📖 Utangulizi wa Agano la Kale — Sehemu ya 12: Manabii Wadogo📖 Old Testament Survey — Unit 12: The Minor Prophets

I. Watu Kumi na Wawili, Vilima Kumi na Viwili, Mapambazuko MamojaI. Twelve Men, Twelve Hilltops, One Sunrise

Vitabu kumi na viwili vya mwisho vya Agano la Kale vimefungwa pamoja katika Biblia zetu kwa jambo kubwa zaidi kuliko urahisi tu. Wakati mwingine huitwa Wale Kumi na Wawili, wakati mwingine Manabii Wadogo, lakini kamwe si kwa sababu ni wadogo kwa umuhimu. Neno "wadogo" linaeleza urefu wa maandishi yao tu, tukiyalinganisha na majitu kama Isaya, Yeremia na Ezekieli. Kwa kweli, yale ambayo watu hawa kumi na wawili wanasema katika sura zao chache fupi yameweka ajenda ya manabii na wanamatengenezo tangu wakati huo.The last twelve books of the Old Testament are bound together in our Bibles by something more than convenience. They are sometimes called The Twelve, sometimes The Minor Prophets, but never because they are minor in importance. The word "minor" describes only the length of their writings compared to the giants Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. In fact, what these twelve men say in their few short chapters has set the agenda for prophets and reformers ever since.

Manabii Wadogo ni kama watu kumi na wawili waliosimama juu ya vilima kumi na viwili tofauti kwa muda wa miaka mia nne, kila mmoja akingojea mapambazuko. Baadhi yao walielekea kaskazini kwenye ufalme wa kaskazini ulioasi; wengine walielekea kusini kwenye Yuda; wengine walitazama ng'ambo ya Yordani kwa mataifa ya kigeni; mmoja alitazama mashariki kuelekea Ninawi; mmoja alitazama rundo la mawe linalofuka moshi ambalo hapo awali lilikuwa hekalu; mmoja alitazama mbele katika siku zijazo akaona mtoto mchanga huko Bethlehemu. Vilima vyao ni tofauti. Lafudhi zao ni tofauti. Tabia zao ni tofauti. Lakini wote wanangojea mapambazuko yale yale — kuja kwa Masihi, Jua la haki litakalozuka lenye kuponya katika mbawa zake (Malaki 4:2). Unaposoma vitabu hivi kumi na viwili kimoja baada ya kingine, unaweza karibu kuona anga la mashariki likianza kung'aa.The Minor Prophets are like twelve men standing on twelve different hilltops over four hundred years, each one watching for the sunrise. Some of them faced north toward the apostate northern kingdom; others faced south toward Judah; some looked across the Jordan at the foreign nations; one looked east into Nineveh; one looked over a smoking pile of stones that used to be the temple; one looked into the future and saw a baby in Bethlehem. Their hilltops are different. Their accents are different. Their tempers are different. But they are all watching for the same sunrise — the coming of the Messiah, the Sun of Righteousness who will rise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). When you read these twelve books in a row, you can almost see the eastern sky beginning to glow.

Ujumbe wao mkuu ni ujumbe wa agano: Rudini. Watu wa Mungu walikuwa wamevunja uaminifu tena na tena — kwa ibada ya sanamu, kwa dhuluma katika jamii, kwa ibada tupu, kwa kuoana na mataifa. Manabii wanawaita warudi, wanawaonya juu ya hukumu ikiwa hawatarudi, na wanaahidi kwamba ng'ambo ya adhabu hiyo kuna urejesho mtukufu unaokuja. Kristo ndiye jibu la kila tatizo ambalo Wale Kumi na Wawili wanaliibua.Their central message is the message of the covenant: Return. God's people had repeatedly broken faith — with idolatry, with social injustice, with empty worship, with intermarriage. The prophets call them back, warn them of judgment if they will not come, and promise that on the other side of the discipline a glorious restoration is coming. Christ is the answer to every problem the Twelve raise.

II. Sauti za Kabla ya Uhamisho kwa Ufalme wa KaskaziniII. The Pre-Exilic Voices to the Northern Kingdom

A. Hosea — Bwana Arusi Asiyeachilia (takriban 755–715 K.K.)A. Hosea — The Bridegroom Who Will Not Let Go (c. 755–715 BC)

Hosea ndiyo hadithi ya mapenzi yenye huzuni kuliko zote katika Biblia. Mungu anamwamuru nabii amwoe mwanamke aitwaye Gomeri. Ikiwa maandishi ya Kiebrania yanamaanisha kwamba tayari alikuwa si mwaminifu walipooana, au kwamba alikosa uaminifu baadaye tu, ni jambo linalojadiliwa kwa kweli miongoni mwa wasomi wa Kiebrania — lakini hakuwa mwaminifu, katika maisha yao yote pamoja. Anazaa watoto watatu, wawili wa mwisho huenda si wa Hosea, na majina ambayo Mungu anawapa ni mazito kupita kiasi: Yezreeli (Mungu atatawanya), Lo-ruhama (Asiyehurumiwa), Lo-ami (Si Watu Wangu). Hatimaye Gomeri anaiacha nyumba kabisa na kurudi katika maisha yake ya zamani, akiteleza kutoka ukahaba hadi utumwa. Na ndipo Mungu anamwambia Hosea afanye jambo lisilowazika: "BWANA akaniambia, Enenda tena, umpende mwanamke aliyependwa na rafiki yake, naye ni mzinzi, vile vile kama BWANA awapendavyo wana wa Israeli" (Hosea 3:1). Hosea anamkuta sokoni pa kuuzia watumwa, akiwa uchi, amevunjika, na wa bei rahisi — shekeli kumi na tano za fedha na homeri moja na nusu ya shayiri, chini ya nusu ya bei ya kawaida ya mtumwa. Analipa. Anamrudisha nyumbani. Na kitabu kizima cha Hosea ni maelezo yanayoendelea ya maana ya tendo hilo: hivi ndivyo hasa Mungu anavyomfanyia Israeli asiye mwaminifu, na hivi ndivyo hasa Kristo atakavyomfanyia siku moja Bibi Arusi wake asiye mwaminifu pale Msalabani.Hosea is the saddest love story in the Bible. God commands the prophet to marry a woman named Gomer. Whether the Hebrew text means she was already unfaithful when they married, or became unfaithful only afterward, is genuinely debated among Hebrew scholars — but faithless she was, throughout their life together. She bears three children, the second two probably not Hosea's, and the names God gives them are unbearable: Jezreel (God will scatter), Lo-Ruhamah (Not Pitied), Lo-Ammi (Not My People). Eventually Gomer leaves the home altogether and goes back to her old life, sliding from prostitution into slavery. And then God tells Hosea to do the unthinkable: "Then the LORD said to me, 'Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel'" (Hosea 3:1). Hosea finds her on a slave block, naked, broken, and cheap — fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley, less than half the going price of a slave. He pays it. He brings her home. And the whole book of Hosea is the running commentary on what that act means: this is exactly what God is doing for an unfaithful Israel, and this is exactly what Christ would one day do for His unfaithful Bride at the Cross.

