Lord God,
you have declared that your kingdom is among us.
Open our eyes to see it,
our ears to hear it,
our hearts to hold it,
our hands to serve it.
This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Obadiah is like Joel in that we really don’t know much about him. We also can’t pinpoint the timing of this book. Edom is the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. “Jacob” stands for all Israel in this book. Edom (and all the nations that oppose Israel) will receive God’s judgment, but Israel will be restored.
Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:23-28. Here he prophesies (correctly) good things for an evil king. Jonah has seen God’s grace to his own wayward people firsthand, and now he is commanded to prophesy to a foreign wayward people (and he rebels). Nineveh is the capital of Assyria. Assyria is powerful, but is not yet the superpower that will defeat Israel. The prophets are meant to shine God’s light on specific people and nations. Although they receive attention, they are conduits of God’s Word. Jonah is not just the conduit, but also the recipient of God’s Word. God is working in Jonah’s life as well. We see God’s grace for outsiders (sailors and Ninevites) in this book, and they praise God before Jonah does. When you think about Nineveh and Tarshish, think about being called to New York but getting on a ship bound for Hawaii. Jonah 3:4 is very telling. Think of how many words the prophets usually use to bring God’s message. We read entire books that contain long and poetic prophecies. Here Jonah only says, “40 more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” What a lame prophecy! It doesn’t even call the people to repent. Jonah’s heart is not in this, which is clear by the end. The ending of the book of Jonah is rarely reflected in children’s Bibles and stories.
Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, and he prophesied to both Israel and Judah. This is a book about judgment and forgiveness. Chapter 4 begins with a word of hope for the nations. Think how this might sound to Judah and Israel as they struggle against the nations. The nations will be recipients of God’s favor one day. As you read chapter 6, picture a giant courtroom that encompasses the world. God is the prosecuting attorney. All of the natural world is the jury. God’s people are the defendants. Verses 6 and 7 are the people’s words. Note the emphasis on relationship in this passage – “My people” and “your God.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read Jonah and Nahum in one day before. Both prophesy against Nineveh, but Nahum is over 100 years later. There is no great repentance as in Jonah.
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