This document provides a summary of the prophets Obadiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. It discusses how Obadiah prophesied judgment against Edom for cheering at Jerusalem's destruction. Haggai encouraged the Jews to prioritize rebuilding the temple, which would help improve their economic issues. Zechariah received visions and prophesied that the Jews would one day mourn the pierced Messiah and repent at His return, when all nations will come to worship in Jerusalem.

1. Journey Through The Bible
The Prophets of the Return:
Obadiah, Haggai, Zechariah
Bible Readings
Zechariah 7:1-8:8 Page 671
Matthew 24:1-14 Page 701
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2. Returning to Jerusalem
• Most of those who returned had been
born in Babylon.
• They spoke Aramaic not Hebrew
• They had lived comfortably in the world
class city of Babylon.
• “When the Lord restored the fortunes of
Zion, we were like those who dream. Then
our mouth was filled with laughter, and our
tongue with shouts of joy; then they said
among the nations, “The Lord has done
great things for them.”” (Psalm 126:1–2,
ESV)
• What they imagined in their minds was
very different to the reality of a ruined
abandoned city.
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3. Obadiah: The Unknown Prophet
• Obadiah proclaimed the Lord’s
judgement on Edom.
• Edomites (descendants of Esau) (Arabs):
age old enemies of the Jews.
• When the Babylonians smashed
Jerusalem and took away the survivors,
the Edomites cheered and gloated over
the fate of their brothers the Jews.
• The Edomites joined in the pillaging of
the city. They hunted and killed the Jews
who had escaped.
• Over the years of the exile they had
systematically robbed and persecuted
the struggling survivors living in the ruins
of Jerusalem.
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4. Obadiah: The Unknown Prophet
• Edom’s sin:
• They had no compassion on those
suffering and did nothing to help
the survivors.
• They enjoyed and cheered when
the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem.
• “You did harmful things to your brothers,
the people of Jacob. So you will be
covered with shame. You will be destroyed
forever. Strangers entered the gates of
Jerusalem. They cast lots to see what
each one would get. They carried off its
wealth. When that happened, you just
stood there and did nothing. You were like
one of them.” (Obadiah 10–11, NIrV)
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5. Haggai: The Temple Prophet
• When the people first returned to
Jerusalem they built an altar and
laid a foundation stone for a new
temple.
• After 20 years they had built
themselves houses and King Darius
had given permission for the temple
to be built. But nothing had been
done.
• The new nation was facing
economic problems.
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6. Haggai: The Problem
• A poor gross national product, in
other words, they worked hard but as
a nation they were still poor.
• They had no personal satisfaction –
there was always a feeling that
something was missing from their lives.
• They never seem to be able to get
ahead financially, savings and
investments seemed to just evaporate.
• The price of everything was always
going up.
• The harvests even from the best land
were always less than hoped for and
disappointing.
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7. Haggai: The Solution
• The root cause of these problems: God
was not first in their lives.
• They worshipped the Lord but the
reality was that He was not first in their
hearts.
• The true state of their relationship with
the Lord was shown in the fact that they
had built themselves luxurious houses
but the Lord's house, the Temple, was
still in ruins.
• The temple was God's chosen way of
living among His people. By neglecting to
build the temple when their was nothing
stopping them, the people showed that
the presence of God in their lives was
not important to them.
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8. Haggai: The Way of Grace
• Today Jesus is God’s appointed way of
grace and salvation.
• People can not come to God on their
own terms in their own way because
Jesus is now the only way to come
into a living relationship with our
Creator and Judge.
• Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and
the life. No one comes to the father
except through me.” (John 14:6)
• God has appointed a way by which He
can save and bless each person but
unless he or she actually accepts that
way, the Lord will not live in them by
His Holy Spirit.
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9. Haggai: The Temple Built
• Under the leadership of their
governor Zerubbabel and the high
priest Joshua the second temple
was built.
• The second temple was very small
and plain.
• Those who remembered the great
temple of old looked at the new
one with sad and disappointed eyes.
• Haggai proclaimed the word of the
Lord to the people reminding them
that it was not the temple itself that
was important but the fact that the
Lord was with them.
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10. Haggai: “I am With You”
• “In the seventh month, on the twenty-first
of the month, the word of the
Lord came by Haggai the prophet,
saying: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the
son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and
to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, and to the remnant of the
people, saying: ‘Who is left among you
who saw this temple in its former
glory?
And how do you see it now? In
comparison with it, is this not in your
eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong,
Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be
strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the
high priest; and be strong, all you people
of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work;
for I am with you,’ says the Lord of
hosts.” (Haggai 2:1–4, NKJV)
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11. Zechariah: Repentance and End Times
• Zechariah was a visionary prophet, a bit like Daniel. He saw strange and vivid visions full of
symbols.
• For example in the first six chapters he records nine amazing and strange visions,
1. The vision of three coloured horses
2. The vision of horns
3. The vision of the surveyor
4. The vision of the high priest
5. The vision of the lamp stand and the high priest
6. The vision of a giant flying scroll
7. The vision of an evil woman in a lead basket
8. The vision of the four chariots of God
9. The vision of the high priest becoming both priest and King
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12. Zechariah: Repentance and End Times
• Then I will pour out a spirit of
grace and prayer on the family
of David and on the people of
Jerusalem. They will look on Me
whom they have pierced and
mourn for Him as for an only
son. They will grieve bitterly for
Him as for a firstborn son who
has died. The sorrow and
mourning in Jerusalem on that
day will be like the great
mourning for Hadad-rimmon in
the valley of Megiddo.”
(Zechariah 12:10–11, NLT)
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13. Zechariah: Repentance and End Times
• “But when they came to Jesus and
saw that He was already dead, they
did not break His legs. But one of
the soldiers pierced His side with a
spear, and immediately blood and
water came out. And he who has
seen has testified, and his testimony
is true; and he knows that he is
telling the truth, so that you may
believe. For these things were done
that the Scripture should be
fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall
be broken.” And again another
Scripture says, “They shall look on
Him whom they pierced.”
(John 19:33–37, NKJV)
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14. Zechariah: Repentance and End Times
• Zechariah's prophecy says all the people
will mourn His death because the Lord
had poured out upon them a spirit of
grace and prayer. This did not happen
when Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem in
AD 33.
• This prophecy will be completely fulfilled
when Jesus returns.
• The people of Israel will see who He is
and realise with horror and grief that the
Messiah they had been waiting so long
for had already come and that they had
crucified Him.
• In His mercy the Lord will pour out upon
His grieving people a spirit of prayer so
that they will repent and be saved.
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15. Zechariah: Repentance and End Times
• “And it shall come to pass that
everyone who is left of all the
nations which came against
Jerusalem shall go up from year to
year to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts, and to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles. And it shall be that
whichever of the families of the
earth do not come up to Jerusalem
to worship the King, the Lord of
hosts, on them there will be no
rain.” (Zechariah 14:16–17, NKJV)
• Impossible? Remember Who is in
charge of history.
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16. The event to which the Old Testament
was pointing to and longing for.
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