"THE PROPHETS"
From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Public Library at Boston.
The prophets here represented are Jeremiah, Jonah, Isaiah, Habakkuk.
THE PROPHETS
There are two groups of prophetic books in the Old Testament: the longer books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, in one group, and what are known as the books of the "Twelve Minor Prophets," in another group. These books, especially those of the "Minor Prophets." are often neglected by readers of the Bible. "Minor Prophets" is a very unfortunate name for that group of great souls whose messages have come down to us from the ages. The word came into use because these books; smaller in size than some others, were grouped together in the Bible. The writers themselves were not minor or inferior in any sense of the word. The word "prophet" is also, in itself, somewhat misleading. The men who are called prophets did not simply predict future events. They were really what we would call reformers. They cried out against the evils of the times in which they lived, and tried to turn the nation back to God when it had sinned.
It must be admitted that it is not very easy, especially for young people, to read these books, and yet they are intensely interesting if one can only realize that these words were spoken by living men, each blazing with indignation against wrong, men of heroic character, who were ready, if necessary, to look in the face of death, in their speaking of the truth.
Little or nothing can be told of the personal history of many of these men. Striking passages have been chosen from each of the prophets to show the character of the message which they spoke.