Reading Through The Bible - MALACHI

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

MALACHI  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  PROPHECY

39th book of the OT 

39th book of the Bible

What is it?

The Book of Malachi is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament which means it is Prophecy.

How Long is it?

It has 4 chapters with the last one being very short (only 6 verses).

When was it Written?

It is generally thought to have been written between 433 & 424 BC 

Who Wrote it?

Malachi

Neither the book of Malachi nor the Bible tell us who Malachi was.

All we know is Malachi is a Hebrew term that means “my messenger”

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

The prophet Malachi isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but he deals with some of the same issues that Ezra the scribe and Nehemiah the governor deal with when the Jews disregard God’s law in their times:

• Corrupt priests 
• Intermarriage with pagans 
• Lapses in tithes and offerings 

But we do know that Jesus quotes Malachi within the passage Matthew 11:7-15

Who was it Written to?

It was written to the people of Israel as we see in the very first verse.

 "The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi."

Why was it Written? 

It was written because God wanted the people to know that they were falling into sin again and they could hurt themselves and others. 

They were not treating God or His sacraments properly and the Priests were also held to account by God as we can see in chapter 2

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"God has been faithful to Israel, but they continue to live disconnected from him—so God sends Malachi to call them out."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"By the time of Malachi, the people had been back after the Babylonian exile for over 100 years.  They were looking for blessings.  The temple had been rebuilt.  However there was corruption in the priesthood and the people were becoming spiritually disinterested."

What distinctive thing did God tell them about himself?

 

That He never changes - chapter 3 verse 6

How does it end?

Chapter 4 starts by giving great encouragement in v. 2

but this verse also has a condition to it - the people must fear God.

Then

it draws the people back to God's Law in v 4

 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,

Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments."

OUTLINE of MALACHI

The Overview Bible  gives us the following

1. God loves His children (Mal 1:1–5)
2. God disciplines His children (Mal 1:6–2:17)
   • For the priests’ dishonesty (Mal 1:6–2:9)
   • For intermarriage with foreigners (Mal 2:10–12)
   • For husbands’ infidelity (Mal 2:13–17)
3. God will purify His children (Mal 3:1–15)
4. Some people again revere The Lord (Mal 3:16–18)
5. God will bless those who fear Him (Mal 4)

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 

Reading Through The Bible - JONAH

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

JONAH  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  PROPHECY

32nd book of the OT 

32nd book of the Bible

It starts with hearing the Word of God -  and immediate disobedience to that Word.

Jonah chapter 1 v 1-2   The Word

"Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 

  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 

Jonah chapter 1 v 3   The Disobedience

"But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."

What is it?

The Book of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament which means it is Prophecy.

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Jonah is the most widely known of the Minor Prophets, the last 12 books of the Old Testament. When God had a message for the people, He spoke through the prophets. His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. Most of these book were written to the people of Israel and Judah, but Jonah, Obadiah, and Nahum are more concerned with surrounding nations.

These Minor Prophet books record those messages. They outline the people’s sins, the consequences of those sins, and the proper response to God. 

Well, except the book of Jonah. It’s a story, not a sermon. It focuses on the prophet, not the people. And Jonah contains hardly any prophecy at all . . . only one line: “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). Among the books of the Bible, Jonah is a bit of an oddball."

How Long is it?

It only has 4 chapters yet the story of Jonah is one of the most famous from the Bible.

The Story of Jonah & the whale is regularly taught to children.

When was it Written?

It is generally said to have been written in 780 BC and the Ninevites repented 

by 775 BC.

Who Wrote it?

Jonah

The first verse of the book tells us who Jonah was

"Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai"

 

The Book of 2nd Kings also mentions Jonah in 

ch.14 v 25

"He [King Jeroboam the son of Joash] restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher"

telling us that Jonah was a prophet and came from Gath Hepher.

Who was it Written to?

It was written to the people of Nineveh as we see from what God said to Jonah in the second verse of chapter 1:

 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."

Why was it Written? 

It was written because God saw the evil of a nation but wanted to give them the chance to repent and also wanted Jonah to learn more about God's compassion and love.

