Ho hum, Nahum?

How do you do with the list of tongue twisters that comprise the (5) major and (12) minor prophets of the OT? What importance do you place on the role played by this odd bunch of doom-and-gloom naysayers? Today our Bible storytelling group of Muslim guys arrived at this important point in the OT chronological plan. We were only able to take a peek into the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah (Nahum, it turns out, is more about Ninevah than Israel). What message brought they anyway, these prophets?

A wonderful one, actually. In the midst of foreign invasion, economic collapse, social chaos, war, decadence, assassinations, and on and on, God's man would speak a message of uncompromising judgment against God's people. The Lord finally had his fill of centuries of idolatry on the part of his children. "Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you,'' declared Jeremiah (4:18). The truth HURT, but God looked past that. The punishment contained promises; the warning also bore a welcome opportunity to repent. These promises focused on the not-too-distant future, like after the seventy years of Babylonian captivity. But they also hinted at something far greater: a coming Messiah.

So today, right here in Abengourou, we were reading verses like Isaiah 7:14: ''The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." Or Jeremiah 23:5: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch." And we looked at Micah 5:2: ''But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.''

Seven guys were there today as we skimmed over the centuries of God's faithfulness. PRAY FOR THEM, PLEASE. Pray for Salifou, San-San, Diarra, Yao, Kassoum, and Alassan. Pray that they recognize, even a little, that they're glimpsing into God's eternal plan. Pray that they see Jesus as far more than another prophet. Pray that they begin grasping God's love for them as sinners just as sinful as idolatrous Israel. Lord willing, we'll meet again Saturday (Aug. 23). We'll learn a little more about the Messiah before we slip on over into the New Testament, the place where the star shone brightly over a little stable in Bethlehem...