The Major Prophets

This week, we are going to look at the last category of Old Testament books: the prophets. Each prophet is widely accepted as the author of the book named after him. The specific role of the prophets was to call Israel to repentance when they sinned. The prophets warned God’s people of judgment if they didn’t stop turning their back on God, all while reminding them that God will extend them mercy and hope and future restoration.

Today, let’s look at an overview of the books that make up the major prophets:

From this book, we learn that Isaiah was married and had two sons (Isaiah 7:3, 8:3). Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC during the reign of four kings of Judah—Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. By the time he started prophesying, the people of Judah were worshipping God on the surface, but inwardly they had abandoned their faith. Through Isaiah, God prophesied a series of judgments to turn the heart of his people back to himself, as well as predictions about the future savior of Israel. Of all of the Old Testament books, Isaiah gives the clearest picture of the future Messiah’s birth (7:14) and his death (52:13–53:12).

Jeremiah’s ministry began in 627 BC and lasted until around 582 BC. His prophecies included the prediction of the Babylonian captivity, during which the Jews would be carried to Babylon as exiles because of their rebellion against God (Jeremiah 25). In spite of this, God promised to return them to the land and to give them a good future. That future included a time when God would make a new covenant with the nation in which his laws would be written on their hearts (Hebrews 8:10–12). In addition to the book that bears his name, Jeremiah also likely wrote Lamentations. In Lamentations, the author wept over the city of Jerusalem, which had been invaded in 586 BC. Deeply anguished, he lamented over Judah’s sin that resulted in the destruction of its land. In the midst of his sorrow, the author still expressed hope in a faithful God whose mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).

Ezekiel prophesied during Judah’s exile in Babylon and lived in Tel-Abib, nearly one hundred miles south of Babylon. Many of Ezekiel’s prophecies concerned judgment for the sins that God’s people had committed as well as judgment against the nation’s enemies. The latter half of Ezekiel includes prophecies of Judah’s restoration and the return of God’s glory among his people.

Like Ezekiel, Daniel also lived in Babylon during the Jews’ exile. Daniel can be divided into two sections. The first section is narrative, recounting the encounters of Daniel and his three friends with the powerful kings of Babylon, Media, and Persia (Daniel 1–6). The second half of the book contains visions of the future, as it relates to Israel and the world (Daniel 7–12).