Shauku ya moyo wa Mungu inatetemeka katika kurasa za Hosea. "Efraimu, nitakuachaje? Israeli, nitakutoaje?… Moyo wangu umegeuka ndani yangu, huruma zangu zimewashwa pamoja" (Hosea 11:8). Na ahadi kuu inakuja katika sura ya 14: "Nitaponya kurudi nyuma kwao, nitawapenda kwa ukarimu wangu" (Hosea 14:4). Hakuna masharti. Hakuna kujadiliana. Ni upendo tu usioachilia.The longing of God's heart trembles in Hosea's pages. "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?… My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred" (Hosea 11:8). And the climactic promise comes in chapter 14: "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" (Hosea 14:4). No conditions. No bargaining. Just love that will not let go.

Ukuta wa Berlin ulipoanguka mwaka 1989, Erich Honecker, kiongozi wa Kikomunisti wa Ujerumani Mashariki, ghafla alitupwa nje ya jumba lake la kifalme, akanyang'anywa cheo, na kuachwa na kila rafiki yake wa zamani. Mke wake Margot, aliyekuwa ameongoza Wizara ya Elimu, alikuwa amewanyima mara nane nafasi ya masomo watoto wanane wa Mchungaji Uwe Holmer kwa sababu baba yao alimhubiri Kristo. Sasa akina Honecker hawakuwa na makao. Hakuna aliyekubali kuwapokea. Kisha ikaja barua kutoka kwa Mchungaji Holmer: "Njooni mkae nasi katika nyumba ya mchungaji." Mtu ambaye watoto wake walikuwa wamenyimwa nafasi aliufungua mlango wake mwenyewe wa mbele kwa mwanamke aliyewanyima. Aliwalisha. Aliomba mezani pake huku wao wakiinamisha vichwa vyao. Huyo alikuwa Hosea akimrudisha Gomeri nyumbani kutoka soko la watumwa. Huyo alikuwa Kristo akilipia kanisa. Hiyo ilikuwa injili kabla injili haijaandikwa.When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Erich Honecker, the Communist premier of East Germany, was suddenly thrown out of his palace, stripped of office, and abandoned by every former friend. His wife Margot, who had headed the Ministry of Education, had eight times denied admission to the eight children of Pastor Uwe Holmer because their father preached Christ. Now the Honeckers were homeless. No one would take them in. Then a letter came from Pastor Holmer: "Come and live with us in the parsonage." The man who had been refused on behalf of his children opened his own front door to the woman who had refused them. He fed them. He prayed at his table while they bowed their heads. That was Hosea bringing Gomer home from the slave block. That was Christ paying for the church. That was the gospel before the gospel was written down.

Na katikati ya hayo yote, Hosea anatoa mojawapo ya mistari mikali na inayochoma moyo kuliko yote katika Agano la Kale: "Maana nataka fadhili wala si sadaka; na kumjua Mungu zaidi ya sadaka za kuteketezwa" (Hosea 6:6). Yesu anaunukuu mstari huo mara mbili katika Mathayo (9:13; 12:7). Ndilo jambo ambalo Mungu alilitaka siku zote. Ndilo jambo ambalo sisi tumeshindwa kulitoa siku zote. Wakati mmoja msichana mdogo wa miaka minne alisikika akiongea na wanasesere wake wawili. Alikuwa amemshika mmoja chini ya kila mkono, akiwakumbatia kwa nguvu. Kwa sura ya huzuni na shauku alimtazama mama yake akasema, "Mama, ninawapenda na kuwapenda na kuwapenda — lakini wao hawanipendi kamwe." Hiyo ndiyo Hosea 6:6. Huo ndio uchungu wa moyo wa Agano la Kale. Na Kristo pale Msalabani ndiye hatimaye, kikamilifu, upendo unaotupenda nasi.And in the middle of all this, Hosea drops one of the most piercing single verses in the Old Testament: "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). Jesus quotes that verse twice in Matthew (9:13; 12:7). It is what God always wanted. It is what we have always failed to give. A four-year-old little girl was once heard talking to her two dolls. She had one tucked under each arm and was hugging them tightly. With a wistful look she said up to her mother, "Mama, I love them and love them and love them — but they never love me back." That is Hosea 6:6. That is the heartbreak of the Old Testament. And Christ on the Cross is finally, fully, the love that loves us back.

B. Amosi — Hukumu na Itelemke (takriban 760–750 K.K.)B. Amos — Let Justice Roll Down (c. 760–750 BC)

Amosi hakuwa nabii wa kikazi. Alikuwa mchungaji wa mifugo kutoka kijiji cha kusini cha Tekoa na mtunzaji wa mikuyu, aliyeitwa kwa nguvu na Mungu na kutumwa kaskazini kuwahubiria matajiri wakubwa wa Israeli wakati wa ustawi usio na kifani chini ya Yeroboamu II. Mzigo wake mkuu ulikuwa haki katika jamii. Matajiri walikuwa wakiwakanyaga maskini katika mavumbi ya nchi, mahakama zilikuwa na rushwa, na mahekalu yalikuwa na shughuli nyingi za matoleo huku wajane wakifa njaa malangoni. Amosi ananguruma, "Lakini hukumu na itelemke kama maji, na haki kama maji makuu yasiyopunguka" (Amosi 5:24). Dini tupu isiyozaa haki barabarani ni, kwa Mungu, uvundo katika pua zake. Kitabu kinamalizika kwa ahadi fupi lakini yenye kung'aa ya urejesho: katika siku hiyo Mungu ataisimamisha tena hema ya Daudi iliyoanguka — ukoo utakaomzaa Masihi — na mataifa yataitwa kwa jina lake.Amos was not a professional prophet. He was a shepherd from the southern village of Tekoa and a tender of sycomore figs, conscripted by God and sent north to preach to the wealthy elite of Israel during a time of unprecedented prosperity under Jeroboam II. His great burden was social justice. The rich were trampling the poor in the dust of the earth, the courts were corrupt, and the temples were busy with offerings while widows starved at the gates. Amos thunders, "But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24). Empty religion that does not produce justice in the streets is, to God, a stink in His nostrils. The book ends with a brief but radiant promise of restoration: in that day God will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David — the line that will produce the Messiah — and the nations will be called by His name.

