Bible Overview is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in
Bible study. Each month we feature a book of the Bible (in
order) by Bible scholar and lecturer, Mary Jane Chaignot. This
month has three entries, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, whose
writings complete the works of The Minor Prophets. It is
generally assumed that these three were all post-exilic
prophets. Their worldview was radically and forever altered by
the events in 587 BCE, when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.
It is possible that Haggai and Zechariah might have been alive
at that time, though scholars cannot know that for certain. They
both devoted their ministries to the rebuilding of the temple,
to restoring proper worship, and to assuring the people of their
unbroken relationship with God. Malachi, speaking another
generation later, knew the rebuilt temple was not the final
answer. The people still had a responsibility to conduct their
lives in a manner consistent with their status of being God’s
chosen people. And he tried hard to m