Lifespan

Unknown.

Ministry

Noah’s ministry was unique. He was called to preach repentance to the people, yet to prepare for their complete destruction. Along with being a preacher of righteousness, he was also called to be a naval engineer, a carpenter, a master of animal husbandry, and an agrarian genius for the rebuilding and repopulating for the earth.

Preparation and Calling

His preparation is unrecorded. His calling seems to have come when God spoke to him directly and told him to build an ark because He was going to destroy everyone else on the planet. To Noah’s credit, he heeded God’s direction every whit, and, as a result, became a sort of second “Adam” in the history of the human race.

Interaction with God

Noah seemed to have a good relationship with God. Although we don’t know the exact nature of God’s revelations to His prophet, the scriptural record explains that God spoke and Noah heard and obeyed. Whether this took place through the quiet whisperings of the Spirit, through angelic ministrants, or in a direct face-to-face with God is not explained, but given Noah’s position as apparently the most righteous man on earth, any of these options are entirely feasible.

Social Situation

The people all about Noah’s family were wicked, and God wanted to destroy them all if they didn’t repent. Noah was called to call them to repentance, build a ark, gather together samples of all animals on the earth, along with fishes and birds.

Key Teachings

Obey God and repent. Or die.

Living with the Prophet

“Sure, God. A great flood that will cover the entire earth and kill everything. And thou wouldst have me to build a boat how big? For all the animals?” Noah might have had thoughts like this when God told him to build an ark and explained its purpose, but we are all grateful that he obeyed. As we move towards the time when Jesus Christ will return to reign again, terrible things have been prophesied by God’s prophets. How will we react to those warnings? Will we obey our prophets, or find ourselves wishing we had! Resolve to learn what God’s prophets have told us and continue to tell us about the days in which we live.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Noah”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Noah”

Holy Bible, the book of Genesis

Learning Bible, the book of Genesis

Lifespan

Approximately early to mid-600s B.C.

Ministry

Nahum’s prophecy was probably written sometime between 660 and 606 B.C. The book of Nahum deals with events of the fall on Nineveh in 612 B.C.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown.

Interaction with God

The book of Nahum is a powerful poem, and as such, indicates that Nahum likely received inspiration as he wrote the poetry that described his prophecies and visions. Thus, his revelatory experience was likely a two-stage event: first the vision or other Spirit-directed teaching in which he received God’s word, and second as he recorded that event in the format of inspired and inspiring poetry.

Social Situation

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. At its peak, it was the greatest city of the most dominant empire of that time. As the seventh century B.C. came to a close, Assyria’s power was dwindling and several powers stood ready to bring down the once mighty city. Nahum’s prophecy of the downfall of Assyria viewed that scene as the act of an avenging God destroying its capital and bringing peace to Judah.

Key Teachings

God will punish those nations that use their political and military power to abuse others.

Living with the Prophet

In the Old Testament, God is sometimes described as being vengeful and ready to punish the wicked at all times, whether an individual or an entire nation. As you look around you at the world today, it is easy to identify those who do not seem punished at all for their behavior. The scriptures teach that God is perfect in justice and mercy. As you see wicked nations using their power to abuse others, or the innocent injured, it can help to remember that God’s timetable is perfect and that He will set it all right.  No righteous act will go unrewarded, and no blatant evil unjudged. Knowing this often frees us from imposing sentences ourselves and enables us to leave what is God’s in His hands, after doing our part to see justice prevail.

Sources

Learning Bible, the book of Nahum

Holy Bible, the book of Nahum

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Nahum, the book of”

Lifespan

Uncertain. Moses led the Israelites from Egypt and spent the next 39 years as their spiritual and political leader as they wandered the wilderness. (Approximately 1290-1250 B.C.?)

Ministry

Moses served as the leader of the Israelites during their escape from Egyptian bondage and subsequent 40-year wanderings predominantly in the area of the Sinai Peninsula and wilderness south of the Dead Sea, much of which seems to have been spent in the vicinity of Kadesh-barnea in the northern Sinai desert.

Preparation and Calling

Moses was the product of a secret birth during a time of mortal persecution. Hidden in amid the reeds of the Nile River, he was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, and nursed by his own mother through a bit of quick thinking on the part of his older sister. He was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in privileged circumstances, but when, as an adult, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew man, he had to flee the country to save his life. He ended up in Midian, where he married Zipporah, had two sons, and tended his father-in-law’s flocks. While Moses was tending those flocks one day near Horeb, God appeared to him in a burning bush and called him to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of bondage.

