iSM

"I give thfk Boots
lfpteikefi>w<£tiig ifi. Sotfag-tiH- tttii- Cafex.p'

•YALE-^MViEiasinnf-

Presented by the Author

THE MESSAGE OF THE
TWELVE PROPHETS

CHRONOLOGY

SAUL, DAVID,
SOLOMON, iooo B.C.

Two Tribes— JUDAH — Southern

Northern — ISRAEL— Ten Tribes

Scripture

Kings. Jerusalem

Prophets

Date

Prophets

Kings. Samaria

Scripture

Kingdom.

937

divided

2 Chron., II.
Rehoboam.
93°920910900890
Jeroboam I.
1 Kings, 12.
I Kings, 22.
Jehoshaphat, 876.
880870
Elijah.Elisha.
Ahab, 875.
1 Kings, 16 : 29.
2 Chron., 26.
Uzziah, 782.
II
770760
Amos.
Jeroboam II, 781.
2 Kings, 14.
2 Chron., 27.
Jothan.
7^o
2 Kings, 16.
Ahaz.
Isaiah.
740
Hosea.
Hoshea.
2 Kings, 18.
Hezekiah, 725.
73o
Assyrian captivity, 722.
2 Kings, 17.
Micah.
720710700 ||
2 Kings, 21.
Josiah, 639.
•7..-V. Iere-
Nat Hab'
640630
620
Obad.
610
2 Kings, 23, 24.
Zedekiah. Babylonian cap
600 590580 S7o
r
tivity, 586.
Exile.
, Ezekiel.
56055°
Ezra, I, 2.
Return, 537.
Nehemiah reaches
Jerusalem.
Hag.
Zech. Malachi.
Joel.Jonah.
540
5305205io
500
490
480470460
450440430
420 410
400
THE MESSAGE OF THE
TWELVE PROPHETS

BY
WILLIAM D. MURRAY

And we have the word of prophecy made more
sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as
unto a lamp shining in a dark place. — 2 Peter i : 19.

New York
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION PRESS
1907

Copyright, 1904, by
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF YOUNG
MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS
(2-0-P2953-7-07)
9M»n lo

Introduction

Several reasons have influenced the author in preparing
this book. The first is that those who have spent their
lives studying the prophetic books of the Bible, as well as
those who have studied these books even in a cursory
fashion, are agreed that " they form the key to all the
chief problems of Old Testament study, and without them
no one can hope to make any real progress in the knowl
edge of the Old Testament as a whole."
Another reason is well expressed by Cornill in his
Prophets of Israel : " The whole history of humanity has
produced nothing which can be compared in the remotest
degree with the. prophecy of Israel. Through prophecy
Israel became the prophet of mankind. Let this never be
overlooked or forgotten — the costliest and noblest treas
ure that man possesses he owes to Israel and to Israelitic
prophecy." These studies are an attempt to make the Minor
Prophets a subject for devotional study. They have
therefore been arranged in brief daily portions and are
printed so that questions can be answered in writing. It
is of the first importance that this should be done.
The text used in preparing this volume is that of the
American Standard Edition of the Revised Version which
should be used by students. The questions, oftentimes,
will be unintelligible in connection with other texts of the
Bible. The studies are arranged so that each of the prophets
forms a book study by itself, covering one or more com
plete weeks. Students are urged, while studying a par
ticular book, to read it through occasionally. In no other
way can the message in its entirety be grasped. For this
purpose the volumes on the Minor Prophets in the Mod
ern Reader's Bible and in the Temple Bible are recom
mended. The former is, perhaps, the best book for the
purpose, as it uses the Revised Version and shows the

vi Introduction
literary characteristics of the book; the latter is in the
authorized text and has brief, helpful introductions. In
this connection the chart at the end of the book ought to
be carefully filled in as the studies proceed.
A chronological chart is printed giving the place of the
prophets in the history of the Hebrew people, together
with the names and dates of a few of the more important
kings. In many cases the date of the prophet can be fixed
only approximately, but some order had to be adopted, and
the one here followed is that which commends itself to
the author. The map of the country is of great impor
tance and should be frequently consulted.
From time to time, throughout the studies, references
to other books of the Old Testament and to various his
torical events will be found, which it is thought will give
a fairly complete, though brief, outline of the history of
the Old Testament, at least an outline upon which future
studies may be based.
Many books might be recommended, besides those above
mentioned, but only two or three need be referred to here.
George Adam Smith's Book of the Twelve Prophets in
the Expositors' Bible Series is almost indispensable, if one
wishes to hear the message for to-day which these old
prophets spoke. Sander's and Kent's Messages of the
Prophets, a paraphrase of the text, throws a flood of light
upon the meaning of the books. Farrar's Minor Prophets
in Men of the Bible Series and The Minor Prophets by
Rev. John Adams, in Bible Class Primers, are small but
helpful books. The thanks of the author are heartily
given to all those from whose works he has quoted.
The words of a recent writer might well be repeated
here : " It is hardly necessary," he says, " to bespeak atten
tion for the Scriptures included in this volume. They are
' minor ' only in length ; for the rest, it is doubtful if any
collection of miscellaneous literature has ever brought to
gether so many writers of such surpassing interest. They
stretch over a period of time which, on. one theory of dates,
is as great as that which in English literature separates
Wycliffe from Browning. Of the individual prophets,
Amos was a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees;
Daniel a mage, and one of a triumvirate administering a
world empire ; Jonah was a missionary ; Micah a plain
countryman ; Zephaniah of royal descent ; the rest have

Introduction vii
died away from human record leaving only their works to
speak for them." And another has said : " The period be
tween Amos and the return is the golden age of Old Testa
ment literature."
These studies were prepared originally for use in the
author's Bible class of business men, and have been taught
by him at various times. Out of each class which has
studied them, one or more of the members has gone into
Christian work ; they have heard the call of God through
the prophets of old. It is the earnest desire of the author
that through this book the same call shall come to many
more men, and that yet others, in larger numbers, shall
listen to the message to live a fuller and a richer Christian
life.
William D. Murray.
Plainfield, N. J.

V1U

The Message of the Twelve Prophets ix

i. Destruction Coming.

Amos.

2. Sin and Its Punishment.

.>

3. A Lamentation.

(i

4. Visions.

a

5. Doom and Redemption.

tt

6. Sin, Love, Hope.

Hosea. \

7. Charge Against the People.

a

8. Corruption of Leaders.

a

9. Sin, Sorrow, Exile.

it

10. Sowing and Reaping.

£t

11. "The Yearning God."

te

12. Sin and Its Punishment.

Micah.

13. Visions of the Triumphant Future.

it

14. God's Controversy.

it

15. A Call to Repentance.

Zephaniah.

16. Vengeance is Mine.

Nahum.

17. The Just Shall Live by Faith.

Habakkuk.

18. " The Curse of Cowardice."

Obadiah.

19. Arise and Build.

Haggai.

20. Visions of Encouragement.

Zechariah.

21. God Reigns.

a

22. " Thus Saith Jehovah."

a

23. The King of Peace.

a

24. The Great Deliverance.

a

25. Unconscious Corruption.

Malachi.

26. Punishment and Deliverance.

Joel.

27. The Holy Spirit and Deliverance.

(i

28. Salvation to the Uttermost.

Jonah.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

First Day : Amos i :i, 2. Title and Text.
Part I. Note the title of the book in v. 1.
The author: Amos. Where did he live? Where
was it ? 1 Chron. 1 1 :6.
What was his occupation? 1:1, 7:14, 15.
What does he say he is not?
Notice how his outdoor life is reflected in his writ
ings by the illustrations he uses. 3:12; 9:13; 7:1;
2:13; 6:12; 5:8.
From which nation did Amos come?
Where was he speaking when he first delivered his
message? 7:13.
This may have been the region where John the Bap
tist preached, Luke 1 :8o, and where Christ was with
the wild beasts, Mark 1:13.
Recalling that before this time (937 B.C.) the He
brew people had been divided into two nations, Judah
and Israel — one in the south, the other in the north —
to which of these was Amos speaking? Cf. 3:1; 5:1
et al.
What is the date of the book? v. 1. Forty years
after Elisha. On the earthquake, see Zech. 14:5.
Notice that he was the first of the prophets to write
his prophecy. He came before Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Part II. Verse 2 is the prophet's text. What does he
mean by "Jehovah will roar from Zion"? Consult the
marginal references.
What indication is there in v. 2 of the far-reaching
effect of Jehovah's voice?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Second Day: Amos i:6-io. Destruction of Foreign
Enemies.
Part III. The Introduction begins at v. 3 and ex
tends to 2:16.
Amos of Judah has come from his southern home to
speak to the people of the northern kingdom ; this farmer
— how should he attract attention? His method is dis
closed in 1 :3-2 :8.
He first announces that God is going to punish three
foreign nations. Name them. Locate them on the map.
Notice that they were far away from Israel and that they
were Israel's enemies.
Do you think this would tend to induce his hearers to
listen to what this man had to say ?

