Lesson 1
MINOR PROPHETS
Lesson One

        Today’s lesson covers the three Minor Prophets who prophesied to Israel & Judah’s surrounding nations –– Obadiah to Edom, and Jonah & Nahum to Nineveh.

II Kings 8:20-22, (II Chronicles 21:8-10)       In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah.

1. Tell about the history of the Edomites.

2. Who is the king of Judah at this time?
   Who is the king of Israel?

3. What had made Edom proud?

   How is pride deceitful?

4. The Edomites had allied themselves with other nations against Israel. Now those nations would turn against the Edomites. How does that correlate with the progression of sin?

5. Obadiah predicted doom for Edom because it joined in the attack on Judah, blocked the way of refugees, and gloated over the calamity of neighboring Judah. What do Proverbs 17:5 and Job 31:29 relate about rejoicing over another’s misfortune?

6. How was Edom responsible for the violence done to Jerusalem? Discuss how this relates to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:31-33.

7. Verse 15 says, "….as you have done, it shall be done to you, your deeds shall return on your own head." How is that true in regard to v. 7 – being traitors to the Jews; vv. 5-6 – plundered and looted; vv. 9-10 – being violent; and v. 18 – wishing destruction?

8. Edom was sinful, but so certainly was Judah. Why would one survive and the other not?

9. A prominent philosophy today encourages people to be selfish, cowardly and disinterested in others. We excuse ourselves by saying, "we just can’t get involved." What spiritual danger does this present?

10. What major lessons can we learn from Obadiah?

1. According to II Kings 14:23-27, Jonah must have been a popular prophet among his own people, for he rightly prophesied that King __________________________ of Israel would restore the former borders of Israel. _______________________ was king of Judah at this same time.

2. To where did God tell Jonah to prophesy?

   Where did he go instead?

3. Isn’t it ironic that a prophet of the Lord is running away from the presence of the Lord? Discuss the wrong attitudes displayed by Jonah.

   What attitude adjustments must be made when we see ourselves running from the Lord?

4. Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the sea, and finally down into a great fish. He probably did not recognize that his disobedience was leading him in a downward spiral. A ship was waiting for him, he had the fare, and he was even able to sleep peacefully during a storm. Discuss how Satan can lure us into sin and a false sense of well-being.

5. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach repentance, but found himself in need of repentance. In chapter two what stages did Jonah go through before receiving God’s forgiveness?

6. It has been said that the key word in chapter three is GREAT! What great things can you identify in this chapter?

7. Was Jonah pleased with the results of his preaching? What was wrong?

8. How is Jonah a type of Jesus Christ? (See Matthew 12:39-41)?

9. How is Jonah a picture of the Jewish nation?

10. How do you identify with Jonah?

    What lessons about God’s character can be learned from the book of Jonah?

    Is this the same God of today? How does this encourage you in your relationship with God?

II Kings 19:37 (II Chronicles 32:21 - 33:17).       King Manasseh of Judah had already been taken captive by the Assyrian king Esarhaddon and returned to Judah to reign as a puppet king and had begun reforms before Nahum wrote this searing prophecy of doom about the mighty city of Nineveh and the Assyrian people. The Assyrian empire was at its height of glory. Nineveh’s wealth and pride left no place for penitence. It seems Jonah’s message of repentance delivered a century and a half before this writing has been totally forgotten. Nahum is not another message of warning for Nineveh, but is a message of hope for Judah. The evil empire soon would be utterly destroyed. Judah and all the surrounding nations must have rejoiced when Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and the Babylonians in 612 B.C., a few years after this writing.

1. In the first chapter, what frightful characteristics of God are revealed?

2. Discuss how the Lord is a jealous God.

3. What words of comfort to Judah are found in the first chapter?

4. What do Nahum 1:15; Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15 have in common?

   Chapter two is a vivid picture of the invasion of the city and its ultimate fall. Their military wore scarlet. The lion was their symbol. The city was literally destroyed by swelling waters breaking down the city walls, allowing the Medes and Babylonians entrance into the city. Find this imagery in this chapter.

5. What frightening statement is contained in chapter two and repeated in chapter three?

6. From 3:1, what were the sins of Nineveh that would cause her destruction?

7. How would the surrounding nations receive the news of the battle?

8. God caused Nineveh to fall. God also allowed Judah’s fall. How do they differ?

9. What good came out of preaching such "doom and gloom" as described in Nahum?

   How can similar preaching produce good in today’s society?

Women IN God's Service

Minor Prophets - lesson 1
Ladies Bible Class Lesson, Spring 1998
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, Arkansas

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