C. Yona — Moyo wa Mungu kwa Mataifa (takriban karne ya 8 K.K.)C. Jonah — God's Heart for the Nations (c. 8th century BC)

Yona ndiye nabii pekee anayejaribu kuukimbia wito wake. Akiwa ametumwa mashariki kuhubiri katika Ninawi, mji mkuu katili wa Ashuru, anakimbia magharibi kuelekea Tarshishi, na yule samaki mkubwa ambaye Mungu anamweka tayari ili amrudishe ni mojawapo ya mafundisho maarufu kuliko yote juu ya maongozi ya Mungu yaliyowahi kuandikwa. Lakini tatizo halisi la Yona si dhoruba wala samaki. Ni moyo wake. Hataki kuhubiri Ninawi kwa sababu anaogopa kwamba Mungu atawasamehe, na yuko sahihi kuogopa. Wanatubu kwa mahubiri yake ya maneno manane (katika tafsiri ya Kiingereza) — "Baada ya siku arobaini Ninawi utaangamizwa!" (Yona 3:4) — na Mungu anauacha mji huo. Yona ananuna chini ya mtango unaonyauka huku Mungu akieleza, katika sentensi ya mwisho ya kitabu, kwamba anawahurumia hata watu ambao Yona hataki wahurumiwe. Yona ni kitabu cha umisheni, onyo dhidi ya dini ya kikabila, na mojawapo ya picha zilizo wazi kabisa katika Agano la Kale za moyo wa Baba kwa kila taifa chini ya mbingu. Yesu Mwenyewe alimfanya Yona kuwa ishara ya ufufuo Wake: kama Yona alivyokuwa siku tatu tumboni mwa samaki, ndivyo Mwana wa Adamu atakavyokuwa siku tatu katika moyo wa nchi (Mathayo 12:40).Jonah is the only prophet who tries to outrun his calling. Sent east to preach to the cruel Assyrian capital of Nineveh, he bolts west to Tarshish, and the great fish God prepares to bring him back is one of the most famous lessons in providence ever recorded. But Jonah's real problem is not the storm or the fish. It is his heart. He does not want to preach to Nineveh because he is afraid that God will forgive them, and he is right to be afraid. They repent at his eight-word sermon — "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4) — and God spares the city. Jonah sulks under a withering vine while God explains, in the last sentence of the book, that He pities even the people Jonah does not want pitied. Jonah is a missionary book, a warning against tribal religion, and one of the clearest pictures in the Old Testament of the Father's heart for every nation under heaven. Jesus Himself made Jonah a sign of His own resurrection: as Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man would be three days in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).

III. Sauti za Kabla ya Uhamisho kwa YudaIII. The Pre-Exilic Voices to Judah

A. Yoeli — Siku ya BWANA na Roho AnayemwagwaA. Joel — The Day of the Lord and the Spirit Poured Out

Yoeli anachukua pigo la kutisha la nzige lililoyaharibu mashamba ya Yuda na kulitumia kama picha ya Siku ile kuu na ya kutisha ya BWANA. Analiita taifa lifunge, lilie, lirarue mioyo yake wala si mavazi yake. Kisha anafunua pazia juu ya tumaini la wakati ujao lililo pana kiasi kwamba bado tunaishi ndani ya utimilizo wake: "Hata itakuwa, baada ya hayo, ya kwamba nitamwaga Roho wangu juu ya wote wenye mwili; na wana wenu na binti zenu watatabiri, wazee wenu wataota ndoto, vijana wenu wataona maono" (Yoeli 2:28). Upepo wa nguvu ulipojaza chumba cha juu Siku ya Pentekoste, Petro alisimama akasema, "Lakini jambo hili ndilo lililonenwa na nabii Yoeli" (Matendo 2:16). Kumwagwa kwa Roho juu ya kila aina ya mwamini — mwanamume na mwanamke, kijana na mzee, mtumwa na huru — ni utimilizo unaoendelea wa neno la Yoeli.Joel takes a horrifying locust plague that has stripped the fields of Judah and uses it as a picture of the great and terrible Day of the Lord. He calls the nation to fast, to weep, to rend their hearts and not their garments. And then he lifts the curtain on a future hope so sweeping that we still live inside its fulfillment: "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28). When the rushing wind filled the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and said, "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). The pouring out of the Spirit on every kind of believer — male and female, young and old, slave and free — is the ongoing fulfillment of Joel's word.

B. Obadia — Ndugu Aliyekataa Kuwa NduguB. Obadiah — The Brother Who Refused to Be a Brother

Kitabu kifupi kuliko vyote katika Agano la Kale, chenye mistari ishirini na moja, ni lawama dhidi ya Edomu. Edomu walitoka kwa Esau; Israeli kwa Yakobo. Walikuwa ndugu. Lakini Babeli ilipoipora Yerusalemu, Waedomu walisimama juu ya vilima wakashangilia, kisha wakakimbia chini kupora maiti. Obadia anatangaza hukumu juu ya ndugu waliochagua dharau badala ya undugu. Kitabu kinamalizika kwa maneno saba yanayogusa moyo kuliko yote katika Agano la Kale (katika tafsiri ya Kiingereza): "Na ufalme utakuwa wa BWANA" (Obadia 21).The shortest book in the Old Testament, twenty-one verses, is a denunciation of Edom. Edom is descended from Esau; Israel from Jacob. They were brothers. But when Babylon ransacked Jerusalem, the Edomites stood on the hilltops and cheered, then ran down to loot the corpses. Obadiah pronounces judgment on brothers who chose contempt over kinship. The book ends with seven of the most stirring words in the Old Testament: "Then the kingdom shall be the LORD's" (Obadiah 21).

