Outline of the Minor Prophets: The Minor Prophets of the Assyrian Period of Dominance
Stanley Bruce Anstey
Table of Contents
Introduction
The purpose of the Minor Prophets is to supplement the subjects presented in the Major Prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. They do not bring forward any new prophetic subjects but expand on those that have been introduced by the other prophets. They especially deal with prophetic matters relating to the remnant of Israel.
Today, apart from about 6.7 million Jews in the land of Israel, the nation is dispersed throughout the world. They are not colonists helping to expand an empire, but until recently (1948), they have been exiles without a homeland. The prophetic Scriptures answer the question as to why Israel is outside of the land they once had, and how a remnant of that nation will return and be blessed in that land according to the promises given in the prophetic Scriptures. Historians have their explanations, Zionist religious movements have their beliefs, and politicians have their plans in regard to Israel, but those who learn the ways of God from the Word of God have an infallible guide as to what is about to happen to that nation.
The world powers are disputing the ownership of the land of Israel, but God has never given up His rights to it. He reserves to Himself the right to settle the issues concerning that land—and He will do it for His own glory and the glory of His Son, the Messiah of Israel. Until the Lord intervenes at His Appearing and brings deliverance, there will be nothing but turmoil in that land. “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him” (Ezek. 21:27).
The Minor Prophets have much to do with how God will bring a remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel into a right state to inherit their land. The Jews today may profess to hear God, but the proof of this will be in their hearing His Prophets and believing their testimony concerning the Messiah. Isaiah lamented over this very thing. They had not heeded the “report” of the Prophets concerning “the sufferings” of the Messiah and the kingdom “glories” that would follow (Isa. 53:1; 1 Peter 1:12). These prophetic writings are filled with testimonies as to Israel’s sin and their need for repentance. When they are humbled in the Great Tribulation and they own their sin and failure to the Lord, He will come in with blessing and will restore the nation (Rom. 11:26).
Three Groups of Minor Prophets
The twelve Minor Prophets, which form one book in the Hebrew Scriptures, can be divided into three groups, according to the time period in which they prophesied. Some prophesied at the time when the Assyrians were the dominant power in the world, others when the Babylonians ruled, and others when the Persians were the world power. Hence, we have three periods in which they prophesied—the Assyrian period, the Babylonian period, and the Persian period.
The Prophets of the Assyrian Period
The purpose of this present volume is to give a brief exposition of the prophets of the Assyrian era. These are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum. These prophets prophesied during the time when the great northern threat to Israel was the Assyrian. They (except Obadiah) used the Assyrian inroads in their prophecies as a figure of the future enemy of Israel—the King of the North (Dan. 11:40-42). The order in which these prophets are placed in our Bibles is not chronological, but rather, they are arranged according to the moral dealings of God with Israel. Hosea (the first of these prophets) introduces the Assyrian, and Nahum (the last of this group) gives the final destruction of that enemy.
The Prophets of the Babylonian Period
The prophets of the Babylonian period are Habakkuk and Zephaniah. They prophesied a little later during the time when the Babylonians were the great northern threat to Israel. They used the Babylonian inroads as a figure of that same future enemy of Israel—the King of the North. These prophets also focus on how God will humble and restore a remnant of the nation and how He will bring them into the millennial kingdom of Christ.
The Prophets of the Persian Period
The prophets of the Persian period are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. As mentioned, these prophesied when the Persians were the world power. The context of their writings is the return of a remnant of Jews from Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, but their prophecies look on to the end times when the Lord will effect a full restoration of a remnant composed of all 12 tribes of Israel. Hence, their focus is on the restoration of Israel, and they have been written for the encouragement of the remnant in a coming day. The moral issues that applied to the Jews who returned in those previous days in history will have an application to the remnant of Israel in the coming day.
Interpreting the Writings of the Prophets
It is important to understand that the prophecies of the so-called Major and Minor Prophets have both a near fulfillment and a far (end time) fulfillment. Much in these prophecies had its fulfillment during the lifetime of the prophet (or shortly thereafter), but there are also things mentioned in those prophecies that were not fulfilled at that previous time, which makes it evident that there is still a side of those prophecies that is yet to be fulfilled. Therefore, to get the essence of these prophecies—which is the end-time fulfillment—we must realize that the Spirit of God is using those things in history as a foreshadow to the prophetic events that are yet to come to pass. To miss this point is to reduce the prophetic writings in our Bibles to mere history.
The Indignation
Another thing that is key to understanding the prophetic Scriptures is having an outline of the events that will take place in “the Indignation” (Isa. 10:5, 25; 26:20; Dan. 8:19; 11:36, etc.). This is a short period of time (about 75 days) at the end of the Great Tribulation before the Millennium begins. Most of the prophetic writings of Scripture pertain to this short period of time and the sequence of events that will occur during that time. It is, therefore, imperative that we have a simple understanding of these things; otherwise, we will have difficulty understanding what the Prophets are referring to.
This period is called “the Indignation” because it is a time when the Lord will vent His indignation against the mass of the Jews in the land of Israel on account of their apostasy and their reception of the Antichrist and his idolatry. To accomplish His indignation against the apostate Jews, the Lord will use the armies of the King of the North and his ten-nation Arab confederacy, who have a deep-seated, long-standing hatred for Israel (Psa. 83:1-8). After these Muslim nations accomplish the Lord’s will on the apostate Jews, He will have indignation on those nations and destroy them.
These armies will sweep through the land of Israel from the north to the south and devastate it (Dan. 11:40-41). Many millions of the apostate Jews who will be back in their land at that time will be killed by this invasion (Psa. 79:1-3; Zech. 13:8). This judgment is called “the Consumption” (Dan. 9:27; Isa. 10:22-23; 28:22). After these armies have passed through the land of Israel, they will enter into Egypt with a similar destruction of that land (Dan. 11:42-43). As the King of the North is making his way into Egypt, the armies of “the Beast” (a ten-nation western confederacy – Rev. 13:1; 17:12-14; Num. 24:24) will come into the land of Israel from the west to defend what they believe is their territory. At that moment, the Lord will appear out of heaven (the Appearing of Christ) with His armies of glorified saints and will destroy the armies of the Beast with “the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:11-18). At the same time, the Lord will execute “the Harvest” judgment by dispatching His angels to cleanse the western prophetic earth of all who have rejected the gospel of the grace of God (Rev. 14:14-16; Matt. 13:37-43; 24:39-41, 50-51). This is a discriminating judgment: “one shall be taken” out for judgment and cast into the lake of fire “and the other left” to enter the kingdom on earth (Matt. 24:39-41). The first of those who will be taken out are the Beast and the Antichrist (Rev. 19:20).
When the King of the North is in Egypt, he will hear tidings that a heavenly Warrior has appeared and will turn northward to meet Him in battle in the land of Israel (Dan. 8:25; 11:44). The Lord will have indignation against these armies and execute judgment upon them (Dan. 11:45; Isa. 30:27-33).
After the Lord judges the Western powers under the Beast and the armies of the King of the North, He will restore Israel. This restoration will be accomplished in a remnant of all twelve tribes. There are two phases:
The Lord will show Himself to the remnant of the Jews who will mourn in repentance and be restored to Him (Matt. 24:30; Zech. 12:9-13:1).
The Lord will also gather the ten tribes back into the land of Israel and restore a remnant of them to Himself (Matt. 24:31; Ezek. 20:34-38; Zech. 13:4-6).
When a remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel are dwelling safely in their land under the protection of the Lord, they will be attacked by the last confederacy under Gog—the Russian hordes and their confederates (Ezek. 38-39). At that time, the Lord will
The King of the South will come up into the land of Israel (1). Then the King of the North will come down through the land and decimate it, and then enter into Egypt (2). While the King of the North is entering Egypt, the Western powers under the Beast will come in from the west (3), at which time the Lord will come out of heaven and judge them (4). The King of the North will return into the land and be destroyed by the Lord (5).
When a remnant from all twelve tribes of Israel is dwelling in their promised land under the protection of the Lord, Gog and his enormous confederacy (who will gather in the land of Edom) will mount an attack on Israel (6). The Lord will defend Israel and destroy these godless armies, after which the armies of restored Israel will put down any remaining people on their promised inheritance (7).
defend Israel from these armies by roaring out of Zion to destroy them in what is called “the Winepress” judgment (Rev. 14:17-20; Isa. 63:1-6; Joel 3:12-14). The Lord will “roar” forth from Zion (Jerusalem) to the land of Edom (the trans-Jordanic lands southeast of Israel) to destroy the confederate armies of Gog that will be assembled there (Isa. 34:1-10; 63:1-6; Joel 3:16; Hab. 3:3-16). After this, the armies of restored Israel will go out and possess their full inheritance as promised to Abraham by putting down any remaining people situated on their rightful inheritance (Psa. 47:3; Psa. 108:7-13; Isa. 11:14; Jer. 51:20-23; Ezek. 39:10; Obad. 17-20; Micah 4:13; 5:8). This will mark the end of all wars (Psa. 46:9; Zech. 9:10). After this, the Millennium (the 1000-year reign of Christ) will begin (Rev. 20:1-6).
Daniel 11:36 indicates that “the Indignation” will START when the willful king of the Jews (their false messiah—the Antichrist) ceases to reign in the land. Thus, he will reign up until the Indignation. We know from Revelation 13 that he will rise to power in the middle of Daniel’s prophetic week and will reign with the Beast for 42 months (3½ years)—the latter half of the week, which is the time of the Great Tribulation (Rev. 11:2). When the King of the North makes his inroads into the land, the Antichrist will run from his post in the land of Israel (Isa. 22:19; Zech. 11:17). Hence, the Indignation will begin at the end of the Great Tribulation with the attack of the King of the North.
Isaiah 10:25 indicates when the Indignation will END. It will cease when the Lord judges Gog and the armies of that confederacy—presented in Isaiah as the Assyrian’s second attack (Isa. 33-34). After this, the millennial kingdom of Christ will begin (Isa. 11-12; Isa. 35; Ezek. 40-48).
The Three Stages of Israel’s Deliverance
As mentioned, the Indignation will only last 75 days because the Lord has promised that His judgments on the earth will be “a short work” (Rom. 9:28). This short period of time can be computed from three verses in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, which mention three timeframes. The first (1260 days) is 18 days before the end of the prophetic week; it marks the close of the Great Tribulation with the attack of the King of the North. The other two times are really extensions that reach beyond the end of the prophetic week. Daniel was told that these time extensions are measured “from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate” is “set up” in the temple (Dan. 12:11), which is the middle of the week (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13:14-15). These dates mark three stages of Israel’s deliverance from their enemies and show that the nation’s re-establishment will not take place in one day.
At 1260 days or “time, times, and a half” (Dan. 12:7; Rev. 11:3; 12:6) the remnant of the Jews will be delivered from the persecution of the Antichrist.
At 1290 days (Dan. 12:11) the remnant of the Jews will be delivered from the King of the North.
At 1335 days (Dan. 12:12) the remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel will be delivered from Gog (Russia).
The Remnant
Another thing to understand when studying prophecy is that God’s purpose for the blessing of Israel will be accomplished in “a remnant” from both of the two tribes (the Jews) as well as from the ten tribes (Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11, 16, etc.). Scripture does not teach that every last Israelite will end up blessed of God in the kingdom of the Messiah. In fact, it tells us that most of them will prove to be unbelieving apostates; they will be destroyed by the invasion of the King of the North (Dan. 11:40-42) and by the Lord’s sifting at the border of Israel (Ezek. 11:10; 20:33-38). The purpose of God for the blessing of the nation will be accomplished in a remnant of the people who will not only have Abraham’s bloodline, but more importantly, Abraham’s faith (John 8:37-39; Rom. 9:6-8; 11:25-27). Hence, the nation of Israel will not be cast off forever. God has promised that the blindness that is over their hearts will be lifted and His blessing will be upon them (Rom. 11:25-26; 2 Cor. 3:14-16)—but this will only be in “a remnant” of the people.
Prophecy indicates that there will be two parts to the remnant, or perhaps two remnants—a remnant of Jews and a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel. In the end, the Lord will bring them together into one and they will be a remnant from all twelve tribes of Israel, and they will inherit the kingdom (Isa. 11:12-13; Ezek. 37:15-19). The Lord’s controversy with the ten tribes has to do with their breaking the legal covenant (the Law) and their involvement in idolatry. The Lord’s controversy with the two tribes (the Jews) involves their blood-guiltiness in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and also their breaking of the Law. When these things are owned by the people in true repentance (Zech. 12:10-14), the Lord will restore them to Himself (Zech. 13:1-6), and they will be the nucleus of the nation in His millennial kingdom of the Messiah.
To have an understanding of God’s dealings with Israel the student of prophecy needs to distinguish these two parts of the remnant. The responsibilities of the two are different. Therefore, He will deal with them differently in view of their restoration. The result will be the same in both—true repentance and a full restoration to the Lord. Some of the differences are:
The Jews will return to their homeland before the Great Tribulation (Isa. 18:1-4) and a remnant of them will distinguish themselves among them as having a fear of God (Isa. 8:16; 66:2; Psa. 1:1-3); the ten tribes will not come back to the land until after the Great Tribulation is over. While the mass of the ten tribes will return to their homeland, only a remnant of them will enter the land (Ezek. 11:9-11; 20:34-38; Amos 9:9-10).
The remnant of the Jews will be in the land before the Lord appears (Matt. 24:30), whereas the remnant of the ten tribes will not come back into the land until after the Lord appears (Matt. 24:31).
The Jews have rejected Christ (John 19:15) and will receive the Antichrist (John 5:43); the ten tribes are guilty of neither.
The remnant of the Jews will confess “blood-guiltiness” in the crucifixion of Christ and their breaking of the Law (Psa. 51:14; Acts 7:53); the remnant of the ten tribes will confess their failure in departing from the Law and turning to idolatry (Isa. 26:13; Hos. 14:8).
The Maschilim
There will be wise and instructed ones among the God-fearing Jewish remnant who will be more enlightened in the ways of God and His dealings with the nation of Israel. They are called “the Maschilim,” which means, “wise and instructed ones” (Dan. 11:33). These intelligent ones will act as instructors to their fellow Jews and will “turn many to righteousness” (Dan. 12:3). Their understanding will probably be such that they will see the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the nation crucified, as the true Messiah of Israel, and will encourage the others to receive Him in faith as such. The remnant of the Jews will eventually do this when Christ appears and they “look on Him whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:10-14; John 19:37). At that time, they will mourn in repentance and He will open a fountain for cleansing for them and they will be restored to Him (Zech. 13:1).
Two Parts to the Jewish Remnant
There are also two parts to the Jewish remnant. There will be a preserved portion that will be miraculously spared from the attacks of their persecutors and from other dangers. They will survive the Great Tribulation and the wars during the Indignation to enter the kingdom of Christ on earth and will reign with Him in the Millennium (Rev. 12:6, 13-17; 14:1; Psa. 91). There will also be a martyred portion of the remnant that God will allow to be killed during that time for their faithful testimony (Rev. 6:9-11; 11:2-12; 12:11; 14:2-3a; 15:2-4; Psa. 12; Isa. 57:1-2). These will be raised at the end of the Great Tribulation and will have a better portion in heaven being glorified (Rev. 14:13). They will reign with Christ over the earth with the resurrected Old Testament saints and the Church in the Millennium (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27; Rev. 20:4).
The Sifting of the Remnant of the Ten Tribes
As mentioned, the ten tribes will return to the land after the Great Tribulation under the aid of the angels of God (Matt. 24:31). Many Gentile nations who will fear God’s judgment will assist the returning Israelites as well (Isa. 14:1-2; 49:22; 60:9). They will be brought to “the border” of the land of Israel where the Lord will sift them with a discriminating judgment (Ezek. 11:9-12; 20:34-38). He will cause them to “pass under the rod” and will “purge out” those who do not have real faith. A “tenth” of them (a remnant) will be found to be real and they will be brought into “the bond of the covenant” (Isa. 6:13; Ezek. 20:37; Jer. 31:31-34). They will go up into the land and join the remnant of the two tribes. Thereafter, they will be “one” and “shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezek. 37:14-22; Isa. 11:13; 49:18-23). This will be a triumphant moment because they have been separated for about 3000 years!
The “rebels” of the ten tribes will be left at the border of the land and will be judged by the Lord when He roars out of Zion to deal with Gog and His confederates (Isa. 63:1-6; Joel 3:13-16). This is what is meant in the expression, “The angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” (Rev. 14:19). Israel is the “vine of the earth;” they are first “gathered” back to the land, and then they are “cast” into the winepress of God’s judgment.
The Prophecies of Hosea
God’s Moral Government in Connection With the Restoration of a Remnant of the Ten Tribes of Israel
The book of Hosea has to do with the moral government of God in connection with Israel—the ten northern tribes who were removed from their land in 721 BC. Hosea’s prophecies do not focus on the timing and sequence of prophetic events, as some of the other prophets do, but on the various disciplines the Lord will use to produce repentance in them, which will lead to the restoration of a remnant of the people. The book essentially announces God’s rejection of Israel on account of their unfaithfulness, and then, their eventual reception and restoration through the grace and government of God.
As already mentioned, Hosea’s prophecies are predominantly concerned with the northern kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes), yet they can be applied broadly to the whole nation. At times, he distinguishes the two tribes from the ten with a special word to the two, but the general message of the book is in connection with the ten tribes. The term “Ephraim” is used throughout the book to denote the ten tribes—the northern kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Ephraim was the largest in Israel and when the great split in the nation occurred in Jeroboam’s day (1 Kings 11-12), it became the political center of the northern kingdom. It was where their kings reigned (in the city of Samaria), and over time, it became the name for the whole northern kingdom. “Egypt” and “Assyria” are also mentioned many times in the book. Israel had complicity with these two nations for protection and help, but the sad result of it was that judgment fell upon them through those very enemies that they had befriended!
There are three sections in the book of Hosea—each ending with Israel’s restoration and blessing in the future kingdom of Christ (the Millennium). They are:
• Chapters 1-3.
• Chapters 4–6:3.
• Chapters 6:4–14:9.
Each section focuses on a different aspect of the Lord’s disciplinary actions with His people in view of producing true repentance in a remnant that would lead to their restoration to Him.
SECTION I: FROM BEING “NOT MY PEOPLE” TO BEING “MY PEOPLE”
Chapters 1-3
The discipline that the Lord uses to restore His people in this series of chapters is the fruit of their own ways. The Lord will allow them to taste the frustration and the emptiness that results from pursuing idolatry. They will be left in a terribly empty and unsatisfied state, and that will work to cause them to consider their ways and eventually lead them to turn back to the Lord, whom they had forsaken.
Chapter 1
Hosea was called to act out a parable before his fellow countrymen in order to demonstrate to the people the nation’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. He was to take a wife (“Gomer”) who would prove to be unfaithful to him, illustrating what Israel was to the Lord. In these parabolic actions, Hosea represents the Lord and his unfaithful wife represents Israel. The children she bears represent the fruit of Israel’s sins, which would bring forth the nation’s judgment in being carried into captivity. The names of her three children symbolize Jehovah’s governmental dealings with the nation as a consequence:
• “Jezreel”—(means “God will scatter”). This signified that God’s judgment was about to fall on Israel and they would be scattered and sown among the nations.
• “Loruhamah”—(means “Not having obtained mercy”). This signified the withdrawal of God’s mercy that had been upon the nation.
• “Lo-ammi”—(means “Not My people”). This signified the breaking of the Lord’s relationship with the nation whereby they would no longer be owned as His people.
Chapter 2
The Lord promises to set the nation aside under the figure of a divorce (vss. 1-2). His judgment on Israel is depicted in five expressions (vss. 3-4):
1. “Strip her naked”—The land will be deprived of its wealth and population by the devastation of an invading army (the Assyrians).
2. “Set her as in the day that she was born”—They would be left in a condition similar to their slavery in Egypt.
3. “Make her a wilderness”—The people would be bereft of the favour and blessing of the Lord.
4. “Set her in a dry land”—They would be deported to a foreign land among the Gentiles where they could not bear fruit for God (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6).
5. “Not have mercy upon her children”—Their posterity would suffer in the foreign lands to which they had been dispersed from generation to generation.
Vss. 6-13
After being justly set aside for their unfaithfulness, the Lord’s disciplinary actions will work to frustrate Israel in the pursuit of her lovers (her idols) by allowing them to experience the futility of idolatry. It will leave them feeling empty and dissatisfied. “I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and will make a wall [fence] that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them” (vss. 6-7). The Lord will frustrate everything that they will pursue during the time of their estrangement from Him, and this will cause them to consider their ways and have them eventually retrace their footsteps. Finally, they will say, “I will go and return to my first husband: for then was it better with me than now” (vs. 7b).
Vss. 14-23
The Lord will work in the power of “grace” and “love” with a remnant of the people (Jer. 31:2-3), and they will feel their emptiness. He will speak to them tenderly and will draw them back to Himself. The result will be true repentance in the people and the Lord will consequently draw them back to their homeland (Jer. 31:18-21), at which time He will restore the nation and His relationship with them. Israel’s restoration in a coming day will all be the Lord’s doing. This is seen in the great number of times “I will” is stated by the Lord in the latter half of chapter 2:
• “I will allure her ... and speak to her heart”—The Lord will effect an awakening in His people by touching their hearts in grace in “the wilderness”—the foreign lands into which they have been scattered (vs. 14).
• “I will give her vineyards”—The Lord will effect a return to their land where they will possess their God-given inheritance (vs. 15).
• “I will give her ... the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there”—He will bring them to judge themselves (Josh. 7:24-26), and this will result in the joy of redemption from captivity and servitude (vs. 15).
• “Thou shalt call Me Ishi [my Husband]”—He will re-establish His ties with Israel under the figure of a marriage relationship, and they will no longer associate the name of the Lord with idolatry (“Baalim”) (vs. 16; Isa. 62:4-5).
• “I will make a covenant with the beasts”—He will lift the curse that covers the whole earth, “the bondage of corruption” (Rom. 8:20-22; Isa. 35:1-10).
• “I will break the bow and the sword”—He will grant His people peace and security in their land.
• “I will betroth thee unto Me”—He will cause His love to be enjoyed by His people as first love (Rev. 2:4).
• “I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth”—He will cause an abundance of fruitfulness and prosperity in their land.
• “I will sow her unto Me in the earth”—Restored Israel will be rooted in their inheritance throughout the Millennium.
• “I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My people, Thou art My people; and they shall say, Thou art my God”—He will bring them into the new covenant relationship with Himself (Jer. 31:34).
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 summarizes this work of the Lord in His people. It gives a quick recap of His intentions to restore Israel to Himself and this is demonstrated in symbolic actions by Hosea. He is told to “love a woman beloved of her friend.” This woman was Gomer (chap. 1:3), but she is not called his wife here because she had been set aside on account of her adultery. “Her friend” is her adulterous lover. Hosea is instructed to purchase her to himself, depicting Jehovah’s intentions with unfaithful Israel. The price he pays is not a dowry, but the price of a female slave. After he “bought” her, Hosea was to put her in a position where she could not carry on her whoredom anymore. She was not to live with him as his wife, but to sit as a widow until her time of moral cleansing was complete (vss. 1-3). Thus, Israel will abide “many days” under the disciplinary dealings of the Lord in a state of widowhood—“without a king” and “without a sacrifice” (vs. 4). This refers to the present day when the nation has been set aside temporarily in the ways of God (Dan. 9:26b; Hos. 5:15; Micah 5:3; Zech. 11; Rom. 11:11-27), and God has turned His attention to the calling of the Gentiles by the gospel of His grace (Acts 15:14). This present-day work of God is an interposed, heavenly calling of the Church.
Then, “afterward,” when “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25), the Lord will cause a “return” of the children of Israel to their land, and more importantly, to the Lord, whereupon they will experience “His goodness” in their “latter days” (vs. 5). Thus, in this 3rd chapter we have:
• What Israel was in the past—an unfaithful adulteress (vs. 1).
• What Israel is at the present—in a state of widowhood “without a king” and “without a sacrifice,” etc., during their time of dispersion among the nations (vs. 4).
• What Israel will be in the future when they return to their land and to the Lord (vs. 5).
Chapters 4–6:3
The discipline the Lord uses to restore His people, in chapters 1-3, is the fruit of their own ways. They will experience frustration and emptiness resulting from their own pursuit of idolatry, and it will work to turn them back to the Lord. But now, in this next series of chapters, the discipline the Lord uses is the withdrawal of the sense of His presence from them (chaps. 4:17; 5:6, 15). This will produce an awful sense of abandonment in their souls and it will work to produce repentance in a remnant of the people, as they return to the Lord and are restored to Him (chap. 6:1-3).
In these chapters, Israel’s unfaithfulness is exposed in all walks of life—from the common people, the priests, and even in the king.
Chapter 4:1-5
Hosea warns of the consequent chastisement that will be inflicted on the land and the Lord’s withdrawal from them. He presents the Lord’s case against the “inhabitants of the land.” The people had filled the land with violence and corruption. The Lord appointed a drought as a consequent punishment for this, according to the old Mosaic covenant judgments (Deut. 11:16-17).
Chapter 4:6-14
Next, Hosea presents the Lord’s case against “the priests.” They were responsible to teach the people the knowledge of the Lord (Deut. 31:9-13; Mal. 2:7), but they had failed in this. The Lord says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The reason for it was that the priests had “rejected knowledge” themselves! They had “forgotten the Law of God,” and many other sins are laid to their charge—the crowning sin was that of the whoredom of idolatry which “takes away the heart” from the Lord (vs. 11).
Vss. 12-13
Under normal conditions, the people were to seek counsel at the priest’s mouth because they were the Lord’s messengers (Mal. 2:7), but because they had completely failed to represent the Lord, the people were turning to idols and were asking “counsel at their stocks and their staff.” This was the pitiful result of the breakdown among the priests of the Lord. They had turned the people away from the Lord, and He held them responsible for it (vss. 12-13).
Vs. 14
As a consequence, the Lord states that He “will not” immediately step in and “punish” His erring people, but rather, He would let them have their fling with it. He would withdraw from them and allow them to feel a sense of His abandonment (vs. 14). (See also chapters 4:17; 5:6, 15.)
Chapter 4:15-19
Hosea warns the southern kingdom of Judah to resist the temptation of visiting the two chief shrines of idolatry located in the south of the northern kingdom of Israel—“Gilgal” and “Bethaven.” Bethaven was a condemnatory name for Bethel, meaning, “house of wickedness,” because the idol-calf was there (chaps. 5:8; 10:5, 8, 14).
Chapter 5:1-15
Lastly, Hosea presents the Lord’s case against “the king,” the ruler of the people. Judgment was toward him because he had permitted shrines for idolatry in “Mizpah” and on mount “Tabor.” These were a “snare” to the people, and therefore, the Lord held him directly responsible (vs. 1).
Hosea tells the people that the Lord knew about their sin of idolatry; it was “not hid” from Him, and He would visit the land in judgment because of it. Again, the Lord’s disciplinary action on the people would be the withdrawal of His presence from them. The people would “go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them” (vss. 2-6).
