Malachi

You made it! The last book of the Old Testament! This last prophet before the time of Jesus (400 years later) proclaimed a message of a coming King.  This King would come to judge as well as to rescue. Will the reader be met by "burning like a furnace" or by "healing" (4:1-2)? God's passionate desire is to rescue and heal. May it be!

The last word in the Old Testament is "curse." Thank the Lord that the next words we hear are "the historical record of Jesus Christ" (Matthew 1:1).

Read it here.

Zechariah 13-14

"On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity" (13:1).  What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!  But make no mistake - the enemies' blood will flow as well. Those who reject the hope of the Messiah will die in their sin. Some graphic imagery is contained here!

Read it here.

Zechariah 10-12

This book is sprinkled with these images of the Messiah that would bot be realized for another 500 years after Zechariah finished writing these pages! And every detail will come true. "And they will look at Me whom they pierced" (12:10). God will go to unimaginable lengths to secure the restoration of His people.  He will take all the punishment that they (we) all deserve and put it on the Suffering One - God's own Son.

Read it here.

Zechariah 7-9

"Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this" - this is the Lord's declaration (8:17).

God loves Truth.

And you will discover a prophecy about the Coming King - Jesus - as you read the vision in ch. 9! Think "Palm Sunday."

Read it here.

Zechariah 4-6

"Not by strength or might, but by My Spirit," says the Lord (4:6).  Even though the visions Zechariah recounts can be a bit opaque, the message he is sending is unmistakable.  He is calling them to repentance, obedience, and a phenomenal restoration.

Read it here.

Zechariah 1-3

"See, I have removed your guilt from you, and I will clothe you with splendid robes" (3:4).

"If you will return to Me, I will return to you."  That is the hope-filled message that Zechariah has for God's people. They had been restored from the Babylonian captivity but had returned to some of the spiritual apathy and sin that had marked their forefathers. Zechariah is sent to call them to repentance and restoration.

Read it here.

Haggai

Haggai brings four messages from God to His people.  All four are recorded in this short two-chapter book.  The people needed a motivating kick in the pants.  They were dawdling around when there was work to be done on restoring the Temple. God used this man (and his co-laborer, Zechariah) to fuel a passion for completing the work God had called them to.

Read it here.