There is also some debate about when various books were written. And of course we want to find out how the message of the books applies to us. Submit your question at bibleask.org/live. Lamentations is sort of like a long Psalm by Jeremiah about just one topic: Jerusalem and Judah's sin. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. HtMr1N!8I*)4DIk>p$+$]@Sk>XI(}x KZnvyJ.zvys(rF tqvQ~&`28pEA/a2T/ZgbK'/c) EBz`pc^KFr~N'G]\U#cSF,InS{E5cd But above all, follow up with the student the next week or at the next opportunity and continue your discussion with your newfound information. It just means that the book was longer! 5 0 obj They use inclusiobegin and end a section with the same word or phrase. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It can be hard to determine if a person is truly a prophet, especially if they quote from the Bible and what they say seems to line up with what is currently happening. But it is not always present. 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. The Minor Prophets were not less important than the Major prophets, they were just more concise. What are the major prophets? THE LITERARY PROPHETS ARE CATEGORIZED AS MAJOR AND MINOR PROPHETS. The Minor Prophets are described as "minor" because their books are shorter (although Hosea and Zechariah are almost as long as Daniel) and the content is more narrowly focused. You should select some Reinforcement Activities to use first before printing! https://secure.bibleask.org/donate/, Follow us on: One use relates to chords (harmony). 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. Begg, C. T., Graybill, R., & Urbrock, W. J. The Major prophets are in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The Book of Lamentations and the Book of Daniel are included among the Ketuvim. So Zephaniah, these ones, theyre only a few chapters long. They're all prophets. The Book of Ezekiel tells of the judgements on Israel and the nation and also the future blessings of Israel. 1 Notes from Hebrew class, Dr. Robert Chisholm, Spring 1993. They're all the same in God 's eyes. Answer: The terms Major Prophets and Minor Prophets are simply a way to divide the Old Testament prophetic books. Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to them what truths he wants them to learn from the story, and help them understand how this story can be applied to their lives. Their writings comprise five books of the Bible in the Old Testaments: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (possibly written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel. But let the Scripture and the Holy Spirit speak to them and be sensitive to where the conversation can go. 0000001586 00000 n The prophets works held many prophecies given by God, so the determination of major and minor prophets was based on how long their books were in the Old Testament. What was the message? You may ask a question and get back the answer in your email. Glue burlap sack to cover the body of the person. They are the accumulation of several years of messages and they are not always a cohesive unit with a distinct pattern. tBYv-0QMprU9Y_XXhZQ}- %s:Fm8#kxVu/,%RDK3[rN2 There are five books in the Major Prophets. 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. Heather Riggleman calls Nebraska home (Hey, its not for everyone) with her three kids and husband of 20 years. (Amos 5:4-6; Joel 2:12-14), Salvation announcementoften alludes to a lamentable situation and focuses on the Lord's saving intervention (Amos 9:11-12), Salvation oracleintroduced by the exhortation "fear not" (Isa 41:8-16). m`R H"Yd20FO *@NAHRALcX+P#@[jEWy,ch:#q[oD{| A=a endstream endobj 65 0 obj 233 endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 23 0 R /Resources 29 0 R /Contents [ 38 0 R 42 0 R 44 0 R 46 0 R 48 0 R 52 0 R 54 0 R 56 0 R ] /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /CropBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Rotate 0 >> endobj 29 0 obj << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text ] /Font << /TT2 34 0 R /TT4 30 0 R /TT6 35 0 R /TT8 39 0 R /TT10 50 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 58 0 R >> /ColorSpace << /Cs6 36 0 R >> >> endobj 30 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 32 /Widths [ 250 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /GPHGGE+TimesNewRoman /FontDescriptor 32 0 R >> endobj 31 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 938 /CapHeight 671 /Descent -261 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -167 -261 1230 939 ] /FontName /GPHHBK+BookmanITCbyBT-Light /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 104 /XHeight 484 /FontFile2 61 0 R >> endobj 32 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 0 /Descent -216 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -568 -307 2000 1007 ] /FontName /GPHGGE+TimesNewRoman /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 0 /FontFile2 60 0 R >> endobj 33 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 656 /Descent -216 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -558 -307 2000 1026 ] /FontName /GPHFPO+TimesNewRoman,Bold /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 133 /FontFile2 59 0 R >> endobj 34 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 116 /Widths [ 250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 667 611 778 778 0 0 0 0 0 0 778 611 0 722 556 667 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 0 444 556 444 333 500 556 278 0 0 278 0 556 500 0 0 444 0 333 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /GPHFPO+TimesNewRoman,Bold /FontDescriptor 33 0 R >> endobj 35 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 148 /Widths [ 304 0 331 0 0 0 794 170 347 347 0 0 304 329 304 278 609 609 609 609 609 609 609 609 609 609 324 324 0 0 0 532 0 665 713 707 772 719 634 800 780 336 632 721 634 896 734 771 618 0 720 662 685 749 0 906 0 0 694 0 0 0 0 0 0 540 609 498 627 498 315 497 620 303 303 626 303 938 620 569 618 609 462 500 348 620 494 760 525 494 494 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 220 403 403 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /GPHHBK+BookmanITCbyBT-Light /FontDescriptor 31 0 R >> endobj 36 0 obj [ /ICCBased 63 0 R ] endobj 37 0 obj 615 endobj 38 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 37 0 R >> stream Wq1qa4'+4aftG |^PohSD{8yF-ElGR Jesus also fulfilled this advocacy of his father as a priest, prophet, and king. Were there different authors of the books of the Bible? [2], Along with the books in the Hebrew Bible, the Catholic Bible includes the Letter of Jeremiah which is found in Chapter 6 of the Book of Baruch. Our study will be divided between the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets. Heavenly Father blesses all his posterity: biological and adopted. Old Testament Abstracts, 43(2), 483498. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were writing to the people who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. Remembered for his prophecies of the Messiah. The person of Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah and he took the judgment we deserve for our sins on himself. Then ask them what message they want to give to their parents, or what they would like to say to their parents in the picture. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. So as far as major and minor, just the length, but all of the prophecies are all important. [1], All the books of the major prophets took place during the "Period of Prophecy", which covers the time from the entrance of the Israelites into the Land of Israel until the Babylonian captivity of Judah. Both are related. Ph.D., Public Administration and Public Affairs, Virginia Tech, M.L.S., Library and Information Science, Emporia State University, M.P.A., Political Science and Public Administration, Brigham Young University, B.A., Political Science, Brigham Young University. The major theme of the prophets was that the people of Israel needed to repent or face judgment. 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. We include these videos as options for you to consider and for your own personal study. If you would like to have your students read out of the Bible themselves, these are good verses to do it. The Minor Prophets of the Bible are shorter books with more specific content, compared to the broader subjects of the Major Prophets. someone pointed out that it looks like the prophetic telescope below is a bad example. see the powerpoint for the cartoons I was referring to. The terms "major" and "minor" are indicators of length, not importance. They were more concerned with the past and present failings of the nation in their relationships to God and man. Do your research, ask questions, and pray for Gods guidance on whether to believe what is being shared with you or not. 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!). I-:Dn,IUV'Xu z v What did they have in common? Mormons have distinctive beliefs on what a prophet is. Jeremiah 1:1-10; Isaiah 53:4-6; Obadiah 1, People chosen by God to tell Israel, Judah, or the surrounding countries his message, Repent and stop sinning or you will face judgment from God; there is a messiah coming who will bring salvation to Israel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations [of Jeremiah], Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, To show their deep desire to repent or to mourn something bad happening, person outline sheet (see below), pieces of burlap, ashes, scissors, glue, cut out sheet for each student (see below), Isaiah called Judah and its kings to repent and come back to God or face judgment. 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. While we provide a summary of the story, we strongly encourage you to read the story directly from the Bible from yourself. Malachi prophesied to Judah after they returned from Exile in Babylon and called for them to repent. The major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) have long books, while the minor prophets have shorter ones. This list details all the major and minor Old Testament prophets, though not necessarily in perfect chronological order. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. So teach the lesson first, then let them read the Scripture out loud. The distinction pertains to the length of the books, nothing else a. The only difference between the two is the number of pages written. Children must listen and follow actions correctly. Ezekiel and Daniel wrote from Babylon to encourage the people that God would restore the nation. Who were the authors? 0000022087 00000 n Keep in mind that only your oldest elementary school children will be able to think in abstract terms, but you can ask some basic questions that will hopefully open up a conversation about what the children believe. It is good thing prophets got a direct message from God to pass on to His people! But especially in these last days, it is important to keep a clear head on what God said and didnt say about future events. Theyre all the same in Gods eyes. For example, some think Obadiah was written first, others think it was one of the last books written. However, in many cases, we cannot say with any certainty that someone was not. bIcGGp0?ZD%HJ!/Vc?6v/@?o,"lVm ,z:Z}`' So just basically the longer prophecy, like I said, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, those books are longer. prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve minor prophets), and the New Testament prophets actually involved God's messengers speaking the word of God to a Lets look at these three goals in a little more detail. https://youtu.be/fETbh4c6sFc. Take some time to reflect on the Old Testament history we have covered so far. 0000003868 00000 n Perhaps one of the most famous passages is Micah 6:8 which says, He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? 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). Thats a pretty cool question. 