My wife and I are blessed with a large group of nieces and nephews. Our oldest nephew, who is now all grown up, recently celebrated his birthday. As I spoke to him on the phone to wish him a happy birthday, it struck me that this man with whom I spoke was once a child with whom I played many years ago. Tempus fugit! We love him, and we are proud of who he has become.

The Greek title “Book of the Twelve” (dodekapropheton) describes [the last twelve] of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew canon. Jesus son of Sirach perhaps referred to this title when he provided the earliest known description of the collection: “May the bones of the twelve prophets revive from where they lie, for they comforted the people of Jacob and delivered them with confident hope” (Ecclesiasticus [a book of the Apocrypha] 49:10; early second century BC). The title “Book of the Twelve” is also better than our familiar translation of the Latin title, “Minor Prophets.” In some cases, it does seem that these prophets were “one-theme” prophets or nearly so, in contrast to the many themes covered by the longer Prophetic Books. However, the Latin title makes it sound as though these prophets were less important, which is not the case.

The United States enjoys what is largely a free-market economy. Those entering and competing in the free-market economy vie for the attention of the consumer and do so, in part, with slogans or catchphrases designed to capture the attention. We hear or see examples of these slogans constantly on the radio, TV, and even in print magazines. One slogan that comes to mind is from Porsche. Summarized, the idea behind the slogan for Porsche is that this brand of car is so wonderful that there can be no substitute. If you want to drive a nice vehicle, it must be a Porsche.

God speaks through Malachi to rebuke His people for their unrighteousness, specifically the priests for their failure to fulfill their duties and to those marrying foreign idolatrous spouses. The Lord makes clear the Day of Judgment is coming and he wants His people to be prepared. The following is adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion. 

When Zechariah was prophesying, the people of Judah were standing amidst the destruction of their once glorious city. With no city and no temple, the people of Judah had no hope; they feared that God had left them. God worked through Zechariah to restore faith in His people. The following has been adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion.

In this psalm, after the Israelites had been exiled in Babylon for seventy years, we see God’s restoration of His people—not merely restoration from exile but foreshadowing our spiritual restoration in Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as the total restoration to come at Christ’s return.

The day of the Lord is a permeating theme in Zephaniah. Zephaniah recorded God’s warning to Judah and Judah’s enemies about His coming judgment. However, God also assured Judah that on the day of the Lord He will be in their midst and restore their fortunes. The following has been adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion.

Is it safe to build the temple again? Are we going to be destroyed by another nation? The people of Judah were asking these questions during Haggai's time, and God used Haggai to reveal His will to the people. The following has been adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion.