Ancient Prophets : Modern Message ...a podcast from Dave Ward

Malachi bridges the gap between the Old and New Testaments, and gives us an insight into the future of Israel.

Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets, but he’s not God’s last word to the human race.

What about Israel after the coming of Jesus? Has the nation of Israel been replaced by the church or do they still have a future in God’s plans?

Zechariah prophecies that some people will not value a good, even great leader, even to the point of betrayal, desertion and death

When the Messiah comes he will bring safety and stability to God’s people

People had certain expectations about what the Messiah would be like. How did they respond when the reality was quite different?

Zechariah prophecies something new and innovative that will build on something old and familiar.

The book of Zechariah is at the same time both obviously similar and strikingly different to all the other minor prophets.

God promises he’s going to do some shaking and some making.

Bad lives don’t produce good results - they spoil the things we’re trying to do.

Instead of moving forwards the people are stuck in the past and making comparisons with the way things used to be.

God’s people have forgotten who comes first and been diverted onto wrong priorities.

Zephaniah paints a picture of an alternative future, where hope for our world is found in God’s justice and love.

Zephaniah paints a bleak picture of the coming Day of the Lord and what it will mean for the whole world...with no exceptions.

However far we feel we have fallen, however distant God may seem, we can be assured that God is for us, his character and his promises have not changed. There is hope for the future.

What sort of worship does God want? Is he at all bothered by the form of our worship, or is he looking for something else entirely

How is it that whilst Israel clearly understood that a special ruler, maybe even the Messiah, would come from Bethlehem, when he did, they completely missed it?

God promises that one day there will be a new leader who will rescue his people and build a new kingdom across the whole world

Prophets can be powerful people, so it’s disastrous when they deliberately use the gift for personal gain, instead of honouring God by courageously saying what he tells them to say.

Corrupt leaders spread sin like a disease when they fail to live by example and model godly behaviour and attitudes.

Nineveh was counting on its defences, its economy and its government to keep it safe. God says, “Think again!”

WhenJonah took God’s message to Nineveh the people repented and turned to God. But did their change of heart last?

Some people say, “How can a God of love judge and punish people? Is this not a contradiction?

What sort of person does God choose to work with? What are the credentials for being God’s messenger?

To another group of people, at another time, the Apostle Paul said: “I cannot praise you! For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together.” 1 Corinthians 11: 17

We don’t like hearing unpleasant truths about ourselves, especially if, in our view, the messenger is not qualified to deliver the message.

What role does God play in the life of the nations, especially in the way they treat people in the world that God loves?

One of the constant themes in the Old and New Testaments is the invitation from God to make a simple choice.

A future Day of the Lord that is not local and limited, but universal and complete.

There’s a lot of difference between religious ritual and real repentance. External rituals only mean anything if they are linked to an inward change that has already happened.

There are so many parallels between Joel’s day and our own. Are there any lessons to be learned by us?

Habakkuk ends his journey from questioning to trusting by singing a psalm about God rescuing and delivering his people.

No matter how things may seem, God knows everything from start to finish. He had a plan. He is in control

Close friendship with God involves living with God’s mystery, so we’d better learn how to do that.

As we saw last week, God replies when we pray. Only, on this occasion, Habakkuk finds God’s answer quite unpalatable

God replies when we pray. But are we open to his answer being surprising, even shocking?

If we want to enjoy a close relationship with God, sometimes we’ll have to wrestle with God when we just don’t understand what he’s doing (or not doing, in this case).

Even though Israel have suffered the consequences of their unfaithfulness to God, and are now in Exile, God continues to offer them healing and restoration.

Time is running out! In chapters 12 and 13, Hosea gives Israel a history lesson which underlines his despair that they will not come back to God in the present and so avoid a disastrous future

The prophet has been using the image of an adulterous wife to illustrate the relationship between God and Israel. Now the image changes...Israel is like a rebellious child. But there is hope for this rebel...

The people of Israel are not acknowledging God, and whilst they bear some responsibility, God plants the main blame squarely at the door of the religious and political leaders.

Knowing all about God is one thing. Acknowledging who God is, and living as if your life depended on it, is another thing entirely.

RECONCILED - REDEEMED - RESTRICTED-RESTORED...a prophetic picture of God’s constant and unchanging love for the people of Israel...and for each one of us too.

“You knew the way to my heart, I had a good defence but you tore it all apart. You knew, you knew the way to my heart” Julie Miller, singer/songwriter

Sometimes God allows us to do the things we choose and to suffer the consequences - he will not force us to love him and do things his way...

The people of Israel have grown accustomed to hearing words of judgement and rebuke from the prophets. So what Hosea says next comes as a bit of a shock...

One of the exciting things about being a follower of Jesus is that we are called to work alongside God as he carries out his plans for the world. But, maybe sometimes the things God asks us to do are difficult and costly.

Sometimes our theology is so brittle that when God works in ways we don’t expect or understand it begins to crack and shatter.

Sometimes it seems that our “enemies”, the people we struggle with, are more open to God’s Grace than we are.

A look at chapter 2 of the book of Jonah, where we take a positive look at the dark times in our lives and the ways we try to avoid confronting the darkness.