Notice the arrangement of each paragraph beginning
" Thus saith Jehovah " and ending " I will send a fire."
This arrangement is clearly brought out in the printing in
the Modem Reader's Bible.
As you study the book be on the lookout for the key
word and key text asked for in this study for the seventh
day of the fifth week.
Prayer : " Almighty God, graciously protect and con
duct us through the uncertainties of this new year of our
earthly pilgrimage ; prepare us for its duties and trials, its
joys and sorrows ; help us to watch and pray, and to be
ready like men that wait for their Lord ; and grant that
every change, whether it be of prosperity or adversity, of
life or death, may bring us nearer to Thee, and to that
great eternal year of joy and rest which, after years of
this vain earthly life, awaits the faithful in Thy blissful
presence. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Third Day : Amos i :i 1-2 :3. Destruction of Enemies
Who Are Related to Them.
Amos comes nearer to them now and foretells the pun
ishment of three nations that were related to Israel —
Edom, Ammon, and Moab. How were they related to
Israel ? How were they situated geographically with ref
erence to Israel ?
Notice more at length the arrangement of each para
graph : the number of transgressions and the description
of their sin. What was the sin in each case ?
Familiarize yourself with this simple chronological
chart which Dr. Schauffler suggests: (The dates are only
approximate).

Xff/nor
JSttptwts
cJabnon /"^N 6An'al
1 ^.G. z.000 i 000 | «eo

^AixxK Moses Zgru&bed>e]

Message for To-day : " Thus saith lehovah," vs. 1 :3,
6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1. God is still speaking to men, not only
through these old, yet ever new, words of His prophet,
but in the experiences of life ; sin is still sin, and God still
punishes it. It is for us to listen for His voice, and, hear
ing it, to obey it.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Fourth Day : Amos 2 4, 5. Judah to be Destroyed.
About which nation does he prophesy here?
Judah was half as large again as Rhode Island.
What was their sin ?

How would this word from Amos make his hearers feel
toward him?

The Minor Prophets: These books are called by this
name, not because they are of less importance than other
books of the Bible. " It was the Latins who designated
them ' The Minor Prophets,' on account of their brevity
as compared with those who are the major, because of
their ample volume." " The name Minor Prophets has
proved to be very misleading. Thomas Paine is by no
means the only person who has supposed that they were
so called because of their inferior importance. They owe
their name solely to their smaller size, and the book which
contained them was known in Greek as ra Su>8eKaTrpo<frqrov,
or twelve-prophet book."
Meaning of word prophet. 1. Ex. 7:1, 2; 2. Dan.
4:24; 3. Acts 13:1; Luke 7:28. Study these passages
and notice the three different senses in which the word
is used.
Amos says he was not a prophet. " The wind bloweth
where it listeth, so the Holy Spirit saw in this simple
herdsman an instrument fitted for His work." May not
this be true of you ? Read the following passages and see
what some of the men were whom God used : Judges 6:11;
1 Sam. 16:11 ; 1 Kings 19:19; 1 Sam. 9:3, 20; Ex. 3:1.
Prophets have been called " The greatest gift of God to
the ancient world."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Fifth Day : Amos 2 :6-8. Israel to Suffer.
" Now he has got them just where he wants them. He
says, ' You think it is a good thing to destroy Damascus,
Tyre, and even Judah. Listen. I have still another
word.' " Then he goes on to tell of the destruction of
their own land.
What was their sin ?
Cf . Ex. 22 :26 on 2 :8, showing how the marginal refer
ences help explain the text.
Read the following passages and state the moral condi
tion of Israel at this time. 5:11-12; 8:5-7; 3:15; 4:1.
It was also a time of great political prosperity.
What indications are there of wealth and luxury?
Read the passages in the history telling about the times
in which Amos lived. Uzziah, King of Judah, 2 Kings
15: 1 et seq., Jeroboam II King of Israel, 2 Kings 14:23
et seq.
Prof. W. W. White suggests the following chart. It
shows how Amos gradually approached his announcement
to Israel.

J^unascm

6 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Sixth Day : Amos 2 :9~i6. God's Goodness and Their
Punishment.
Read vs. 9-1 1 and state what God had done for Israel.

What was a Nazarite? Cf. Numb. 6 :2, 3.

What was to be their punishment ? Vs. 13-16.

Read 1 =3-2: 16 and make a list of eight national sins
hated by God.

The Minor Prophets are more frequently quoted in the
New Testament than the Major Prophets. The text of
the first Christian sermon is taken from Joel (Acts
2:17-21) ; Stephen gives emphasis to his argument by a
quotation from Amos (Acts 7:42, 43) ; St. James by a
quotation from the same prophet decides the question dis
cussed at the first Christian council (Acts 15 :i6, 17) ; Joel
teaches the momentous fact of the resurrection and a gen
eral judgment (Joel 3:13-16) ; Micah reveals to men the
birthplace of our Lord (Matt. 2:6); Zechariah fore
shadows His crucifixion (John 19 :37) ; Jonah His resur
rection (Matt. 12:39, 41)- See also Matt. 2:15; 9:13;
11:10; 12:7; Rom. 1:17; 9:13; 9:25; 9:26; 10:13.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIRST WEEK. DESTRUCTION COMING.

Seventh Day : Amos Chs. i and 2. " The Heathen's
Crimes and Israel's."
To fix in mind the divisions so far made of the book,
read 1:1-2:16 and fill out the following in your own
words :
I. Title 1 :i.
II. Text 1 :2.
III. Introduction 1 13-2 :i6.
Destruction coming upon foreign enemies :
1.

Destruction coming upon related enemies :
I.

2.

Destruction coming upon his own nation Judah.
Destruction coming upon Israel.
Their sin and punishment.
Memorize 2 Pet. 1 119.

8 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

First Day : Amos 3 :i-8. This is no Accident.
Part IV of the book begins here and includes chs.
3 and 4. It might be called The First Sermon.
Against whom does he speak ?
What is his subject? V. 2.
Where was he speaking? See 7 :i2, 13.

Read vs. 3-8 and state how these words show that God's
purpose to punish Israel is not accidental.
What do vs. 7 and 8 tell, us about prophecy? Cf. calls
of Moses, Ex. 3:1-4; Isa. 6:6; Jer. 1:4-10.

Write out a summary of vs. 2-8.

We should remember that these Old Testament prophe
cies were originally sermons or addresses delivered orally
by a man to the people for whom they were primarily in
tended. Afterward they were written down and pre
served for us.
Message for To-day: Only those who hear God can
speak for God, v. 7. The message must be received before
it can be delivered. Am I living, day by day, such a life
that in it I may expect God to speak to me ?
" Can two walk together, except they be agreed? " v. 3.
Companionship with God depends on going the way God
goes and on agreement with God. If we do Hjs will we
shall have sweet fellowship with Him.
Memorize John 7:17.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Second Day: Amos 3:9-15. Civil Oppression.
Where was Ashdod? Egypt?
Why were they called ?
What accusation does he make against Israel here ?
What does he mean by Samaria? Vs. 9 and 12.
Write out in your own words vs. 9-15.
Of what crimes are they accused here ?
Winter house, summer house, v. 15. This does not indi
cate two houses, but different parts of the same house.
Thompson says : " It is rare to meet a family that has an
entirely separate dwelling for summer." Cf. Judges 3 :20 ;
Jer. 36:22.
What is the meaning of prophecy ?
Three Hebrew words are used: Nabi=to bubble up;
Roeh— one who sees in a trance ; Chozeh=scer. All three
words are used in 1 Chron. 29 :29.
Prophet means " one who interprets for another." See
1 Kings 18:22. Foretelling was not their most important
work. Neither Samuel nor John foretold the future. In
their calls nothing was said about foretelling. See Isa. 6.
" In general, it is of the deepest importance, for
any genuine comprehension of the prophets in their real
grandeur, to see that they were preachers of righteous
ness, statesmen and patriots, enlightened to teach an ever-
apostatizing nation —
' What makes a kingdom great and keeps it so,
What ruins kingdoms and lays cities flat.'
They were messengers from Jehovah, Hag. 1 :i3, men
of God."

io The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Third Day : Amos 4:1-5. Israel's Guilt.
Kine of Basltan=the women of the nation.
With hooks, v. 2. The Assyrians led their captives away
by hooks or rings in the upper lip.
What was their sin ? Vs. 1-3.

What is the figure in vs. 2, 3 ?
Where and what was Gilgal ? Bethel ?

What sin is described in vs. 4, 5?
That which is leavened, v. 5. See marginal reference
for explanation.
This passage is an example of the use of irony.
What was the condition of Israel in Amos' time ? 3 :io ;
2 :6-8 ; 8 :4-6 ; 5 :i 1,12 ; 4 :i ; 2 :j ; 8 4 ; 6 :6.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 1

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Fourth Day: Amos 4:6-11; Gen. 19:17-25. Un
heeded Punishment.
Different punishments are described here; what is
meant by each ?
Cleanness of teeth, v. 6.

