Old Testament Minor Prophets – 12 Books

In our efforts to remember the books of the Bible in their published order, we employ several techniques. First and foremost to me is to learn a familiar overview of each book; its places, its people, its historical events. That is a must for youth and adult students of the Bible. Children can learn and remember some of this information, too, and it is very valuable as they grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord. I’ve been known to resort to a few “gimmicks,” also, to encourage memorization of the more difficult and same-sounding names. I mentioned this in reference to the 12 OT history books, because there are so many of them in sequence and some of their information tends to overlap. I recommend a rhythmic “chant,” a cadence to file in our memory banks for the confusing names also, of the 12 Minor Prophets:

Hosea Joel Amos! / Obadiah Jonah Micah! / Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah! /  Haggai Zechariah Malachi!

I’m not kidding. Imagine a drumbeat. Just repeat these names over and over to yourself, aloud, with rhythm. You’ll find after a few times they’ll roll off your tongue just that way. I’m not big on word association, because it can get silly to the point of blasphemy. I make one exception in the case of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. As a means of distinguishing those books from the last 3, I taught the kids to chant “my neighbor’s (Nahum) tobacco (Habakkuk) ‘s on fire! (Zephaniah)” Then we could remember the correct names in their correct order. The last 3 - Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, closely rhyme, so it’s easy to chant them at the end.

The Minor Prophets are called minor because each is brief in comparison to the 5 very lengthy Major Prophets. Here’s a quick description of the 12 Minor Prophets and their messages. The numbers represent the years, Before Christ, of each book’s time in history:

Hosea  - The Lord loves Israel despite her sin. 755-15 BC. God’s persistent love for His people is demonstrated by Hosea’s faithfulness to his sluttish wife.

Joel  - Judgment precedes Israel’s future spiritual revival. 835-796 BC*. Joel tells of the Day of the Lord.  

Amos - God is just and must judge sin. 765-50 BC. Privileged and arrogant Israel had become decadent.  

Obadiah - Sure retribution must overtake merciless pride. 848 BC*. Esau’s descendants must pay for their gloating over the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jonah - Divine grace is universal in its sweep. 780-50 BC. The AWOL Prophet, Jonah tried to run from his responsibility to deliver God’s message of grace to Nineveh. The big fish delivered him to his appointed destination and he was angry with God for demonstrating grace to the repentant Ninevites.  God’s Word will do its work, even when the messenger is uncooperative. It isn’t the man, it’s the message.

Micah - Bethlehem-born Messiah will be mankind’s Deliverer. 740-690 BC. Present Judgment; Future Blessing.

Nahum - Doom is to descend on wicked Nineveh. 630-12 BC . 100 years after their repentance because of Jonah's message, Nineveh reverted and was destroyed.

Habakkuk - Justification by faith is God’s way of salvation. 625 BC or earlier. Questions regarding the continuing evil in humanity. Why is this allowed? The answer the prophet received is valid for all time. A sovereign God has the incontestable prerogative of dealing with the wicked in His own time and way. ‘But the righteous will live by his faith’ (2:4).

Zephaniah - The Day of the Lord must precede kingdom blessing. 625-10 BC. A Deluded People.

Haggai - The Lord’s temple and interests deserve top priority. 520 BC. The Unfinished Temple.

Zechariah - The Lord will remember His people Israel. 520-15 BC; Ch. 9-14 after 500 BC. This book is unique in its messianic emphasis among the Minor Prophets and in its unfolding of events connected with the first and second advents of Christ. It has been called the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological of all the writings of the OT.

Malachi - Let the wicked be warned by the certainty of judgment. 433-400 BC. Unrecognized Love. The previously revived people of God had become mechanized in their routine religion of meaningless ritual. Judgment is coming on God’s people. God’s silence is also coming, because they have ignored His Word. Nevertheless, there will always be a remnant according to the election of grace. The remnant will remember and cherish God’s Word and will enjoy fellowship with one another even in adversity (Malachi 3:16-17).

All dates are approximate. *The text does not specifically date these prophets. As a result differences of opinion exist concerning the time of their ministries.

Unger, Merrill F.; Unger, Merrill F. F. (2005-04-01). The New Unger's Bible Handbook (Kindle Locations 9497-9502). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

There was at least a 400 year gap between Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament and Matthew, the first gospel of the New Testament. When Jesus came, He was a breath of fresh air to Israel because He was and is the incarnation of God’s Holy Word.

Next, we will categorize and memorize the books of the New Testament. Don’t hesitate to memorize and to repeat to yourself the information that’s covered here, as well as in the tables of contents and the book introductions in your Bible. Repetition is the best teacher. The things you always remember in life are the things you cannot forget, such as the alphabet, the multiplication tables, nursery rhymes and other things you learned by rote. You’ll be amazed how much you can learn and retain about God’s Word when you apply 1 John 1:7-9 and James 1:5, prayerfully, before you begin to tackle these things.