C. Mika — Haki, Rehema, na Mtawala Kutoka Bethlehemu (takriban 735–700 K.K.)C. Micah — Justice, Mercy, and a Ruler from Bethlehem (c. 735–700 BC)

Mika alihubiri wakati mmoja na Isaya, katika ufalme wa kusini, na wawili hao wakati mwingine huitwa sauti ya mjini na sauti ya kijijini ya ujumbe mmoja mkuu. Mistari miwili ya Mika isiyosahaulika inafunga pande zote mbili za mafundisho yote ya Agano la Kale kuhusu maadili na kuhusu Masihi. Wa kwanza ni muhtasari mkuu wa dini ya mtu binafsi: "Ee mwanadamu, yeye amekuonyesha yaliyo mema; na BWANA anataka nini kwako, ila kutenda haki, na kupenda rehema, na kwenda kwa unyenyekevu pamoja na Mungu wako?" (Mika 6:8). Mambo matatu — na yote yako moyoni, si mikononi. Wa pili ni mojawapo ya unabii ulio sahihi kabisa kuhusu Masihi katika Biblia: "Bali wewe, Bethlehemu Efrata, uliye mdogo hata usihesabiwe miongoni mwa elfu za Yuda, kutoka kwako atanitokea mmoja atakayekuwa mtawala katika Israeli; ambaye matokeo yake yamekuwa tangu zamani za kale, tangu milele" (Mika 5:2). Miaka mia saba kabla ya Krismasi, Mika alikitaja kijiji kwa jina. Mamajusi walipofika katika baraza la Herode wakiuliza mfalme wa Wayahudi angezaliwa wapi, wakuu wa makuhani walifungua magombo yao wakawasomea mstari huu. Bethlehemu.Micah preached at the same time as Isaiah, in the southern kingdom, and the two of them are sometimes called the urban and rural voices of one great message. Micah's two unforgettable verses bracket the whole Old Testament's ethical and messianic teaching. The first is the great summary of personal religion: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). Three things — and all of them in the heart, not the hands. The second is one of the most precise messianic prophecies in the Bible: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Seven hundred years before Christmas, Micah named the village. When the Magi came to Herod's court asking where the king of the Jews was to be born, the chief priests opened their scrolls and read them this verse. Bethlehem.

D. Nahumu — Upande Mwingine wa Yona (takriban 663–612 K.K.)D. Nahum — The Other Side of Jonah (c. 663–612 BC)

Kama miaka mia moja na hamsini baada ya utume wa Yona, vitukuu vya Waninawi waliotubu walikuwa wamerudi katika uovu kwa kiwango kilichoushangaza ulimwengu wa kale. Nahumu anatangaza kuanguka kwa Ninawi. Ni kitabu cha faraja kwa Yuda na kitabu cha hukumu dhidi ya Ashuru. Vitabu hivi viwili vifupi — Yona na Nahumu — vimekusudiwa kusomwa pamoja: rehema ya Mungu inamfikia kila taifa litakalotubu, na hukumu ya Mungu inamfikia kila taifa lisilotubu. Mwaka 612 K.K. mji wa Ninawi uliharibiwa kabisa kiasi kwamba kwa zaidi ya miaka elfu mbili wasomi walijadiliana kama uliwahi kuwepo kweli. Kisha katika karne ya kumi na tisa magofu yake yakafukuliwa, na unabii wa Nahumu ukathibitishwa jiwe kwa jiwe.About a hundred and fifty years after Jonah's mission, the great-grandchildren of the Ninevites who repented had returned to wickedness on a scale that staggered the ancient world. Nahum announces the fall of Nineveh. It is a book of comfort for Judah and a book of judgment against Assyria. The two short books — Jonah and Nahum — are designed to be read together: God's mercy reaches every nation that will repent, and God's judgment reaches every nation that will not. In 612 BC the city of Nineveh was so thoroughly destroyed that for over two thousand years scholars debated whether it had ever existed. Then in the nineteenth century the ruins were uncovered, and Nahum's prophecy was vindicated stone by stone.

E. Habakuki — Mwenye Haki Ataishi kwa Imani (takriban 605–597 K.K.)E. Habakkuk — The Just Shall Live by Faith (c. 605–597 BC)

Habakuki ndiye wa binafsi zaidi kati ya Wale Kumi na Wawili. Haanzi kwa kuwahubiria watu; anaanza kwa kumlalamikia Mungu. "Ee BWANA, nilie hata lini, nawe hutaki kusikia?" (Habakuki 1:2). Uovu wa Yuda hauvumiliki, na Mungu anaonekana kunyamaza. Kisha Mungu anajibu — na jibu hilo karibu linamfanya Habakuki atamani asingeuliza kamwe. Mungu atamwadhibu Yuda kwa kuwatumia Wababeli, taifa katili kuliko Yuda mwenyewe. Mungu mtakatifu anawezaje kutumia chombo kisicho kitakatifu? Habakuki anapanda mnarani pake pa kulindia katika sura ya 2 na kungoja. Na jibu linakuja katika vifungu viwili ambavyo kwa pamoja vilikuja kuwa jiwe kuu la pembeni la Matengenezo ya Kanisa: "Tazama, roho yake imejivuna, haiko sawa ndani yake; lakini mwenye haki ataishi kwa imani yake" (Habakuki 2:4).Habakkuk is the most personal of the Twelve. He does not begin by preaching to the people; he begins by complaining to God. "O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?" (Habakkuk 1:2). The wickedness of Judah is unbearable, and God seems silent. Then God answers — and the answer almost makes Habakkuk wish he had never asked. God is going to discipline Judah by means of the Babylonians, a crueler nation than Judah herself. How can a holy God use an unholy instrument? Habakkuk climbs into his watchtower in chapter 2 and waits. And the answer comes in two clauses that together became the keystone of the Reformation: "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4).