The alarm of an invading army is portrayed by Hosea in his calling for “the cornet” and “the trumpet” to be blown and for the people to “cry aloud” (Num. 10:9). Judgment was coming upon the land and the northern kingdom (“Ephraim”) would be “desolate in the day of rebuke” (vss. 8-9). The southern kingdom (“Judah”) would be smitten too (vs. 10). Hosea doesn’t disclose who the invader will be but emphasizes that they would not have the Lord to protect them. (The next section of the book—chaps. 6:4–14:9—indicates that the invader will be the Assyrian.)
The Lord announces: “I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early” (vs. 15). Having lost a sense of the Lord’s presence and feeling very much abandoned, will eventually work to reach the hearts of a remnant of the people and they will turn to Him and seek His face in reality, and this will lead to their restoration. This is seen in chapter 6.
Chapter 6:1-3
The prophet portrays the voice of the remnant of Israel in their repentant state, saying: “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.” Thus, there will be a return of a remnant of all twelve tribes to the Lord and they will be restored to Him. Verse 2 tells us when this will be: “After two days” (the present interval of the Day of Grace, which is about 2000 years – Psalm. 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8) “will He revive us: in the third day” (the millennial day) “He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” This is quite remarkable; it indicates that the Lord will effect a national resurrection of Israel (which “the third day” also signifies), and that they will live in a happy relationship with the Lord in His 1000-year reign over the whole world (the Millennium). He will shower blessings (“the latter and former rain”) upon the nation until there won’t be “room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10).
Chapters 6:4–14:9
The discipline the Lord uses to humble His people (the ten tribes of Israel) in these chapters is the coming invasion of the Assyrians and their exile to Assyria. The Assyrian inroads in this section are not a picture of the King of the North, as elsewhere in the Prophets. The attack of the King of the North will be against the apostate Jews in the land of Israel who have received the Antichrist. The ten tribes will not be in the land at that time; they don’t return until after that attack. Thus, the Assyrian inroads alluded to in these chapters are seen as God’s instrument to judge the northern kingdom of Israel historically (721 B.C.) and to deport them as captives to a foreign land.
The various kinds of chastening taken up in these three sections of the book (coupled with the overtures of the Lord’s grace and love) will work together to humble a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel and to prepare them for restoration. The one determining factor that will bring restoration to the nation is the people’s genuine repentance as to idolatry, as described in chapter 14.
Causes For the Coming Judgment by the Assyrian
In this series of chapters, Hosea states the reasons for the Lord’s judgment on Israel in scattering them by the hand of the Assyrian. There were a number of evils that the people were involved in, and such evils justify this judgment from the Lord.
As stated in the Introduction, it is important to understand that these prophecies have a double application—a near fulfillment and also an end-time fulfillment. Hence, they are not recorded in Scripture merely for their historical value, but for having to do with the Lord’s people (the ten tribes) in a coming day. The despicable moral state of the people in Hosea’s day, which called for their judgment historically, depicts a similar state of things that will exist in the future among the ten tribes scattered over the world.
First—Chapter 6:4-6
The first reason for the impending judgment was the people’s departure in heart from the Lord. The Lord grieves and mourns over this. Their “goodness” (their love) was empty and insincere. As “a morning cloud” and “the early dew that goes away,” their love had evaporated (vs. 4). He wanted the affection of His people, not an outward performance of ritual: “I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice.” But His warnings to their consciences (“I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth”) did not turn them back (vss. 5-6).
Second—Chapter 6:7-9
Secondly, they, like “Adam, transgressed the covenant” and turned the land into a place of violence. Cities of refuge (Josh. 20) which had been appointed for the safety of the manslayer had turned into places of murder! “Gilead,” wherein was Ramoth (a city of refuge), was “polluted with blood” (murder). Likewise, in “Shechem,” (another city of refuge) the priests lurked as a band of robbers and murdered travelers seeking asylum there!
Third—Chap. 6:10-11
Thirdly, the whole nation—north (“the house of Israel”) and south (“Judah”)—had defiled themselves by their involvement in idolatry (“whoredom”) (vss. 10-11a).
Fourth—Chapter 7:1-7
Fourthly, the people were guilty of conspiring against their kings and assassinating them. Of their 17 kings in total, only eight had died of a natural death! The books of the Kings record one conspiracy after another—especially in their later years.
Apparently, the last words of chapter 6 belong to chapter 7. “When I returned the captivity of My people; when I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria.” Thus, the Lord desired to restore and bless Israel, but all His gracious overtures toward them only resulted in a greater manifestation of their wickedness.
Israel’s kings were a reflection of the state of the people, and those leaders were immersed in debauchery, moral depravity, and idolatry. “Samaria” was the administrative center of the northern kingdom; it was where the king and his officials resided. But instead of ruling in righteousness, there was corruption in the royal court—with the “king” and the “princes” and the “judges” (vss. 3-7). The king (Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam II – 2 Kings 15:8-9; Hosea 1:1) had surrounded himself with unsavory characters who entertained him “with their wickedness.” The princes were liars (vs. 3). Hosea uses the imagery of a “baker” working with leaven (which is a symbol of evil in Scripture) to depict their complicity with various evils (vs. 4).
Verses 5-7 apparently refer to the courtiers’ plot of the king’s assassination. “The day of the king” was some celebration given in his honour. The assassins “made ready their heart” with a plan to kill him, like the heat in a baker’s oven billowing forth. They would make him drunk (“sick with bottles of wine”) and “lie in wait” for an opportunity to kill him. They killed off “their judges” in the same treacherous way. In fact, in a period of 20 years four of Israel’s kings were conspired against and killed by assassination (2 Kings 15). Thus, the prophet says: “All their kings have fallen.” The prophet records the Lord’s grief that none among them had faith—“There is none among them that calleth unto Me.”
Fifth—Chapter 7:8-12
Fifthly, Israel had made foreign alliances with the heathen nations for what they thought would be for their protection, instead of relying on the Lord (2 Kings 15:19-20; 17:4; Isa. 7:2; 30:1-2; 31:1-4). The Lord had stated that they were to remain separate from the Gentile nations, socially and politically, because those nations would corrupt them (Deut. 7:1-4; Judg. 2:2-3, etc.). Notwithstanding, Hosea reports: “Ephraim, he mixeth himself with the peoples.” “Peoples” (plural) is a word used in Scripture to denote the Gentiles. Such unholy links with the nations were disastrous. It stunted their spiritual growth as a half-cooked “cake” (vs. 8). It caused them to lose their moral power and discernment (vs. 9). It hardened them toward the Lord so that they would not seek His face (vs. 10). It also took their hearts away from the Lord, and consequently, they had become “like a silly dove without heart” (vs. 11). Such were the sad effects of their mixing with the world. As a governmental judgment on Israel, the Lord would allow them to be captured by the heathen nations with whom they flirted. The Assyrians would take them in the “net” that the Lord had spread for them and deport them from their land (vs. 12).
Sixth—Chapter 7:13-16
Sixthly, their cries to the Lord were empty and insincere. In having “wandered [strayed]” from the Lord, there would be “destruction unto them” by the Assyrians. In view of the approaching invasion, they called on the Lord for deliverance, as they did with all their other gods. He would “have redeemed them” from their enemy, but their cry to Him was sheer hypocrisy. He said, “They have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble [cut] themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against Me ... .they return, but not to the Most High.” They cried unto Him and worshipped Him as though they were approaching unto Baal! The Septuagint says that they “cut themselves” (rather than “assemble themselves” – KJV), which is a practice connected with Baal worship (1 Kings 18:28). This was something forbidden for Israelites (Deut. 14:1). They wailed on their beds, but it was not mixed with faith and repentance. It was really just faithless rebellion. Such were the unstable ways of those whose hearts were engulfed in idolatry. They were “like a deceitful bow” that would shoot unreliably in a wrong direction because it was warped and twisted. When the inevitable destruction by the Assyrians overflowed the northern kingdom of Israel, they would be mocked and derided by those “in the land of Egypt.”
The Approach of the Assyrian Invasion
Chapter 8
Then, in chapter 8, the prophet gives a graphic description of the coming Assyrian invasion. This is done to arrest the people as to the reality of the coming judgment and to turn them to the Lord while there was time to be delivered from it. Hence, we are now formally introduced to the Assyrian in the book of Hosea.
Historically, the Assyrian invasion from the north took some time to complete as they besieged and overthrew one city after another in the land of Israel. This was carried out by a succession of their kings. It began with Tiglath-pileser (Pul), and was continued by Shalmaneser V, and then Sargon II, and Sennacherib, and was completed by Esarhaddon who subjugated the land and deported the remaining tribes of Israel. This covered a period of years—from 743 B.C. to 668 B.C.
Chapter 8:1-4
Chap. 8:1-4—As a consequence of the people’s departure from God, the land would be devastated by the invading armies of the Assyrian. To portray this devastation, the prophet was commanded to sound an alarm with “the trumpet” because those armies were coming against the land to plunder it. They would come with the swiftness of “an eagle” (some translations say “vulture”) against “the house of the LORD.” The house of the Lord is not the actual temple in Jerusalem, but rather, a term that the prophet uses for the whole house of Israel—the people. Hosea proceeds to give another list of reasons for the judgment:
• They had transgressed the covenant (vs. 1a).
• They had rebelled against the Law (vs. 1b).
• They had cast off what is good (vs. 3).
• They had set up their own kings and princes (vs. 4a).
• They had wasted their wealth on idolatry (vs. 4b).
Chapter 8:5-8
Chap. 8:5-8—The prophet gives the Lord’s disgust with Samaria’s “calf.” This is a reference to their idolatrous system of worship established by Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:28-33). As we know, he had made two calves and set them in Bethel and Dan, but Samaria was the administrative center of the northern kingdom of Israel, and thus, responsible for the idolatry. The prophet, therefore, refers to that whole system as Samaria’s calf. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, he says, “I have spurned thy calf, O Samaria” (RSV). The Lord’s “anger” was against that whole system of worship. The calf was “not God” because a “workman made it.” Therefore, “the calf of Samaria” would be broken in pieces by the Assyrians (vs. 6). Israel had sown a crop of all manner of sins to “the wind” and they would now “reap the whirlwind” (vs. 7)—an allusion to the Assyrian invasion. Israel was supposed to be a separated people among the nations, but they were “swallowed up” among the Gentiles and this mixture made them “as a vessel wherein is no pleasure” to the Lord (vs. 8).
Chapter 8:9-14
Chap. 8:9-14—Hosea restates the two outstanding sins of Israel:
1. They sought to effect their deliverance from the Assyrian through their own efforts instead of turning to the Lord (vss. 9-10).
2. Their worship of the Lord was mixed with idolatry—calf-worship (vss. 11-14).
As to the first thing, Israel’s foreign affairs were an offence to the Lord. They had “gone up to Assyria” like “a wild ass” (vs. 9). This is a reference to the gifts they had sent to the king of Assyria to appease him, in hopes of encouraging him to retreat from his inroads into the land. They had also “hired among the nations” military help for protection from the Assyrian invasion, which the prophet says is akin to having “hired lovers.” Thus, they were trying to deliver themselves from this invasion rather than by calling on the Lord for His help. They were leaning on the arm of the flesh which would be of no use (Jer. 17:5). The Lord would “gather” those nations against them and “in a little while” (the margin of KJV) they would be in “sorrow” under “the burden of the king of princes”—the Assyrian king (vs. 10).
As to the second thing, Israel had made “many altars” with the idea of worshipping the Lord, but the proliferation of altars only became the occasion “to sin” (idolatry). The Lord had promised them “great things” in the “Law,” but they disregarded the Law and treated it “as a strange thing” (vss. 11-12). On this ground, the Lord would not accept their sin offerings and trespass offerings and their sins and iniquities would be retained against them. The invasion would result in their being taken into captivity, as when the nation was in the land of “Egypt” in Moses’ day—only this time, their captivity would be in Assyria (vs. 13).
In verse 14, Hosea restates Israel’s two outstanding sins—“Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth (idolatrous) temples.” The consequence is also restated; the whole land—not just the northern kingdom but the southern kingdom in Judah also—would be devastated by “fire”—a symbol of judgment. This would come by the hand of the Assyrian armies.
The Blessings and Privileges Forfeited Through the Assyrian Invasion
Chapter 9
In chapter 9, Hosea turns to speak of the blessings and privileges that Israel would forfeit as a result of the coming judgment. By bringing this before the people, the Lord (through the prophet) was making a further attempt to lead them to repentance. Perhaps if they realized what they would lose they would turn to the Lord in sincerity and He would deliver them. The Spirit of God will work in a similar way with the ten scattered tribes in a coming day. They will review what they have lost through their pursuit of idolatry, and it, in the end, will produce a genuine work of repentance among them.
Hosea touches on a number of things that were about to be taken from them by the invasion of the Assyrians. For the ten tribes in the coming day, these things will be seen in retrospect.
1) Vss. 1-3—The privilege of living in their promised land would be forfeited. He says, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land.” Under the reign of Jeroboam II (one of their latter kings) Israel enjoyed great prosperity and the people felt quite secure in it—but it was temporary. Israel was told, “rejoice not” (vs. 1). Their unfaithfulness (spiritual adultery) was of such a magnitude that the land would be stripped (vs. 2) and the people would be deported to a foreign land (vs. 3). God was not going to allow impiety to continue in the land indefinitely. The prophet, therefore, announces: “They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land,” but would go into captivity, and thus, “return to Egypt” in the sense of being in bondage and in need of deliverance. They would literally be carried captive into “Assyria” where they would live an un-kosher lifestyle—eating “unclean things.”
