer prophecy, like I said, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, those books are longer. Many people today quote several verses from his writings, such as Isaiah 9:6, 40:31, and 53:2-5. What is the difference between the major prophets and minor prophets? The major prophets are much longer and fewer in number. Some were called to bring messages from God to other countries. Heather is a former national award-winning journalist and is the author of Mama Needs a Time Out and Lets Talk About Prayer. Another thing we need look at is how the prophets looked at the future. Have you trusted in Jesus as your Savior? Major prophets tended to have longer books in the Bible (the book of Jeremiah is considered the longest) with broader topics, while minor prophets had shorter books that were more specific in topic. They never spoke on their own authority nor did they share their own opinions. Where does the Old Testament prophesy the coming of Christ? For most of the prophets, their eschatology (or view of the future) was divided into now and then. Cut a hole in burlap sack to fit over your head. Remembered for his prophecies of the Messiah. Major Prophets The Minor Prophets are Hosea , Joel, Amos, Obadiah , Jonah, Micah, Nahum , Habakkuk , Zephaniah , Haggai , Zechariah, and Malachi . The term sometimes represents a person called by faith to share Gods prophecies, while others may see prophets as someone after their money, and not spreading Jesus to others. [1], The Tanakh, often called the Hebrew Bible, is separated into three sections: the Torah, the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). ")4Gm0FgT1LCo =y/tFh#j'DfF,@h$Gc@p1uY4\?52LY0DZ=3[L>7e iug>km1!OK@I`(-lM,^.J6*P"h+"@ @M=L#~}K Here are some bad examples of teachers making the prophets relevant. What Is the Proper Way to Dispose of an Old Bible? In order of occurrence, the Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The list is roughly chronological. Was also a seer. Video Answers What is the difference between minor and major prophets? The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Old Testament Abstracts, 43(2), 483498. For example, some think Obadiah was written first, others think it was one of the last books written. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! What is the difference between the minor and major prophets The Minor Prophets - Summary Of The 12 Minor Prophets They focused on the lack of morals in society which pointed to the problems. Do the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical books belong in the Bible? The prophets were eloquent writers. So as far as major and minor, just the length, but all of the prophecies are all important. They were more concerned with the past and present failings of the nation in their relationships to God and man. Cook, Krista. 2c,[4DY0)N#^hnv4atDkrn>uqs~UGLOs# M I endstream endobj 43 0 obj 605 endobj 44 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 43 0 R >> stream ?`V9Q7%d)PB.UAiqw&|=3? Theyre at least twelve, if not 66 chapters in length, whereas books like Malachi, thats only, I think four chapters Obadiah, I think is just one chapter. They use inclusiobegin and end a section with the same word or phrase. List of Major and Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. Subscribe to the CompellingTruth.org Newsletter: What are the Major Prophets in the Bible? Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were writing to the people who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. So Mark is asking also what is the biggest difference between both the minor and major prophets of the Old Testament? It wouldn't be very interesting to read either. Tour of the Bible, part 4: the Major Prophets - BibleGateway The Minor Prophets include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. I-:Dn,IUV'Xu z Christian Truth. https://youtu.be/I8ZOHNrXOP8, Would you like to have your question answered live? >RxO4|uV`A74cFw'8Z=pr",4]+ u/ArNd4a@-jA]\YEx4nBt4Yiia Do you think of someone who tells what is going to happen in the future? All the Prophets provided a message, a warning, or a foretelling from God to the people. Israel had begun worshiping other gods and was unfaithful to the one true God. https://pinterest.com/bibleask, Share this video with a friend: Do you think that their writings are obscure and difficult to understand? The Major Prophet books are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Is it possible that more books could be added to the Bible. You don't want your slowest children to be the only ones tagged each time. PDF MAJOR & MINOR PROPHETS - saintmina-holmdel.org The Major Prophets and Minor Prophets are terms used in regard to the Old Testament portion of the Bible to distinguish the generally longer books of prophecy from the shorter ones. Some prophets overlap, lived in different areas, or the chronology cannot be estimated with any accuracy. i(` The major and minor prophets are collectively