As I was nearing completion of The Twelve after a year spent soaking in the Minor Prophets’ message, a friend and I were talking about my experience as  as first-time author. He was throwing out marketing ideas as we munched on potato chips and joked around about possible podcast topics.  The discussion was lighthearted until he asked me whether there was one word that might sum up the message of the Minor Prophets.  The word came to mind quickly: repent.  As soon as I said it, the mood changed and the jokes stopped.  We sat in silence for a few seconds as the weight of that word settled in.  Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, I mumbled to myself, “Yeah, good luck selling that book.”

But what I found on my journey with the Minor Prophets has been just opposite of that feeling!  The Minor Prophets are direct, no question, but their aim is to reveal the deep and abiding love of God for even His wayward children who don’t always listen so well the first time.  Make no mistake, the Minors do not play about in the comfortable shallows of nominal faith in God.  Time with them requires going to the deep places of experiencing God, turning our backs on the idols we tend to set up in our self-sufficiency, and throwing off the sin that so easily entangles us in the race we are called to run in Christ. At the end of any journey with these twelve prophets is steadfast faith and confident hope in our loving God who pours out grace that is greater than all our sin.  The Minor Prophets call us to repentance, but in repentance God draws us near in peace as He fills our lungs with the fresh air of victory and freedom in Christ. 

The journey with them is worth taking.

In this book, I propose that we go on a journey together through the storm and fire of these amazing books to uncover the tender love of God that fills every page and discover His broken heart over the wreckage of sin that plagues us all.  The call of God is clear and unafraid in these books and rings a relevant tone in our modern world: “Seek Me and live.”  The rich, mysterious, and transforming depths of the Minor Prophets await.