5 Hidden Prophets of the Bible

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Prophets were foundational to the church. The Bible tells us the church was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The prophet proclaimed a message from the Lord to the early believers and their message varied from person to person. Sometimes, a prophet’s message was revelatory, bringing new revelation and truth from God. Other times, the prophet’s message was predictive. In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches. We see these examples in Acts, highlighting prophets in the church. The truth is God can give someone a message to deliver to someone else and also reveal the truth to someone in a supernatural way. God can also enable that person to deliver that message others. Ezekiel and Daniel, known as the Major Prophets are easy to focus on – many of us caught up in the excitement of their stories. The Minor Prophets are easy to overlook; however, they are just as important and significant in the sharing of the Gospel. All you have to do is stop to uncover what lies inside their messages. Here are five hidden prophets of the Bible that all Christians should know.

Hosea

Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets, called minor not because they are less important, but because the books are shorter. Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah. His early years overlapped with Amos; and his later years with Micah. The theme of the prophecy is God’s mercy to a sinful Israel, who in the end will come to God in heartfelt and genuine repentance. More than any other prophet, Hosea linked his message closely with his personal life. By marrying a woman he knew would eventually betray his trust and by giving his children names that sent messages of judgment on Israel, Hosea’s prophetic word flowed out of the life of his family. The cycle of repentance, redemption and restoration evident in Hosea’s prophecy – and even his marriage – remains intimately connected to our lives. The sequence plays itself out in the lives of real people, reminding us that the Scriptures are far from a mere collection of abstract statements with no relation to real life. They work their way into our day-to-day existence, commenting on issues that impact all our actions and relationships.

Joel

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We know little of the prophet Joel beyond a few personal details in the book itself. He identified himself as the son of Pethuel, preached to the people of Judah, and expressed a great deal of interest in Jerusalem. The book of Joel’s importance in Scripture stems from his being the first to develop an oft-mentioned biblical idea: the day of the Lord. While Obadiah mentioned the terrifying event first (Obadiah 15), Joel’s book gives some of the most striking and specific details in all of Scripture about the day of the Lord – days cloaked in darkness, armies that conquer like consuming fire, and the moon turning to blood. Rooted in such vibrant and physical imagery, this time of ultimate judgment, still future for us today (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10), makes clear the seriousness of God’s judgment on sin. Using what was at the time the well-known locust plague in Judah, Joel capitalized on a recent tragedy to dispense the Lord’s message of judgment and the hope of repentance.

Amos

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The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately 10 miles south of Jerusalem. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he consider himself one. Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. Prior to that, God’s word through Amos was directed against the privileged people of Israel, a people who had no love for their neighbor, who took advantage of others, and who only lookout out for their own concerns. More than almost any other book of Scripture, the book of Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. It consistently points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice.

Obadiah

Obadiah’s name, meaning “worshipper of Yahweh” offers an interesting counterpoint to the message of judgment he pronounced on Edom, Judah’s neighbor to the southeast. As a worshipper of Yahweh, Obadiah placed himself in a position of humility before the Lord; he embraced his lowly place before God. The majority of the book pronounces judgment on the foreign nation of Edom, making Obadiah one of the only three prophets who announced judgment primarily on other nations (Nahum and Habakkuk are the others). While others of the prophetic books contain passages of judgment against Edom and other nations, Obadiah’s singular focus points to a significant, although difficult, truth about humanity’s relationship with God; when people remove themselves from or place themselves in opposition to God’s people, they can expect judgment, rather than restoration at the end of life.

Micah

The book of Micah, provides one of the most significant prophecies of Jesus Christ’s birth in all the Old Testament, pointing some seven hundred years before Christ’s birth to His birthplace of Bethlehem and to His eternal nature (Micah 5:2). Surrounding Micah’s prophecy of Jesus’ birth is one of the most lucid pictures of the world’s future under the reign of the Prince of Peace (Micah 5:5). This future Kingdom, which scholars call the millennial kingdom, will be characterized by the presence of many nations living with one another in peace and security and come to Jerusalem to worship the reigning king, that is, Jesus Himself. Because these events have not yet occurred, we look forward to the millennial kingdom at some undetermined time in the future. Much of Micah’s book revolves around two significant predictions: one of judgment on Israel and Judah, the other of the restoration of God’s people in the millennial kingdom.

Jesus Christ Himself used all the prophets to explain things about Himself. The Bible tells us, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Both the Major and Minor Prophets are usually among the least popular books of the Bible for Christians to read, because of these books often unusual prophetic language and the seemingly constant warning and condemnations recorded in the prophecies. Still, there is much value to these texts. A study of the Minor Prophets will help those who seek to understand God and His purpose for humanity more fully. Read these books to learn more about who these prophets are and how they present the Gospel. These books matter.