Mara tatu katika Agano Jipya mstari huo mmoja unanukuliwa — Warumi 1:17, Wagalatia 3:11, na Waebrania 10:38 — na juu yake Paulo anajenga fundisho la kuhesabiwa haki kwa imani peke yake. Karne kumi na sita baadaye mstari huo huo, ukichukuliwa kutoka katika hoja ya Paulo, ungewasha moto wa Matengenezo ya Kiprotestanti. Matengenezo yote, kwa maana moja, yalikuwa kurejeshwa kwa sentensi moja ya nabii mmoja: mwenye haki ataishi kwa imani yake. Habakuki anakifunga kitabu chake kifupi kwa mojawapo ya matamko mazuri kuliko yote ya kumtumaini Mungu katika Maandiko yote: "Maana mtini hautachanua maua, wala mizabibu haitazaa matunda… Walakini nitamfurahia BWANA, nitamshangilia Mungu wa wokovu wangu" (Habakuki 3:17–18). Imani haihitaji mavuno ili kumsifu Bwana wa mavuno.Three times in the New Testament that single line is quoted — Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 — and on it Paul builds the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Sixteen centuries later the same verse, lifted out of Paul's argument, would ignite the Protestant Reformation. The whole Reformation, in one sense, was the recovery of one sentence by one prophet: the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk closes his short book with one of the most beautiful affirmations of trust in all of Scripture: "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17–18). Faith does not require the harvest in order to praise the Harvester.

F. Sefania — Siku ya BWANA na Mungu Anayeimba (takriban 640–609 K.K.)F. Zephaniah — The Day of the Lord and the Singing God (c. 640–609 BC)

Sefania, kilembwe cha Mfalme Hezekia, alihubiri wakati wa utawala wa Yosia na kutangaza Siku ya BWANA iliyo karibu — siku ya ghadhabu, ya giza, na ya mlio wa tarumbeta. Lakini mwishoni kitabu kinageuka kuelekea mojawapo ya picha za upole kuliko zote za Mungu mahali popote katika Agano la Kale: "BWANA, Mungu wako, yu katikati yako, shujaa awezaye kuokoa; atakushangilia kwa furaha kuu, atakutuliza katika upendo wake, atakufurahia kwa kuimba" (Sefania 3:17). Mungu anayekuja kwa hukumu ndiye Mungu anayewaimbia watu wake. Yeye si mtu baridi asiye na hisia; Yeye ni Baba. Midomo ile ile inayotamka ole juu ya waovu inaangua wimbo juu ya waliokombolewa.Zephaniah, a great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah, preached during the reign of Josiah and announced the imminent Day of the Lord — a day of wrath, darkness, and trumpet blast. But the book turns at the end to one of the tenderest pictures of God anywhere in the Old Testament: "The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). The God who comes in judgment is the God who sings over His people. He is not a stoic; He is a Father. The same lips that pronounce woe over the wicked break into song over the redeemed.

IV. Sauti za Baada ya UhamishoIV. The Post-Exilic Voices

A. Hagai — Ijengeni Nyumba (takriban 520 K.K.)A. Haggai — Build the House (c. 520 BC)

Miaka kumi na sita baada ya kundi la kwanza la wahamishwa kurudi kutoka Babeli, misingi ya hekalu la pili ilikuwa bado iko pale ilipowekwa, imejengwa nusu, magugu yakimea katika nyufa zake. Watu walikuwa na shughuli za kupamba nyumba zao wenyewe kwa mbao. Huduma yote ya Hagai inafanyika katika miezi minne ya mwaka mmoja, na ujumbe wake ni swali moja fupi, kali kama moto: "Je! Huu ni wakati wenu ninyi wa kukaa katika nyumba zenu zilizopambwa kwa mbao, iwapo nyumba hii inakaa hali ya kuharibika?" (Hagai 1:4). Kisha inakuja ahadi kuu inayoinua kipindi chote cha hekalu la pili: "Utukufu wa mwisho wa nyumba hii utakuwa mkubwa kuliko utukufu wake wa kwanza" (Hagai 2:9). Kwa ujenzi, hekalu la pili lilikuwa duni kuliko lile la Sulemani. Hata hivyo karne tano baadaye, seremala kijana kutoka Nazareti angetembea katika nyua zake akiwa mtoto na kufundisha katika matao yake akiwa mtu mzima. Utukufu ule mkubwa zaidi haukuwa mapambo ya dhahabu wala mbao za mierezi. Ulikuwa Kristo.Sixteen years after the first wave of exiles returned from Babylon, the foundations of the second temple were still sitting where they had been laid, half-finished, weeds growing through the cracks. The people were busy paneling their own houses. Haggai's whole ministry takes place in four months of one year, and his message is one short, blistering question: "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" (Haggai 1:4). Then comes the great promise that lifts the whole second-temple period: "The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former" (Haggai 2:9). The second temple was architecturally inferior to Solomon's. Yet five centuries later, a young carpenter from Nazareth would walk through its courts as a child and teach in its porches as a man. The greater glory was not gold leaf or cedar paneling. It was Christ.

B. Zekaria — Mfalme Juu ya Punda, Yule Aliyechomwa, ChipukiziB. Zechariah — The King on the Donkey, the Pierced One, the Branch

Zekaria aliishi wakati mmoja na Hagai, lakini ikiwa Hagai ni mjenzi, Zekaria ni mwonaji. Sura sita za kwanza zina maono manane ya usiku — wapanda farasi, pembe, kamba ya kupimia, kinara cha taa, gombo linaloruka, mwanamke ndani ya pishi, magari manne ya vita — yote yamekusudiwa kuwatia moyo wale waliokuwa wakijenga upya. Kisha nusu ya pili ya kitabu inakuwa mojawapo ya sehemu zinazomhusu Masihi zaidi katika Agano la Kale. Chipukizi anakuja (3:8; 6:12). Mfalme anakuja juu ya punda: "Furahi sana, Ee binti Sayuni; piga kelele, Ee binti Yerusalemu; tazama, mfalme wako anakuja kwako; ni mwenye haki, naye ana wokovu; ni mnyenyekevu, amepanda punda, naam, mwana-punda, mtoto wa punda" (Zekaria 9:9). Huu ndio mstari ambao Mathayo anaunukuu Jumapili ya Matawi. Mchungaji mwema anakuja, naye atathaminiwa kwa vipande thelathini vya fedha vilivyotupwa kwa mfinyanzi (Zekaria 11:12–13). Yule aliyechomwa anakuja: "Nao watanitazama mimi ambaye walinichoma" (Zekaria 12:10), mstari ambao Yohana anautumia kwa kuchomwa kwa mkuki pale Kalvari (Yohana 19:37). Karne tano kabla ya msalaba, Zekaria aliiona bei, jeraha, na taji.Zechariah is Haggai's contemporary, but where Haggai is a builder Zechariah is a seer. The first six chapters contain eight night visions — horsemen, horns, a measuring line, a lampstand, a flying scroll, a woman in a basket, four chariots — all designed to encourage the rebuilders. Then the second half of the book becomes one of the most messianic in the Old Testament. The Branch is coming (3:8; 6:12). The King is coming on a donkey: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). This is the verse Matthew quotes on Palm Sunday. The good Shepherd is coming, and He will be valued at thirty pieces of silver thrown to the potter (Zechariah 11:12–13). The pierced One is coming: "Then they will look on Me whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10), the verse John applies to the spear-thrust on Calvary (John 19:37). Five centuries before the cross, Zechariah saw the price, the wound, and the crown.