It is also because it carries a very important message about Jesus' death and resurrection.

 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Jonah’s life events told some of Christ’s story, and his message foreshadowed Christ’s message: repent!

But Jonah isn’t all about repentance. It’s also a story of God’s compassion for all peoples, not just Israel."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"The Book contains not only one of the most famous Bible miracles but it is also a great study on what can happen when we behave like snobs ."

Who refers to Jonah in the New Testament?

Jesus refers to Jonah in Matthew 12 v 39-41 when he is replying to the scribes and pharisees who have asked him for a sign.

"But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 

 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. "

What other books of the bible would have been written around the same time as Jonah or connected to it?

Hosea & Amos were also preaching during Jeroboam's reign.

Nahum was also written about the wrath of God on Nineveh although this was many years later.

How does it end?

In chapter 4 we see Jonah's anger and how God deals with this using a plant and the heat of the sun.

The message Jonah and the reader gets is that

 God is a compassionate God.

But Jonah should have remembered this because he had experienced this compassion earlier in chapter 2 v 2

Simple Brief Outline

The Overview Bible  gives us the following:

Jonah has only four chapters, which makes it easy to outline the book chapter-by-chapter:

1. God directs Jonah,  Jonah disobeys (Jonah 1)
2. God has compassion on Jonah (Jonah 2)
3. Jonah preaches to Nineveh,  Nineveh repents (Jonah 3)
4. God has compassion on Nineveh,  but Jonah does not (Jonah 4)

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 

Reading Through The Bible - ZEPHANIAH

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

ZEPHANIAH  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  PROPHECY

36th book of the OT 

36th book of the Bible

It starts with a declaration that this is the Word of the Lord which came through Zephaniah as we see in chapter 1 v 1

What is it?

The Book of Zephaniah is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament which means it is Prophecy.

It is the 9th out of the 12 minor prophets.

How Long is it?

It has 3 chapters.

When was it Written?

It is was written between 635 & 625 BC

Because ch. 1 v 1 gives us a good deal of detail about Zephaniah the historians can be more sure of the timescale for this book.

"The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah."

Who Wrote it?

Zephaniah

The name Zephaniah means "Treasured by God"

The first verse of this book tells us who Zephaniah was

"....... Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah ........."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah, the king of Judah from 640 to 609 BC"

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Zephaniah was probably a contemporary of Habakkuk, Nahum, and Jeremiah."

"The punishment that he foretells plays out in the books of Kings, Chronicles and Jeremiah."

  

Who was it Written to?

The people of Judah.

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Like the book of Joel, Zephaniah takes a “bad news first” approach: he begins with the coming destruction of Jerusalem, discusses the downfall and restoration of the outside nations, and finishes with the promise that Judah and Israel will be restored.”

Why was it Written? 

It was written as a warning about the Day of the Lord 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Zephaniah preached his message during the rule of King Josiah, who had initiated religious reform in all of Judah and some surrounding territories. At this time, the nation as a whole was obeying God’s laws and turning from idols (2 Chr 34:33). Since the land was obeying God, one might ask, “Whom was Zephaniah warning, then?”

His warnings seem to better resonate with the next generation of Judah. After Josiah dies in battle, his sons take the throne for 22 years. They disobey the Lord, they stir up trouble with Babylon, and they disregard the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 36:27–29; 37:1–2). Plus, the priests and citizens defile God’s temple (2 Chr 36:14). 

In light of this, Zephaniah’s message makes sense. "

What is notable about this book? 

Zephaniah mentions the "Day of the Lord" more than any other Old Testament Prophet. 

How does it end?

Although the main emphasis throughout is of warning of what will happen in the Day of the Lord in chapter 3 we do see some exhortation that God is not wrecking only vengeance but that He loves His people especially in verse 17

 

What format does this book take? 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following 

1. Desolation and discipline on Judah (Zep 1)
2. Desolation on the surrounding nations (Zep 2)
3. The Lord’s remnant from the nations (Zep 3:1–11)
4. The Lord’s remnant from Israel (Zep 3:12–20)

You can also see my Pastor's  Bible Study video on Zephaniah

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE