Category Archives: Bible

Amos INTRODUCTIONAmos was a sheep rancher in Judah whom God sent to neighboring Israel, where he denounced the sins of that kingdom. His indictment of Israel charged the people with turning from God, exploiting the poor, and committing gross immorality. The preaching of Amos was characterized by striking visions of coming judgment, and by aContinue reading “The 365-Day Devotional Commentary”

Joel INTRODUCTIONJoel’s vivid and passionate prophecy was stimulated by a terrible infestation of locusts that destroyed Judah’s crops. Joel saw the disaster not only as a contemporary judgment, but as an event prefiguring a coming “Day of the LORD” at history’s end. In powerful words and images Joel portrayed the Sovereign God who will surelyContinue reading “The 365-Day Devotional Commentary”

ISRAEL TO BE RESTOREDHosea 11–14 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily” (Hosea 14:4–5). There are few passages of Scripture that approach Hosea 11–14’s emotional expressions of God’s love. As weContinue reading “The 365-Day Devotional Commentary”

ISRAEL’S PUNISHMENTHosea 7–10 “My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; they will be wanderers among the nations” (Hosea 9:17). Punishment must fit the crime. Here the various crimes that led to Israel’s exile are described, along with predictions of that fast-approaching judgment. BackgroundExile. When Moses gave Israel her Law at theContinue reading “The 365-Day Devotional Commentary”

ISRAEL INDICTEDHosea 4–6 “The LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land” (Hosea 4:1). The Old Testament mirrors the heart of God. In the charges brought by Hosea, we can see those issues of justice and righteousness which we must deal with in our society today. OverviewAfter preliminary charges (4:1–4),Continue reading “The 365-Day Devotional Commentary”