Withholden the rain, v. 7.
Smitten with blasting, vs. 9, 10, 11.

What does the refrain, in vs. 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11, " Yet
have ye not returned unto me," show us of God's purpose
in sending these punishments ? Cf . Heb. 12 :6.

" Amos is especially the poor man's prophet, for he was
a poor man himself ; not a courtier like Isaiah, or a priest
like Jeremiah, or a sage like Daniel ; but a herdsman and
a gatherer of sycamore fruit in Tekoa, near Bethlehem,
where Amos was born. What was the secret of this herds
man's strength ? He believed and preached the kingdom
of God and His righteousness : the simple but infinite dif
ference between right and wrong, and the certain doom
of wrong, if wrong was persisted in."

12 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Fifth Day: Amos 4:12, 13. The Punishment.
To what does the word " therefore " refer in v. 12 ?
What was it God was going to do to them ?
What kind of a God is described in v. 13 ?

" Uttered though it was some seven-and-twenty cen
turies ago, the Book of Amos appeals in a very striking
way to present-day society. History repeats itself: the
evils against which the prophet inveighed might be seen
in their full in the later days of the Roman Empire, in the
France of Louis XIV., but never in more startling guise
than in the Christendom of the present day — extremes of
wealth and poverty grievously accentuated, the pursuit of
pleasure and luxury treated as the supreme end of life by
many, embittered struggles between capital and labor,
and with it all a fading of the recognition of One above
all who sees and judges — such evils, reproducing those of
an earlier day, should warn the nations that obstinate re
fusal to attend to God's message must be again to invoke
the same doom."
Message for To-day: "Prepare to meet thy God,"
v. 12. Our whole life on earth is a preparatory school.
Some day we shall meet the King of kings ; what kind of
preparation ought ours to be as we look forward to that
day? Our future destiny depends on our present prepa
rations. We must be sons now to be heirs hereafter. "If
children, then heirs." Rom. 8:17.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 13

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Sixth Day : Amos, Chs. 3 and 4.
Read chs. 3 and 4 and fill out the following outline :
IV. First Sermon.
Subject :
3:3-8- 9-15-
4:i-5- a 1-3.
b 4, 5-
6-1 1.
a 6.
b 7,8.
c 9.
d 10.
e 11.
12, 13.
What would you say was the subject of this sermon?

Write out in fifty words the substance of this first ser
mon.

14 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SECOND WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Seventh Day : Amos, Chs. 3 and 4.
What would you say if you had to write an address on
the words of v. 2, " You only have I known of all the
families of the earth, therefore I will visit upon you all
your iniquities."

Does the fact that when God speaks His prophets had
to speak (3:8) have any application to your life as a
Christian ? Has He spoken to you ? Have you spoken ?
" Let him that heareth say, come." Is there anything in
your life that corresponds with the false zeal of 4 4., 5 ?
Notice the source of the prophet's information as stated
in 1:3, 6, 9, 11; 2:2, 4, 6; 3:1; 5:4.
Where does your message come from?
Prayer : " O God, who hast made our days as an hand-
breadth, so that our age is as nothing before Thee ; im
press us with a sense of our frailty, and so teach us to
number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wis
dom. Dispose us to walk circumspectly, redeeming the
time ; to be sober, watchful, and prayerful ; and to do with
all our mjght whatsoever our hand findeth, for the ad
vancement of Thy glory, the good of our fellow-men, and
the furtherance of our own spiritual welfare. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 5

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

First Day: Amos 5:1-3. Statement.
Part V of the book is The Second Sermon: A Lamen
tation, chs. 5 and 6.
Against whom does he speak ?
Who is meant by the Virgin of Israel ? V. 2.
What is the meaning of v. 3 ?
Note that vs. 1-3 form a little lyric poem.
How the prophets received their message :
1. Visions, Ezek. 1:4; Obad. 1; Hos. 12:10.
2. Dreams, Judges 7:13; 1 Sam. 28:15.
3. The spoken word, 1 Sam. 3 :ii ; 1 Kings 19:9.
4. Divine impulse, Joel 1 :i ; Ezek. 18:1 ; 1 Sam. 10:5, 6.
" They were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Although Amos was the first to write his prophecy,
there had been prophets before him. Deborah is called
a prophetess (Judges 4 4) . Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Gad,
Abijah, and others are called prophets (Deut. 34:10;
1 Sam. 22 :5 ; I Kings 1 :8; Acts 13 :2o). Find other ref
erences. The two best known are Elijah and his successor
Elisha, prophets of Israel, who lived about 875-800 b.c,
and who may be remembered as the first of a great line.
Elijah has been called " one of the most Titanic personages
in all the Old Testament."

1 6 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Second Day : Amos 5 4-9. Seek God.
What were Bethel, Gilgal, and Beer-sheba ?
What did their seeking of these places indicate?
What was their sin ? V. 7.
Who were they to seek ? Vs. 5, 6, 8.
What was the house of Joseph ? V. 6.
What character of God is indicated by vs. 8 and 9 ?
Memorize v. 4.
Message for To-day : " Seek not Bethel . . .
Seek the Lord." Some people seem to think that by going
to the regular place of worship they are fulfilling all of
God's requirements. It is not so. He wants us to seek
Him — no mere form can take the place of such seeking,
even when that form takes us to church. Our religion is
a religion of the person. The New Testament equivalent
of these words is the saying of Jesus, " Follow me."
Read Ps. 121.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 17

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Third Day: Amos 5 :io-i5. Their Sins and Promise
of Help.
What was " the gate " ? Vs. 10, 15.
What sins are enumerated here ? Cf . Hag. 1 :6.
Can you name any similar sins to-day?
What class is addressed here?

The houses seem to have been usually of dried brick.
To build of hewn stone would indicate wealth.

Why is God called the Lord of Hosts ? Of what hosts
is He Lord?
Message for To-day: The way to live is by seeking
good, v. 14. But men seem to think that they live by seek
ing evil. It is the old story of the prodigal son : we must
needs journey into a far country and waste our substance
in riotous living.

1 8 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Fourth Day : Amos 5 :i6-27. Sorrow Coming.
What was to be the result ?
To whom does he refer in v. 18?
Write out v. 19 in your own words.
What is the meaning of Day of Jehovah ? V. 20.

V. 21. " Privilege and means of grace won't save,
beware of wickedness and worship."
Describe the three different kinds of offerings referred
to in v. 22.

What does he mean by v. 25 ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 19

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Fifth Day : Amos 6 :i-6. Heartless Self-indulgence.
To what class of the people does the prophet speak here ?
Vs. 1, 6.

Where was Calneh, Hamath, and Gath ?

What was their sin ?

More men are spoiled by prosperity than by adversity.
Message for To-day : " Woe to them that are at ease
in Zion." There's a danger in feeling satisfied in Zion to
day. God demands of us a holy dissatisfaction. He has
saved us and for that we rejoice ; but until sin and sorrow
and shame are put away we cannot be " at ease in Zion."

Far-called our navies melt away —
On dune and headland sinks the fire —
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre !
Judge of the Nations spare us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget."

20 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Sixth Day: Amos 6:7-11. Their Punishment.
What was their punishment to be ?
What is the meaning of the 10th verse?
Why " uncle " ? V. 10. See margin.

What custom is referred to in " Burneth him "? V. 10.
Cf. 1 Sam. 31 :i2.

Why would it be dangerous to " make mention of the
name of Jehovah " ? V. 10.

Prayer : " Lord God Almighty, we stand in awe of Thy
majesty ; we are as nothing in our own eyes ; we know that
we cannot plead our own merit. But we come asking for
giveness of our sins through the merits of Thy dear Son
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Because of His great
sacrifice of Himself for our sins may we escape the pun
ishments we have so richly merited, and the glory shall
be His and His alone. Amen. "

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 21

THIRD WEEK. A LAMENTATION.

Seventh Day : Amos 6 :i2-i4. The Conquest is Sure.
Verse 12 has been paraphrased : " A moral order exists
which it is as impossible to break without disaster as it
would be to break the natural order by driving horses upon
a precipice. There is an inherent necessity in the sinner's
doom." What punishment is foretold here ?

Compare v. 14 with 2 Kings 14:25 and with the map
and see how extensive Jeroboam's kingdom was.
Fill out the following outline :
V. Second Sermon.
Subject :
5 :i-3- 4-9.
10-13. H-I5-16-17.18-20.
21-24. 25-27.
6:1-6. 7-11.
12-14.
Write out in thirty words the substance of the prophet's
message in this second sermon.

22 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

First Day: Amos 7:1-3. Vision of Locusts.
Part VI. A Series of Visions. 7:1-9:10.
Note here a change of method from sermons to visions.
Locusts were like our grasshoppers.
Locusts, v. 1 : " They are perhaps the most terrible of
all the scourges of Bible lands. Their swarms fill the
air, darkening the sky, and* the noise of their wings re
sembles the pattering of heavy rain. They fly with great
rapidity, and toward nightfall they light wherever they
may happen to be ; and such are their numbers that they
often break the branches of the trees to which they
cling." See Joel 2:4-11.
What is the meaning of the " latter growth," " king's
mowings " ?