2) Vss. 4-6—The privilege of being able to bring sacrifices to the Lord at their yearly feasts would be forfeited. The people neglected to do this when they had the opportunity, but being deported from their land, they would not be able to bring sacrifices to the Lord in that God-given way if they wanted to. All such attempts at sacrificing to the Lord would be defiled “as the bread of mourners.” Those who touched such sacrifices would be ceremonially unclean (“polluted”) and they would not be accepted by the Lord. The prophet reasons with the people, asking them what they would do when they were in captivity and when the time of their annual feasts of Jehovah came—they would not be able to keep them. “What will ye do in the day of assembly, and in the day of the feast of Jehovah?” The inhabitants would be “gone because of destruction.” The few survivors who would flee to “Egypt” and “Memphis” would die there. The land would be bereft of its spoils; instead of it producing its fruits, there would be “nettles” and “thorns.”
3) Vss. 7-9—The ministry of the prophets would be forfeited. In “the days of visitation” (the Assyrian inroads against the land), these men would be smitten with blindness and a loss of discernment. Consequently, they would speak as though they were “mad.” As watchmen over “Ephraim,” they were once “with my God,” but they would become “a fowler’s snare” to the people. As a result of the Assyrian inroads, the nation would be reduced to a remnant. The nation’s guilt was as “Gibeah”—the place where unbridled passion caused the tribe of Benjamin to be reduced to a handful of people (Judg. 19-20; Isa. 17:6).
4) Vs. 10—They would forfeit the sense of the Lord’s approval. At first, when the Lord picked up the nation of Israel, they were like moist “grapes” and “figs” to a traveler in the desert—they were a pleasure to the Lord. As Israel of old forfeited their relationship with the Lord by going after “Baal-Peor” (Num. 25), they were doing the same in Hosea’s day by going after vile abominations. He could no longer put His approbation upon them.
5) Vs. 11—Israel’s glory as a nation would be forfeited. “Ephraim,” at one time, had a certain respect and glory before the nations, but this would be taken away. “Their glory shall fly away like a bird.” Three stages of retrogression are mentioned to indicate the nation’s apostasy—“from the birth, and from the womb, and from conception”—they were going backwards (Isa. 28:13).
6) Vss. 12-13—The Lord’s divine protection would be forfeited. “Woe unto them when I depart from them.” The nation would be exposed to any and all who would attack them. Hence, they would bring forth their children to “the murderer” (the Assyrian).
7) Vss. 14-15—They would forfeit a sense of the Lord’s love. The Lord promises, “I will drive them out of Mine house, I will love them no more.”
8) Vs. 16—They would forfeit their ability to bear fruit for God. “Israel is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit” and become “wanderers among the nations.”
The remnant of the ten tribes of Israel in a coming day will consider how foolish the nation has been in pursuing its sinful course of idolatry, and it will kindle a desire in them to have those things again. It will cause them to reconsider their course, and “a tenth” will return to the Lord in genuine repentance (Isa. 6:13).
All That the Nation Had Built Up and Trusted in Would Be Taken Away
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 announces Israel’s end—the fall of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17). It shows that not only would Israel forfeit many divine blessings and privileges through their disobedience, but all that the ten tribes (the northern kingdom) had built up in their alienation from the divine center at Jerusalem would also be taken away in the day of visitation.
Verses 1-8
Hosea mentions three evil things in particular that they took pride in that only perpetuated their separation from the house of David in Judah (the southern kingdom):
1) Vss. 1-3—They would lose their kingship dynasties. Through their pursuit of idolatry, the nation had become “an unpruned vine” that did not bring forth fruit to God. Instead, all its time and energy had been used to further the pursuit of idolatry. They used the prosperity in the land to “increase the altars” of idolatry, and this only “divided” their hearts from the Lord. The Assyrian inroads would put an end to their kingship, and they would be forced to say: “We have no king, because we feared not the LORD.”
2) Vss. 4-6—They would lose their idolatrous calf center. The corrupt religious “glory” connected with “the calf of Bethaven” would also be taken away. The calf would be carried into Assyria “for a present to king Jareb.” “Jareb” means ‘great,’ and could be translated, “the great king”—i.e. the king of Assyria.
3) Vss. 7-8—Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom, would be destroyed. The Assyrian armies would level Samaria and the high places in the land that the people wasted their energies to build. “Samaria” and its “king” would float away like “foam upon the water.” They would have great shame for trusting their idols and would ask “the mountains” to fall on them and hide them.
Verses 9-15
The remnant of Israel in their scattered state will weigh these things in their hearts. They will think of how the nation has wasted its money, its time, and its energy for things that have all come to naught. They will take account of the fact that their fleshly endeavours have produced nothing good, and it will cause much soul-searching.
Vs. 9—The Spirit of prophecy working in the remnant will have them consider that what has befallen the nation was a just judgment of God. Their history has been a course of self-will and disobedience from “the days of Gibeah” (Judg. 19-20). As mentioned earlier, “Gibeah” is significant in Israel’s history because it’s where a whole tribe (Benjamin) was essentially destroyed because it defended its sin rather than owning it. The end would be the same for the northern kingdom of Israel—and for the same reason—because they refused to own their guilt and turn from their sin.
Vs. 10—The Lord determined to “chastise” the nation by allowing the Assyrians (“the peoples”) to gather against them, and to “bind them” and lead them into captivity. This was a just judgment on account of their “two iniquities”—their having “forsaken the Lord” and having turned to the “broken cisterns” of idolatry (Jer. 2:13).
Vss. 11-12—Even though the Lord would have to do this, He would also produce repentance in a remnant of the people under the figure of plowing. He promises to make “Ephraim to ride” and “Judah” to “plow,” and “Jacob” to “break his clods.” Plowing denotes the exercise of soul-searching that leads to self-judgment. Consequently, the people are exhorted: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” The remnant of the ten tribes of Israel will consider this exhortation, and in their dispersion, they will begin to seek the Lord.
Vss. 13-15—God will bring them back over the nation’s history and have them to judge its whole course of sin in connection with idolatry. They will consider that the nation had “plowed wickedness” and consequently, had “reaped iniquity.” They had trusted in “their way” and in the multitude of their “mighty men” (their army), but the roar of battle (“a tumult”) from the Assyrian destroyed “Bethel” (the calf-center), and their “king” was “cut off.”
The remnant in a coming day will be forced to own that the setting up of their kings, the appointing of idolatrous calf-centers, and the establishment of Samaria as their capital in separation from the divine center in Jerusalem was a sinful pursuit from the beginning. They will see that the Lord was just in what He brought upon the nation by the hand of the Assyrian, and they will justify God in allowing them to be scattered.
The Lord’s Love and Compassion on Erring Israel—Encouragement to the Remnant to Return
Chapter 11
Chapter 11— In a coming day, when the remnant of the ten tribes see that the historical judgments of the Lord on Israel were just and right, He will cause an overwhelming sense of His love to touch their hearts. It will be a further step in their softening in view of their restoration. They will be led to see that in spite of all their failure, the Lord still loves them (Jer. 31:3). This will come home to them with much gravity.
To depict this work of the Spirit in the remnant, Hosea turns to speak of the Lord’s love for Israel. Interspersed throughout the chapter, he mentions the sad response of Israel to the Lord’s love in their past history. When they review how they, as a nation, have responded to his love with indifference and rebellion, they will be greatly humbled.
Vss. 1-7
Vss. 1-7—Hosea traces the Lord’s love for Israel right back to their very beginning. “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt.” Israel’s sad response was to turn and sacrifice to “Baalim!” In spite of their unfaithfulness, the Lord graciously continued to show His love toward them. The picture of a father teaching his son to walk is used as a touching demonstration of the Lord’s tender love for Israel in the nation’s early days. He says, “I taught Ephraim also to walk, taking them by their arms.” And, “I drew them with the cords of a man, with bands of love.” As a result of their waywardness, the nation would need chastisement and correction. But the Lord promises that they would not go back to “Egypt,” but instead, they would have the “Assyrian” to reign over them, and “the sword” would abide on their cities because of their “bent to backsliding.”
Vss. 8-9
Vss. 8-9—Hosea continues to speak of the Lord’s compassion on His people. When they rebelled and the Lord should have destroyed them, His compassion overcame His wrath and He promised not to do it. “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee up, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within Me, My repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man.” Such is the love and compassion of the Lord. A sense of this will take hold of the remnant of the ten tribes of Israel in a coming day. They will begin to think of how good the Lord has been to them, in spite of how shamefully they have acted, and it will produce repentance in them, because “the goodness of God” leads people to “repentance” (Rom. 2:4). They will take account of the dealings of the Lord with them and will be amazed at the incredible patience He has had.
Vss. 10-11
Vss. 10-11—Not only does the Lord promise not to destroy the nation; He promises to restore them! Hosea says, “They shall walk after the LORD.” The Lord would “roar like a lion”—not in judgment, but to summon Israel to return to their homeland. “The children (of Israel) shall hasten from the west: they shall hasten as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria.” He promises to “place them in their houses”—a reference to their being brought back to dwell in their proper inheritance again. The remnant will understand this message and will be encouraged to think of returning to the land of Israel.
The Lord’s Reception of Wayward Jacob—Further Encouragement to the Remnant to Return
Chapter 12
Chapter 12—Another thing that the Spirit of God will press upon the remnant of Israel is the Lord’s willingness to receive and bless wayward sinners when they turn to Him. This is depicted in the Lord’s dealings with Jacob.
Vss. 1-2
Vss. 1-2—The last verse of chapter 11 properly belongs to the subject of chapter 12. Hosea does not minimize the seriousness of Israel’s sin by emphasizing that Ephraim had encompassed the Lord with “lies” and “deceit” (chap. 11:12). They were presently “feeding on the wind,” which depicts the emptiness of life without the Lord. They had also made alliances with the world (Assyria and Egypt) which God could not bless. Such was the state of the nation being far from God. The southern kingdom of “Judah” was no better; the Lord had a controversy with them too.
Vss. 3-5
Vss. 3-5—Hosea then brings before us the Lord’s dealings with Jacob in the past. Being the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, he is often used in Scripture as a representative of the nation. Seven instances are taken from Jacob’s life.
Seven Instances Taken From Jacob’s Life:
1. His actions in “the womb” (vs. 3).
2. His wrestling with “the Angel” (vs. 4a).
3. His being found of the Lord “in Bethel” (vs. 4a).
4. His communion with the Lord “there” (vs. 4b).
5. His commercial practices of “deceit” (vs. 7).
6. His flight to “the country of Syria” (vs. 12a).
7. His labour in that land for “a wife” (vs. 12b).
Jacob was a crooked man from his beginning. This is indicated by the fact that he took hold of his brother “by the heel in the womb” (Gen. 25:26). There is scarcely a person more wayward in Scripture than Jacob, yet through the humbling disciplines of the Lord, when he turned to the Lord, he got a blessing! (Gen. 32:24-32) There came a turning point in his life when he had it out with the Lord—he “wrestled with God” and “wept and made supplication unto Him” in sincerity, and the Lord received him and blessed him. He was “found” of the Lord “in Bethel” (Gen. 28:10-22), but it wasn’t until many years later (when he was restored to the Lord) that the Lord “spake” with him and his family (“us”) “there” in Bethel (Gen. 35:15). This speaks of renewed fellowship and communion.
Vs. 6
Vs. 6—The remnant of the ten tribes in a coming day will be led to consider this, and it will have a profound effect on them. The nation of Israel has been as crooked as their father Jacob, and if the Lord can receive and bless erring Jacob, He can do the same with them. As a result of such deliberations, an overwhelming sense of the Lord’s great forgiveness will impress them (Psa. 103:3; 130:4; Isa. 43:25; Mic. 7:18-19) and they will hear the voice of the Spirit, saying, “Turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God.”
Vss. 7-11
Vss. 7-11—Hosea continues to speak of Jacob. He points to the outstanding sin that marked his life—using deceit to amass wealth. “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress [defraud].” Israel is guilty of the same sin. “Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.” They prided themselves in their success and refused to acknowledge that it was gotten by sinful practices.
In spite of this, the Lord’s ultimate restoration of a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel will not be frustrated (vs. 9). As with Jacob, the Lord is not going to allow Israel to continue in this course in a foreign land forever. He will restore them. As their Deliverer, He brought Israel “out from the land of Egypt” and made them to “dwell in tents” in journeying through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. He spoke to them by the mouth of “prophets” and with many “visions.” Such were His rich provisions bestowed upon them (vs. 10). The Lord promises to do the very same with the ten tribes of Israel by bringing them on their journey back to that land. But now, everything would be laid out in ruins on account of their idolatry. Their sacrifices in the false centers of “Gilead” (east of Jordan) and “Gilgal” (west of Jordan) were not acceptable, even if they were the largest expression of worship (“bullocks”) because they were not offered in the place the Lord had chosen (Jerusalem), and they were mixed with idolatry (vs. 11).
Vss. 12-14
Vss. 12-14—Consequently, like Jacob, the nation would become a fugitive in the land of “Syria” serving their captors with hard labour. Even though Jacob was in a foreign land, the Lord providentially watched over him until it was time to bring him home again. Similarly, the ten tribes would not remain scattered in the earth forever; He will bring them home again. “By a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt and by a prophet was he preserved” (Deut. 34:10). As the Lord guided and preserved Israel of old until they reached their promised land, He will providentially care for the tribes of Israel and bring them safely to their homeland. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that the Lord will send His “angels” to guide the tribes of Israel back (Matt. 24:31). Isaiah tells us that God will also stir up some of the Gentile nations, and they will help them to return to their land (Isa. 14:1-2; 49:22; 60:9).
The Spirit of God will use these things to impress upon the scattered ten tribes the greatness of the Lord’s grace to forgive and restore His people, and to safely bring them back to their land. It will be a strong encouragement for them to return and be restored to the Lord. But for the present, their guilt (“blood”) was still upon them (vs. 14).
The Lord’s Promises to Israel—Further Encouragement for the Remnant to Return to Him
Chapter 13
Chapter 13—The Lord promises to raise the nation of Israel “from death” and “the grave” (vs. 14). This is their national resurrection. Being scattered to the “four winds” (Matt. 24:31) the nation has lain dormant in the earth for many centuries, but the Lord will raise them up again (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:2). This will be a further encouragement for the remnant to return to their homeland and be a part of this national resurrection.
Vss. 1-3
Vss. 1-3—The prophet begins by speaking of how the nation got into the condition of spiritual death in the first place. In fulfillment of Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49, “Ephraim” became a powerful tribe with much influence in Israel. When they spoke on some matter in Israel, “there was trembling” among the rest of the tribes. But this led to a pride problem. He got carried away with his importance and “exalted himself in Israel.” Besides that, he offended by turning to idolatry (“Baal”). The result was that they “died” spiritually—hence, there was a total disconnection of fellowship with the Lord (vs. 1). This was not just the case in the tribe of Ephraim, but the whole ten tribes. Instead of turning to the Lord in their state of spiritual death, they sinned “more and more” by multiplying idols (vs. 2).
FOUR SIMILES—Describe the Dissolution of the Nation
The consequent judgment of the Lord meant that the northern kingdom of Israel would be dissolved and carried away (vs. 3). Four similes are used to describe the dissolution of the nation:
1. A “morning cloud” (mist) that vanishes in the heat.
2. An “early dew” that evaporates.
3. “Chaff” that is blown away in the wind.
4. “Smoke” that dissipates in the air.
THREE PROMISES of the Lord
Vss. 4-14
Vss. 4-14—In spite of the death and dissolution of the northern kingdom, the Lord makes three great promises to them. This activity of pure sovereign grace (Jer. 31:2) will come as a great encouragement to them:
1. The Lord would be their Saviour-God (vss. 4-8).
2. The Lord would be their King (vss. 9-11).
3. The Lord would be their Redeemer (vss. 12-14).
First Promise—Vss. 4-8
Vss. 4-8—Firstly, the Lord promises that there would be a day when they would know “no god” but Him—the Saviour-God. That is, they would be led to judge their idolatry once and for all. But for the time being, they had “forgotten” Him, even though He took them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness and filled their pastures in the land of Canaan. The Lord wanted to be the great Protector of the nation of Israel, but their sin forced Him to be their Destroyer. He would have to meet them as a “lion,” a “leopard,” a “bear,” and a “lioness,” and would tear down the nation.
Second Promise—Vss. 9-11
Vss. 9-11—Secondly, the Lord promises: “I will be thy King.” The duty of the king was to go out and save the people from their enemies and to keep the nation in peace and safety (1 Sam. 8:20). But that was not the case in Israel. Hence, the Lord asks: “Where now is thy king?” (J. N. Darby Trans.) Embarrassing as it was, king Hoshea was in prison at that time, and could not help them (2 Kings 17:4). Even though the nation had “destroyed” itself with idolatry, the Lord promises, “In Me is thine help.” There was hope for the nation, but only in Him.
The people had asked for “kings and princes,” thinking that they would deliver them, but they were of no help—they only led the people away from the Lord! In His permissive will, the Lord “gave” the ten tribes of Israel “a king” (Jeroboam – 2 Kings 11:37), but He “took [him] away” in His “wrath”—Hoshea, whom the Assyrians removed. (“Him,” in the KJV, is in italics, denoting that the word is not in the text. Hence, it is referring to the kingship dynasties in the northern kingdom, which were removed in Hoshea, their last king.)
Third Promise—Vss. 12-14
Vss. 12-14—Thirdly, the Lord promised to be their Redeemer and to set them free from national death. Presently, their “iniquity is bound up” and their “sin is laid up in store.” Their “sorrows” are like a travailing woman, but because of their obstinacy there is no “breaking forth;” they remain in the birth canal, so to speak, until it is time for the re-birth of the nation (Isa. 66:8).
The Lord promises: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” This is a reference to the national resurrection of a remnant of Israel. “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise” (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:2; Psa. 49:15). The condition of national death will not be able to hold them when the Lord exercises His power to redeem them. There will be a spiritual re-birth of the nation through the pains of repentance. They will pass out of the womb of the grave and enter into the promised kingdom blessings. The very thought of “repentance” is “hid” from the eyes of the Lord. He will not consider or look at the possibility of repenting from His purpose to redeem Israel from the grave, for “the gifts and calling” of God in connection with Israel are “without repentance” (Rom. 11:29).
Vss. 15-16
Vss. 15-16—Meanwhile the penalty of Israel’s impenitence was about to be executed by the Lord’s instrument of judgment (the Assyrians) coming in from the way of the Syrian wilderness, and the nation would be carried away. “Samaria,” the capital of the kingdom, would become “desolate.”
The Call to Return to the Lord in True Repentance
Chapter 14
Chapter 14—Hosea concludes his prophecies with a call to repentance and a re-statement of the Lord’s promise to restore the nation of Israel.
Vs. 1
Vs. 1—The great result of the Lord’s chastening, and His love and grace with His people, will result in them finally getting the message. They will hear the call of grace: “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” The prophet gives them the best reason that they should cease and desist from their course and turn to the Lord—it hasn’t profited them and has only caused them to fall.
Vss. 2-3
Vss. 2-3—The prophet puts the very words of confession into their mouths and tells them what to say and what to do—thus paving the way for their restoration. He says: “Say unto Him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive us graciously.” The Lord will surely forgive and receive the repentant remnant, for His Word says: “The LORD God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7). Solomon also prayed: “If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto Thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name; then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgression wherein they have transgressed against Thee” (1 Kings 8:46-50). This will be a great encouragement for the remnant of the ten tribes of Israel to make their confession to the Lord and be restored.
The Proofs of True Restoration of Heart
The proofs of true restoration of heart will be seen in:
Worship—One who is truly restored will be at liberty in the presence of God and will sing His praises. Hence, Israel will say: “We will render the calves [fruit – Septuagint] of our lips” (vs. 2b).
Separation—One who is truly restored will make a clean break with the course of sin that he or she once pursued. Hence, Israel will say: “Asshur shall not save us (Assyria); we will not ride upon horses (a reference to Egypt): neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods”—which is their great sin of idolatry (vs. 3a).
Dependence—One who is truly restored will manifest a humble reliance on the Lord to keep him going rightly—“For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy” (vs. 3b).
Thus, we have the three components in true restoration in these opening verses of chapter 14. They are:
1. The heart turned to the Lord (vs. 1)—Conversion.
2. The mouths opened in frank acknowledgement of their sin (vs. 2)—Confession.
3. The life turned away from one’s sinful course (vs. 3)—Repentance.
Three-Fold Promise
Vss. 4-7
Vss. 4-7—The Lord will respond to this by making a three-fold promise to the remnant of the ten tribes:
1. “I will heal their backsliding” (vs. 4a).
2. “I will love them freely” (vs. 4b).
3. “I will be as the dew unto Israel” (vs. 5).
The great result of all the Lord’s work in the remnant of Israel is that an actual journey to their homeland will finally occur, all under the guidance and help of the Lord. “They shall return and sit under His shadow.” The nation will “revive as corn, and blossom as the vine.”
SEVEN SIMILES of the Lord’s Blessing on Restored Israel
Vss. 5-8
The blessings of the Lord on the restored nation are stated in a number of similes:
• Fair as a lily—vs. 5.
• Firm as a cedar in Lebanon—vs. 5.
• Fat as an olive—vs. 6.
• Fragrant as Lebanon’s forest—vs. 6.
• Flourishing as corn—vs.7.
• Fruitful as a vine—vs. 7.
• Fresh as a green fir tree—vs. 8.
Vs. 8
Vs. 8—Ephraim (the ten tribes) will truly be restored to the Lord and will be totally done with their idols. They will say: “What have I to do any more with idols?” The Lord interrupts Ephraim in a parenthesis, indicating His eagerness to forgive and restore His repentant people, stating, “I have heard him, and observed him.” This means that the Lord will hear and accept the humble confession of the repentant remnant of Israel. Then Ephraim continues: “I am like a green fir-tree.” In reply, the Lord says: “From Me is thy fruit found.” Thus, Israel will at last bear fruit for God! This shows that the Lord’s work in His people will prevail in the end and they will be restored by His divine love and grace (Jer. 31:2-3).
Vs. 9
Vs. 9—The “wise” and the “intelligent” will understand that these moral “ways of the LORD” with the nation of Israel “are right.” He makes no mistakes in what He allows to come upon His people. It will end with His goodness leading them to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
Various Stages of Development in Israel’s Restoration
The various stages of development in Israel’s restoration can be seen in the following statements of Scripture:
“An empty vine” (Hos. 10:1)—Israel, as dispersed under the governmental judgment of the Lord by the hand of the Assyrians, will produce no fruit for God.
“Putteth forth leaves” (Matt. 24:32)—When the Jews (the two tribes) return to their land, but still in unbelief, there will be a profession of life there but still no fruit for God.
“When the bud is perfect” (Isa. 18:5)—When the Jews are in their land during the Great Tribulation, they will be ripe for pruning by the attack of the King of the North (Isa. 18:5-6; Dan. 11:40-42).
“Shall blossom ... and cast forth his roots ... his branches shall spread” (Hos. 14:5)—When the Lord appears and restores a remnant of all twelve tribes, they will take root again after being cut down by the Assyrian.
“From me Thy fruit is found” (Hos. 14:8)—When the remnant of Israel is found dwelling under the Lord’s blessing in the millennial kingdom, they will bear fruit for God.
Thus, the prophesies of Hosea show how the Lord will use various disciplines on the wayward people, the ten tribes (Ephraim), to bring them back to their land and to Himself. They will be brought to see the emptiness of idolatry (chaps. 1-3), to experience a sense of the Lord’s abandonment (chaps. 3-6), and to taste the bitterness of having forfeited the many blessings and privileges that were once theirs (chaps. 8-10). In spite of all their failure, the grace of God will sweep over their hearts and they will be led to think of His love (chap. 11) and His willingness to forgive His repentant people and guide them safely back to their homeland (chap. 12). They will also be led to consider the Lord’s immutable promise to be the nation’s Saviour and Redeemer and His promise to resurrect them nationally from the grave (chap. 13). The great result of these things will produce a genuine turning of a remnant of the people to the Lord, which will be followed by their full restoration and blessing in their promised land (chap. 14).
The Prophecies of Joel
God’s Moral Government in Connection With the Restoration of a Remnant of the Jews (the Two Tribes)
Joel dwells on God’s moral government in connection with the restoration of the remnant of the Jews (the two tribes). He focuses much more on the timing and sequence of prophetic events than Hosea. Joel uses the attack of the Assyrian as a foreshadow of the future attack of the King of the North and his Arab confederacy (Psa. 83:1-8; Dan. 11:40-45). The attack of this northern invader is God’s harbinger of “the day of the LORD,” which begins at the Appearing of Christ and extends through His 1000-year reign—the Millennium (2 Peter 3:8-10). Since Christ’s Appearing will occur just after the King of the North has attacked the land of Israel, the attack of those armies is a signal that “the day of the LORD” is “at hand” (Joel 2:1).
The main difference between Hosea and Joel is that Hosea dwells on God’s work of producing repentance in the remnant of Israel (the ten tribes) in view of their restoration, whereas Joel shows how the inroads of this northern army will be used to humble a remnant of the Jews (the two tribes). This also is in view of their restoration.
An Invasion of Insects—Foreshadow of the Assyrian Invasion
Chap. 1:1-20
Chap. 1:1-20—The prophet gives a graphic description of an invasion of insects that devastated the land in his day. The old men are asked to consult their memories to recall if they have ever seen anything that approaches the magnitude of this disaster before (vss. 2-4). Joel uses this visitation of insects as a foreshadow of the terrible, desolating judgment that the Lord would bring upon the land of Israel by the Assyrian of that day, but ultimately, by the armies of the King of the North in a coming day (Dan. 11:40-41).
The land is called to mourn—from the “drunkards” (vss. 5-7), to the common people of “the land” (vss. 8-10), to “the husbandmen” (vss. 11-12), to “the priests” (vs. 13).
When this devastation from the northern invader sweeps through the land of Israel in a coming day, it will be a signal that “the day of the LORD” is “at hand” (vss. 14-20). Scripture indicates three things that signal the coming of “the day of the LORD.” They are:
1. The apostasy (“falling away”) of the Christian profession reaches a climax (2 Thess. 2:2-3).
2. The revelation of the “man of sin” (2 Thess. 2:3).
3. The attack of the King of the North, under the figure of “the Assyrian” (Joel 2:1).
The first two things will happen in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan. 9:27), which will be 3½ years before the Lord appears out of heaven (Rev. 19:11-21); the third thing will occur in a matter of a few days before the Lord appears.
The First Attack of the Assyrian
Chap. 2:1-11
Chap. 2:1-11—Joel envisions the armies of the enemy coming in from the north and ravaging the land, leaving it as “a desolate wilderness” behind them. While this happened to some extent in history when the Assyrians entered the land of Israel, the Spirit of prophecy intends that we see it as an image of the future attack on the Jews in coming day. Two thirds of the Jews who will be in the land of Israel at that time will be killed when the King of the North sweeps through the land (Dan. 11:40-42; Zech. 13:8). This will be about ten million people!
Vss. 12-20
Vss. 12-20—The Jews left in the land (the remaining one third) will turn to the Lord with “fasting,” “weeping,” and “mourning.” They will be thoroughly humbled before Him and will cry to Him in true repentance for help (vss. 15-17). In answer to the cry of the remnant of the Jews, the Lord will intervene (His Appearing) and remove “the northern army” (vs. 20). The actual place is given where the King of the North and his armies come to their end—between “the east sea” (the Dead Sea) and “the utmost sea” (the Mediterranean Sea)—which is the southern part of the land of Israel, the general area of Jerusalem. Compare Daniel 11:45 – “between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.” Being in Egypt when the Lord appears (Dan. 11:42-43), the King of the North will return to the land of Israel (Dan. 11:44) and he will meet the Lord there (Dan. 8:25; 11:45). The Lord will destroy him and his armies with “his glorious voice” (Isa. 30:30-33).
