by Wells, Steve
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
(7.17) “Thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity.”
AMOS 8
(8.1-2) God shows Amos a basket of summer fruit and tells him that the end has come.
8 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
(8.1) “God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.”
2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
(8.2a) “He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit.”
(8.2b) “Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.”
3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
(8.3) “The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place.”
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
(8.7) “The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob.”
(8.8-9)
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
(8.8) “Shall not the land tremble for this?” (Earthquakes are a punishment from God.)
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
(8.9) “I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.”
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
(8.10) “I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.”
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
(8.11-12) “The days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD … They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” (Someday people will actually want to read the Bible.)
(8.13-14)
13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
(8.13) “In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.”
14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
(8.14) “They shall fall, and never rise up again.”
AMOS 9
(9.1-4) Amos sees God standing on the altar. God tells Amos that he will “cut them in the head” and “slay the last of them with the sword.” Any that try to escape by diving to the bottom of the sea will be bitten, at God’s command, by a sea-serpent. God will set his “eyes upon them for evil, not for good.”
9 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
(9.1) “I saw the LORD standing upon the altar: and he said … cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.”
49 Can God be seen?
2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
(9.2) “Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.”
3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
(9.3) “Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.”
4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
(9.4) “And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.”
5 And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
(9.5) “GOD … toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.”
6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
(9.8-10) God will destroy the “the sinful kingdom” and “all the sinners” among his people.
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.
(9.8) “The eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.”
9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
(9.10) “All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword.”
11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth th
is.
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
(9.15) “They shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them.” Despite this promise, the Jews have been continually uprooted and their lives disrupted. Even today, their land is far from secure.
OBADIAH
We have heard a rumour from the Lord. — Obadiah 1
It’s amazing how much bad stuff can be packed into the Bible. There are only 21 verses in Obadiah, for example, but somehow it manages to include:
The Israelites hear “a rumor from the Lord” telling them to start a war with the Edomites. 1, 8
God tells Israelites to “destroy the wise men out of Edom” and to slaughter “everyone of the mount of Esau.” 8-9
“The day of the Lord is near.” If so, it must have come and past, unnoticed, long before the birth of Jesus. 15
God will burn all the heathen to death, “for the LORD hath spoken it.” 16-18
OBADIAH
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
(1) “Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD … Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.” The Israelites hear “a rumor from the Lord” telling them to start a war with the Edomites.
153 How should the Edomites be treated?
2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
(8-9) God tells Israelites to “destroy the wise men out of Edom” and to slaughter “everyone of the mount of Esau.”
8 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
(8) “Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?”
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
(9) “Every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.”
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
(15) “The day of the Lord is near.” If so, then it must have come and past, unnoticed, long before the birth of Jesus.
(16-18) God will burn all the heathen to death.
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
(16a) “As ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down.”
(16b) “They shall be as though they had not been.”
157 Does hell exist?
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
(18) “The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.”
19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
JONAH
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. — Jonah 1.17
Everyone knows about God’s whale of a fish tale. So there’s nothing much I need to say about that.
There’s not much else of interest in Jonah, except maybe that:
Jonah fled “from the presence of the Lord.” (There are some places where even God can’t find you.) 1.3, 10
God made “a great fish” swallow Jonah, who stayed in the fish’s belly for three days and three nights. 1.17
Jonah prays to God from his fish-belly hell. 2.1-2
“The LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” 2.10
After hearing Jonah preach, everyone in Nineveh turned to God, including all the animals. Jonah must have been one hell of a preacher! 3.5
All the animals in Ninevah put on sackcloth and cried “mightily unto God.” 3.8
“God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them.” 3.10
God prepared a gourd to shade Jonah’s head, a worm to destroy the gourd, and then a drying wind and baking sun that made Jonah wish he was dead. 4.6-8
JONAH 1
1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
(1.3, 10) Jonah fled “from the presence of the Lord.” (There are some places where God can’t find you.)
18 Does God know and see everything?
3 But Jonah rose up to
flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
(1.3) “Jonah rose up to flee … from the presence of the LORD.”
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
(1.4) “The LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest.”
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
(1.7) “Let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.” The sailors cast lots to see who was causing the storm. And it worked, too (casting lots always does), since the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
(1.10) “The men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.”
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.