Ironic Conversions Jonah 1:1–16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly. Jonah 1:16 Jonah 1:16 seems to mean that the sailors were converted. It means that in an ironic way God was already accomplishing his purposes in spite of the prophet Jonah’s stubborn rebellion. The fact that the sailors were saved is evident in practically…

Your Brother’s Keeper Obadiah 10–15 Do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune. Obadiah 12 The sin of unbrotherliness has small beginnings but it grows. First, there is the sin of standing aloof when your brother stumbles. This first offense leads to a second one—looking down on your…

Are you at ease in Zion?

The Day of the Lord Amos 5:18–20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? Amos 5:20 Consider what Amos teaches about this coming day of judgment. When Amos says that the Day of the Lord is going to be a day of darkness, he…

Restoration Joel 2:18–27 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. Joel 2:25 A blessing that God says will follow genuine heart repentance is restoration of the lost years. This is a special blessing. Many of us have run from God and have wasted many years. It is only by…

Repentance That Does Count Hosea 14:1–9 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins.” Hosea 14:2 (NIV) There are three things that make this confession a true one, things lacking in the false repentance of chapter 6. First, there is an awareness of sin and that in…

Repentance That Does Not Count Hosea 6:1–3 Come, let us return to the Lord. Hosea 6:1 The essential elements of a true confession are missing in Hosea 6:1–3. First, there is no reference to sin. There is acknowledgment of the consequences of Israel’s sin: injury and the absence of God himself. But there is no…

Admitting Guilt Hosea 5:13–15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt. Hosea 5:15 What happens when we do not turn to God even after he sends trouble to get our attention? In that case, says God, he reluctantly pours out on us the greatest judgment of all: He leaves us….

The Greatest Love Story Hosea 3:1–3 Love . . . as the Lord loves. Hosea 3:1 After Gomer left Hosea, she sank lower and lower in the social scale of the day until she became a slave and was sold in the capital city of Samaria. When the time came for her to be sold on an…

A Door of Hope Hosea 2:14–23 Therefore, behold, I will allure her. Hosea 2:14 Chapter two of Hosea presents a series of “therefores” in which the hand of God’s judgment has been pressed down ever more firmly on Hosea’s rebellious and errant wife. But just as we are expecting further trouble, God opens the hand…