Note the arrangement here and in the following
vision : The vision, the prophet's plea, Jehovah repents.
What was his plea?

At the prayer of this prophet of destruction the de
struction is turned aside. This would win the confidence
of his hearers. Remember Amos was a stranger to them.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 23

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Second Day: Amos 7:4-6. Vision of Fire.
What is the figure here? Cf. Isa. 66:15, 16.
What was the prophet's plea for Judah ?

How would the people regard Amos after his success
ful intercession to Jehovah for them?

God revealed Himself to the prophets, vs. 1, 4.

How the prophets delivered their message : " God
having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the proph
ets by divers portions and in divers manners." Heb.
1 :i. 1. Orally: Amos 7:12, 13. Jer. 36:32. Elisha had
music played, 2 Kings 3:15, 16.
2. In Poetry: Hab. ch. 3. Jonah ch. 2. Amos 5:2.
3. By Symbolic Action: Isa. 20:2, 3. Ezek. 4:4. 1
Kings 11:30, 31.

24 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Third Day: Amos 7:7-9. Vision of the Plumb-
line.
Explain the meaning of these verses.

" I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the
sword," was a prophecy that the King himself was not
to be exempt from the divine anger.

Message for To-day : " / will not again pass by them
any more," v. 8. " / will pass over you," Ex. 12:13. We
are at liberty to take our places in either of these two
classes. We may make such a choice now that God will
come upon us with destruction, or we may so choose
that as sinners are being destroyed we shall be saved.
The blood entitled the Hebrews to protection; the blood
is efficient to-day. Memorize Ex. 12:13.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 25

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Fourth Day: Amos 7:10-17. Controversy.
What aroused the anger of Amaziah?

" Divine truth is challenged by human law, and the
word of God silenced in the name of the King."
What did Amaziah tell the King?

What did Amaziah tell Amos?

On Bethel v. 10, see Gen. 28:10-19.
What does he mean by " Go unto the land of Judah
and there eat bread " ? V. 12.

What reasons does Amaziah give for his command to
Amos?

What, in substance, was Amos' answer? Vs. 14, 15.
Cf. 3:8. 1 Cor. 9:16.

His reply has been called " The Charter of a Spiritual
Religion." Which was right, Amaziah or Amos? Why?

Message for To-day : " Would God that all Jeho
vah's people were prophets." Numb. 11:29. What a
change there would be if everyone of us was a prophet
in this sense — one who tells about God, one who speaks
for God! This was what Jesus wanted His disciples to
be when He said : " Ye shall be My witnesses." Acts 1 :8.
Compare these two verses and see how much alike they
are.

id The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Fifth Day: Amos 8:13. Vision of Summer Fruit.
What is the vision here ?

What condition of the people is symbolized by this
vision ?

See a somewhat similar vision seen by Jeremiah. Jer.
24:1-3. This and the next vision are each followed by an
address founded on the vision.
Prayer : " O God, so fill us with Thy grace and
enlist us in Thy work, so manifest the might of Thy
word to us, that the ideal of Thy perfect Kingdom may
shine as bright and near to us as to Thy prophet of old,
and that we may become its inspired preachers and ever
labor in its hope. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 27

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Sixth Day: Amos 8:4-14. Destruction is Coming.
What sins are enumerated in vs. 4-6?

New moon, v. 5. This came in the first of the month
and had been a holiday from the earliest times (1 Sam.
20:5, 2 Kings 4:23). A holiday was unwelcome to the
greedy merchants.
What was to be their punishment? Vs. 11-13.

Sackcloth, v. 10. A rough cloth, worn sometimes
under, sometimes over other clothes. A sign of mourn
ing. Cf. Isa. 3:24; Jonah 3:8; Luke 10:13.
Message for To-day: They had silenced the proph
ets (7:12) and the time would come when there would
be a spiritual famine; like men dying of hunger and
thirst they would ransack the whole country to find
God's words. The authorities silenced Jesus (Luke
23 :9)- O, that we might always be careful not to silence
God's word from whatever source it comes to us ! Per
haps in these studies God has been speaking His word
once more to me ; let me listen to it. To silence it might
bring a famine into my soul.

28 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTH WEEK. VISIONS.

Seventh Day: Amos Chs. 7 and 8.
What visions had he seen and what was the meaning
of each?
1.

3-

Some dates to be remembered:
Division of the kingdom into Israel and Judah, 937
B.C. ; 1 Kings 12.
Capture of Samaria and disappearance of Israel (Ten
Tribes), 722 B.C.; 2 Kings 17:1-6.
Captivity of Judah in Babylon, 586 B.C. ; 2 Kings
25 :i-6.
First return from Babylonian captivity under Zerub
babel, 537 B.c. ; Ezra 1 :i, 2.
Second return under Ezra, 440 B.C.; Ezra 7:27, 28;
8:15-36. Read Ps. 79.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 29

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

First Day' : Amos 9 :i-6. The Broken Altar.

What is the figure here ? V. 1.

God promises them destruction. Notice how thorough
it is to be, " unto Sheol," v. 2 ; " up into heaven," v. 2 ; " in
the top of Carmel," v. 3 ; " in the bottom of the sea," v. 3 ;
" into captivity," v. 4. Into the lowest or highest part of
the spirit world, to the top of the mountain or the bottom
of the sea in this world, even if they leave home and flee,
everywhere, anywhere, God's will follows them.

Who is to do this ? V. 5.

Message for To-day :
" If I ascend up into heaven, Thou are there :
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ;
Even there shall Thy hand lead me,
And Thy right hand shall hold me."

Read Ps. 139.

30 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Second Day : Amos 9 7-10. Their Punishment.
Where are the places referred to in v. 7 ?

God is the God of all nations, not of Israel only. Cf.
Isa. 10 :5 ff.
What is the meaning of the first clause of v. 7?

Not all to be destroyed, v. 8.
Notice the striking prophecy in v. 9: "I will sift the
house of Israel among the nations . . . yet shall not
the least kernel fall upon the earth." Tell how this has
come true in the history of the Jews: sifted among the
nations, but never losing their identity.

In connection with these studies we ought to learn some
thing about the previous history of Israel. Try to remem
ber the following outline :
I. The Beginning of the Chosen Nation as a Patriarchal
Family (Gen. 12-50). This was the beginning of the
Tribes. II. The Migration of the Chosen Nation: Out of
Egypt to Sinai; Forty Years in the Wilderness. (Num
bers.) III. The Chosen Nation in its Efforts Toward a Secular
Government. (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Sam.)
IV. The Chosen Nation under a Secular King. ( 1 and
2 Kings.)V. The Chosen Nation Reconstructed as a Jewish
Church. ( 1 and 2 Chron., Ezra and Neh.)

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 31

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Third Day: Amos 9:11-15. Promise of Redemption.
This is Part VII of the book.
This kind of promise often comes at the close of one of
these old prophecies, cf, Joel 3 :i8-2i ; Hos. 14 4-8.
What is the " tabernacle of David " ?

What is the idea in v. 13, " The plowman shall overtake
the reaper " ?

What promise is given to the people of Israel in vs. 14,
15?

Compare Acts 15 :i4-i8.
Read Ps. 19:1-6.

32 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Fourth Day: Ps. 72. The Messianic Prophecy in
Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16.
" The person of the Messiah does not appear in this
prophecy, but there is the generic reference to the house of
David and the people of Israel."
What did Jesus say about these old prophets? John
5 :39. Memorize this verse.

The 72d Psalm is a Messianic Psalm. Notice how it
represents the Messianic King reigning and bringing the
blessing foretold by Amos.

Make an outline from 7 :i to the end.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 33

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Fifth Day: The Book of Amos.
Read the book through and see what you think of Rev.
G. Campbell Morgan's name for it, National Account
ability. Fill out the following outline of the book :
I.

II.
III.
IV. V.
VI.
VII.

34 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Sixth Day : The Book of Amos.
The Message of Amos : " His whole message consists
in the common prophetic conviction that God is the sole
and righteous governor of the world, judging the people
righteously, and, when they rebel, dashing them to pieces
like a potter's vessel."
" Amos is the prophet of the law ; he sees the divine
processes work themselves out irrespective of the moods
and intrigues of the people, with which after all he is little
familiar. So each of his paragraphs moves steadily for
ward to a climax, and every climax is doom — the captivity
of the people to Assyria. You can divide his book by
these things: it has its periods, strophies and refrains.
It marches like the hosts of the Lord of Hosts."

Key thought : Judgment and restoration.
Key word : Punishment.
Key text : Rom. 6 :23.

t Prayer : " Spirit of the Living God, who hast given us
the Word of Truth, that we may grow thereby, teach us
how to use it wisely for our soul's health. We thank Thee
for prophets and holy men of old who foretold the glory
of Christ. Give us thine aid that we may read with rev
erence and love. Make Thy warnings clear and Thy truth
effectual for our growth in knowledge and holiness.
Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 35

FIFTH WEEK. DOOM AND REDEMPTION.