known in the Hebrew Bible as the Latter Prophets (or Writing Prophets, because they authored their own works). The Bible uses the terms majorand minor simply as a way to divide the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Most of the prophets include a promise of future deliverance section. This is designed to get your kids talking and to build a connection with them. Amos, Hosea and Joel wrote to the northern kingdom. But the only reason some are called major, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, those are considered more the major profits, while Malachi, Obadiah, those ones are considered minor. Did you remember to give the message to them? Make sure to help the students see the tie-in so they don't think you are just playing a random game. And so its just that the translators decided, okay, well, this seems like a good place to kind of end this chapter and start a new chapter. Remember, Edom was the name given to Esau, Jacob's twin brother. He too, like Isaiah, received his prophetic writings and teachings from God through a vision. The Hebrew Bible does not include the Book of Baruch. But, oh yeah, after a while, God will restore the nation to the land, destroy all our enemies and will reign over us in righteousness and there will be peace in the land forever. The theme of sackcloth and ashes as a symbol of mourning or repentance is seen many times in the prophets. God's word is powerful (much more powerful than our summary is!) Interestingly enough, women were also prophets. But when the Bible was first written, it was just written. The English word for prophet comes from the Greek word prophetes which means to speak for another, especially one who speaks for a god.. But the individuals welfare and the nations immediate welfare depended on the peoples faithfulness. D#8z=&Ilu vQMF-,8B]>V-b =~_[T Og endstream endobj 39 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 148 /Widths [ 304 0 331 0 0 0 0 0 347 347 0 0 304 329 304 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 304 304 0 0 0 532 0 657 715 0 767 696 0 789 0 328 615 693 628 868 718 0 623 0 700 658 667 0 0 910 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 634 609 497 630 555 343 585 613 312 310 604 301 946 625 554 613 0 425 499 363 625 544 864 550 586 570 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 231 412 412 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /GPHIHL+BookmanITCbyBT-LightItalic /FontDescriptor 40 0 R >> endobj 40 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 938 /CapHeight 671 /Descent -235 /Flags 98 /FontBBox [ -271 -236 1230 939 ] /FontName /GPHIHL+BookmanITCbyBT-LightItalic /ItalicAngle -15 /StemV 98.854 /XHeight 500 /FontFile2 57 0 R >> endobj 41 0 obj 628 endobj 42 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 41 0 R >> stream stream The Book of Ezekiel tells of the judgements on Israel and the nation and also the future blessings of Israel. Who Were the Major Prophets and What Did They Do? The Major prophets are in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It Is So Painful to Care: How Do I Conquer Apathy? Isaiah is the first major prophet to be featured in the Bible, considered the prince of the prophets of the major prophets or Latter Prophets as they are also referred because his writings were one of the most favored. Because their prophetic writings can be hard to interpret at times, some people consider books written by the prophets (both major and minor) as the least desirable to read. Start your lesson planning by reading the "Lesson Prep" section about 5 days before you are scheduled to teach. That's it really. First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. Take some time to reflect on the Old Testament history we have covered so far. Isaiah's 66 chapters is of significant importance, just as Obadiah's 1 chapter is of significant importance. And so thats why some are considered major, just because of the length of the chapters or the length of the book, because when theyre first written, the Bible wasnt ever written in chapters and verses. Answer: There is no difference between a Major and a Minor Prophet. But above all, follow up with the student the next week or at the next opportunity and continue your discussion with your newfound information. Most often, it was a message of judgment (which is why prophets weren't exactly looked upon kindly sometimes). The Major Prophets are described as major because of the longer lengths of their books, not their significance. The Major Prophets come first in English versions of the Bible and include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. This is due to the difficult and unusual prophetic language. Many of the major outlines of the books come from class notes taken from classes on the minor prophets taught by Dr. Charlie Dyer and Dr. Mark Bailey of Dallas Theological Seminary. Be sensitive to the age of your children and tell the story in a way they can understand.