With this message we begin the Life-study of the Minor Prophets (except Zechariah, which we have covered in a separate series of messages). The burden of these messages on the Minor Prophets can be expressed in the following four statements:
1) From Bethlehem will come forth the Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2).
2) The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (implying resurrection) for the salvation of God to all the sinners (Jonah 1:17; 2:10; Matt. 12:40-41).
3) Christ is the Desire of all nations and will come as the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings (Hag. 2:7; Mal. 4:2).
4) Christ will dwell in the holy mountain of Zion, to be a shelter and a stronghold to Israel, and rule among them from Jerusalem (Joel 3:16-17; Micah 4:7).
Micah 5:2 says, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” “The days of eternity” refers to Christ’s eternity. Christ is the eternal One, but in His incarnation He became a man in time by being born in the small town of Bethlehem.
Matthew 12:40 and 41 say, “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Ninevite men will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something more than Jonah is here.” As typified by Jonah, Christ, the Son of Man, was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (implying resurrection) for the salvation of God to all the sinners. At the time of Jonah, God’s redemption and salvation spread from Jerusalem to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. It was a surprise to the Jewish prophet Jonah that God would care for the Gentiles and send him to Nineveh, an evil city built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:9-11). The significance of the type of Jonah is that Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected to spread God’s redemption and salvation to the far away Gentiles.
Haggai 2:7a says, “I will shake all the nations, and the Desire of all the nations will come.” Malachi 4:2a declares, “Unto you who fear My name will the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings.” Today all the nations are full of darkness and unrighteousness. On earth there is darkness upon darkness, and there is unrighteousness upon unrighteousness. Who can deal with this situation? No one can. Our only hope, our only expectation, is that Christ is coming as the Sun to shine and to swallow the darkness and also as righteousness to be the righteousness to the nations. He will come with healing in His wings to heal the nations from darkness and unrighteousness. We are waiting for Him as the Desire of the nations and as the Sun of righteousness.
Joel 3:16 and 17 and Micah 4:7 speak of the millennium, the time of restoration. Joel 3:16b and 17a say, “Jehovah will be a shelter to His people / And a stronghold to the children of Israel. / Thus you will know that I am Jehovah your God, / Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.” Micah 4:7b says, “Jehovah will reign over them in Mount Zion / From then on, and even forever.” These verses reveal that in the millennium Christ will dwell in the holy mountain of Zion to be a shelter and a stronghold to Israel and will rule among them from Jerusalem. In the time of the restoration Christ will not remain in the heavens but will come physically to the earth, to the Jewish land, to the city of Jerusalem, to Mount Zion, to dwell there and to be a shelter and a stronghold to Israel. This is Christ’s future.
In these verses we see many things concerning Christ: His eternity, His incarnation in time, His death, burial, and resurrection for the spreading of God’s redemption and salvation to all the nations on earth, His coming as the Desire of nations and as the Sun of righteousness, and His being the One dwelling on Mount Zion to be a shelter and a stronghold to God’s elect. As He rules among them, Christ will rule the whole earth from Jerusalem.
In this introductory word, let us now go on to consider the composition, the contents, and the central thought of the Minor Prophets.
The Minor Prophets are composed of twelve books, from Hosea to Malachi. In ancient times these books might have been considered one book. “The book of the prophets” mentioned by Stephen in Acts 7:42, in his quoting of Amos 5:25-27, might refer to this collective book. Although these books are minor, they complete the divine revelation concerning God’s economy in His dealings with His elect—Israel—and the nations, which is covered in detail in the books of the Major Prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. All the books of both the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets were called by the Lord Jesus “the Prophets,” in which things concerning Him were written (Luke 24:44). This indicates that the central point of all the prophets is not chastisement or judgment but Christ. When we come to the books of the prophets, we should care mainly for Christ.