Seventh Day: Some Teachings of Amos.
What does he teach about God as governor and ruler
of the world? 4:6, 7, 13 ; 5:9; 9:5.

What does he say about the captivity of the people?
4:2; 5:27; 6:7; 7:17.

What does he say about sin and its punishment?
1:3, 6, 9; 2:13; 3:14; 4:12; 8:7; 9:8.

What use does he make of the Old Testament history ?
2:10; 3:1; 5:25; 9:7.

Write down any texts which show that Rom. 6:23 is
a good key text.
Remember as you study these lessons that the god
and the land were intimately associated in the minds of
the people in the time we are studying about. Each
nation had its own land and its own god. See a striking
illustration of this in 2 Kings 17:24-41, when the new
settlers brought their own gods with them, and when
they failed in this new land they sent for a priest to
instruct them in the religion of the god of the land. So
it comes out again and again that the Jehovah is the
God of the land ; He sends the rain or withholds it ; He
multiplies the flocks. See Amos 9:13, 14; Joel 3:18.
This is one reason why exile from the land was such a
heavy penalty — it was separation from their God. Ps.
I374.

36 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

First Day: Hosea i:i. Title.
The Book of Hosea is divided into two principal parts :
I. Introduction. His family life. Chs. 1-3.
II. The prophecy founded on his life's experience.
Chs. 4-14.
In v. 1 we have the title of the book.
Against which kingdom does he prophesy ? 1 :3, 5 ;
4=15-

What does his name mean?

Of which kingdom was he a native?

Someone has said that of all the prophets he was
the most spiritual. Keep this thought in mind as you
study this book.
George Adam Smith calls him the " First prophet of
grace, Israel's earliest evangelist." " This Arthur of
Israel."

He dates his book by four kings of Judah and one
king of Israel. Read 2 Kings 14:21 et seq., for the his
torical setting of the book. What was the date?
" The period covered by the prophesying of Hosea
was undoubtedly the darkest in the whole history of the
kingdom of Israel." Cf. 4:1, 2.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 37

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Second Day: Hosea 1:2-11. His Family Life
What did this command mean? V. 2.

At the first, v. 2. He is looking back as he writes.
Notice what a strong figure is used to denote ' turning
away from God. Can it be that God looks upon dis
loyalty to Him as we look upon the disloyal wife!
Some suppose that the name Loruhamah means " that
never knew a father's love," i.e., born through her
mother's adultery.
This is Hosea's personal life, given to him as a sym
bol. God spoke to Hosea through his home life.
Maybe He is speaking to you in some such unexpected
way. What do the names given to the children mean? Cf.
1 :7 with Zech. 4 :6.

Sanders and Kent call them " Living Sermons " ; in
what way is this true?
Notice the seven " shalls " of -vs. 10, 11. God's asser
tion of what He will do.

38 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Third Day : Hosea 2 :i~7. Conduct of the Faithless
Wife.
" The awful anger of wounded love." Vs. 3, 4.

The guilty wife is described as no wife.
Taking the passage as symbolical of God's dealing
with Israel, who represents God, who represents Israel?

How had Israel been to Jehovah as Gomer to Hosea?

V. 5, gives us an illustration of what Baal worship
was. It was this worship to which the people turned
that was in part the occasion for the rise of the proph
ets. " It was a religion in every way adapted to an agri
cultural or pastoral life; but from the prominence it
gave to the male and female elements in its conception
of deity, it easily led the way to the grossest type of
sexual impurity."
" Had he loved this woman, cherished and honored
her, borne with and forgiven her, only to find at last
his love spurned and hers turned to sinful use; so also
had the love of God been treated by His chosen people,
and they had fallen to the loose worship of idols."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 39

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Fourth Day: Hosea 2:8-13. The Husband's
Compulsion.
Baalim, v. 13, plural of Baal, a deity of the Canaan-
ites. Various places had Baalim, who were supposed to
fertilize the soil. " The male god of any community
was its Baal (lord or owner) ; the corresponding female
divinity was Ashtaroth. The one was often identified
with the sun, the other with the moon."
Decked herself with her nose ring, v. 13. Cf. Gen.
24:47. What reason does Hosea give here for her behavior?

What does he say he will do?

Over what does Hosea say Jehovah is God in vs. 8,
9, 12?

40 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Fifth Day: Hosea 2:14-23. Brighter Days are
Coming.
What is the meaning of v. 14?

Note the marginal reading, " Speak to her heart" ; a
heart-to-heart talk.
" A door of Hope," v. 15. This has been used as the
name of a rescue mission for fallen women.
What will be the result to her? V. 15.

On v. 16, see John 15:15.
Note the change in the names. V. 23.
A new covenant, v. 19. What was it?

Read Ps. 32.
Message for To-day: "I will bring her into the wil
derness and speak comfortably unto her," v. 14. God's
presence in loneliness. Cf. Matt. 14:23. We need to
get alone with God if we would hear His voice. He
wants us sometimes to go into the secret place where we
can be alone with Him. There is one thing that will
prevent this blessed communion — sin; He is of purer
eyes than to look upon iniquity. Cf. Hab. 1 :i3.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 41

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Sixth Day: Hosea 3:1-5. His Later Family Life.
Hosea is commanded to go after his wife Gomer, v. 1.
He brings her back, when her new lover, tired of
her, sells her as a slave, v. 2.
It may be that he bought her at a sacrifice, for he
gave not only money, but some goods, v. 2.
She should be with him, but not his wife, v. 3.
How does he apply this to Israel, vs. 4, 5?

Someone has said that Hosea's theology is a theology
of the heart more than the head. Cf. 3:1; 11:4, 8.
Pillar, v. 4. A sacred monument showing the pres
ence of Jehovah.
Ephod, v. 4. Cf . Ex. 28 :6-i4.
Teraphim, v. 4. Cf. Judges, chs. 17 and 18.
What does the absence of these things indicate?

" To sit alone in the ruins of her life ; to wail away
her day's in solitude; to brood over bitter memories
beside the hearthstone on which she had kindled the
fires of hell. Safe, yet — oh, how wretched — bearing
the punishment of her fall in the outer darkness of a
wasted and a shipwrecked life; . . . because he loved
her, he could still believe in a day of penitence; believe
with trembling hope that she could yet be cleansed, and
restored, and saved."

\i The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTH WEEK. SIN, LOVE, HOPE.

Seventh Day: Hosea Chs. 1-3. Hosea, His Wife
and Children.
Read these chapters through and try to realize the
experience through which God caused His servant Hosea
to pass, to qualify himself to speak to the people.
It has been suggested that the sections of these chap
ters have become displaced. Read them in the following
order, 1 :i~9; 3 :i-5 ; 2:2-23 ; 1:10-2:1.
He is commanded to marry and does so; his wife
proves false — she plays the harlot; he buys her back
when she is to be sold into slavery ; he continues to care
for her, but not as his wife.
What expressions in these chapters symbolize God's
great love for His people?

" Out of his own heart agony Hosea learned the
nature of the sin of the people. They were playing the
harlot, spending God's gifts in lewd traffic with other
lovers. Out of that agony he has learned how God suf
fers over the sin of His people because of His undying
love. . Thus equipped, he delivers his messages,
and all through them will sound those deep notes of
SIN, LOVE, HOPE."
Read Tennyson's " Guinevere."
Prayer : " O Merciful God, full of compassion, long-
suffering, and of great pity, make me earnestly repent,
and heartily to be sorry for all my misdoings ; make the
remembrance of them so burdensome and painful that
I may flee to Thee with a troubled spirit and a contrite
heart; and, O Merciful Lord, visit, comfort, relieve me.
Amen." Memorize 1 John 4:10.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 43

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

First Day : Hosea 4 :i-j 7. Moral Condition of the
People.
What people was the prophet speaking about ?

The prophecy, to which we have now had the introduc
tion (chs. 1-3), begins here.

The general subject of the prophecy (4:1-14:9) is " A
people in decay," and the prophet discusses first their
moral condition (4:1-7 7) .
Read rapidly to 7 7 with this in mind.

" So Arthur passed from Guinevere to his last battle for
his land :
" ' Lo, I forgive thee, as Eternal God
Forgives: Do thou for thine own soul the rest.
I cannot touch thy lips, they are not mine,
But Lancelot's : nay they never were the King's.
I cannot take thy hand ; that too is flesh,
And in the flesh thou hast sinned ; and mine own flesh,
Here looking down on thine polluted, cries
" I loathe thee " : yet not less, O Guinevere,
For I was ever virgin save for thee,
My love through flesh hath wrought into my life
So far, that my doom is, I love thee still,
Let no man dream but that I love thee still.' "

44 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Second Day: Hosea 4:1-5. Israel's Condition and
Punishment.
What is the charge brought against them ? Vs. 1, 2.
What sins of- omission ?
What sins of commission ?

