“ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching …” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) That includes the books written by the Old Testament prophets. A prophet served as God’s spokesperson, telling people what He wanted them to know. — “… no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things …” (2 Pet. 1:20-21)
Content of the Old Testament Prophetic Books
God used the Old Testament prophets as “forth-tellers”, stressing people’s need to repent or face pending judgment. And so, we read warnings and woes.
God also used the prophets as “fore-tellers”, predicting future events God planned to bring about, such as:
Prophecies about Israel and Surrounding Nations
Prophecies about the Messiah
Prophecies Yet to be Fulfilled
Resource to Help with How to Teach from the Old Testament Prophets
The Teaching the Real Message of the Bible Download includes a section about the Old Testament prophets that briefly expounds on the above and then gives tips for how to teach these books. This teacher training resource looks at other sections of the Bible like Old Testament History and Poetic Books as well as New Testament Gospels and History, Epistles, and the Prophetic Book of Revelation.
In the next post, we will get practical with some tips for teaching these books that grow out of this big picture.