“Lesson 155: Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018)
“Lesson 155: Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai”
Lesson 155
Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai
Introduction
Nahum prophesied of the downfall of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Habakkuk asked the Lord questions regarding the punishment of the wicked. Zephaniah prophesied of the disasters that would accompany the fall of Judah. Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord exhorted the Jews to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem and promised them great blessings if they obeyed Him.
Suggestions for Teaching
Note: In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to work in small groups to learn about the prophets Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. Prior to class, prepare the handouts included in this lesson for these prophets. Each student will need the handout for their assigned prophet.
Invite students to locate Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai on the diagram “The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah at a Glance” (see lesson 106). Explain to students that they will have the opportunity to learn more about the teachings of these four prophets in this lesson.
Divide students into four equal groups. Assign each group a different handout (make sure each member of the group has a copy of the handout). Give students time to study their group’s handout and prepare to teach the material on the handout. After sufficient time, divide students into groups of four students, with each group including one person from each of the original four groups (make sure each group has a handout for each prophet). Invite the group members to take turns teaching one another.
Note: To help students stay on task and to make good use of class time, decide how much time you want to dedicate to this activity and then give students a certain amount of time to work on each handout. Ensure that there is time at the end of class for students to discuss what they learned.
Nahum
Look at the picture of a fortress and discuss what a fortress is used for.
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What are some of the evils and perils of our day that we need protection from?
As you study the prophecies of Nahum, look for truths that will help you find protection against the evils of our day. Make a list of these truths in your study journal.
The prophet Nahum prophesied during the time of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian army had already destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel and had attempted to conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. More than 100 years earlier, the people of Nineveh had repented when the prophet Jonah had preached to them. During the time of Nahum, the people of Nineveh had again become wicked.
Take turns reading aloud from Nahum 1:1–8, looking for words and phrases that describe the nature of God, including His power and His being slow to anger.
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How did the Lord feel about the wickedness of the people of Nineveh?
The phrase “the Lord is slow to anger” in verse 3 implies that the Lord had given the people of Nineveh adequate time to repent. Because they chose not to repent and continued in wickedness, they would experience the Lord’s judgments.
Although Nahum prophesied that the Lord would send His judgments on the wicked, Nahum also said that the Lord would bless the righteous. Reread and consider marking Nahum 1:7. Look for what the Lord will be for those who trust in Him.
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What will the Lord be for those who trust in Him?
One of the truths we can identify from Nahum 1:7 is that the Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him. (A stronghold is a fortress or position that provides a strong defense against attacking forces.)
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How can the Lord be a stronghold in the day of trouble?
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In what ways have you witnessed the Lord being a stronghold for those who trust in Him?
Look at the list of truths you wrote in your study journal, ponder them, and record in your study journal how you can trust in the Lord more completely so He will be a stronghold for you in the day of trouble.
Nahum 2–3 describes the destruction of Nineveh. These prophecies about the destruction of Nineveh can be likened to the destruction of the wicked in the last days at the Lord’s Second Coming.
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Habakkuk
Look at the picture of the young man pondering, and discuss the following:
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What do you do when you have questions about the gospel?
As you study the book of Habakkuk, look for what Habakkuk’s example can teach about receiving answers from God.
The prophet Habakkuk may have lived sometime between the fall of the northern tribes of Israel (721 BC) and the destruction of Jerusalem (587 BC). Habakkuk learned that the Lord would use a wicked nation (the Babylonians, also known as Chaldeans) to destroy the kingdom of Judah (see Habakkuk 1:1–11). This troubled Habakkuk, and he asked the Lord why He would use a wicked people to destroy His chosen people (see Habakkuk 1:12–17).
Read Habakkuk 2:1, looking for what Habakkuk said he would do as he waited for an answer from the Lord. Discuss what you find.
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What words or phrases indicate that Habakkuk was exercising patience as he waited for an answer from the Lord?
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What can you do to follow Habakkuk’s example when you are seeking answers to your questions?
The Lord answered Habakkuk kindly and encouraged patience, assuring him that in time the wicked Chaldeans would also be punished (see Habakkuk 2:2–8).
In Habakkuk 3, we can read a prayer of praise from Habakkuk to the Lord.
Record in your study journals something you can do to follow the example of Habakkuk when seeking answers from the Lord.
© 2018 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Zephaniah
Look at the picture of the Savior’s Second Coming, and discuss the following:
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Why does it matter that we prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming?
The prophet Zephaniah probably lived during the time of Jeremiah, Lehi, and other prophets, and he joined them in warning the kingdom of Judah of approaching destruction. Zephaniah’s prophecies also apply to the latter days and warn of the calamities to come before the Second Coming of the Savior.
Read Zephaniah 1:14–16, looking for how Zephaniah described the day of the Lord’s coming.