Interaction with God

Moses experienced a full range of experiences with the God whom he represented to the people of Israel. He spoke to God as He appeared in a burning bush, he visited with Him face to face, he received His word through inspired counselors and friends, and he counseled with God in prayer and the quiet whisperings of the Spirit.

Social Situation

The story of Moses and the Israelites covers several social scenarios. The two major ones are (1) the people of Israel serving in slave-labor camps to the Egyptians, and (2) after escaping, a nearly 40-year existence in the wilderness awaiting God’s permission to re-enter the promised land. However, the theme that connects the entire Moses’ story is the need to understand that God is all-powerful, and Israel must learn to depend on and obey their God.

Some have drawn a close parallel between Moses leading the children of Israel in the wilderness and the modern prophet Brigham Young leading the Mormon pioneers west to the Great Salt Lake Valley in the mid-1800s. He was nicknamed an “American Moses.”

Key Teachings

Moses has left us many important teachings, some of which include:

• The Ten Commandments
• The principle of delegating administrative responsibilities
• The principle of commitment to one God only: the true God
• The witness of miracles for those who believe
• A detailed code of laws for those unable to live God’s higher laws

Prophecies of Christ

“The Lord thy God will raise up onto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deut. 18:15).

Living with the Prophet

Moses had the perfect background for his calling: an Israelite with an Egyptian education and credentials. But freeing the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage was not his only task. He then had to live with and lead the freed Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years, and they tended to sometimes be less than grateful for their blessings. They lacked the perspective of Moses, the prophet. When you perceive that life is difficult, read the words of ancient and modern prophets and tie into their perspective. You’ll find that your life suddenly becomes more manageable.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Moses”

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Moses”

Holy Bible, the book of Moses

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, s.v. “Young, Brigham”

Lifespan

Micah may have begun his ministry in approximately 725 B.C.; otherwise unknown.

Ministry

Micah is a native of Moresh-gath, a small village in the Judaean foothills. Little else is known about him. He prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah, and was perhaps a lesser-known peer and contemporary of Isaiah.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Micah seemed to receive God’s word and direction primarily through his prophecies and revelations given to the Judaean people he addressed.

Social Situation

Judaean society was in a moral downslide. Idolatry was rampant, and the upper classes were oppressing the commoners. Micah seems to have come from that oppressed common class, unlike his contemporary Isaiah, who was city born and privileged. The northern kingdom was already doomed to defeat at the hands of the Assyrians, and Judah was manuevering to hold off the same fate. (In the end, they too fell, to the Babylonian successors to the Assyrians.)

Key Teachings

Micah’s name, shortened from “Micaiah” (Jeremiah 26:18), means “Who is like Jehovah?” His prophecies of restoration contain some insightful glimpses of the coming Messiah. For example, Micah is the only Old Testament figure to prophecy of Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace.

Prophecies of Christ

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2).

Living with the Prophet

Have you ever wanted to know what God expects of you? Yes, you! Micah has a good answer to that question. He was a humble prophet from a small village. He cared about the poor, and his message was simple: “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8). Set a goal today to invite God’s Spirit to walk with you as you go about your daily life, doing justly and showing mercy to those around you.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Micah, the Book of”

Learning Bible, the book of Micah

Holy Bible, the book of Micah

Lifespan

Uncertain, although Methusaleh was the longest lived of the early patriarchs, living a total of 969 years.

Ministry

Methusaleh was a righteous man, a prophet, and an astronomer, but little is known about his actual ministry.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Unknown

Social Situation

When the city of Enoch was taken into heaven, Methuselah was left on the earth to provide a prophetic, priesthood lineage through which Noah would be born.

Key Teachings

The scriptural record contains no record of teachings specific to Methusaleh.

Living with the Prophet

Methusaleh lived longer than any other human being on record. What do you suppose he experienced during his nearly 1,000 years of life? Although people today do not live as long as Methusaleh, we have much to learn from those who have “been around the block a time or two.” Resolve today to visit an elderly person, and try to learn three things of value during your visit.

Sources

Holy Bible, the book of Genesis

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Methusaleh”

Lifespan

Uncertain, but the prophecy recorded in the book by the same name was spoken in about 430 B.C.

Ministry

Malachi seems to have taught after the return from Babylon, for some of the wickedness that he writes of parallels the post-exilic reforms that Nehemiah and Ezra would soon put into practice. He also mentions that the temple is still standing. Chronologically, he was perhaps the last of the official prophets whose writings made it into the Old Testament, although some scholars believe that he predates Ezra and Nehemiah.

Preparation and Calling

Uncertain

Interaction with God

Most of the book of Malachi is written in a question and answer format. Obviously Malachi has been given the gift of the Spirit, perhaps the gift of prophecy, in order to understand and relay God’s answers to His people, but it is unclear the exact nature of how that happens for Malachi.

