In the next three postings, we will scan through the ministry of the final trio of prophets in the post-exilic period of the Jews - Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. They mark not only the closing of the Old Testament canon but also the beginning of a 400 year period of silence with no prophetic voice. Hence, the words from these three prophets are worth paying attention to. It is not surprising then, when John the Baptist appeared as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Mk 1:2), "all the country of Judea was going out to him." (Mk 1:5).  Before the exile, the prophets speak of warnings and impending disasters. However, the post-exilic prophets like Haggai and Zechariah spoke mainly words of comfort and encouragement, especially in the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem after they returned in the six century BC from their exile in Babylon (Ezra 5:1, 6:14).  Connecting the dots Haggai consists of four messages headed by the phrase "the word of the LOR...

Both Esther and Daniel lived during the period of the exile and just like Joseph in Egypt, they thrived and were mightily used by Yahweh for the purpose of fulfilling His covenant promises to the nation of Israel. Despite being in a foreign land and serving under pagan rulers, both Esther and Daniel were instrumental in carrying out Yahweh's sovereign will. God is at work in and through history, He is not only the God of Israel but also the Lord of all nations! In Esther, we observe the preservation of the Jews which is part of the covenantal promises made by Yahweh to His people that can find their origins as far back as Genesis 3:15, the promise that the seed of the woman would come to crush the head of the Serpent. That seed would come through the line of the Jews. Daniel on the other hand, served various kings in Babylon through the 70 years of the Jewish captivity and predates Esther by a few generations (she rose to prominence during the post-Babylonian exile under Persian ru...