Uzi Mwekundu Wafikia Kituo cha Kumi na Moja na cha Kumi na MbiliThe Scarlet Thread Reaches Stations Eleven and Twelve

Sasa angalia tulipofikia katika hadithi ndefu ambayo kozi hii yote imekuwa ikiisimulia. Uzi Mwekundu ulianzia Edeni, Mungu alipomuua mnyama ili kuwavika Adamu na Hawa. Ulipita katika mwana-kondoo wa Habili, madhabahu ya Nuhu, kondoo dume juu ya Moria, damu ya Pasaka, mbuzi wa Yom Kippur, nyoka wa shaba jangwani, kamba nyekundu ya Rahabu, mito ya damu katika hekalu la Sulemani, na Mtumishi Anayeteswa wa Isaya 53. Zekaria 12:10 ni kituo cha kumi na moja cha uzi huo — mahali ambapo Mtumishi wa Isaya hatimaye anapewa jeraha na watu wanaomtazama. Angalia kitenzi: watanitazama mimi ambaye walinichoma. Kiwakilishi ni mimi. Msemaji ni BWANA Mwenyewe. BWANA amechomwa. Mungu wa Israeli ametundikwa juu ya msalaba wa Kirumi. Yohana aliliona akalinukuu. Vivyo hivyo malaika kule Patmo: "Tazama, yuaja na mawingu; na kila jicho litamwona, na wale waliomchoma" (Ufunuo 1:7).Now mark where we are in the long story this whole course has been telling. The Scarlet Thread began in Eden with God killing an animal to clothe Adam and Eve. It ran through Abel's lamb, Noah's altar, the ram on Moriah, the Passover blood, the goats of Yom Kippur, the bronze serpent in the wilderness, Rahab's scarlet cord, the rivers of blood in Solomon's temple, and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. Zechariah 12:10 is the eleventh station of the thread — the place where the Servant of Isaiah is finally given a wound and a watching people. Look at the verb: they shall look on Me whom they pierced. The pronoun is Me. The speaker is the Lord Himself. The Lord pierced. The God of Israel hanging on a Roman cross. John saw it and quoted it. So did the angel on Patmos: "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7).

Na kisha, mstari mmoja baadaye, Zekaria anafungua kituo cha kumi na mbili. Kuchomwa huko hakukuwa bure. Kutoka katika jeraha mto utaanza kutiririka: "Katika siku hiyo watu wa nyumba ya Daudi, na wenyeji wa Yerusalemu, watafunguliwa chemchemi kwa ajili ya dhambi na kwa ajili ya unajisi" (Zekaria 13:1). Rangi nyekundu ya Isaya 1:18 haitabaki nyekundu. Jeraha la Zekaria 12 litakuwa utakaso wa Zekaria 13. Damu ya Mwana-Kondoo ni chemchemi, na chemchemi hiyo iko wazi. Yeyote atakaye aweza kuja aoshwe. Mtunzi wa nyimbo William Cowper aliliona jambo hili yapata miaka mia mbili na hamsini iliyopita: "Kuna chemchemi iliyojaa damu itokayo katika mishipa ya Imanueli; na wenye dhambi wanaozamishwa chini ya mkondo huo hupoteza madoa yao yote ya hatia." Vituo viwili katika mistari miwili. Uzi huo umebakiza mstari mmoja tu kabla ya kufungwa kwake kwa mwisho katika Agano Jipya. Kitazame katika Sehemu ya 13. Huko Mwana-Kondoo atatokea hatimaye ukingoni mwa Yordani, na mtu mmoja aitwaye Yohana atainua mkono wake na kumwonyesha.And then, one verse later, Zechariah opens the twelfth station. The piercing was not for nothing. Out of the wound a river is going to start: "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1). The scarlet color of Isaiah 1:18 will not stay scarlet. The wound of Zechariah 12 will become the cleansing of Zechariah 13. The blood of the Lamb is a fountain, and the fountain is open. Whoever will may come and wash. The hymn writer William Cowper caught it about two hundred and fifty years ago: "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains." Two stations in two verses. The thread is one verse away from its final tying-off in the New Testament. Watch for it in Unit 13. There the Lamb will appear at last on the bank of the Jordan, and a man named John will lift his hand and point.

C. Malaki — Kulitafakari Jina Lake (takriban 450–430 K.K.)C. Malachi — Think Upon His Name (c. 450–430 BC)

Malaki ni neno la mwisho. Jina lake linamaanisha mjumbe wangu. Anahubiri kama miaka mia moja baada ya kurudi kwa mara ya kwanza, katika miaka ya mwisho ya Nehemia, kwa jumuiya iliyokuwa imejenga upya hekalu, imejenga upya kuta, na kupoteza mwelekeo kabisa. Makuhani wao wana rushwa. Matoleo yao ni mabaki ya chakula. Zaka zao hazipo. Ndoa zao zimevunjika. Ibada yao imewachosha. Na mara nane katika kitabu hiki, Mungu anapowashtaki, wanamjibu kwa neno lile lile dogo la dharau: "Jinsi gani? Kwa namna gani? Lini?"Malachi is the last word. His name means my messenger. He preaches roughly a hundred years after the first return, in Nehemiah's later years, to a community that has rebuilt the temple, rebuilt the walls, and lost the plot. Their priests are corrupt. Their offerings are leftovers. Their tithes are missing. Their marriages are broken. Their worship is bored. And eight times in the book, when God lays a charge against them, they answer Him with the same flippant little syllable: "How? In what way? When?"

