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The book of Amos is a message that a young shepherd from Tekoa received from the Lord. This shepherd was Amos. Amos lived before Israel and Judah were destroyed so he is yet another prophet at this time period, sharing a very similar message as the other prophets. A message calling for repentance to avoid coming disaster.

The first messages Amos received were warnings to various nations. Basically God was letting these nations know that they will be punished for the sins they have committed through Amos.

By the middle of Chapter two of the book Amos is hearing judgments against Judah and Israel. The basic message is focused on lawlessness and injustice filling the society of Israel and Judah. God is calling Israel to do what is good and right, and to return to him from other gods.

A chapter I found particularly interesting is chapter 7. It is a series of visions Amos has. After the first two visions Amos pleads with the Lord to not destroy Israel in that way. And the Lord relents. Amos does not protest to the third vision and this just happens to be how God destroys Israel.

Here are the visions from Amos 7:1-9

A Vision of Locusts
The Sovereign Lord showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, O Sovereign Lord, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.

And the Lord replied, I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.

This is also another passage in the Old Testament where God allows a person to plead with him and he then does something different. I love these verses because they show us that prayer can be effective. That God does listen to His people, and responds. Occasionally I have talked with people that feel threatened by the idea that God would listen to a human and then decide to do something different. A simple way to say this is, that He changes his mind. There are examples of these types of interactions throughout the Old Testament. Because of Moses pleading with God, God did not destroy Israel in the wilderness. Because of Amos God did not destroy Israel by fire or locusts. I think the idea is stressful for some people because they think, if God could have changed his mind in the past, then could He change his mind about salvation? We also need to remember that a characteristic of God is that he is faithful to his promises. So we can believe his promises. And at the same time we can interact with Him through prayer and be bold enough to make requests to the Almighty Creator of The Universe.

The book of Amos ends with a message about restoration. After Israel and Judah are enslaved God will bring His people back to their land and bless them. So there is another strong consistency among all of the prophets. Israel and Judah will be destroyed and the people enslaved. But after a time, people will return and worship God once again.

Here is a brief commentary on the book of Joel.

1. The book begins with a section describing a horrible plague of locusts, and more locusts, and more locusts. (Joel 1:1-2:11)

Now I am guessing that this is referring to the time period that Israel is destroyed be the Assyrians and Judah by Babylon. The armies are the locusts.

2. Then Joel asks for Israel to repent and turn back to God. (Joel 2:12-17)

This fits with what the other prophets have been asking of Israel. Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. So this seems to reinforce the previous understanding of the locusts.

3. And then Joel gives some good news about God restoring Israel and the land ravaged by the locusts. (Joel 2:18-26)

This is also very similar to the other Prophets. That God is only punishing Israel so that they will come back to Him.

4.And then a prophecy that is fulfilled in the New testament. (Joel 2:28-32)

Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants men and women alike.
And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved,
for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
just as the Lord has said.
These will be among the survivors
whom the Lord has called.
– Joel 2:28-32

The big news here is the idea that ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’. Israel wasn’t understanding that God loves all people, they really thought he loved them, and them alone. God is challenging that view. And the Holy Spirit had been only for some very unique people. namely prophets and Kings. But Joel says that the Holy Spirit will be given to servants and to men and women alike. Men and women alike would have been a fairly revolutionary concept at the time. Again, God is challenging what Israel believes.

5. And then a prophecy that appears to clearly be about the end times. (Joel 3)

I can’t say I really understand much about this chapter but I think it is about events yet to come. And since I really don’t understand it I won’t say much about it. If your interested in it you can click on this link to Joel Chapter 3.

Hosea is a man that God calls to be a prophet not only through a spoken message to be given to Israel, but also in how he is to live. God has referred to Israel’s disobedience as unfaithfulness a few times before the book of Hosea. Israel is in a unique covenant with God. Very similar to a marriage covenant. Israel is supposed to be God’s people and His people alone, and God promises to be Israel’s God. Israel continually breaks this covenant by worshiping other gods. But God continues to be faithful.

The book of Hosea takes place before Israel is destroyed by the Assyrians and before Judah is conquered by Babylon. So we have stepped a bit back in time on this journey through the Bible.

When the book opens up God asks Hosea to find a prostitute and marry her. The woman he married was named Gomer. Gomer then had children after being married to Hosea, and Hosea was not the Father. Gomer continued to be a prostitute even after marrying Hosea. This relationship became a walking, living message to Israel. Gomer represented Israel and Hosea, God. Hosea remained faithful to her even as Gomer was unfaithful.

Hosea is then asked to make charges against Gomer showing her how she has been unfaithful. Even declaring that because of her behavior the relationship no longer exists. Gomer is no longer Hosea’s wife, and Hosea no longer her husband. This also is to represent God’s reaction to Israel for her centuries of worshiping other gods.

The good news is that Hosea takes Gomer back as his wife, and she is redeemed. This is to show that Israel too will be redeemed after God allows Israel to leave Him.

The relationship is the same message that other prophets have told Israel. Hosea’s message is not unique in what God is telling Israel, but it shows how God is creatively trying to bring Israel back to himself and prevent the disasters that God will need to use to bring Israel back to himself.

The bad news: Israel didn’t get it as we know form reading the previous books.

The good news: Even though Israel and Judah have been destroyed there is hope, God has consistently said that in time that He will bring Israel back.

