I used to think that the Minor Prophets - the reference to all those "obscure" books toward the end of the Old Testament meant that they were not very important or didn't really have much to say. Obadiah is only 21 verses, Jonah only 49 where Isaiah is 66 chapters and about 75 pages in my Bible.
Of course most everyone knows the story of Jonah and the whale. In fact a lot of non believers find Jonah to be so ludicrous as to make the whole Bible unbelievable because of that one book. Who could really believe a great fish could swallow a man and the man could live? Well, Jesus did! Most of the others books are not stories in the sense that Jonah is; most are telling of God's coming wrath for the sins of the people.
But they are not called "minor" because they are less worthy but simply because their written prophecies are short. One of the most preached verses on tithing is in Malachi. Some of my favorite verses are in these books. It's nice to revisit them occasionally and to be reminded again and again of God's faithfulness. Despite all the gloom and doom of these prophets, their love for and faith in the sovereign God is huge.
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