This week we finish the readings in the books of wisdom and poetry and on Wednesday we begin the books of the prophets.

Here are a few helpful things to know about reading the prophets:

1. They are not fortune tellers or forecasters or wizards who predict the future. They are mouthpieces for God, called to speak God into a particular moment in time by explaining the past, exposing the present, and anticipating the future.
2. Even though the prophets spoke thousands of years ago, their messages are remarkably relevant for today. Listen carefully to what God is saying to his people today.
3. The prophets are not arranged chronologically. Furthermore, the individual contents of each prophetic book are not arranged chronologically, either. Try to look past the non-existent timeline and just listen to God's word.
4. Pay attention to the wild and mysterious ways the prophets used to get their messages across. They were very creative!

We begin with Isaiah. It has been called "the little Bible." Just as the Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters. As the Bible is divided into the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books), Isaiah is divided with the first 39 chapters about the Assyrian period and the last 27 about the Babylonian period. The message of the Old Testament readies us for the proclamation of the New Testament. In the same way, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah prepare us for the last 27. The central theme is salvation proclaimed through the coming Messiah.

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We are working our way through the final section of the Old Testament. The prophets make up one-third of the Old Testament and are about equal in length to the New Testament. These messages lay some very important ground work for the coming of Immanuel. As we begin a new section, if you are behind, just start here, with us, at day 180. You can catch up later. No worries. No guilt. Just enjoy!