⇒INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY HELPS⇐

Prophetic Writings Written in Everyday Language (Prose)

The writings of the prophets are filled with many of the most precious passages in Scripture, including promises, encouragements, warnings, teachings of wisdom and predictions of the future.  The hard part is that they most often spoke to their own generation, confronting sin, strengthening the weak and calling Israel and Judah to remain faith to God’s covenant.

Are there any names of people or places which you are not sure about?  Look it up in a Bible Dictionary. Make sure you understand how what you read in the Bible dictionary fits with what you are reading in your passage.

Is the prophet in your passage confronting sin?  Who is committing the sin (you will need to look at the context to figure this out)?  Who is suffering from the sin?  How does this sin hurt Israel or Judah or Jerusalem or the King?

Is this prophecy a prediction of the future?  Does it predict something that would happen in the lifetime of the readers?  Is it a pleasant prediction or a prediction of suffering?