Lesson 12

IN A MINOR KEY

Although there are hard times in everyone's life, God does not abandon His people, but remains faithful to His promises.

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Today we will be meeting the last six of the Minor Prophets.

Find the last six books from the Minor Prophets Division in this photo frame. Colour or highlight them blue.

Write their names to match their Memory Links in the pictures below the photo frame.

Number them in their Bible order from 7 to 12.

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BIG IDEA

These six divide neatly into two time zones - BEFORE the exile and AFTER the exile. The first three, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, spoke at a time when the cruel Assyrian Empire, which had conquered the kingdom of Israel and threatened the kingdom of Judah, was declining. Hooray! everyone thought. Uh-oh, not so good. Babylon took over instead; only four years after the fall of Nineveh (capital of Assyria) in 604 BC, the first wave of exiles were taken from Judah to Babylon, including a young man named Daniel. Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, and more Jews were exiled to Babylon. However, God did not abandon His people. About 70 years later, in 540 BC some Jews were allowed to return home.

Encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, they rebuilt God’s temple in about 516 BC. Then, Nehemiah came and led them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (445 BC), but he had to return to Persia in about 433 BC, and Jews drifted back to their old ways. From about 432 - 425 BC the last prophet Malachi rebuked the people for not putting God first in their lives, and also told of a sun of righteousness that would rise over the whole earth, with healing in its beams. Who is this sun?

MEMORY VERSES

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Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!

IN MY LIFE

• The Jews suffered in Exile. Psalm 137 says, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." What is Zion?

Sometimes when something is taken away from us for a while, we appreciate it much more.

List some good things (blessings) in your life that you would miss if they were taken away: food clothing family friends eyesight hearing homes health

Tell how you could show more appreciation for these good things this week.

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did you know?

...which prophet paid about 170 grams of silver and 330 litres of barley to buy back his wife?

• Hosea bought back his wife, Gomer, for a small amount of silver and lots and lots of barley! See Hosea 3:2.

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..which prophet's name means "messenger"?

• Malachi means "messenger".

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The sixteen major and Minor Prophets