Vss. 21-32
Vss. 21-32—After the Lord has dealt with the northern army, He will comfort the Jewish remnant: “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things” (vss. 21-27). The Lord will take His place “in the midst” of His people and they will be restored to Him. He will thereupon “pour out” the “Spirit” on them, and miraculous powers of the world to come will be seen among them (vss. 28-32).
The effects of the Antichrist’s delusion—“the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,” which refers figuratively to the taking away of divine light and truth and introducing apostasy (Isa. 8:22; Matt. 24:29, etc.)—will be removed then. The people (the remnant) will see clearly then (Isa. 32:3), and all who have faith will “call on the name of the LORD” and “shall be delivered” and blessed in Christ’s kingdom (vs. 32).
The Second Attack of the Assyrian
Chap. 3:1-2
Chap. 3:1-2—While the Lord is restoring the remnant of His people (both of the two tribes and of the ten tribes), the armies of many other nations from the far north will gather together to attack Israel. This will be a second all-out attack on the land of Israel, but because the Lord will be back in the land at that time and the remnant of all twelve tribes will be restored to Him, it will not be successful. The Lord will actually work providentially behind the scenes to gather these enemies so that He can judge them, and thus, put an end to all wars. “I will gather all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat” (vs. 2; Ezek. 38:4; Zeph. 3:8; Mic. 4:11-12; Psa. 46:4-9). The “nations” that gather at this time are “all” who are left after the Lord’s prior judgments on the western powers (the Beast) and the King of the North and his confederacy. This will be the confederate armies under Gog, whose aim is to attack restored Israel (Ezek. 38:11-12). Historically, these nations have “scattered” the children of Israel “among the nations,” and it is now time for God to judge them.
Vss. 3-8
Vss. 3-8—“Tyre and Zidon” and “Philistia,” which are merchant centers on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, are singled out as being guilty of slave trafficking God’s people and plundering the gold and silver in the land of Israel. These merchants sold their children to “the Greeks” who came to those ports, and thus, they removed the children of Israel “far from their border.” They have “given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.”
The Lord promises to return their “recompense” on their “own head.” He says, “I will raise them (the children of Israel) out of the place whither ye (the Gentile nations) have sold them” (vss. 7-8). Thus, the Lord will bring the ten tribes of Israel back to their homeland prior to His judgment of the last confederacy of nations under Gog (Ezek. 38:12). After He judges these nations, restored Israel will sell the children of those Gentile nations “to the Sabeans, to a people afar off.”
Vss. 9-15
Vss. 9-15—As mentioned, the “multitudes” of “Gentiles” who will gather together against Israel in the last attack (under Gog) are actually called by the Lord (providentially) to come to Him in the land of Israel to be judged. “The valley of Jehoshaphat” (which means “Jehovah’s judgment”), to which they are called, is not a literal valley in the land of Israel, but rather, it is symbolic of the judgment that will be executed on these confederated nations. The “harvest” mentioned in verse 13 is not the Harvest Judgment, which is the first judgment the Lord will execute at His Appearing upon the Western nations (Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:14-16). The harvest mentioned here is that of grapes, which is the final harvest of the year—the vintage. It symbolizes the last judgment of the Lord before the millennial kingdom is established. It is the Winepress Judgment (Rev. 14:17-20; Isa. 63:1-6). Thus, verse 13 goes on to say, “The press is full, the vats overflow.” Apparently, “the day of the LORD” (which is the Lord’s subjugation of the whole world under His Lordship authority), though it will have already begun, will not come in in its fullness until this judgment is executed. Hence, it is still said to be “at hand.”
Vss. 16-17
Vss. 16-17—Since the Lord will be back on earth and dwelling in the midst of His people in Jerusalem (which will be in rubble at that time), He will “roar out of Zion” and utterly destroy the armies that have assembled for war (vs. 16). Isaiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled then: “Whosoever shall gather together against thee [Israel] shall fall for thy sake” (Isa. 54:15).
Vss. 18-21
Vss. 18-21—The chapter closes with a picture of the Millennium. In that day, the blessing of the Lord will be upon the whole earth and His presence will be known in Jerusalem—“for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.”
The Prophecies of Amos
Impending Judgment and the Need for Repentance
Amos was among the “herdmen of Tekoa” in Judea and was called to prophesy to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. As in Isaiah 28, the northern kingdom represents the Jews during the Tribulation period who will settle in the northern part of the land; they do not represent the ten tribes, as in Hosea’s prophecies. The ten tribes will not be in the land during the Great Tribulation and when the King of the North attacks the land. (See Letters of J. N. Darby, vol. 3, p. 359.)
Amos had the task of denouncing the evil among the people and pronouncing judgment by a northeastern invader—the Assyrian. The state of the people of that day is a moral picture of the state of the apostate Jews in the land of Israel who will have received the Antichrist as their king. The impending attack from the northern invader pre-figures the attack of the King of the North at the end of the Great Tribulation (Dan. 11:40-42).
Amos focuses on the moral causes for the Lord’s dealings with His people in judgment, and like Joel, speaks more specifically of the Assyrian invasion than Hosea does. It will result in a remnant of the people returning to the Lord in true repentance and being brought into His kingdom blessings (Amos 9:11-15).
Three Sections in the Book of Amos
There are three sections in the book of Amos. They are:
• Chapters 1-2.
• Chapters 3-6.
• Chapters 7-9.
SECTION I: The Nations Judged in the Consumption
Chapters 1-2
Amos fixes the date of his first prophecy as being “two years before the earthquake” during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah. Josephus states that the earthquake occurred when king Uzziah entered the temple and attempted to offer incense on the golden altar and was smitten with leprosy (2 Chron. 26:16-21). Some expositors tell us that there was also an eclipse of the sun on that day (Zech. 14:5-7). If this is true, it was truly a momentous day. Prophetically, the (false) “king” of the Jews, the Antichrist (Isa. 8:21; 30:33; 57:9; Dan. 11:36-39), will enter the temple and desecrate it by setting up an image of the Beast (Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:3-4; Rev. 13:11-18). It will cause a moral and spiritual upheaval in the land, and through his apostasy he will remove all spiritual light and truth from reaching men (2 Thess. 2:9-12; Rev. 9:1-2; Isa. 5:30; 8:22; 13:10; Joel 2:10, 30, etc.). Apart from the grace of God working in the hearts of some, none would be saved (Matt. 24:22).
Amos states that the Lord will proclaim His own rights from the place of His throne (“Zion”) and will call for judgment on the land by a northern army. In the end, the Lord will “roar from Zion” (vs. 2) and judge the last contingent of that great northeastern confederacy under Gog.
Amos uses the inroads of the Assyrian of his day to depict the devastation in the coming day by the King of the North. He shows that when this enemy comes into the land of Israel, six other nations situated on Israel’s promised inheritance (Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4) will come under judgment by that northern invader. Prophetically, these other nations will be part of the great northeastern confederacy under the King of the North. But when the millions of soldiers pour into the land from the north and east, order will be lost, and mayhem will result. They will kill and loot everything in sight, and the lands surrounding Israel will be ravaged as well as the land of Israel. This judgment is spoken of by Amos in chapters 1-2. It is called “the Consumption” (Isa. 10:23; 28:22; Dan. 9:27 – J. N. Darby Trans.).
Chaps. 1:3–2:16
Chaps. 1:3–2:16—Amos lists the various nations whose lands will be devastated by this massive invasion of Islamic soldiers. There are eight nations in total, when counting the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judea. Amos gives a specific message of impending judgment on each of these nations, prefaced with the words, “Thus saith the LORD.” The phrase, “For three transgressions ... and for four” is also used in each prophetic message denoting that the measure of their guilt was more than full.
• Concerning “Damascus” (southern Syria) – chap. 1:3-5.
• Concerning “Gaza” (Philistia) – chap. 1:6-8.
• Concerning “Tyre” (Lebanon) – chap. 1:9-10.
• Concerning “Edom” – (An Arab state southeast of Israel) – chap. 1:11-12.
• Concerning “Ammon” (northern Jordan) – chap. 1:13-15.
• Concerning “Moab” (southern Jordan) – chap. 2:1-3.
• Concerning “Judah” (southern Israel) – chap. 2:4-5.
• Concerning “Israel” (northern Israel) – chap. 2:6-16.
Chap. 2:6-16
Chap. 2:6-16—Amos focuses on some of the evils that will mark the state of the Jews in the coming Tribulation—thus justifying the Lord’s judgment on them. They disregarded the claims of the legal covenant in regards to slave trafficking (vs. 6; Lev. 25:42), they perverted legal procedures to exploit the poor (vs. 7a; Ex. 23:6; Deut. 16:19), they profaned the moral holiness enjoined in the Law (vs. 7b; Lev. 18:8), they disregarded the claims of the Law by taking pledges of forbidden things (vs. 8a; Ex. 22:26-27; Deut. 24:17), and they broke the two most important commandments (Ex. 20:3-5) by having fellowship with idols (vs. 8b).
Further to this, they despised His grace (vss. 9-16). The Lord had “destroyed” the “Amorites” in order to bring them into the land of Canaan, and He cared for Israel through the “wilderness” journey on the way there. Moreover, when they reached the land, in grace the Lord raised up spiritual men (“prophets” and “Nazarites”) to speak His Word to them and help them. However, in spite of His grace toward them, they were unwilling to hear the prophets and defiled the Nazarites by giving them “wine to drink.” Hence, the Lord was just in bringing His just judgment on the nation (vss. 14-16).
Chapters 3-6
In this section of the book, we have three prophetic messages pertaining to the sad state of Israel and the Lord’s retributive dealings with them. These messages document the moral reasons for the coming judgment of God by the hand of the Assyrians, a foreshadow of the coming attack of the King of the North. The sad state of the people foreshadows the even sadder state of the apostate mass of Jews that will be in the land during the Great Tribulation. Each discourse begins with the expression, “Hear this word.”
• The doom of Israel – chap. 3.
• The depravity of Israel – chap. 4.
• The disaster over Israel – chap. 5-6.
The FIRST Prophetic Message
Chapter 3
Chap. 3—The first prophetic message is to “the whole family” of Israel—the twelve tribes. Amos reminds them that they were the most privileged nation on earth because they had a special relationship with the Lord. He had redeemed them and brought them into a unique bond with Himself. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (vss. 1-2). But with privilege comes responsibility. Since they had departed from the Lord morally and spiritually, there would be punishment for their iniquities, if they didn’t repent.
SEVEN Rhetorical Questions in Verses 3-6
Amos asks seven rhetorical questions in verses 3-6. The point in each of these questions is that one event does not take place unless another event has already happened. Hence, one is consequent upon the other. Amos uses this to show that since the nation has committed evil, it would surely have corresponding judgment to go with it. Apart from there being repentance, these two things always go together in God’s dealings with men. Hence, these verses focus on the moral cause for the coming judgment.
Chapter 3:9-15
Chap. 3:9-15—“Ashdod” (the Philistines) and “Egypt”—people well versed in the practices of evil and injustice—are called to witness the incredible injustices being practiced in “Samaria,” the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. They would surely be astonished at what they saw. Hence, an “adversary” would come in and “bring down” God’s judgment upon them. But in judgment, the Lord would remember mercy (Hab. 3:2) and promises that a remnant would be “rescued” from the jaws of the predator. Not only would their capital city (Samaria) be destroyed, but their religious center in “Bethel” and its “altars” would also be destroyed. Moreover, “the horns of the altar shall be cut off” (vs. 14). The horns of the altar were the place of asylum for fugitives; they could find mercy there (Ex. 21:12-13; 1 Kings 1:50; 2:28). The cutting off of these horns would mean that there would be no mercy for them.
The SECOND Prophetic Message
Chapter 4
Chap. 4—In the second message, Amos declares that God would exile the upper-class women in Israel (the “kine [cows] of Bashan”) because of their love of opulence (vss. 1-3). He would also judge the nation for its religious hypocrisy (vss. 4-5) and for its obstinate refusal to repent, despite the Lord’s repeated chastisements (vss. 6-13).
Chapter 4:1-3
Chap. 4:1-3—Amos exposes a condition that existed in Israel that could be traced to the women. Their lust for opulence and being pampered with upper-class dainties created a situation where their “masters” [“lords” or “husbands”] were forced to exploit “the poor” and “needy” in order to support their wives’ expensive lifestyles. In exposing their true state, Amos speaks as though the women were doing the oppressing, but they really did it through their husbands. It was a pitiful situation in which their husbands were reduced to obeying their wives like servants.
Chapter 4:4-5
Chap. 4:4-5—Amos then exposes the religious hypocrisy with which the people were characterized. “Bethel” was a false center of worship set up by Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He broke away from the divinely owned center (Jerusalem) where the Lord had placed His name and led the ten northern tribes away with him (1 Kings 12). Amos warns that to go to worship the Lord in Bethel was to transgress. It was the same with “Gilgal.” Gilgal was the place where Israel cut off their foreskins—a picture of judging the sins of the flesh (Josh. 5). But these people were going to Gilgal and multiplying their transgressions!
Chapter 4:6-13
Chap. 4:6-13—Amos then focuses on the people’s refusal to repent. He tells them that they had been given “cleanness of teeth,” due to the shortage of rain to grow food. This was a retributive dealing of the Lord designed to produce repentance, but the people hadn’t repented. The Lord, speaking through Amos, said, “Yet have ye not returned unto Me” (vss. 6-8). The Lord had also sent disease into their crops. There was “blasting and mildew,” and “the palmerworm” that had devoured what they had grown. They had experienced “pestilence after the manner of Egypt.” Also, the Lord had allowed their soldiers (“the young men”) to fall in battle and their “horses” had been taken away. Thus, their military strength had been greatly weakened. Again, the Lord said through Amos, “Yet have ye not returned unto Me” (vss. 9-10).