Compare vs. 1 and 2 with Matt. 5:22, 28, and think
whether you are guiltless.
What is to be the result ? V. 3.

What does he mean by including beasts of the field,
the birds and fishes?

Whose fault was it that they were in this condition ?
What is the meaning of vs. 4, 5 ?

Read Ps. 15.
Read again 2 Kings 14:21 et seq. the accounts of the
reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and get
a general idea of the condition of the people at this time.
The original title of the book probably contained only
the words " In the days of Jeroboam," which apply to
chs. 1-3 ; the names of the other kings were added to fix
the date of the events in chs. 4-14.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 45

SEVENTH WEEK.- CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Third Day: Hosea 4:6-10. The Priests Are to
Blame.
Who does he say here was to blame for this condition ?
How did there happen to be a lack of knowledge?

There is a need of some religious basis for conduct.
What was the duty of the priests ?

The people will be what their leaders are, v. 9.
What kind of a God is described in vs. 6, 9 ? Cf . 5 :6,
14 58:13; 9:15, 17:13:8, 15.

Prayer : " Give me, O Lord, purity of lips, a clean and
innocent heart, humility, fortitude, patience. Give me
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and
godliness, and of Thy fear. Make me ever to seek Thy
face with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind ; grant
me to have a contrite and humble heart in Thy presence.
Amen."

46 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Fourth Day : Hosea 4 :i 1-14. Gross Immorality.
Staff v. 12. Probably the diviner's wand, cf. Ezek.
21 :2i.
What condition of the people is described here ?

Vs. 6-10 referred to the condition of the priests, the
spiritual leaders ; these words refer to the people and are
an expansion of v. 9.
What was their sin? Note that this was a root sin.
Cf. 11 :i ; 13:1 et seq.

Paraphrase of vs. 11-15 :
" Immorality and intemperance always dim the intellect,
as is clearly illustrated by the way in which this people
instead of seeking Jehovah, consult the inanimate symbols
of the Baal cult. That corrupt religion, which gives free
license to the passions, had led them far astray from the
true God. In connection with the rites of Baal the men
have committed abominable excesses. In the light of such
an example Jehovah cannot hold their daughters culpable,
even though they have shamelessly bartered their chastity.
Thus this stupid people are rapidly rushing on to their
ruin." Read Ps. 51.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 47

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Fifth Day: Hosea 4:15-19. Israel cannot be Saved.
Who is referred to by Ephraim (v. 17) and why?

What does Hosea mean by "Ephraim is joined to
idols"?

What by, " The wind hath wrapped her up in its
wings " ? Cf . 8 7.

Message for To-day : " Let him alone," v. 17. " To suf
fer the pain of eternal loneliness. . . . It is against
the instinct of humanity to be left alone. The little child
calls out in terror as soon as it begins to have some sense
of being left alone. The worst form of punishment that
is known to penology is the solitary cell, the shutting up
of a man alone." It was the man who was not in his right
mind who cried out to Jesus, " Let us alone."

48 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Sixth Day: Hosea 4:1-19. The Condition of God's
Own People.
What would you say was the condition of the people to
whom Hosea delivered his message ?

What charge does he bring against them?

Does the history in Kings sustain Hosea's charge i

" King succeeded king and dynasty dynasty with horri
ble rapidity. As in the days of the Barrack-Emperors of
falling Rome, the purple was a sure mark for the dagger-
thrust, and blood touched blood on the slippery footsteps
of the throne. Universal confusion followed. There was
no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land ;
there was nothing but swearing, and lying, and killing,
and stealing, and committing adultery, which called for an
immediate and ravaging retribution."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 49

SEVENTH WEEK. CHARGE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE.

Seventh Day : Gen. 32 122-32.

Referring back to the study for the fifth week, second
day, go over the outline of the history of the people of
Israel, and under /. The Beginning of the Chosen Nation
as a Patriarchal Family, fix in mind a few of the out
standing events of the book of Genesis. (Remember as
you study these Old Testament books, the words of Jesus
in John 5:39, " These are they that testify of Me.")
1. The beginning of things, chs. 1-11. Make a list of
the beginnings mentioned in these chapters.

2. Abraham, ch. 12.
3. Isaac, ch. 21.
4. Esau and Jacob, ch. 25.
5. Isaac and Jacob, chs. 27, 28.
6. Jacob and his sons, ch. 35.
7. In Egypt, ch. 46.

So The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTH. WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

First Day: Hosea 5:1-7. Priests and King
Rebuked.

Chapter 5 tells of the corruption of the leaders — the
King and the priests.
Who is addressed in this section?

Why does he name Mizpah and Tabor ?

" Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their
God," v. 4. Sin keeps men from God now just as much
as it did then. Evil deeds forge a chain which binds us
and makes us helpless.
Cf. vs. 4-7 with Isa. 59:2.
"Ephraim shall stumble," v. 5. There is one who
can save us from stumbling, Jude 24. Memorize this
verse.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 51

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Second Day: Hosea 5:8-15. Sound the Alarm.
Where were Ramah. Gibeah, and Beth-aven?
What is the figure here?
Why does he speak of Benjamin? V. 8.
What does "Behind thee, O Benjamin," mean?

Landmark, v. 10. The landmarks were under the
protection of religion. Deut. 19:14; 27:17.
What is the sin described in v. 10?

What was the sin described in v. 11?
Write out in your own words the meaning of v. 12?
¦¦*
What does God say he will do in v. 15?

Message for To-day: v. 13: "So Ephraim and
Judah went to the wrong person, and did not gain much
by their application. The same fatal error is being per
petrated by multitudes among us still. The error is as
ancient as Cain and as modern as to-day."

52 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Third Day: Hosea 6:1-3. "Let Us Return."
The words of Israel as they think over the words of
v. 14.
Write out in your own words what they say.

Compare with Luke 15:18.
Sin is sickness. Cf. Jer. 17:9 in the Authorized Ver
sion and Revised Version.

Learn the Books of the Old Testament in order :

fi/Tfi-rtoeii

Historical, 17.
enesis.
Exodus.
Leviticus. Numbers.
Deuteronomy. Joshua.

Poetical, 5.

Prophetical, 17.

Major, 5.
rsalms^/Sg.Y'j^y Isaiah.
Proverbs^ / Teremiah.
Ecclesiastes.Song of Solomon.

J^tflf/**

Minor, 12.
Hosea.Joel.Amos.
Obadiah. 01m cah.
Nahum.
Habakkuk Zephaniah
Haggai.
Zechariah. Malachi.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 53

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Fourth Day: Hosea 6:4-11. What God Wants.
What does v. I tell us about God's anxiety for his
own ?

Where was Shechem? V. 9.

What was the trouble with their good intentions?
V. 4.

What is it God looks for? V. 6.

What is the difference between goodness and sacri
fice? V. 6.

Notice here the awful condition of the people when
the priests themselves, the religious leaders, committed
murder. V. 9.

Message for To-day: How true it is that our
" goodness is as a morning cloud ! " v. 4. We receive
spiritual impressions and decide to lead a Christian life,
but fear of opposition, evil associates, sinful habits, all
these dissipate the impressions as the sun dries up the
morning cloud.

54 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Fifth Day: Hosea 7:1-7. Those Who Should
Help Only Hinder.
Who is it that is guilty of the wickedness described
here?

On the day of our king, v. 5. Either his coronation
day or birthday.
What were their sins ?

Give the sense of v. 4?

All their kings are fallen, v. 7. Four regicides are
recorded within forty years. 2 Kings 15.
Message for To-day : " They consider not in their
hearts that I remember all their wickedness," v. 2. God
remembers sin ! He remembers all kinds of sin, open
and secret, great and small. God remembers sin ! And
men forget this. " They consider not in their hearts."
It does seem as if men would not sin if they only re
membered that God remembers.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 55

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Sixth Day : Hosea 4 :i-7 7. A People in Decay.
Read this section through rapidly, noting the following
outline :

1. Morally, 4:1-77.
a. God's charge against His people, ch. 4.
b. Corruption of the leaders, ch. 5.
c. The condition of affairs, 6:1-77.

Familiarize yourself with the geography of the land as
divided among the nations during the times of the Minor
Prophets. Study the map and locate Israel, Judah, Baby
lon, Nineveh. Referring to Palestine, one writer says:
" It is almost an epitome of the ancient world, when the
ocean and the desert, the pastures of the wilderness and
the terraced vineyards of the sunny hills, the cedars, fir-
trees, and rhododendrons of Lebanon, the cornfields of
Jezreel, and the oak-clad glades of Tabor, the shores of
the lake of Galilee bright with shrubbery of oleander, the
hot canebrakes and palm-groves of Jericho, represent in
brief compass almost every variety of material condition
which enters into the development of Eastern antiquity."

56 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTH WEEK. CORRUPTION OF LEADERS.

Seventh Day :
Read Ps. 78:12-33.
Turn back again to the study for the fifth week, second
day ; go over the outline once more. What was the First
Division ?