Social Situation

The exiled Jews had returned to Jerusalem and were rebuilding their lives and their buildings, including the temple. And yet life was still hard. The people wondered about the prophecies of a better life that previous prophets had uttered. Malachi’s ministry was to assure them of God’s love for them and the need for them to keep their covenants with Him.

Key Teachings

Malachi taught strongly of the importance of keeping covenants. Thus, he chastises the people for not keeping the law of the tithe, challenges them to keep the law of Moses, and promises that God will eventually send Elijah to prepare the people for the “day of the Lord.”

Prophecies of Christ

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:1).

Living with the Prophet

God’s people have always been covenant makers and covenant keepers. If you are unsure of what covenants you should make, perhaps it is time to seek direction from a living prophet. We are fortunate today to have one, you know. Seek out his teachings and obey them to find yourself on the right side of God.

Sources

The Learning Bible, the book of Malachi

Holy Bible, the book of Malachi

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Malachi, the Book of”

Lifespan

Uncertain.

Ministry

Jonah was called by God to call to repentance the inhabitants of Nineveh. Some scholars place Jonah’s ministry in the mid-eighth century B.C., others suggest it was closer to the middle of the sixth century, during or after the Babylonian exile.

Preparation and Calling

Little is known about how Jonah was prepared, but his calling is certainly memorable. When God called Jonah to cry repentance to Nineveh, Jonah ran. Other prophets have been hesitant to accept the Lord’s call (for example, Enoch, Moses, Amos, and Jeremiah), but none except Jonah ran to the farthest regions of the known world. After his experience with the fish, Jonah repented and eventually fulfilled his calling.

Interaction with God

Jonah’s relationship with God perhaps is easier for the common man to identify with than for his peers of chosen prophets. Jonah heard and understood the voice of the Lord, but did not want to heed it because he knew doing so would mean giving up some feelings that he just wasn’t ready to give up yet. He tried running, but God found a way to bring him back. Begrudgingly, he saw that God was more powerful than he and would not give up on him, so he eventually did His errand. And then he pouted when God’s will was done rather than his own.

Social Situation

Regardless of the time period in which the book of Jonah is set, Assyria or the later Babylonian dynasty was the enemy-and a significant one at that. To call to repentance the inhabitants of one of the enemy’s largest cities was distasteful at best, for doing so would be to require God’s chosen people to forgive them their atrocities. Hence, Jonah’s call to bring Nineveh to repentance implied that God was the God not only of Israel but also of all people in the world. At this time when each local culture had its own god or gods and defended them fiercely, this was a challenging doctrine for even the most faithful.

Key Teachings

Only one verse of the book of Jonah contains his prophesying (Jonah 3:4), but the teachings are in the story rather than Jonah’s writings or sayings. God is all powerful, and He is indeed the God of all peoples. His love and mercy extends over the enemies of His people as well as His chosen ones.

Prophecies of Christ

“Thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God” (Jonah 2:6).

Living with the Prophet

Jonah’s story is one of the best-known of the Old Testament. When he was in the belly of the fish and thought he would die, his thoughts turned to God, and he prayed. God heard his prayer, and Jonah was saved. Listen well to this part of Jonah’s story, for it testifies that you can never be so far removed from God that He cannot hear your sincere prayers. Think of a time when you have felt that God has answered your prayers, and feel again the comfort that you felt then.

Sources

The Learning Bible, the book of Jonah

Holy Bible, the book of Jonah

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Jonah, the Book of”

Lifespan

Uncertain, but he may have lived as early as the reign of Joash (before 850 B.C.) or as late as the return of Judah from Babylonian captivity and the restoration of Jerusalum in mid-400 B.C. (some scholars even push the date for Joel to 300 B.C.).

Ministry

Joel’s ministry took place in the land of Judah, the southern kingdom.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Joel’s connection with God is most evident in his prophecies. Little else is known about how he communicated with the Lord.

Social Situation

Because of the difficulty in placing Joel’s writing in a particular time period, it is also difficult to determine what the social and political issues of the day were.

Key Teachings

Joel essentially teaches that Judah and Jerusalem will be restored and Israel will triumph over its enemies.

Living with the Prophet

Joel taught that God said to him: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). Sometimes people have closed minds about whom God can touch with His Spirit. Joel taught here that all people, both old and young, can receive messages from their loving Heavenly Father. How can you prepare yourself to both hear God’s message for you personally, and to recognize it when it comes to others?