Sikiliza mazungumzo ya mwanzo. "Nimewapenda ninyi, asema BWANA. Lakini ninyi mwasema, Umetupenda kwa jinsi gani?" (Malaki 1:2). Muujiza kamwe si kwamba Mungu huwapita wasio waaminifu. Muujiza ni kwamba Mungu huwapenda waaminifu hata kidogo — kwamba anakupenda wewe na mimi kabisa. Isome maisha yako mwenyewe katika nuru ya mazungumzo hayo na mshangao huo utaongezeka maradufu.Listen to the opening exchange. "I have loved you, says the LORD. Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?'" (Malachi 1:2). The miracle is never that God passes over the unfaithful. The miracle is that God ever loves the faithful — that He loves you and me at all. Read your own life in the light of that exchange and the wonder doubles.

Kisha inakuja ibada yao iliyowachosha. "Tazama, ni uchovu ulioje!" wanasema juu ya ibada za Mungu, wakiidharau madhabahu yake (Malaki 1:13). Asubuhi moja mwalimu wa Biblia wa muda mrefu alikuwa akiendesha gari katika msongamano mkubwa wa magari wa asubuhi huko Los Angeles, akatazama nyuso za wasafiri katika magari yaliyokuwa kando yake — kila uso ulikuwa umepooza, ukiiogopa siku hiyo, ukifanya mambo kwa mazoea tu. Akamgeukia binti yake akasema, "Waangalie. Wamechoka kufa. Jambo baya kuliko yote duniani ni kuyatumia maisha yako ukifanya kile unachochukia kufanya." Kisha akaongeza, "Na kwenda kanisani kunawachosha watu wengi sana namna hiyo hiyo." Wakati wowote moyo unapotoweka, taratibu za ibada huwa uchovu — ni kweli leo kama ilivyokuwa mwaka 450 K.K.Then comes their bored worship. "Oh, what a weariness!" they say of God's services, sniffing at His altar (Malachi 1:13). One morning a long-time Bible teacher was driving in heavy Los Angeles rush-hour traffic and looked over at the faces of the commuters in the cars beside him — every face dull, dreading the day, going through the motions. He turned to his daughter and said, "Look at them. They are bored to death. The worst thing in the world is to spend your life doing what you hate to do." Then he added, "And going to church is exactly that boring to a great many people." Whenever the heart is gone, the form becomes a weariness — as true today as in 450 BC.

Kisha inakuja sehemu maarufu ya zaka. "Je! Mwanadamu atamwibia Mungu? Lakini ninyi mnaniibia mimi. Lakini ninyi mwasema, Tumekuibia kwa namna gani? Mmeniibia zaka na dhabihu" (Malaki 3:8). Kanisa moja dogo katika nchi ya umisheni wakati mmoja lilikuwa na vitabu vya hesabu vilivyovurugika kiasi kwamba mashemasi, kwa kukata tamaa, walimwomba mwenye duka la vyakula Mchina aliyekuwa hodari wa hesabu asimamie hesabu hizo. Alikubali, kwa sharti moja: hakuna mtu atakayeomba ripoti mpaka Mkutano Mkuu wa Mwaka unaofuata. Mwaka uliofuata ripoti ikaja. Mkopo wa ujenzi wa dola elfu tano ulikuwa umelipwa wote. Dola elfu mbili zilikuwa zimeenda kwa umisheni. Salio la dola 1,253 lilikuwa benki. Kusanyiko lilishangaa sana. "Uliwezaje kufanya hivyo?" mtu mmoja akauliza. Yule mwenye duka akajibu, "Ninyi nyote hununua vyakula kwangu, ndiyo? Na nyote mnataka mkopo, ndiyo? Na mimi nawapa mkopo, ndiyo? Na nawatumia ankara mwisho wa kila mwezi, ndiyo? Na hamwezi kusoma mwandiko wangu, ndiyo? Na naongeza asilimia kumi kwa kila ankara, ndiyo? Na nyote mmelipa kila ankara, ndiyo? Basi — nyote mmekuwa mkitoa zaka kwa mwaka mzima. Bwana asifiwe, ndiyo!" Kanuni ya Mungu ni ya zamani kuliko Malaki: "Leteni zaka kamili ghalani… mkanijaribu kwa njia hiyo… kama sitawafungulia madirisha ya mbinguni, na kuwamwagieni baraka, hata isiwepo nafasi ya kutosha kuipokea" (Malaki 3:10).Then comes the famous tithe passage. "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings" (Malachi 3:8). A small church in a missionary country once had its books in such disarray that the deacons, in desperation, asked a Chinese grocer with a head for figures to take over the accounts. He agreed, on one condition: no one would ask for a report until the next Annual General Meeting. The next year the report came in. The five-thousand-dollar building loan was paid off. Two thousand dollars had gone to missions. A balance of $1,253 sat in the bank. The congregation was stunned. "How did you do it?" someone asked. The grocer answered, "You all buy groceries from me, yes? And you all want credit, yes? And I give you credit, yes? And I send you a bill at the end of every month, yes? And you can't read my handwriting, yes? And I add ten percent to every bill, yes? And you've all paid every bill, yes? Well — all of you have been tithing for a year. Praise the Lord, yes!" God's principle is older than Malachi: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse… and try Me now in this… if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).