It is interesting that we as humans can be so stubborn that the only time we truly seek God is during times of trouble and disaster. I have often heard that a loving God would not allow bad things to happen, but the sad reality is that because of our stubborn hearts God does need to use bad things to bring us to Him. Trouble, adversity, trials, disasters, they can all help open our eyes to our need for God. So God uses bad things to bring us to Him, because he truly does love us and desires for us to be with Him.

Most discussions on the book of Daniel will refer to ‘Daniel in the Lions Den’ and “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”. They are amazing accounts of God’s provision. However, what caught my eye was that chapter 4 of the book of Daniel was written by Nebuchadnezzar. Now if you know anything about Ancient Babylon you know Nebuchadnezzar was the all powerful ruler of a big chunk of the world at this point in history. He was a very powerful man. And he is the King that God had destroy Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar even took the items from the temple before he destroyed it. He was the man that God used to punish Israel for worshiping other gods.

In the book of Daniel we see that Nebuchadnezzar is able to recognize the God of Israel with respect. In chapter three of Daniel after witnessing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survive a burning furnace (he had ordered them to be thrown in for not bowing down to worship his golden statue) he said this:

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
– Daniel 3:28-30

Nebuchadnezzar praised the one true God and promoted the three men to high positions in Babylon. However, it should be noted that Nebuchadnezzar still doesn’t seem to grasp that the God he is praising is the only God, because he refers to other gods simply being lesser by this statement. “There is no other god who can rescue like this!” But he just went from being in a mad rage at these men for disobeying him to this, so this is certainly a positive direction that Nebbby (Nebuchadnezzar) is heading in.

Now the next chapter is a message that Nebby sent to every race, nation and language. So what is written in chapter 4 was very important to Nebby, so important he wanted the entire world to know about it.

Chapter 4 is fairly long so if you want to read it you can click here to read Daniel Chapter 4.

Here is my summary:

1. Nebby says exactly why he is writing this message. “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.”
1. Nebby has a bad dream.
2. Nebby calls all his wise men, magicians, etc. to interpret his dream. None can do it.
3. Daniel then comes and is able to interpret his dream. Basically it is an outline of a future soon to come for Nebby. And it is odd. It basically describes him losing his kingship, behave like a cow, and then he would come back as King.
4. The dream then comes true. Nebby crawls around on the ground behaving like a bovine for a long time.
5. Nebby’s sanity finally returns and he praises God.

My overall understanding of Chapter 4 is that Nebby was truly repentant. This is why he sent this message to every nation, race, and language. He wanted everyone to know the following about the one true God, the God of Israel:
His rule is everlasting,
and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
among the angels of heaven
and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
What do you mean by doing these things?
– Daniel 4:34-35

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.
– Daniel 4:37

We could focus on Nebby destroying Israel, and throwing some men into a burning furnace. But I think God wants to show us His grace and forgiveness to those who are repentant and desire to follow Him. And Nebby was not Jewish, so this account shows us God’s heart for all people once again, not simply an interest in Israel.

Now onto Hosea……

Jeremiah and Ezekiel really have hung me up on my 90 day read through the Bible. I am well past 90 days and am just getting to Daniel.

Essentially what has happened is that I found Jeremiah to be extremely depressing, reading about what happened to Israel because they would not turn back to God. In some ways I think I see so many correlations between modern western society and Israel that I am also saddened by the state of society today. In addition to how difficult Jeremiah was the first 24 chapters of Ezekiel relive these events in Israel’s history once again. God really wants to make it clear that the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem were very intentional. They turned away from Him, so he turned away from them so that they would turn back to Him again. So it has been hard to pick up and keep reading. So hard that it has taken me almost 2 months to get through these two books. Sorry for the excuses, I need to get back on track with the reading plan.

So what have I learned during my time in the book of Ezekiel?

There is an early call to missions found in Ezekiel. The following verse is God explaining to Ezekiel why he has been commissioned to share God’s messages to the people of Israel.

If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too. — Ezekiel 3:20-21

It is for this very same reason that I believe God calls modern day ministers and missionaries. If people don’t hear the message they can’t accept it. So we are called to be messengers. And all God asks for is obedience to relaying His message. So it is very cool to see this concept in Ezekiel.

I also noticed that Ezekiel makes it clear that Yahweh (Jehovah) is not only the God of Israel but the God of all nations. Chapters 25-39 are messages to foreign nations. Essentially they are messages calling for other nations to repent and prophecies of a similar fate of Israel’s if they do not. Up til this point in the Old Testament it seemed plausible that you could conclude that Yahweh (Jehovah) was Israel’s God and that other nations had different God’s. But Ezekiel clears this up and it becomes clear that other nations simply have other gods ( notice the little g). Meaning false gods made of wood and stone. Essentially idols. And through Ezekiel God reached out to the gentiles many generations before Paul was ever called to do this.

The biggest lesson is simply. Follow God. If you turn away from Him, He may very well allow you to walk into the hands of your enemies so that in your desperation you just might turn back to Him. So sometimes when we may look at life and say ‘This stinks.’ It could be God calling you back to himself. Maybe you have strayed away from Him and you need to turn around and return to God. Granted it could be a ‘Job‘ situation. So just because things are hard don’t immediately question your relationship with God, but you shouldn’t rule this out either.

So now I continue my journey through the Bible and enter the book of Daniel…