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. https://youtu.be/I8ZOHNrXOP8, Would you like to have your question answered live? Ezekiel prophesied to Judah during their time in exile in Babylon. The Minor Prophets are Hosea , Joel, Amos, Obadiah , Jonah, Micah, Nahum , Habakkuk , Zephaniah , Haggai , Zechariah, and Malachi . 3 TvahRJKiq3c"xhbwNK{* The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Theyre pretty short. Most often, it was a message of judgment (which is why prophets weren't exactly looked upon kindly sometimes). Are they better? The "major" and "minor" labels do not really imply that one set of prophets are more important than the other. We just learned about Jonah in the last lesson. We discover Gods first mention of a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. What is the difference between minor and major prophets? The preexilic prophets came to warn of impending judgment. The post exilic prophets wrote to assure the people that God would deal with the restored community according to the same principles. Is it possible that more books could be added to the Bible. Their unique vocation allowed them to authoritatively speak on Gods behalf. 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 0000001147 00000 n Also, use this time to take the topic where the students want to go. Ask the child to say more about their question. Mosess sister Miriam is called a prophet (Exod. The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. Who Were the Major and Minor Prophets in the Bible? As with every part of the Bible, the Major and Minor Prophets shouldnt be skipped over. Categories: Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, Old Testament Question. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. All Bible verses referenced are NIrV unless otherwise noted. We recommend they do this after you teach the story, however, and certainly not as a substitute for you teaching a holistic story. It is good to use an adult as the tagger because it allows for you to choose whom to tag out. And sometimes, we don't know the answer! The message of the Minor Prophets was not minor at all, but generally shorter than the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, commonly called . Learn Religions. But sometimes it was one of a promised savior in the future. The difference is related to the length of the book rather than the importance of the message that the prophet told. But when the Bible was first written, it was just written. 0000007529 00000 n 25}, "|z~C]32VE They might have been tempted to think that because Babylonia had defeated Israel, the Babylonian gods were superior to Yahweh. This is designed to get your kids talking and to build a connection with them. Remember, Edom was the name given to Esau, Jacob's twin brother. In fact the prophets are not primarily interested in the future. 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. What are the Minor Prophets? We typically include a memory verse every 4 or 5 lessons, so you can work for several weeks on the same verse. One of the postexilic prophet's jobs was to point out that Yahweh was superior and the only reason Israel was defeated was because Yahweh was disciplining them. Cook, Krista. From 4:-13: there is a cyclical pattern of sin, judgment and restoration and it is difficult to find a distinct movement through the book. Do they have more prophecy or something? She writes to bring bold truths to marriage, career, mental health, faith, relationships, celebration, and heartache. But yeah. Do you think that their writings are obscure and difficult to understand? Zephaniah called Judah back to God and promised that the faithful could look forward to when God judged the wicked. 0000002837 00000 n The Hebrew word for prophet is Nebi, which is derived from the verb action, to bubble forth like a fountain. Her work has been featured on Proverbs 31 Ministries, MOPS, Today's Christian Woman, and Focus On the Family. Modern scholars often claim that these positive messages are later additions by some scribe. Amos was a shepherd who was called by God to tell Israel to stop mistreating the poor among them. 0000010457 00000 n All of these books are traditionally regarded as authored by a prophet such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Some prophets overlap, lived in different areas, or the chronology cannot be estimated with any accuracy. Christian Author Bookstore - Xulon Press Publishing. Video Answers What is the difference between minor and major prophets? Very little revelation was given about the future. 0000038941 00000 n He would lay down the law and then promise to protect them if they were loyal and promise to destroy them if they were not loyal. The only difference between "major" and "minor" prophets is the amount of written oracles collected. If youre looking for a better understanding of the Messiah and the events that led to and foretold his coming, the Major and Minor prophets are must-reads. Also, feel free to share your own faith experiences with them (being careful not to delve into "adult" struggles, like marriage, sexual sin, etc). Theres no Bible verse that says this Prophet was major, this Prophet was minor. A second use relates to scales (modes). What is meant by The Minor Prophets? This expression is not an inspired one, but is one invented by Bible students in order to differentiate among all the prophets used by God. Their revelations can only be attributed to a higher power (God in this situation) giving these insights to be used to share with others about future events. Pose the question to the whole class and see what discussion ensues. Start your lesson planning by reading the "Lesson Prep" section about 5 days before you are scheduled to teach. Nahum prophesied against Ninevah as well, but this time after the Assyrians (Ninevah was in the Assyrian empire) had captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel. 0000001977 00000 n Learn Religions, Sep. 3, 2021, learnreligions.com/major-and-minor-prophets-old-testament-4048175. There are many prophecies in Isaiah related to the coming Messiah (Isaiah 53:4-6). What does it mean do not be overly righteous. The goal of Bible Study is not head knowledge. 