Moreover, the Lord had overthrown some in the land “as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” and the people who were spared were as “a firebrand plucked out of the burning.” Yet for all this, there was no repentance among the people. Again, the Lord said through Amos: “Yet have ye not returned unto Me” (vs. 11). The solemn consequence was that they were going to meet with God and His judgment. The day of recompence was at hand; it was as sure as His Word for “He is the Lord, The God of Hosts.”
The THIRD Prophetic Message
Chapter 5
In his third prophetic message, Amos emphasizes the imminence of the coming judgment upon the land by the hand of the Assyrian—a foreshadow of the King of the North. To portray the certainty of it, the prophet is led to give this final message as a “lamentation” (vss. 1-2). Historically, ninety percent of the population in the northern kingdom was killed or taken away captive by the enemy (vs. 3). Prophetically, two-thirds of the population of Jews will be “cut off” (Zech. 13:8-9). As mentioned earlier, those in the northern kingdom prophetically represent the Jews at the time of the 70th week of Daniel (Dan. 9:27) who settle in the northern part of the land. (See Letters of J. N. Darby, vol. 3, p. 359.)
The doom of the northern kingdom of Israel was at hand, but there was still a way of escape—it was to “seek” the Lord (vs. 4) and to leave off their sins (vs. 5). If this were done sincerely, they would continue to “live” in the land (vs. 6); the Lord would turn away the invaders. The wealthy had been establishing themselves by oppression, but they needed to seek Him who made the constellations. The One who had such creatorial power in His hand could “strengthen the spoiled” (Israel) “against the strong” (the Assyrian) (vss. 7-9).
The unrighteous ones who sat in the administrative seats of the city, “in the gate,” hated those who judged righteously. They would take bribes etc., but Amos reminds them that it had all been seen by the Lord (vss. 10-13). Even with all this evil having been done, if there were true repentance with the people and they would “seek good, and not evil,” they would live (vss. 14-15). But on account of their obduracy, there was judgment coming upon the land. There would be “wailing” in the streets, the highways, and in the vineyards (vss. 16-17).
Amos then breaks out with a warning against those who wanted “the day of the Lord.” Evidently, they didn’t realize what it meant—it would not be deliverance from the Assyrian, but judgment from the Lord by the Assyrian (vss. 18-20). This shows that they had been spiritually blinded and confused. The people were trusting in their sacrifices offered at Bethel, the false center of worship, but the Lord (through the prophet) told them that He had refused to accept them (vss. 21-23). What the Lord really wanted from the people was right judgment and practical righteousness, but they had not turned away from their idolatry even from the days of the nation’s passage through the wilderness. The Lord said, “Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus.” (vss. 24-26).
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 focuses on the wealthy class in the capital cities of both the southern kingdom (“Zion”) and the northern kingdom (“Samaria”). These people lived in luxury and indulged themselves in pleasure, but it made them insensible to the reality of the coming judgment. They had a false sense of security and it led to complacency. There had been a “breach of Joseph” (1 Kings 11:30-32), but they had not been grieved about it. Joseph, here, stands for the ten tribes who had broken away from the divine center in Judah. Consequently, they would be the first to go into captivity (vss. 1-7).
The Lord had “sworn” that the judgment by the hand of the Assyrian would surely come. He would no longer protect the nation but “deliver up the city” and all in it. The decision was immutable (vs. 9). If there were ten men hiding in a house from the Assyrians, even they would die by the plague that would rise from the contamination of dead bodies strewn in the streets. If a relative came to burn their bodies to prevent disease, and he found a survivor hiding in the house, he would beg the survivor not to mention the name of the Lord. Supposing superstitiously that such an invocation would call the Lord’s attention to that house; they would die too, for He had commanded that all houses (great and small) should be destroyed (vss. 10-11).
Amos reasons that horses don’t run on rock and neither do those who plow with oxen, yet the magistrates in Israel had done the unthinkable; they had turned “judgment [justice] into gall [poison]” and “righteousness into wormwood [bitterness]” (vs. 12). Since they thought themselves to be immune to disaster, the Lord would surely send the northern invader (the Assyrians) and they would destroy the land from “Hamath” in the north to “the river of the wilderness [the torrent of the Arabah]” in the south (vss. 13-14). This is a foreshadow of what the King of the North will do in a coming day (Dan. 11:40-42).
Chapters 7–9:15
We now turn from Amos’ prophetic messages to his prophetic visions. These are marked by the words: “The Lord God showed me ... ” or, “I saw ... .”
The judgment upon Israel by the Assyrians is portrayed in five symbolic visions, all of which foreshadow the inroads of the King of the North (Dan. 11:40-42).
The FIRST Prophetic Vision—A Locust Invasion
Chapter 7:1-3
Chap. 7:1-3—Amos saw God forming swarms of locusts and sending them over the land to devastate it. (The first cuttings were called “the king’s mowings.”) This led Amos to intercede for the land and the Lord heard him and repented of it. This act of divine mercy illustrates the fact that the Lord is longsuffering and not willing that any should perish. Judgment is “His strange work” (Isa. 28:21). That is, it is foreign to His nature which is love, but necessary because of His holiness. The result of Amos’ intercession was that judgment was postponed.
The SECOND Prophetic Vision—A Devouring Wildfire
Chapter 7:4-6
Chap. 7:4-6—Amos then saw a fire break out and spread in all directions. This led Amos to intercede for the land again, and again the Lord repented of it, and restrained His judgment.
The THIRD Prophetic Vision—a Testing Plumbline
Chapter 7:7-17
Chap. 7:7-17—Amos then saw the Lord standing with a “plumbline” in His hand testing His people Israel. The nation is found to be away off the mark morally and spiritually, and thus, needing to be torn down. The Lord quickly precluded any appeal from the prophet to restrain judgment from falling this time, stating: “I will not again pass by [spare] them any more” (vs. 8). Hence, Amos does not intercede for the land as he had with the first two visions. Having failed the test of the plumbline, the nation’s idolatrous shrines and chief sanctuaries for idol worship would be destroyed (vs. 9).
Having announced coming judgment on the land and on the idolatrous houses of worship, it drew forth the ire of “Amaziah the priest of Bethel” who informed the king that Amos was raising a conspiracy. To denounce Bethel as a system of worship was to attack the very foundation of the northern kingdom of Israel. Amaziah then told Amos to leave Bethel because his ministry against the false center was not appreciated. As a retributive judgment on this priest, his wife would be reduced to be a harlot in the city in order to provide for herself! This would be a special disgrace to one who was the chief priest of Bethel (vss. 10-17).
The FOURTH Prophetic Vision—a Basket of Fruit
Chapter 8:1-14
Chap. 8:1-14—Amos then sees “a basket of summer fruit.” The Lord informs him that it is a picture of His people Israel being ready to be taken by the enemy into a foreign land. The Lord again states: “I will not again pass by [spare] them anymore.” Judgment was certain and their deportation from the land was certain, pictured in the basket of fruit being taken away. Thus, Israel was ripe fruit ready for a dreadful harvest of judgment. Thus “saith the Lord God, There shall be many dead bodies in every place” (vss. 1-3).
The cause of the judgment was their despising of the Sabbath. It was clearly something that was in the way of their corrupt business practices; they couldn’t wait for it to be over so that they could continue with their dealing and cheating, etc. (vss. 4-6). The Lord promised that He would remember their works in the day of judgment; there would be “mourning” and “lamentation” everywhere in the land (vss. 7-10). The result of the judgment would be a famine for the Word of God; the truth would be taken away from them and they would perish with their calf worship in “Samaria” and in “Dan” (vss. 11-14).
The FIFTH Prophetic Vision—The Lord as the Avenger
Chap. 9:1-10
Chap. 9:1-10—In the last vision, Amos sees the Lord “standing upon the altar” at Bethel as a great conquering Warrior leading the Assyrian armies against His people. As Commander-in-chief of the armies, He is seen ordering the soldiers to destroy the false center at Bethel (vs. 1). No one will escape (vss. 2-3). They would surely “go into captivity,” and those who are not taken captive would be slain by the sword of the Assyrians (vss. 4-5). The Lord’s ability to effect this judgment is proved by the fact that He holds all creation in His hand (vs. 6). This is all a foreshadow of the inroads of the King of the North and his slaughter of the apostate Jews in the land—which are those who will receive the Antichrist.
After judgment is executed upon the apostate Jews (vss. 7-8), the Lord will spare a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel and they will return out of “all nations” to Zion. The sinners among those who return to the land after the judgment will perish at the borders of the land (Ezek. 20:34-38), but not one who is righteous will fall (vss. 9-10).
The Lord’s Blessing on the Restored Remnant of Israel
Chap. 9:11-15
Chap. 9:11-15—In the closing verses of the book we have a happy picture of the future blessing of Israel. After these judgments are executed upon the Jews by the King of the North, Christ will return and restore a remnant of the 12 tribes of Israel, and they will be blessed in His millennial kingdom. The Lord’s throne will be in heaven (Psa. 103:19), but His blessing will be upon Israel and all the nations of the earth, and they will all greatly benefit from the millennial prosperity.
The Prophecies of Obadiah
The Judgment of Edom in Three Phases
Obadiah focuses on the judgment of Edom, who will be one of the confederates in the coalition led by the King of the North (Psa. 83). Edom had a particular hatred for Israel and Obadiah’s prophecy shows the end of those who take such a position against God’s chosen people. He shows Edom’s judgment as falling in three stages, ending with their total annihilation from the face of the earth, after which the remnant of Israel will take their true, God-given inheritance (“their possessions”), which includes the land of Edom.
The FIRST Stage of Judgment on Edom
Vss.1-14
The first 14 verses were historically fulfilled in the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian invasion. He gathered a large coalition of armies from many nations, of which Edom had a part (Jer. 34:1; 2 Kings 24:2). After he passed through the land of Israel and took Jerusalem (vss. 11-12), he deceived Edom and some of his other confederates (vs. 7) and entered into their countries and plundered them. The first nine verses give an account of this treachery.
Verse 1 is a call through the ranks of this enormous confederacy under Nebuchadnezzar to betray the land of Edom—“let us rise up against her in battle.” Verse 2 gives the result—they are “left small” in numbers. Verses 3-4 tell us the reason why, from God’s perspective; it was their “pride.” Verses 5-9 show who will execute the judgment—“all the men of thy confederacy.” In verses 10-14, Edom’s guilt is exposed; they helped in the destruction of the Jews and Jerusalem when they should have been a help to Israel their “brother.”
Although this happened in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it has significance prophetically; it points to the time in prophecy when the King of the North will invade the land of Israel (Dan. 11:40-42). The Arab confederacy under the King of the North will practice the same kind of treachery in the future.
Thus, Edom’s first blow will be when the King of the North and his Arab confederacy sweep through the land of Israel during the “Consumption.” As the book of Amos shows (chaps. 1-2), a number of nations that have situated themselves on Israel’s promised land will come under judgment at this time on account of the general mayhem that will occur. The “Consumption” will be upon “the whole land” (Isa. 28:22), and these nations will be devastated. This will only be a partial destruction of Edom; “the chief” of the people (the upper class) will “escape” (Dan. 11:41).
The SECOND Stage of Judgment on Edom
Vss. 15-16
Vss. 15-16—Edom’s second blow will be more severe. After the Lord has returned and restored the remnant of Israel, He will personally “roar out of Zion” (Joel 3:16) to tread the Winepress judgment “upon all the heathen [nations].” This is a reference to Gog’s confederacy (Russia) which will use the land of Edom as the place to assemble their armies in view of their attack on restored Israel. The judgment of the Lord on these nations gathered in Edom will be so terrible that land of Edom will be permanently destroyed (Isa. 34:1-8; 63:1-6; Hab. 3:3-16).
The THIRD Stage of Judgment on Edom
Vss. 17-21
Vss. 17-21—Edom’s final blow will come at the hands of those they have so bitterly hated—Israel. After the Lord treads the Winepress in Edom, He will lead out the armies of newly restored Israel in a mighty conquest to take their full inheritance as promised to Abraham (Isa. 11:14; Jer. 51:20-23; Mic. 4:13; 5:5-8; Psa. 108:7; 118:1-12). At that time, Israel will be given the opportunity to extinguish any remaining Edomites until every last one will be cut off from the earth. “There shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau” (vs. 18).
The Prophecies of Jonah
Jonah’s History—A Picture of the Nation of Israel
The book of Jonah is different from all of the other Minor Prophets in that it has no direct prophecies in it, but rather, it records Jonah’s experiences. These experiences are prophetic of the nation of Israel. They illustrate, by way of type, how God will convert a remnant of His people and use them in the conversion of the Gentiles.
Jonah in Rebellion—A Type of Israel
Chapter 1
Israel, like Jonah, has been called to bear witness to the world of the one true God (vss. 1-2). As with Jonah, the nation of Israel has been an unfaithful witness and has rendered a poor testimony to the world (Rom. 2:24). As Jonah was disobedient and left the presence of the Lord by going on-board a ship to the Gentile city of “Tarshish,” the nation has immersed itself in worldly interactions which God had called them to be separate from (vss. 3-7). Like Jonah, in the nation’s departure from the Lord, they confess their nationality, but they do not obey the One they profess to be their God! (vss. 8-10) Also, as Jonah was thrown overboard, so Israel has been cast into the sea of nations and dispersed among the Gentiles (vss. 11-15; Matt. 21:21; Rev. 17:15). While Jonah was in the sea, the Gentile seamen turned to the Lord and cried out to Him (vs. 16). Likewise, the Gentiles have been turning to the Lord through the gospel, and thus, “through their (Israel’s) fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:11). The belly of the fish represents the spiritual grave in which the Jews are during their dispersion (vs. 17). They are nationally dead. But as the fish did not digest Jonah, so too have the nations not absorbed the Jews; they remain unassimilated among the nations and are a distinct people.