Sources

Holy Bible, the book of Joel

Learning Bible, book of Joel

Lifespan

Jeremiah lived at the time of the turn of the sixth century B.C.

Ministry

Jeremiah’s ministry lasted in Judah for 40 years, from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah  in 627 B.C. until 586 B.C.

Preparation and Calling

Jeremiah was ordained in his premortal existence to become a prophet (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

Interaction with God

Jeremiah’s principle recorded interactions with Deity seem to come in the form of his prophecies. The book does contain several instances in which Jeremiah bares his soul as he questions the effectiveness of his work, however, that may have a parallel to the laments of Nephi, the son of one of Jeremiah’s contemporaries (Jeremiah 11-12; 15; 17; 18; 20; 2 Nephi 4).

Social Situation

The people were in a severe downward moral slide, and Jeremiah rose up to combat the trend from his role as prophet-relentless in his warnings against the idolatry and immorality that was rampant in Judah (Jeremiah 3:1-5; 7:8-10).

Key Teachings

From Jeremiah we have a witness of man’s premortal existence, the gathering of Israel one and two at a time, and a prophecy of the Lord’s missionaries going out into the world as fishers and hunters of men.

Jeremiah’s ministry paralleled that of other local prophets, such as Lehi. Some of Jeremiah’s prophecies were contained in the brass plates, and he is quoted in the nearly contemporary but nonbiblical records of 1 Nephi and again later in the book of Helaman.

Prophecies of Christ

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jer. 23:5).

Living with the Prophet

Have you ever done something right and found that others made fun of you-or worse-because of your good actions? The Prophet Jeremiah understood what it felt like to be rejected for standing up for God and His message. He was beaten, thrown in jail, and even left in a well to die-all for delivering what he felt was God’s message to His people. Resolve today that you will be willing to stand as a witness for God in all places, despite the consequences.

Sources

Learning Bible

Holy Bible, book of Jeremiah

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Jeremiah, the Book of”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Jeremiah”

Lifespan

7??-701 B.C.

Ministry

For forty years Isaiah served as a prophet in Jerusalem (740-701 B.C.). He was chief adviser to King Hezekiah and had significant influence on the national religious and political scene.

Preparation and Calling

Although little is known about Isaiah’s preparation, his calling is recorded in dramatic fashion. Isaiah 6 chronicles the vision that Isaiah had, in which he was lifted up into heaven. Here he saw angels, confessed his sins, went through a symbolic cleansing, and saw and heard the Lord, who called him to “Go, and tell this people” a message of repentance.

Interaction with God

Isaiah is known for his gift of seeing and poetically describing multiple future eras simultaneously. But in addition to the gift of prophecy, through which Isaiah hears the voice of God speaking to him, he also has visions (including seeing and conversing with God Himself) and writes inspired verse.

Social Situation

Two major social situations are addressed in Isaiah: the first, covering chapters 1-39, focuses on the immorality of the leaders in Jerusalem, while the second, covering chapters 40-66, concentrates on the plight of the exiled Jews in Babylon.

Key Teachings

Isaiah is known for his complex prophecies and their layered meanings. They frequently deal with events of his own day while having meaning also for the First and Second Comings of Jesus Christ. He is the most quoted prophet in all the Bible. Specifically, Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John all quote Isaiah more than any other Old Testament prophet.

Despite the fact that he is quoted so often, his writings can be difficult to understand. Isaiah seems to have been well educated, and his writing style involves a great deal of symbolism. The text is dense and packed with layered interpretations.

Key concepts that Isaiah weaves throughout his writings include holiness, peace, justice, righteousness, salvation, and faith in the coming Messiah, the notion of becoming holy or being holy having perhaps the highest frequency. Many of his prophecies focus on the Savior, with layered images addressing both His first and second coming. Isaiah’s testimony of the Redeemer of all is undeviating.

Modern sacred texts continue this emphasis, as the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants both refer to Isaiah more than any other prophet. These two books also provide helps to the modern reader for improving understanding through diligent study.

Prophecies of Christ

Isaiah’s writings are filled with prophecies of the coming Christ. Here are but a few:

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

“I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of th prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:6-8).

“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off my hear: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isa. 50:6).

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and caried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the inquity of us all” (Isa. 53:2-6).

Living with the Prophet

Isaiah was well educated, highly literate, and firmly devout in his belief in God. Some people feel that as they become better educated, their belief in God wanes. Have you ever been challenged by intellectual issues that have complicated your belief in God? How can you use your mind to support your belief in God?

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Isaiah, the Book of”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Isaiah”

The Learning Bible, the book of Isaiah

Holy Bible, the book of Isaiah

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, s.v. “Isaiah”