Jesus revealed himself to some disciples on the road to Emmaus immediately after the resur- rection: “Then He said to them, “’O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the have spoken! ...beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Him- self.” (Luke 24:27, NKJV) If we would see Jesus Christ clearly, we would do well to look to the prophets, starting with Moses (the first five books of the ), through the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel), and then to the Minor Prophets who wrote the last twelve books of the . As we are looking thoughtfully through all the scriptures in His Story, we now have come to these messengers whose testimonies complete the Old Testament. Continuing to fly over the Bible at 30,000 feet, so to speak, we are not surprised to see the continuing prominent features of His Story:  See the Fall. The prophets were called by God to declare His Word and to reveal exactly how His people had fallen.  See Christ. The prophets foresaw Him in veiled, uncanny ways. In the New Testament He is clearly revealed.  See His Mission. The prophets were ultimately part of a mission to save and redeem --- the mission which has always been on God’s heart.  See the Kingdom: His people, in His place, with His presence, under His rule and favor.  See the Future. From their vantage points in history, these men saw both the immediate and far-distant future, reaching even to our time. We close the Old Testament by running 12 minor prophets in 12 days.

Week 34: July 1-5

ISAIAH 1 & 6: A FALLEN PEOPLE, A CALLED MAN Rabbis consider Isaiah to be one of Israel’s greatest prophets. At a time when the nation was falling and God’s People faced impending doom, Isai- ah’s words called for repentance and the comfort that would come with it. Sadly, repentance would be rejected and the nation would go into exile. But Isaiah also saw a day in the future when a Savior would redeem not only Is- rael, but also other believing people. M: Isaiah 1: See the Mission of mercy pleading with a sin-sick people. The promise of Christ is wonderfully extended: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” But God’s people refuse. T Matthew 9:1-8: See redemption and forgiveness hand in hand with heal- ing sickness. W 2 Chronicles 7:12-22: Again, a triple cord of mercy: redemption, for- giveness and healing. But a jarring contrast for a refusing people. Th: Isaiah 6: See the Mission of Christ: “Here am I send me.” Both Isai- ah and Christ carried a message of redemption yet met with much rejection. The message both heals and hardens. If some hear the message but hard- ened their own hearts, then God is judge and he can judicially harden them to complete spiritual dullness. F John 9:18-41: Christ heals a blind man while condemning those who thought they could see but were spiritually blind (vs.40). S Ephesians 4:17-24: See the spiritual hardening of the sinner.

Week 35: July 7-12

ISAIAH 40 & 53: ISAIAH’S MESSAGE-REDEMPTION M Isaiah 40: See the Future beyond the day of Christ’s vengeance. Now the speaks comfort to God’s people. An undone nation may find a new strength if it will wait upon the Lord.

T Isaiah 43: Christ gathers, redeems and protects his people. W Isaiah 49: Redemption’s Mission reaches to the ends of the earth. But beware of the Fall; there is no peace for the wicked. Th: Isaiah 53: All mankind lies stained by the original fall. All have gone astray from God. Isaiah sees the Future when God, in love, sends His only begotten Son who voluntarily gives Himself as a sacrificial offering for sin. This is God’s magnificent Mission to save! F John 19: The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled. S Romans 5: Justification, through faith in Jesus Christ, takes away guilt and so makes a way for peace between us and God.

Week 36: July 14-19

BACKSLIDDEN PEOPLE Though at first he hesitated when God called Him, Jeremiah surrendered to the Lord and became one of Israel’s most decisive leaders. This prophet called them to leave immorality and idolatry, yet they continued in disobedi- ent ways. Now they stood in the cross hairs of judgment.

M Jeremiah 1: “I am watching to fulfill my word,” says the Lord. His word foretells the future: a day of calamity is coming to His people. They have rejected His Kingdom and His rule. Therefore they will forfeit His favor. A northern invasion is imminent. T Jeremiah 2: “They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters.” Those who have forsaken God are a fallen people. W Deuteronomy 8: To forget the Lord is to fail to acknowledge His kind- ness. Withholding love and gratitude invariably brings severe reversal of good fortune. Th Jeremiah 3: GOD’S people have forsaken him for His rivals. They have played the adulteress, and God has brought about a legal divorce. Nev- ertheless, He would still have them come home to mercy. The mission says, “Return,...I am merciful!” F Luke 15:1-7: The Mission seeks the return of a lost sheep. S Luke 15:11-24: The Mission desires the return of a lost son.

Week 37: July 21-26

JEREMIAH 17: REDEEMED MAN VS. FALLEN MAN In Jeremiah’s day, as in ours, there was a lot of confusion about what was right and what was wrong. Jeremiah defines the cursed man of the Fall and the redeemed man of God’s Kingdom.