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What stands out to you about Zephaniah’s description of the Lord’s coming?
Read Zephaniah 2:3; 3:8, 19 and match each of these two passages with one of the following principles (you may want to mark the words in each passage that correspond with the principle):
As we seek the Lord, we can be protected from harm in the day of His judgment.
If we will wait upon the Lord, He will deliver us from our sorrows, afflictions, and captivity.
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How do you think these principles can help us to be prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming?
Take turns reading aloud from Zephaniah 3:13–20, looking for the blessings that will come to those who are prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming.
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In what ways will the Lord bless those who are prepared for His return?
Read the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency:
“We are the Saints of the latter days. Inherent in our name is the commitment to look forward to the Savior’s return and prepare ourselves and the world to receive Him. Therefore, let us serve God and love our fellowmen. Let us do this with a natural confidence, with humility, never looking down on any other religion or group of people. Brothers and sisters, we are charged with studying the word of God and heeding the voice of the Spirit, that we may ‘know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man’ [D&C 68:11].
“… Rather than dwelling on the immensity of our challenges, would it not be better to focus on the infinite greatness, goodness, and absolute power of our God, trusting Him and preparing with a joyful heart for the return of Jesus the Christ?” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 106).
Write in your study journals something you can do to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming.
© 2018 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Haggai
Look at the picture of the temple, and discuss the following:
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What are some things that may prevent people from worshipping in the temple as often as they could?
Haggai was a prophet who lived among the Jews when they returned to Jerusalem after their 70-year captivity in Babylon. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the Jews put great effort into rebuilding the temple, the city, their homes, and their lives. However, after a time, because of opposition from the Samaritans and their own apathy, they stopped working on the temple for several years (see Ezra 4:1–5, 24). Haggai encouraged the Jews to continue rebuilding the temple (see Ezra 5:1–2; 6:14).
Read Haggai 1:5, 7, looking for a phrase that is used in both verses. Discuss what you find.
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What do you think it means to “consider your ways”?
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When has the Lord spoken through a prophet and invited you to “consider your ways?
Many Jews had furnished their homes with fine wood, but they had neglected building the temple (see Haggai 1:1–8). Through Haggai, the Lord invited the Jews to “consider [their] ways” and rededicate themselves to rebuilding the temple.
Read Haggai 1:12–14, looking for how the people responded to Haggai. Report what you find to your group.
Read Haggai 2:4–9, looking for how the Lord would bless the Jews for their efforts to rebuild the temple.
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What principle can we learn from verse 9 that can help us understand an important purpose of temples?
Your group may come up with several principles. One principle we can learn is that when we are in the house of the Lord, He can give us peace.
Read the following statement by President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018):
“My brothers and sisters, in our lives we will have temptations; we will have trials and challenges. As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome those temptations and to bear our trials. In the temple we can find peace” (Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 93).
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How do you think serving in the temple can bring peace?
Write in your study journals something you can do to make worshipping in the temple a priority.
© 2018 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
After students have had sufficient time to complete the activity in their groups, invite a few students to share with the class something they learned that is meaningful to them. Conclude by testifying of one or more of the principles discussed in the lesson.
Commentary and Background Information
Haggai 1:7–14; 2:18–19. Putting God’s will first in our lives
President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught of the importance and blessings of putting God first in our lives:
“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Great Commandment—Love the Lord,” Ensign, May 1988, 4).
Haggai 2:3–9. “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former”
“When the foundation of the second temple was laid, some who had known the former temple wept with joy at the thought that they could have again the blessings that had been available in Solomon’s temple (see Ezra 3:12–13). It was evident during the construction that this temple, built in poverty, would not have the splendor of the former temple. The Lord assured the people, however, that it was not the relative splendor of the two buildings that concerned Him, but their obedience to His command to build a house to Him.
“Haggai prophesied of a future temple that would surpass Solomon’s in glory and splendor and would be the place where the Lord would give His people peace (see Haggai 2:9). This prophecy will be fulfilled in the latter-day temple that will be built on the same site. Haggai’s prophecy that the ‘desire of all nations shall come’ (v. 7) is a prophecy of Christ, who will bring a lasting peace to the world. Lasting peace, however, will be brought only after the Lord shakes ‘the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land … and … all nations’ (vv. 6–7) when He comes in His glory to usher in the Millennium. Then His house will indeed be filled with glory, peace will be established, and the desire of all nations will be completely fulfilled. (The phrase ‘desire of nations’ is used in the hymn “Come, O Thou King of Kings,” Hymns, no. 59)” (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 325–26).
Haggai 2:9. “In this place will I give peace”
The phrase “in this place will I give peace” refers to the peace we can receive in temples of the Lord. President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) spoke about the peace the temple provides:
“The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ [John 14:27]” (Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign, Oct. 2010, 15).
“The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified” (Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 93).