The Bible in a Nutshell XI: Esther, Daniel, and Hosea

We're covering the last of the major prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel) in this edition. The term "major" refers to the length of the books, not their importance. From Hosea on, the books become much shorter, in some cases only 3 or even 1 chapter long.

Ezekiel

The next prophet God spoke through was the priest Ezekiel who wrote his revelations in the first apocalyptic book of the Bible. Ezekiel received revelation from the Lord 5 years after Jeremiah (now in Egypt) had seen King Jehoiachin taken into captivity. Again, like Jeremiah, Ezekiel used illustrations to reiterate his points. One of the strangest illustrations of Ezekiel was when he ate bread baked over a dung fire, which symbolized famine, the same famine lamented over in Lamentation. Ezekiel prophetic revelations came by way of visions. Since all of Israel was in captivity, Ezekiel's message from God was different from most prophets. Instead, he prophesied of the rebuilding of the temple and the judgment of Israel's rivals and the Holy Spirit dwelling within people.

Daniel

The writing of Daniel is, like the last four books, set against the backdrop of Israel's captivity. It is a narrative containing bits of apocalyptic writing similar to Ezekiel. Daniel was a taken into Babylon along with other members of the upper echelon of the Southern Kingdom including Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego After a year in Babylon, the king had a dream which none of best advisors could interpret. The king was furious and decreed that all of the advisors would be put to death including advisors in training. Though they had not been given a chance to interpret the king's dream, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were future advisors, went to God in prayer and received the interpretation. Several times, the Israelite boys were put in danger by decrees from various kings. Every time, God protected them for choosing to honor the word of the Lord above all else. Within Nebuchadnezzar's dream, as well as Daniel's own vision, God reveals a succession of kingdoms that would take over the land.

Hosea