M Jeremiah 17: Jeremiah describes two men, two courses of action and two outcomes --- a wrong way and a right way. One man is dimin- ished, one flourishes; one’s heritage is discontinued, but the other’s does not cease. We are often told by the world, “Follow your heart!” The Lord de- clares the fallen heart of man to be a poor compass for God’s people. T Psalm 1: Kingdom people: fruitful. Fallen people: barren. W Luke 18:9-14: Kingdom people: humble righteousness through Christ. Fallen people: arrogant self-righteousness. Th Luke 6:20-26: Kingdom people patiently look to God for reward. Fall- en People are passion-driven, “I want it now!” F Ephesians 5:1-20: Kingdom People look like God’s children. S Philippians 2: Kingdom People shine bright in a dark world.

Week 38: july 28 –August 2

JEREMIAH 23 & 29: FALSE PROPHETS VS. TRUE PROPHET Many false prophets were predicting out of their imaginations that there would be only a very short exile or none at all. Jeremiah stands out and stands alone against those who would soothe God’s people in their sins.

M: Jeremiah 23: SEE CHRIST (vs 5-6). He also stood alone against the many negligent shepherds who didn’t tend to God’s people, instructing and caring for them as they should have. Where were the prophets who would get alone with God and turn His people from sin (vs 18-22)?

T Jeremiah 28: See Christ in Jeremiah’s solitary stand against honey- tongued seers. Jeremiah accurately proclaims the future, and God will fulfill it! W 1 Kings 22: The greatest kindness possible to a person going on a danger- ous path is to tell him God’s truth. Th: Jeremiah 29: He saw the future beyond the devastation of the ex- ile. The mission to save will re-gather God’s repentant people. F Jeremiah 32: The true prophet’s message isn’t always bad news. For a chastised people, he carries the good news of the gospel. S Lamentations 3: Jeremiah sees the mercy of Christ shown to God’s disci- plined people—now God’s teachable people.

Week 39: August 4-9

EZEKIEL 9: MARKED FOR LIFE Ezekiel prophesied during an extraordinarily dark period of Israel’s history, the seventy- year Babylonian captivity. The moral fall of God’s people had led to the physical fall of God’s place. Ezekiel, himself in exile, saw extraor- dinary visions concerning the future.

M The Kingdom has a king who must separate his people from rebels who hate his rule, his place and his favor. Ezekiel sees a “marked” people who will be spared. They are “marked” for life! T Matthew 25:31-46: The sheep and the goats are separated. W Revelation 20: Christ is the King who will judge. Th Exodus 12: Christ’s blood marks & saves from the axe of justice. F 2 Timothy 2:14-21: The Lord knows who are His! They are marked by a life of repentance from sin and righteous living in Christ. S Psalm 23 & Song of Songs 2:8-17: God’s People are His and He belongs to them! What joy it is to be in God’s kingdom, in his place, under his rule and favor.

Week 40: August 11-16

EZEKIEL 37 & 47:1-12 Skeleton Bones & the River of Life God’s man, Ezekiel, sees a resurrection, a reunification, and a return of Israel to God’s Place in its homeland. He also sees, in the distant Future, a place that outshines the earthly Promised Land—Heaven! There a river of life flows from the throne of God.

M: Ezekiel 37: The Mission to save is found in the resurrection. Res- urrection is the stuff of the impossible. But, with God, everything is possible! Scattered atoms can be marshalled to their proper places to form new bod- ies fit for heavenly residence. T 1 Corinthians 15: See the mystery of resurrection. W Romans 6: Sin nature dies and yields to a new and righteous life. Th Ezekiel 47:1-12: Joel, Ezekiel and Zechariah had all enjoyed visions of the Future River of Life. They saw the life-giving grace of God flowing through Christ to save the world. F John 7: Christ Himself is the source of this living water. S Genesis 3:22-23 & Revelation 22:1-6: God’s place, paradise, was lost in the Garden of Eden. But now, through the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, it is regained!

Week 41: August 18-23

DANIEL 2 & 6: A STATESMAN PROPHET was one of several Jewish young men chosen to serve the Babylonian King dur- ing the time of the exile. He had an “excellent spirit” and spoke uniquely to God’s sover- eignty over human affairs.

M Daniel 2: THE FUTURE was Daniel’s specialty. He predicted with pin- point accuracy the rise and fall of earth’s mightiest kingdoms. Daniel ulti- mately saw Christ overthrow them all and fill the earth with His own king- dom of perfection and majestic glory. T : God positions Daniel to prophesy in high places. W Daniel 3: God’s Kingdom people stand apart. Th Daniel 6: See the foreshadowed Christ, seemingly defeated in a sealed tomb. Yet His Mission to save prevails! God “shuts the mouth” of the Law so that we might live through grace (Col 2:1-15). F Daniel 10: Keep praying. God will stretch your faith during life’s delays, difficulties and dead ends. S Daniel 12: The future sees a great Day of Tribulation for this fallen world. Christ will come and raise the bodies of many from the dust: There will be rewards for God’s people.