The history part of the Old Testament comes to a close.

After this week’s reading of Ezra and Nehemiah, we’re basically at the end of the Old Testament—chronologically, that is. Nearly everything we read after this was written during the books we’ve already read! ¹

For example, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned this week, and we’ve also seen references to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jonah, among others. But we won’t get to read the words of these prophets until later.

Think of it this way. The books of Genesis through Nehemiah give us a broad history of God’s people up until around 450 B.C. The books after that fill in some of the details, including:

• Individual histories, like those of Esther and Jonah.
• Poetry, praise, and prayers—like Psalms, Proverbs, and Lamentations.
• The prophecies that God’s leaders made to the people of their day.

Speaking of that last bullet... we’ve already read how the people did (or more often didn’t!) listen to the warnings they were given. So as we review these warnings in the coming weeks, we’ll have a unique perspective.

What do you think people in the future will say about the Saints of our day when they read the words our Church leaders shared with us? Will they think we did a good job of listening to the prophet? Let’s not repeat the mistakes we are reading about!

Notes

1. The exception is Malachi, who prophesied shortly after the events of Ezra and Nehemiah.
2. See Ezra 5:1, 2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 36:12, and 2 Kings 14:25.