Salvation wrapped in scandal raises questions. Who could believe what Isaiah was declaring? Who heard or could imagine this kind of power? Only the strong arm of the Lord could accomplish salvation through a suffering servant, and only the wisdom of God could devise such a magnificent plan. The servant king would not come from a palace, but he would emerge like a root out of the dry ground from the line of David.
God is the King over all of creation, and he commands the nations to gather and listen in silence as he pronounces judgment. God was going to raise a nation from the east who would conquer surrounding nations. The eternal God has been at work since before the first generation, and he causes nations to rise and fall.
The previous chapter ended the devastating news that Babylon would take everything, but the bad news is immediately followed by the good news as Isaiah speaks of joy, restoration, and the redemption of his people. The Lord still calls the people who have abandoned him his people, and he wants to give them comfort. The very individuals who were unfaithful he now will speak to with great tenderness.
Hosea concludes with a call to repentance for the people of Israel and describes what the Lord would do for his people if they would return to him. The people must return because they have forsaken God and their sin made them stumble. The people of Israel would need to confess their sins, ask for forgiveness, and turn from their wicked ways in real repentance.
Hosea bought his wife back, called her to repentance, and explained the symbolism behind these actions. From this point forward, the book of Hosea is prophetic poetry. Hosea calls for the people to hear the word of the Lord. The Lord indicts the children of Israel.
Israel is in disarray politically, economically, and spiritually. The people have assassinated rulers, and they were looking to the surrounding nations for help. They lived as if God had not called them and made them his people. The people worshiped other gods and abandoned the Lord who loved them. The book of Hosea uses the prophet's relationship with an adulteress wife as a metaphor to describe the love relationship between God and his people.
Hezekiah began his reign with his father Ahaz when he was twenty-five. Hezekiah's father was not faithful to the Lord, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord. He was faithful and obedient to the Lord earning him a comparison with David. As soon as Ahaz was dead, Hezekiah sought to reverse what his father had done to the temple.
Hoshea attempted to extricate himself from the grip of Assyria through other means. He entered an alliance with King So of Egypt and attempted to withhold tribute from Shalmaneser again. This act of rebellion was met with decisively as Assyrian besieged Samaria for three years. Samaria held out as long as it could, awaiting the promised assistance from Egypt. Finally, Samaria was captured, and many Israelites were carried away into exile.
Micah speaks of a day of glory that would come after God's judgment on Judah when Zion would be exalted. Isaiah and Micah both speak of the day when Zion will be raised above all other mountains. Zion is a relatively small mountain, so its greatness has nothing to do with its physical features. Its greatness would be due to it being God’s dwelling place.
The word of the Lord came to Micah about things concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah calls all the people to listen and pay attention as he depicts a courtroom scene in which God is judge, plaintiff, and witness. The whole earth will is served a summons to be a part of the proceedings. The Sovereign Lord will make his pronouncements from his holy temple.
Amos saw the Lord standing beside a wall built with the plumb line in his hand. Israel was not meeting God's standard, which was the message of Amos from the very beginning. The people of Israel had deviated from God’s law, and now they would suffer for it. God calls Israel his people for the first time in this book, but he has no intention of sparing them.
God's judgment was coming to Israel unless they turned from their sin. Amos shows the severe nature of the judgment and its imminence. A lament, which is a type of poetry, is taken up for the house of Israel. The lament begins as if Israel is dead for she will rise no more. She is alone, helpless, and vulnerable. Israel’s allies will not come to her aid, but it is much worse than that because her God will refuse to come and raise her up.
A gifted King has died, and the people of Judah are facing uncertainty. King Uzziah was gifted, and under his leadership, Judah flourished. However, the people are now faced with a transition, uncertainty, and doubt. The nation was stronger than it had been in a very long time, but Uzziah has spent his last days as a leper, separated from the people and the palace until he died because of his disobedience and pride. Isaiah receives a vision that would change him forever.
King Uzziah's prosperity filled him with pride instead of humility. Instead of giving glory to God and recognizing that all his accomplishments were provided by God, he grew proud to his destruction. Uzziah was unfaithful to the Lord, and he entered the temple to burn incense on the altar. This was an abuse of power and willful disobedience to the Lord's command.
Jonah obeyed the Lord and had the privilege of witnessing one of the greatest revivals in history. Nineveh, a city, filled with violence, repents and asks the Lord for mercy. The Ninevites were not God's people realizing the error of their ways; they were an enemy of God's people fasting and calling out for clemency. Jonah was God's prophet who was commissioned to deliver God's message and witness once again to God's power. However, Jonah proves once again that he is a man of incongruous behavior.
God's amazing grace extends to unfaithful servants as well as those outside of his people. The Lord does not insult or shame the disobedient prophet. Instead, he repeats his call to his prophet to go to the same city and proclaim his message to a wicked people. The Lord did not leave any room for doubt as to what the disgraced prophet should do next. God does not change or compromise and so when God's command to Jonah came the second time; he left immediately for Nineveh.
Jonah found himself in the water as the men on the boat watched to see what would become of this Hebrew. Scripture does not indicate how long he was in the water before the great fish swallowed him, but it does tell us that he was in the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah found himself in an environment that was unlike anything he could have ever imagined. He must have been terrified while he was trapped in darkness.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah instructing him to go to Nineveh and call out against it because of their evil. Jonah had received another word from the Lord, but this time his response was different. He did not obey the Lord. Instead, he decided to flee from the presence of the Lord. Imagine the absurdity of God's prophet running from the almighty God. Jonah's downward spiral began when he went down to Joppa with the intention of taking a ship and going to Tarshish.
Kings come and go as nations rise and fall. Jehoahaz succeeded his father Jehu, and he ruled seventeen years. He was no different than the previous kings of Israel, allowing idolatry and false worship to go on during his reign. This ongoing pattern of sin kindles the anger of the Lord toward his people Israel. God gave his people away into the hands of the Syrians. Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to his cry for help.
The King of Syria began fighting against Israel, but as he laid out his military strategy and decided on his tactical positions, Elisha revealed them to the King of Israel. The information Elisha provided allowed the King of Israel and the army to avoid being ambushed or caught off guard by the Syrian army. Nothing seemed to work, and the Syrian plans continued to fail. The Syrian King was frustrated, and he sought to find the traitor among his ranks.