One of the perks of editing The Gospel Project is shaping Bible studies for believers of all ages, walking alongside more than a million kids, students, and adults on a journey through the Bible’s big storyline. For many Gospel Project users, we are about to enter the season we’ve described as “Prophets and Kings.”
Now, for a lot of Bible readers, the prophetic writings seem bizarre and foreign. Churchgoers may come to know and love the Gospels, or sing the psalms, or cherish the exciting New Testament narratives.
But the prophets? It feels like a chore just to pronounce their names right (Habakkuk, Nahum, Obadiah), much less remember the context that prompted their ministry, or the particular message of each one. Read a few of these prophets side by side, without knowing much about their history, and you begin to feel like they all run together. There’s one overarching message: Repent! Repent! And that message is delivered in multiple ways, with strange themes and practices.
In my time as editor, however, I’ve grown to love the Minor Prophets, all sandwiched together at the end of the Old Testament. There are three in particular who, I would say, have “wrecked me”—in a good way, in a powerful way in which I felt the refreshing shower of God’s grace.
1. Hosea
Hosea is a weird story, even for adults. God tells a prophet to marry a prostitute, give their children horrible names, and then go back and purchase his wife after she is unfaithful.
But both times I edited sessions on Hosea, I wound up in tears. The vision of God as the spurned Lover, the great and glorious Husband who pursues His bride and willingly pays the price to win her back . . . it is such a breathtaking picture of God’s great love.
When my kids first studied Hosea, I asked my oldest (who was 9 at the time) about it at lunch. He recounted the story of Hosea marrying a woman who didn’t love him and kept running away. “But Hosea just kept going after her,” he said. “He even paid a price to get her back.” Then, he paused: “God’s like that.”
I could have leaped for joy. That’s what I want my kids to hear in church. Not to focus only on the sensational miracles or the details of the Bible’s stranger stories, but to get the point and recognize what the Bible is telling us about God—who He is and what He is like. (See The Gospel Project’s video treatment of this story here.)
2. Joel
The prophet Joel is associated with the plague of locusts. Reading through this short book can feel odd, especially if you’ve recently read Exodus and seen how the plagues were unleashed on the Egyptians. Here, the plague of God comes down on His own people in response to their sin.
But in the midst of this devastation, the Lord’s call to repentance comes loud and clear. And what wrecks me is the word “return”:
Even now . . . turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. . . . Return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love . . . (Joel 2:12-13, CSB).
God describes Himself the same way He did to Moses, shortly after Israel had watched as God rained down plagues upon Egypt. Now, the plague of locusts has decimated the land of God’s own people, and yet God is the same—still gracious, still compassionate, still slow to anger, still faithful in love. And this God cries out, Return to Me! This word is an amazing symbol of repentance.
I see God here as the Father waiting for the return of the prodigal, whose own fortunes have been decimated by the famine in the land. I see the prodigal who has wasted all of His inheritance, now returning to the Father, who is ready with open arms to demonstrate His character toward His wayward boy.
Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, God says through the prophet Joel. Don’t make an outward show of repentance. Repent by returning. And I’m wrecked afresh by the beauty of repentance as return, the willingness of God to welcome us back into His arms and withhold the disaster we deserve.
3. Jonah
Finally, there’s Jonah. Hardly a “minor” prophet in terms of popularity, Jonah is best known for being swallowed by a big fish. But the bigger shock in this book is the twist at the end. When Jonah (finally) preaches to the Ninevites, they turn from their wicked ways and revival breaks out.
Now, you’d think that the narrative would end with Jonah’s triumph. Instead, God’s mercy made Jonah angry. That’s the twist that changes the way you read the book, almost like watching The Sixth Sense the second time through. Jonah didn’t run away because he was afraid the Ninevites would reject his message. He ran away because he was afraid they would accept it!
The small, unmerciful heart of Jonah cuts to the quick in my own smallness of heart. Too often, I’m focused on myself—my needs, my desires, my self-preservation. I need God to break down the walls of my heart and drive me out into the world with His good news.
Even better, Jonah reminds me of how much I need Jesus. Jonah ran away from his enemies. Christ ran toward them. The warm, missionary heart of God embraces the outsider and puts up with the petulance of a pouting prophet.
Hosea, Prophet to Israel (Unit 14, Session 1) Kids Video from The Gospel Project | LifeWay on Vimeo.
