Day 280 (Saturday) - Zechariah 14; Malachi

Malachi is joked about being the Italian prophet, but in all seriousness, he is the last book in the order of the Authorized Version and 12th of the books of the Minor Prophets. Its title Malachi is taken from the opening verse of chapter 3 and means "my messenger." On internal evidence the book, a collection of prophetic oracles, is usually dated 460 BC, shortly before the reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra. After a protestation of God's love for Israel, the prophet rebukes the priests for their negligence and the people for their foreign marriages. Finally, there is a prophecy of the coming Day of Judgment, anticipated by the appearance of a messenger and the reappearance of Elijah.

Day 279 (Friday) - Zechariah 8-13

The purpose of this book is not strictly historical but theological and pastoral. The main emphasis is that God is at work and plans to live again with His people in Jerusalem. He will save them from their enemies and cleanse them from sin.

Zechariah's concern for purity is apparent in the temple, priesthood and all areas of life as the prophecy gradually eliminates the influence of the governor in favor of the high priest, and the sanctuary becomes ever more clearly the centre of messianic fulfillment. The prominence of prophecy is quite apparent in Zechariah, but it is also true that Zechariah (along with Haggai) allows prophecy to yield to the priesthood; this is particularly apparent in comparing Zechariah to "Third Isaiah" (chapters 55–66 of the Book of Isaiah whose author was active sometime after the first return from exile.

Day 278 (Thursday) - Zechariah 1:12-7:14

I know your reading for this was yeasterday, but I thought I'd give you some feedback on the book before we jump to the next prophet. Haggai is dated at 520 BC, it is a collection of five oracles addressed to Jews, newly returned from the Babylonian exile. The prophet summons the people to renew work on the restoration of the Temple as the necessary prerequisite for the imminent dawning of the messianic age—the time when the splendor of the Solomonic empire will be reestablished under the earthly rule of a Davidic monarch. The book is addressed to the leader Zerubbabel , a Davidic prince, and the high priest Joshua, saying that the new Temple will be less in material splendor than Solomon's, but its glory will be greater. The book concludes with a Messianic prophecy about Zerubbabel's divine purpose, the imminent overthrow of the nations, and the dawning of the rule of God. For an account of the rebuilding program, see chapters 5 and 6 of the Book of Ezra.

Day 277 (Wednesday) - Zephaniah 1:14-3:20; Haggai; Zechariah 1:1-11

Zephaniah is the prophet, who lived in the reign (640-609 BC) of King Josiah of Judah, traces his genealogy to King Hezekiah . Zephaniah denounces Judah for idolatry, luxury, and for presuming on God's protection. The Day of the Lord, the prophet announces, will bring doom on Judah's people and on the nations. However, the book ends with a prediction of salvation and the return from captivity of a remnant of Israel. One oracle in chapter 3, a picture of restored Jerusalem, is almost certainly a post-exilic addition.

Day 276 (Tuesday) - Nahum 3; Habakkuk; Zephaniah 1:1-13

Habakkuk is a collection of oracles, perhaps three in number, delivered against the backdrop of the Babylonian threat to Judah in 600 BC. The first—a dialogue between the prophet and God—asks how God can remain silent when the wicked prosper. God's reply is to assure the prophet that his purposes will not fail though they seem long in coming to pass. The second oracle is an indictment of the arrogant and rapacious. The third, in which Habakkuk praises God, is a liturgical psalm. It anticipates the fulfillment of divine purposes regarding the salvation of his people. An interesting fact is that a commentary on the book of Habakkuk was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Day 275 (Monday) - Micah 4-7; Nahum 1-2

Did you realize how little we know of these Minor Prophets? Many people suspect that since a particular writer made it into the Scriptures that there must be some level of notoriety that accompanies their inclusion, but that’s just not the case. Nahum is another prophet we know nothing about. We do know about the city Nineveh and it should remind you of the story we just read in Jonah except this time they will be destroyed. Another interesting fact is that this is an acrostic psalm, meaning each line starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is lost in English translations but is very evident in a Hebrew copy. Not all of the letters are included so we could have some missing text in this book.

Day 274 (Sunday) - Obadiah 1:10-21; Jonah; Micah 1-3

The story of Jonah is well known to many people, even those that have never attended church or read the story. It’s application is clear…how often do we run away from God and what he wants of us? Our running never turns out very well, just like Jonah.

Jonah has also taken a lot of hits as to whether it is fact or fiction. I have always allowed myself to question, but after much thought and study, I have no problem with the validity of the story. Jesus seems to have no problem with it in Mathew 12. One thing that helped me was when I discovered that neither Greek nor Hebrew have a word to distinguish between a fish and a whale and if a whale is possible, this story is more than plausible.

The irony for me is when people use this story to give themselves license to disbelieve what God says in the Scriptures. It sounds like they use the story of Jonah to be a kind of Jonah of their own!