Fix in mind to-day some of the striking events of the
Second Division of the Old Testament History: The
migration of the Chosen Nation; out of Egypt to Sinai;
forty years in the wilderness. Numb. 10-36.
Who was their leader?

How long was the distance?
How long ought the journey to have taken?
Why did so many die on the way ?

Prayer : " Almighty God, Thou who didst lead Thy
people of old ; Thou who didst reward those who diligently
sought Thee, and who didst punish those who turned away
from Thee, let me be ever found among Thy followers.
O, keep me close to Thee, for when I wander from Thee
then do I sin. May I have continually the joy of Thy
presence. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 57

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

First Day: Hosea 7:8-16. Outward Evidences of
Israel's Decay.
The prophet has been discussing " A people in decay,"
and has been considering their moral condition (4:1-
77). He now takes up their political condition (7:8-
10:15). Read this section through with this in mind.
What sins are mentioned here?

Ephraim is a cake not turned, v. 8. " How better de
scribe a half-fed people, a half-cultured society, a half-
lived religion, a half-hearted policy, than by a half-baked
scone ! " How well this describes the conditions in our
great cities.

They seek help from foreign nations (11), not from
God ( 14) . How prone we are to turn everywhere for help
except to God, until in great extremity, when there seems
to be no other place to go, we go to Him. Cf. 5:13; 6 :2.
Read Ps. 100.
Prayer : " Sustain us through all the long day of this
mortal life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening
comes, and the busy world is hushed, and life's fever is
over. Then, O Lord, grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest
and peace at last, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen."

58 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Second Day: Hosea 8:1-7. Idolatry Will Bring
Sorrow.
Here the prophet accuses them of setting up kings and
gods not known to him. Have you ever done this in
your life?
What was the " calf of Samaria " ?

Notice the short clauses which reflect the prophet's
emotion as he speaks.
How old heathenism is ! In Hosea's time they needed
the message that men need to-day: there is but one God
who is Lord of all. " My little children, guard yourselves
from idols," 1 John 5:21.
Moral law works as surely as natural law : " Sow the
wind, reap the whirlwind " ; " plow wickedness, reap
iniquity," 10 :i3. Why is it that some people do not be
lieve this ?

" Dear Lord and Bridegroom, I here vow and promise
to Thee surely, that all which Thou wiliest I also
will. Come sickness, come health, come pleasure or
pain, sweet or bitter, cold or heat, wet or dry, whatever
Thou wiliest that do I also will; and desire altogether
to come out from my own will, and to yield a whole
and willing obedience unto Thee, and never to desire
aught else, either in will or thought; only let Thy will
be accomplished in me in time and eternity." Tauler's
Covenant, 1340 a.d.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 59

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Third Day: Hosea 8:8-14. Into Captivity.
What is the meaning of v. 8 ?

What is the figure in v. 9 : " Like a wild ass by him
self"?

V. 11. What ought to have been a means of grace has
become an instrument of sin.
What is the meaning of " They shall return to Egypt " ?
V. 13.

What sins are mentioned in v. 14?

What is the punishment to be? V. 14. Cf. Amos 1 4,
7, 12 et al. Matt. 3:12.

Message for To-day: " They shall return to Egypt,"
v. 13. God forbid that any of us should go back into the
condition we were in before He called us out of the bond
age of sin. Abraham's cry for his own son was, " Beware
that thou bring not my son thither again," Gen. 24:6.
And is there not a warning here for us ? Are you taking
any man's son back into sin ?

60 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Fourth Day : Hosea 9 :i-9. The Coming Calamity-
Exile.
What is to happen to them ? Vs. 1-3.

The bread of mourners, v. 4. An emblem of utter im
purity.

What does the prophet mean by " They shall not pour
out wine-offerings," v. 4?

What is the meaning of v. 5 ?

A day of reckoning always comes, v. 7 ; cf . 8 7.

What were the days of Gibeah, v. 9? Use marginal
references.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 6*i

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Fifth Day: Hosea 9:10-17. God Will Scatter
Them.
God has done everything for Israel. When He took
them up they were like the poor wilderness grapes — of no
account. What was Baal-peor? V. 1.

What is the meaning of " All their wickedness is in
Gilgal"? V. 15.

What great punishment is predicted in vs. 14, 16?

How wonderfully the history of the Jews confirms the
prophecy of v. 17 — ¦" Wanderers among the nations."

" Became abominable like that which they loved," v. 10.
A man soon becomes like the thing he loves.

62 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Sixth Day : Hosea 7 :8-9 :iy. Political Decay.
What signs of political decay are seen in the following
verses ?
7:8,9.

7:11.

8:4.
8:9.

What was the real trouble?
7:13,16.

8:1.

8:12.

9:1.

What is to be the result ? V. 17.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 63

NINTH WEEK. SIN, SORROW, EXILE.

Seventh Day :
Read Ps. 78 :65~72.

Looking back over the studies for the fifth week, second
day, seventh week, seventh day, and eighth week, seventh
day, what were the first two divisions of the historical
table? I.

II.

After getting into the promised land we see (III) them
in their effort toward a secular government :
1. Conquest of Canaan (Joshua).
2. The government of the Judges (Judges).
3. Establishment of the Kings (1 and 2 Samuel).

64 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

First Day : Hosea io :i-8. Sin and Its Reward.
What sin is described in vs. 1-4 ?
Calves of Beth-aven, v. 5 ; cf. 8 :5.
Their country is to be destroyed and a time is coming
when they will long for death.
" Their heart is divided," v. 2. " Ye cannot serve God
and mammon," Matt. 6 =24.

Prayer : " O God, who requirest the hearts of all Thy
children, deliver us from all sloth in Thy work, all cold
ness in Thy cause ; and grant that by looking unto Thee
we may rekindle our love, and by waiting upon Thee may
renew our strength, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 65

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Second Day: Hosea 10:9-15. We Reap what We
Sow.
The days of Gibeah were how long before this? Cf.
Judges 19:22-30.
V. 11. Israel has had an easy time, like an ox treading
out corn and eating it ; now she shall work hard like an ox
who has to plow.
What is the substance of vs. 12-15 ?

This ends the section on the political decay of the people.
G. A. Smith says : " The political decay of Israel, then,
so deeply figured in all these chapters, must end in utter
collapse. Let us sum up the gradual features of this de
cay: the substance of the people scattered abroad; the
national spirit dissipated ; the national prestige humbled ;
the kings mere puppets ; the prophets corrupted ; the na
tional vigor sapped by impurity ; the idolatry conscious of
its impotence."

66 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Third Day: Hosea ii :i~7. Ps. 103. God's Love.
" From the thick jungle of Hosea's travail, the eleventh
chapter breaks like a high and open mound."
Jehovah did not love Israel because he was His son,
but He called him to be His son because He loved him,
v. 1, John 15:16.
" God's eyes, that passed unheeding the adult princes of
the world, fell upon this little slave boy, and He loved him
and gave him a career." Cf. Matt. 18:2, 3.
What is referred to in v. 1 ?

Note what Israel is called in v. 1. What had they been
called in 2 :20 ?

Read 2 Kings 17 =13-17, and see how true v. 2 is.
Try to realize the beauty of v. 3. God, as a kind father,
trying to teach the infant nation to walk when they were
too weak to go alone.
God is our Father, cf. Rom. 8:15; 1 John 3:1-3.
Memorize these verses in 1 John.
God was a kind master to them, v. 4.
What is the meaning of " / was to them as they that
lift up the yoke on their jaws " ? V. 4.

It does no good, vs. 5-7.
Message for To-day : " Bands of love." " Men speak
of love as the Spirit's wing. Yet truly it is rather the
Spirit's cord. It keeps me chained to you. It refuses to
let me soar without you. It bids me lift your weight,
your pain. It holds me to the ground where you are lying.
It compels me to bear your cross."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 67

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Fourth Day: Hosea ii:8-ii. The Long-suffering
God.
These verses have been rightly called " the greatest
passage in Hosea." Try to realize their beauty.
" God will try once more," is the substance of 8-1 1.
What is the meaning of " How shall I make thee as
Admah ? How shall I set thee as Zeboim " ? Cf. mar
ginal references.

The conversion of St. Paul is an illustration of the truth
stated in these verses.
What reasons does God give for not giving up Israel ?

Read Ps. 42.
" God's changeless love ! The wandering one
Forsakes, forgets, dishonors ; yet,
Repenting, going home, is met
With no reproach — ' Welcome, My son !' "

68 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Fifth Day: i Samuel 15:1-30. Saul.
Referring once more to the historical table in the study
of the fifth week, second day, write out the divisions.
I.

II.

III.