Jonah in the Whale’s Belly—A Type of the Struggle of the Jews in Their Dispersion
Chapter 2
Jonah’s struggle in the belly of the fish is symbolic of the struggle of the Jews down through the years of their dispersion, and particularly, during the coming Great Tribulation. His prayer for deliverance foreshadows that of the Jewish remnant. They will call upon the name of the Lord and on the third day they will be restored. “Three days and three nights” points to resurrection, and thus, there will be a national resurrection of Israel after they turn to the Lord (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:2-3).
Jonah Preaching—a Type of Restored Israel Witnessing to the World
Chapter 3
Like Jonah, Israel, when restored to the Lord, will be a powerful witness for the Lord to the Gentile nations (Isa. 60:1-3, etc.). As Jonah preached to the Ninevites, so the remnant of Jews will preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world (Psa. 96), and many Gentiles will be converted and join themselves to the Lord (Psa. 47:9; Isa. 14:1; 55:5; 56:3-7; Zech. 2:11; Rev. 7: 9).
Jonah Receives an Attitude Adjustment—a Type of Israel Judging Their Prejudice Against Gentiles
Chapter 4
Jonah needed to have his attitude changed toward the Gentiles. He had a deep-seated prejudice against them, and if he had had his way, he would have denied God the right of showing mercy to them. The Lord reasoned with Jonah about his lack of grace, and in the end, Jonah was silenced and could not reply, because in Christ’s kingdom both Israel and the Gentiles will be blessed on the principle of grace—and on nothing else. Jonah must learn that God is sovereign, and that He will have mercy on them whom He chooses to have mercy (Rom. 9:18).
In this chapter, the Lord’s dealings with Jonah picture the deep moral work He will do in restored Israel that will make them willing to receive and share the kingdom blessings with the Gentiles, and to dwell peaceably with them in the Millennium. One of the greatest proofs that Israel will truly be restored is that they will no longer have their prejudice toward other nations.
The Prophecies of Micah
The Two Attacks of the Assyrian and the Restoration of Israel
The book of Micah has its importance in that it shows that the restoration of Israel will take place between the two attacks on the land of Israel by the Assyrian. Joel has also shown this, but Micah gives further details of it. As mentioned already, the first attack by the Assyrian on the land of Israel (a foreshadow of the King of the North) will be successful, but the second attack of the Assyrian (a foreshadow of Gog) will not be.
Micah uses the Assyrian, who was a great northern threat to Israel in his day, to depict these coming attacks. He gives clear evidence that there will be two attacks by this enemy. This use of the Assyrian is in keeping with the prophecies of Isaiah who was Micah’s contemporary.
Daniel 8:24 indicates that the King of the North and his confederates are linked in a larger coalition of confederated armies. It says that “his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power,” meaning that the King of the North will have the backing of another super-power. This could only be that of Gog, because the prophets speak of both of these confederacies as the Assyrian (Ezek. 38:17). It is not that the ancient nation of Assyria will literally rise up and be a dominant world power again; the Spirit of prophecy uses that enemy as a figurative foreshadow to denote the northeastern coalitions in a coming day. Babylon is used similarly as a figure of the western nations (the Beast).
The Inroads of the Assyrian Armies—a Foreshadow of the King of the North
Chapter 1
Micah begins his prophecy by announcing that the Lord was about to come in with judgment upon Israel. He would execute His judgment on them indirectly, using the Assyrians, who were His willing instrument. The chapter gives an animated account of the inroads of that ancient enemy. Micah speaks poetically of the Lord as though He were the personal Leader of these invading armies (Mic. 1:3; Isa. 10:5-6; Joel 2:11 – “His army”). Though these things were historically accomplished by the Assyrian (first by Shalmaneser, then by Sargon), they are a foreshadow of the future invasion of the land of Israel by the King of the North (Dan. 11:40-42).
Samaria, which was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, would be desolated first, as the Assyrians came down from the north (vss. 1-7). This prefigures the Jews in the north end of the land being hit first by the King of the North. The armies would proceed southward to Judah and come against Jerusalem (vss. 8-9). Divine history indicates that the Assyrians did not take Jerusalem at that time, but that is not mentioned here, for in the future the city will be destroyed (Psa. 79:1-3; Zech. 14:1-2). Other cities in the land along the way would also be devastated by the invasion (vss. 10-16).
The Moral Causes That Call For the Judgment by the Assyrians
Chapter 2
The next two chapters disclose the moral causes of God’s judgment on His people through the Assyrian. The people were engaged in wicked practices (vss. 1-6), and they had rejected the Word of God (vss. 7-11). In the latter part of chapter 2, Micah shows that even though the people had forsaken the Lord, His purpose to bless Israel was still going to be fulfilled. He will re-gather (“assemble”) the “remnant of Israel” (vs. 12). The Lord (“the breaker”) is seen as breaking open “the gate” that has held His people captive and delivering them. They will go out with the Lord (“their King”) leading them into their millennial rest (vs. 13).
Chapter 3
Micah goes on to expose an even more serious evil in the third chapter. “The princes” (the civil leaders of the nation) and “the prophets” (the spiritual leaders) were corrupt (vss. 1-7). God would not stand for this any longer; He would cause Zion (Jerusalem) to be “plowed like a field” so that it would “become heaps.” In history, the Assyrians never touched Jerusalem, much less did they plow it like a field—but the Babylonians did. This shows that the Spirit really had the future day in mind when the King of the North will come in and devastate the land.
Restored Israel Attacked Unsuccessfully by the Assyrian—a Type of Gog
Chapter 4
Micah then sees Israel in their “last days” restored and blessed of God. This is another proof that the foregoing prophecies were intended to portray more than just those immediate circumstances of the Assyrian inroads in history; for what we have in this chapter was not accomplished after the Assyrian passed through the land. The restoration of Israel will be consequent upon the Lord’s Appearing and His execution of judgment upon their enemies. Micah does not speak of that here, but rather, focuses on Israel’s millennial blessings when they are restored.
Micah sees Jerusalem as rebuilt and being the center of worship and of learning the knowledge of the Lord on earth (vss. 1-5). He also speaks of the ten tribes of Israel that were scattered far off, being gathered back into their land (vss. 6-10).
Then, when a remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel are found situated in their land under the blessing of the Lord, Micah tells us that there will be another confederacy of nations that will gather against them. “Now also many nations shall be gathered against thee” (vs. 11). This could only be the Russian confederacy under Gog who will come up against restored Israel (Ezek. 38). The Lord will cause them to come into the land at that time so that He may judge them (vs. 12). The armies of restored Israel are seen as participating in the clean-up of any remaining people after the judgment of the Lord on these assembled nations (vs. 13).
A Review of the Two Attacks of the Assyrian
Chapter 5
In this chapter, Micah enlarges on the two attacks of the Assyrian. At the time of the first attack on Jerusalem by the Assyrian (the King of the North – Daniel 11:40-42), the prophet portrays the work of the Spirit of God in the remnant, bringing the matter of the Jews' guilt of rejecting the Messiah to their consciences. Many years earlier (but still future from the time when the prophet spoke) the nation smote "the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek"—that is, they insulted and rejected Him (vs. 1). Verse 2 is a parenthesis identifying who this great Person is. He was born in the insignificant town of “Bethlehem,” but was destined to be "the Ruler in Israel." His "goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity," indicating that He is an eternal Person. This could be none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Consequent upon His humiliation and rejection, the prophecy states: "Therefore will He give them up" (vs. 3). This means that God would break off His dealings with the nation. It would be a temporary thing, as indicated in the next phrase, "Until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth." The prophet does not state how long Israel would be given up, but he assures us that the Lord will re-establish His connections with the nation after it travails. Israel's time of travail is the "time of Jacob's trouble"—the Great Tribulation (Jer. 14:8; 30:7). The bringing "forth" of the nation is its rebirth by the grace of God (Isa. 66:7-8). The prophet states that at that time "a remnant of His brethren" (the Jews) will come forth out of the Great Tribulation and will be restored to the Lord. They will then be re-united to "the children of Israel" (a remnant of the ten tribes) who will be brought back into the land after the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29-31). Hence, the two parts of the nation which have been separated for nearly 3000 years will be re-united in that day and will enter the millennial kingdom of Christ together as one people and one nation (Isa. 11:12-13; Ezek. 37:1-28).
Vss. 4-5
When they are united under the Lord, “the Assyrian shall come into the land” again with the intention of overthrowing newly restored Israel (Ezek. 38:10-12). But the Messiah, the great Shepherd of Israel, will defend the land and destroy this last enemy—Gog. The armies of Israel will also go out in a victorious campaign over their enemies after the Lord has destroyed the Assyrian. Their military power at that time will be as a lion devouring its prey (vss. 5-9).
The latter part of chapter 5 shows that all idolatry and corrupt human wisdom will be removed in Israel in that day, and the restored nation will wholly rely upon the Lord (vss. 10-15).
An Appendix
Chapters 6-7
These last two chapters are an appendix to the book, describing the moral side of Israel’s restoration. It contains the exercises the remnant will go through on their way to full restoration. In the troubles they will face in that coming day they will hear the Lord’s voice speaking to them. “Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it” (chap. 6:1-16). As a result of a deep exercise of soul, the remnant will pour out their hearts to the Lord in a penitential prayer (chap. 7:1-10). This is followed by the Lord’s gracious response to their humble confession. He promises restoration and blessing, forgiving their iniquities and casting their sins into the depths of the sea (chap. 7:11-20).
The Prophecies of Nahum
God’s Judgment on the Assyrian
The book of Nahum is the last of the prophets of the Assyrian period and marks the end of the Assyrian dynasty. Its subject is the overthrow of Nineveh. This was the capital city of that empire, and its overthrow represents its final destruction. It has its fulfillment in end-time prophecy of the Lord’s judgment of Gog and his confederacy (Ezek. 38-39).
The Judge of All the Earth Arises to Judge the Assyrian
Chapter 1
Nahum begins with a presentation of the Lord in His majestic holiness as the Judge of all the earth (vss. 1-8). Historically, the Lord used the Babylonians and the Medes to overthrow Nineveh, but the future destruction of this final enemy of Israel will be executed by the Lord Himself, and there will be none with Him in execution of that judgment. This is the Winepress judgment (Isa. 34:1-10; 63:1-6; Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:17-20). The presence of the Lord is spoken of as being known in the earth. This points to the fact that when the final judgment of the last confederacy is judged, the Lord will have already returned and will be in Jerusalem. In that day He will defend Israel as “a stronghold in the day of trouble” (vs. 7) and will “make a full end” of that enemy (vs. 8). The destruction of this enemy will bring the Indignation to a close at 1335 days from the middle of the seventieth week of Daniel (Dan. 12:12).
The land of Israel was in great trouble when the Assyrian passed through the land. As mentioned, the first attack of the Assyrian is a foreshadow of the King of the North, who will devastate the land from the north to the south, on his way into Egypt (Dan. 11:40-43). But when the Assyrian enters the land in a second attack, “affliction (on Israel) shall not rise up the second time” because the Lord will be there, and He will tread this enemy down (vs. 9). This is a reference to Gog in the future. There was “one” (Sennacherib, who is typical of Gog) who will “come out” of Assyria that will imagine evil against Israel, but the Lord takes it personally, and speaks of it as evil against Himself (vss. 10-11).
The Lord promises His restored people that when this enemy makes an attempt to “pass through” the land, they will be “cut down.” He says, “Though I have afflicted thee ... ” This is a reference to the Lord having used the Assyrian (the first attack) as a rod of correction on His people (Isa. 10:5), He quickly adds, “I will afflict thee no more. For now I will break his yoke from off thee.” The Assyrian will not touch Israel again because the Lord will be there in the land with His restored people (vss. 12-14).
The destruction of the Assyrian power will be “good tidings” to Israel. The Lord promises them, “The wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off” (vs. 15).
The Overthrow of Nineveh
Chapter 2
Nahum gives a graphic description of the carnage in the overthrow of Nineveh, depicting the destruction of the Judgment of the Assyrian Empire.
God is Justified in the Judgment of the Assyrian
Chapter 3
Nahum justifies God in the well-deserved judgment of this godless empire.
Back Cover
The purpose of the Minor Prophets in Scripture is to supplement the subjects presented in the Major Prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Thus, the Minor Prophets do not bring forward new prophetic subjects but expand on those that have been introduced by the other prophets. They provide extra details regarding the humbling of the remnant of Israel and their eventual blessing under the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, apart from about 5 million Jews in their homeland, the nation of Israel is dispersed throughout the world—ten of the twelve tribes are unidentifiable! They are not colonists helping to expand an empire, but until recently (1948), exiles without a homeland. The prophetic Scriptures answer the question as to why Israel is outside of the land they once had, and how a remnant of that nation will return and be blessed in that land. Historians have their explanations, Zionist religious movements have their beliefs, and politicians have their plans in regard to Israel, but those who learn the ways of God from the Word of God have an infallible guide to what is about to happen to that nation.
OUTLINE OF THE MINOR PROPHETS—The Minor Prophets of the Assyrian Period of Dominance
B. Anstey
ISBN 1-894403-00-13
First Edition – March 2020
Printed Version – 1.0
Printed in CANADA
First eBook Edition – December 2020
eBook Version – 1.4
Note: Scriptures quoted are from either the King James Version (KJV)
or the J. N. Darby Translation, unless otherwise noted.
Published By:
CHRISTIAN TRUTH PUBLISHING
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