Na kisha inakuja mojawapo ya nanga kuu za Biblia. "Kwa kuwa mimi, BWANA, sina kigeugeu" (Malaki 3:6). Voltaire alisema jina la Kristo lingesahaulika ndani ya miaka mia moja; Voltaire amekufa, na nyumba ile ile ambamo aliandika maneno hayo kwa miaka mingi ilikuwa ghala la Biblia. Tom Paine aliandika The Age of Reason (Zama za Akili) dhidi ya Kristo; Paine alikufa akiwa mlevi, na Kristo anaendelea kusonga mbele. Charles Bradlaugh wa Uingereza alitumia mali nyingi ili kuiangamiza imani; alizikwa bila wimbo wala sala, na Kristo anaendelea kusonga mbele. Robert Ingersoll alinguruma dhidi ya injili kutoka majukwaa ya Marekani; ulimwengu karibu umelisahau jina lake, na Kristo anaendelea kusonga mbele. Sina kigeugeu. Milki zinaanguka, falsafa zinafifia, wachoma-Biblia wanazimika. Yeye anasimama.And then comes one of the great anchors of the Bible. "For I am the LORD, I do not change" (Malachi 3:6). Voltaire said the name of Christ would be forgotten within a hundred years; Voltaire is dead, and the very house in which he wrote that line was for many years a Bible warehouse. Tom Paine wrote The Age of Reason against Christ; Paine died a drunkard, and Christ marches on. Charles Bradlaugh of England spent a fortune to destroy faith; he was buried without a song or prayer, and Christ marches on. Robert Ingersoll thundered against the gospel from American platforms; the world has nearly forgotten his name, and Christ marches on. I do not change. Empires fall, philosophies fade, Bible-burners burn out. He stands.

Kitabu kinamalizika kwa kuwazunguka wajumbe watatu. Wa kwanza ni Lawi, kuhani mwaminifu anayefundisha sheria (Malaki 2:7). Wa pili ni mtangulizi: "Angalieni, namtuma mjumbe wangu, naye ataitengeneza njia mbele yangu" (Malaki 3:1a) — jambo lililotimizwa miaka mia nne baadaye katika Yohana Mbatizaji. Wa tatu ni Bwana Mwenyewe: "na Bwana mnayemtafuta atakuja hekaluni mwake ghafula; naam, yule mjumbe wa agano" (Malaki 3:1b) — Agano Jipya ambalo Yesu angelizindua juu ya kikombe cha divai katika meza ya Pasaka. Neno la mwisho kabisa la Agano la Kale ni neno laana (Malaki 4:6). Maneno ya mwisho kabisa ya Agano Jipya ni "Neema ya Bwana Yesu Kristo na iwe pamoja nanyi nyote. Amina" (Ufunuo 22:21). Kilicho katikati ya maneno hayo mawili ni injili nzima.The book closes around the figure of three messengers. The first is Levi, the faithful priest who teaches the law (Malachi 2:7). The second is the forerunner: "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me" (Malachi 3:1a) — fulfilled four hundred years later in John the Baptist. The third is the Lord Himself: "and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1b) — the New Covenant which Jesus would inaugurate over a cup of wine at a Passover table. The very last word of the Old Testament is the word curse (Malachi 4:6). The very last words of the New Testament are "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:21). What comes between those two words is the entire gospel.

V. Taa Kumi na Mbili, Nyota MojaV. Twelve Lanterns, One Star

Watazame Wale Kumi na Wawili kama picha moja: watu kumi na wawili wenye taa kumi na mbili, wakitembea katika njia kumi na mbili tofauti, wote wakikutana kwenye nyota moja juu ya Bethlehemu. Hosea analeta upendo. Yoeli analeta Roho. Amosi analeta haki. Obadia analeta ufalme. Yona analeta mataifa. Mika analeta kijiji. Nahumu analeta onyo. Habakuki analeta imani. Sefania analeta wimbo. Hagai analeta hekalu. Zekaria analeta Mfalme juu ya punda. Na Malaki, taa ya mwisho ya usiku, analeta mapambazuko. "Bali kwenu ninyi mnaoliogopa jina langu, jua la haki litazuka, lenye kuponya katika mbawa zake" (Malaki 4:2).Look at the Twelve as a single picture: twelve men with twelve lanterns, walking down twelve different roads, all converging on one star over Bethlehem. Hosea brings the love. Joel brings the Spirit. Amos brings the justice. Obadiah brings the kingdom. Jonah brings the nations. Micah brings the village. Nahum brings the warning. Habakkuk brings the faith. Zephaniah brings the song. Haggai brings the temple. Zechariah brings the King on the donkey. And Malachi, the last lantern of the night, brings the sunrise. "But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2).

Kisha taa za Agano la Kale zinazimika na mbingu zinanyamaza kwa miaka mia nne. Vizazi vinazaliwa na kufa. Milki zinainuka na kuanguka. Taa za hekaluni zinafifia lakini hakuna nabii anayesema. Na kisha, katika kilima nje ya kijiji kidogo huko Yuda, kuhani mzee aitwaye Zekaria anaambiwa kwamba atapata mwana atakayetangulia mbele ya Bwana "katika roho ya Eliya na nguvu zake" (Luka 1:17). Aya ya mwisho ya Malaki imetimia. Jua linachomoza. Wale Kumi na Wawili wote wamekuwa sahihi. Na Bwana ambaye watu wake walimtafuta amekuja, ghafula, hekaluni mwake, mwenye kuponya katika mbawa zake — kwa ajili yako, na kwa ajili yangu, na kwa ajili ya ulimwengu wote uliochoka.Then the lights of the Old Testament go out and the heavens are silent for four hundred years. Generations are born and die. Empires rise and fall. The lamps in the temple flicker but no prophet speaks. And then, on a hillside outside a small village in Judah, an old priest named Zechariah is told he is going to have a son who will go before the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). Malachi's last paragraph has come true. The Sun is rising. The Twelve have all been right. And the Lord whom His people sought has come, suddenly, to His temple, with healing in His wings — for you, and for me, and for the whole tired world.

Na Uzi Mwekundu, baada ya vituo kumi na viwili virefu kuanzia Edeni hadi chemchemi ya enzi ya Waajemi, umebakiza mstari mmoja tu kabla ya kufungwa kwake kwa mwisho. Vituo kumi na viwili. Taa kumi na mbili. Mwana-Kondoo mmoja bado hajatajwa kwa jina. Kituo cha kumi na tatu na cha mwisho cha uzi huo kinangoja ukingoni mwa mto uitwao Yordani — na sehemu inayofuata itatupeleka huko.And the Scarlet Thread, after twelve long stations from Eden to a Persian-era fountain, is one verse away from its final tying-off. Twelve stations. Twelve lanterns. One Lamb still to be named. The thirteenth and last station of the thread is waiting on the bank of a river called Jordan — and the next unit will take us there.

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