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. Here are some bad examples of teachers making the prophets relevant. The lengths of the books that recorded their prophecies. Keep in mind that elementary school children are rarely capable of abstract thought, so don't boil it all down to a simplified principle for them. They proclaimed God's message with style, and if we can uncover and decipher their style, it makes the reading that much more enjoyable. Also, it is difficult for the other students to really understand what they are hearing. 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. Before we go more in-depth, here is a list of the major and minor prophets mentioned in the Bible: The Four Major Prophets:Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel, The Twelve Minor Prophets:Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, The word prophet defines someone who gives the declarations of God. Hosea is a good example. Before we move forward in discussing the major prophets, lets first understand what a prophet is. How did America become a super power in such a short time? Using your finger, paint ashes onto the person's head. The major prophets is a grouping of books in the Christian Old Testament that does not occur in the Hebrew Bible. [1], The Tanakh, often called the Hebrew Bible, is separated into three sections: the Torah, the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). 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. clap and pat a rhythm and have students listen and copy the rhythm. Isaiah's 66 chapters is of significant importance, just as Obadiah's 1 chapter is of significant importance. The goal is to make it relevant and see how it applies to us. The term "major" has nothing to do with the achievement or importance of the prophets, rather the length of the books. Perhaps they have the right answer and they just need confirmation. If youre looking for a better understanding of the Messiah and the events that led to and foretold his coming, the Major and Minor prophets are must-reads. 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. They only shared their message as God instructed them. The Major and Minor Prophets give us some of the richest glimpses and foreshadowing of Christ that we see in the entire Old Testament. %PDF-1.4 What is the difference between major and minor prophets? Even if a video is on YouTube, that doesn't mean it is available for you to show in a group setting automatically. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. 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. Arthur Gregory Former Social Worker (1965-2001) Author has 6K answers and 1.5M answer views Updated 4 y It is important to become like the Bereans with those who claim to be divinely appointed prophets. What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and why are they important? List of Major and Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The Minor Prophets are also sometimes called The Twelve. Answer: There is no difference between a Major and a Minor Prophet. What we have learned through the progress of revelation is that there are actually long periods of time between some of the future events predicted by the prophets. F(d5x[=}*QIx#xf1$ly HdTM0+F{i"%0pZUn,n FhG;XF7|n\TLPq Even today, we can see their prophecies as resourceful advice to guide us in living in a fallen world, knowing that what these prophets spoke of centuries ago is still as pertinent today as it was years ago. Hb```f``sAX,-@NPCREP hDIq2\S:{#k9a People did that later. Contemporary of Lehi, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Daniel. Heather is a former national award-winning journalist and is the author of Mama Needs a Time Out and Lets Talk About Prayer. Sackcloth was an extremely rough and itchy material used to make sacks. Who Were the Major Prophets and What Did They Do. The Major and Minor Prophets are typically the least popular for Christians to study or read. Here's what to do*: Just wanted to point out here that you should follow all copyright laws when it comes to using videos. You should give them an overview of the Prophets, with the information in the "Story Summary" above as a guide. 0000008276 00000 n What is the basic timeline of the Old Testament. The list is roughly chronological. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? 0000003829 00000 n Hn0~ Also, another theme was that a coming Messiah would soon deliver them. The Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Salvation portrayala description, often idealized and in hyperbolic terms, of God's future blessings on his people (Amos 9:13). 1.Obadiah 2.Joel 3.Jonah 4.Hosea 5.Amos 6.Micah 7.Nahum 8.Zephaniah 9.Habakkuk 10.Haggai 11.Zechariah 12.Malachi 21. We provide a "Cliff's Notes" version of the story to help you see the big picture. Several days before you teach, choose the activities you want to do with your class. They warn the wicked and encourage the righteous. In this activity, children will deliver a message to their parents. %PDF-1.3 % Amos, Hosea and Joel wrote to the northern kingdom. It is important to understand what is going on in the nations history, which enemy nations are threatening Israels borders (Assyria, Babylon, etc. Once the city did fall, Ezekiel spoke with hope-filled knowledge that God was to bring restoration, revival, and a future in heaven to the people. Prophets delivered messages to the Israelites. Friend and advisor to King David. Finally, there is the prophet Daniel, one that many do lengthy studies on and even seek to follow his diet to bring glory to God. The Bible doesnt explain how the word of the Lord came to a prophet, however, there are a number of examples where the Lord revealed his will through visions aside from an audible or internal voice (1 Samuel 3:1,15; 2 Samuel 7:17; Isaiah 1:1; Ezekiel 11:24) or dreams (Numbers 12:6). To understand these concepts deeper, you have to first understand intervals.An interval is the space between two notes.