Let’s look at key times and key prophets in the story of Israel. Moses was the first of many prophets throughout the history of the Jewish people. Later there was Samuel, followed by Elijah and Elisha. These individuals spoke God’s message as well as carried out God’s plans; they were actors in the history of the nation of Israel.

The last group of prophets that we find in the Old Testament came on the scene in the period from 750-450 B.C. when major upheavals occurred in the land. First, the rise of Assyria threatened the northern ten tribes. Those were terrifying people who swarmed across the Ancient Near East. Amos, who was a prophet to these ten tribes about 750 B.C., warned judgment was coming. Hosea followed shortly, preaching to the same people. The creation of the book of Jonah is hard to pin down historically, but his message deals with the Assyrians at about this time. By the way, read what happens in this book when Jonah shows up at Nineveh. It’s funny if you slow down and read it carefully. At the same time, Isaiah and Micah delivered God’s warnings to Judah in the south. The warnings were too late for Israel in the north; the Assyrians carried them off to captivity.