If we look around at our world today, we know that things are not how they’re supposed to be. It feels as if the culture around us continues to move further away from God. Evil seems to be thriving, and there is a lack of justice against sin. The people of Israel found themselves in a similar situation: sometimes at the hands of other nations and other times because of their own actions.
While we wonder when things will be made right, God’s Word reminds us that this is not the end of the story. God is at work, whether we can see it or not. We can have hope for today knowing that we have not been forsaken or forgotten. God’s Word invites us and guides us to trust Him with our days.
One important part of God’s Word guiding us is in the minor prophets, “minor” being a reference to their length and not their significance. We will read through five of the twelve minor prophets: Joel, Jonah, Micah, Haggai, and Malachi.
The books of the minor prophets cover the time period before, during, and after the Babylonian exile. The nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. The people repeatedly rejected God and followed the false gods of the day. So God sent messengers, or prophets, to call the people back to a right relationship with God. The prophets warned the people of coming judgment against their sin and the sin of the nations He was using to punish them.
Though these messages of judgment can be hard to read at times, God also provides messages of hope. God promised that His love would always remain and that He would preserve the faithful. He never stopped pursuing His people. This was not because of any merit on Israel’s part, but rather because of God’s faithfulness.
The same is true in our own lives. God pursues us with an everlasting love. No matter what you’ve done or where you are, you are never too far from the pursuing love of God. He simply wants our hearts. His grace, or unmerited favor, is available through Jesus’ perfect life, sacrifice, and resurrection.
May this study give you hope that God is just as devoted to preserving His people as He is to delivering justice against evil. From that hope, may you see that life devoted to God and Jesus is greater than anything this world has to offer. May the words of the minor prophets encourage your heart to take a step toward Christ, trusting in His saving grace and choosing to boldly live a life of obedience. And, when life gets hard and things seem out of control, we can trust that God never fails. He is sovereignly in control and will make all things new one day.