This brings us to the kings. Compare the historical
table at the end of the book and remember the order of
the first three kings — kings of the united kingdom — Saul,
David, Solomon.
Read the following for incidents in Saul's life : 1 Sam.
9:1, 2, 21; 10:1, 24; 11:14; 13:1; i4:3!-35; 16:22, 23;
20 :i ; 28 :8-i9 ; 31 :i-6.
Why did Saul fail?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 69

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Sixth Day: i Samuel 16:1-13. David.
Try to fix in mind to-day a few of the leading events in
the life of David.
What is he called in Acts 13:22?
A servant of Saul, 1 Sam. 16 :20-23.
Fights Goliath, 17 49.
Hated by Saul, 19 :i8 ; 22 :i, 2.
Spares Saul, 24 13, 4 ; 26 x>-i2.
Made king, 2 Sam. 2:1; 5:1-5.
His sin, 11 :i~3, 15-17, 26, 27. Ps. 32.
Absalom rebels, 15:1.
Sorrow for Absalom, 18:31-33.
His death, 1 Kings 2 :i-ii.
" David is the most luminous figure and the most gifted
personage in IsraeHtish history, surpassed in ethical great
ness and general historical importance only by Moses, the
man of God. It is not possible to estimate what David
did for Israel : Israel as a people, as a representative of
political life, as a concrete quantity in the development of
universal history, as a nation in the fullest sense of the
word, is exclusively his work." Cornill.
" Adieu ! thou sweet Psalmist ; thou royal prophet ; thou
tempted, tried, stricken, erring, yet, in the main, true-
hearted man of God ; we shall know thee better when we
meet above. . . . Now is thy wish gratified, now is
thy prayer answered, for now beholdest thou the beauty
of the Lord, and inquirest in His temple ! "

70 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TENTH WEEK. SOWING AND REAPING.

Seventh Day : i Kings 4 :29~34. Solomon.
To-day we have a brief outline of the life of the third
great king of Israel, David's son, Solomon.
King, 1 Kings 2 :io.
Marriage, 3:1.
His prayer, 3 :6~9.
Treaty with Hiram, 5 :i-6.
Builds the temple, 7:51.
His prayer, 8 :22-26.
His apostasy, 11 :i-8.
His death, 1 1 42, 43.
What was the trouble with Solomon ?

"There is, perhaps, no other personage of IsraeHtish his
tory of whose true character and its historical significance
it is so difficult to get a clear conception and give a correct
picture as Solomon; for what we know of him is scant
and self-contradictory. It is possible to represent him as
an Oriental despot of the most common stamp and support
every trait of the picture thus drawn with Bible refer
ences, and to take credit into the bargain for one's objec
tivity and freedom from prejudice ; but such a judgment
would be absolutely unhistorical : Solomon cannot have
been an ordinary and insignificant man — on this point his
tory speaks loud and clear."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets /i

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD.

First Day: Hosea 11:12-12:6. Israel's
Ingratitude.
Contrast Israel's feelings toward God with God's feel
ing toward them. Hasn't it always been so ?

The two nations are here referred to: Ephraim and
Judah. The division took place about 937 b.c. Read
1 Kings 12:1-17. This is one of the great events in
Hebrew history and should be remembered. The North
ern Kingdom, Ephraim, more often called Israel, was
composed of ten tribes, having its capital at Samaria ;
the Southern Kingdom, Judah, was composed of the
two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and had its capital at
Jerusalem. The ten tribes disappeared; Christ came
from the tribe of Judah.
What is referred to in vs. 3 and 4?

What is meant by " Jehovah is His memorial name " ?
V. 5-

72 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD."

Second Day: Hosea 127-14. Blinded by
. Prosperity.
What sins are enumerated here?

V. 13. Moses is called a prophet; this helps us to
form an idea of what the prophets were.
Cf. v. 8 with Luke 12:16-21.
How does God say He will treat them?

What is the meaning of " Jehovah, thy God from the
land of Israel " ? V. 9.

Why is v. 13 used?

Prayer : " Almighty and most merciful God, who
hast sent this book to be the revelation of Thy great
love to man, and of Thy power and will to save him,
grant that our study of it may not have been in vain
by the callousness or carelessness of our hearts, but that
by it we may be confirmed in penitence, lifted in hope,
made strong for service, and above all filled with the
true knowledge of Thee and of Thy Son Jesus Christ.
Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 73

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD.:

Third Day: Hosea 13:1-8. Idolatry and Death.
Final review of Israel's mistakes and the consequences.
Ch. 13.
What does the prophet say was the cause of Israel's
downfall? Vs. 1-3.
Notice the beauty of v. 3.
What events are referred to in vs. 4-6?
What is the figure in vs. 7 and 8?

Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was destroyed, and
the ten tribes, of which it was originally composed,
disappeared utterly. " The problem of the lost tribes,
which has so much attraction for some speculators, is a
purely fanciful one. The people whom Hosea and
Amos describe were not fitted to maintain themselves
apart from the heathen among whom they dwelt. Scat
tered among strange nations, they accepted the service
of strange gods, and, losing their distinctive religion,
lost also their distinctive existence."
" It is obvious that the wild theories concerning the
fate of the ' lost ten tribes of Israel ' are entirely without
foundation, since they were never lost."

74 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD."

Fourth Day: Hosea 13:9-15. "To Whom Shall
We Go?"
He who might have been their greatest helper is
their worst foe, v. 1.
What is the meaning of vs. 10, 1 1 ?

Cf. v. 12 with Gal. 67.
What use does Paul make of v. 14?

" Tell Jesus when the burden seems too great for thee
to bear,
Go lay it at the feet of Christ, and know that He will
care,
And tell Him all the little things, that come to cloud
your way,
The puzzles and perplexities, that trouble you to-day.
I tell Him all the story now, no other friend can be,
In morning light or evening shades, what Jesus is to
me.

Message for To-day: v. 9: The sinner destroys him
self. He sows and he reaps. Gal. 67. God longs to
save him even from himself, but he will not. Cf. 11 :8.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 75

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD."

Fifth Day: Hosea 14:1-9. True Prayer of Re
pentance and Its Answer.
The long-suffering heavenly Father pleads with them
to return, v. 1.
What caused their fall? V. 1.

Notice how in their prayer they are to renounce all
trust in other helpers: Assyria, horses, idols.
Memorize v. 4.
It seems almost impossible to believe that God could
make such an offer to this sinful nation as is made in
vs. 4-8.
What is the significance of such figures as are used
in these verses. Cf. Ps. 1.

Epilogue, v. 9. Would not this be a good verse to
associate with these studies on the old prophets?

76 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD."

Sixth Day: The Message of Hosea.
Read Ps. 19.
" The chapters of Hosea are drenched with the dew
of God's mercy, of which no drop falls on those of
Amos, but there God is rather the roar as of a lion, the
flash as of lightning. Both prophets bid Israel return
to God, but Amos means by that, to justice, truth, and
purity, while Hosea describes a husband, father, long-
suffering and full of mercy. ' I bid you come back,'
cries Amos ; but Hosea pleads, ' If only you were aware
of what God is, you would come back.' ' Come back to
God and live,' cries Amos ; but Hosea, ' Come back to
God, for He is love.' Amos calls, ' Come back at once,
for there is but little time left till God must visit you in
judgment ' ; but Hosea, ' Come back at once, for God
has loved you so long and so kindly.' Amos cries,
' Turn, for in front of you is destruction ' ; but Hosea,
' Turn, for behind you is God.' And that is why all
Hosea's preaching of repentance is so evangelical. ' I
will arise and go to my Father.' "
The Message of Hosea:
1 . Repentance is returning unto God : " To Hosea
repentance is no mere change in the direction of one's
life. It is turning back upon one's self, a retracing of
one's footsteps, a confession and acknowledgment of
what one has abandoned."
2. The sin against love: God loves us with unutter
able love. In sin we turn away from such love, but He
loves us still. The father goes to meet the prodigal son.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 77

ELEVENTH WEEK. " THE YEARNING GOD."

Seventh Day: Hosea.
Read Ps. 40.
" Hosea is a man of emotion rather than of logic,
a poet rather than a preacher, and the unity of his book
is maintained through the sudden transitions and swift
revulsions of feeling characteristic of his style, not by
a well-planned symmetry of argument such as we find
in Amos, but by a constant undercurrent of faith in the
identity of Jehovah's love to man with that pure and
unselfish affection which binds the prophet himself to
his guilty and fallen nation."
While it is difficult to make an outline of Hosea, it
would be helpful to run over the studies and see what
you can do.

Key thought. The following are suggested; which
would you select?
God's mercy and man's misery.
God's great love.
Spiritual adultery.
Key word: Love.
Key text: 14:9.

78 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

First Day : Micah i :i. I. Title of Book.
The author, Micah — a native of Moresheth-gath, a town
of Judah, 1:1,9. "Li hun Amos lives again. Like Amos,
a dweller in the country and a man of the people, his
straightforwardness and lively sense of justice suffered
itself to be neither silenced nor repressed."
The date of the book : 740 b.c. Cf. Isa. 1 :i ; Hos. 1:1;
Jer. 26:17-19.
Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries. " It pleased
God that a testimony should be borne by the mouth of two,
and that the holy Isaiah should be assisted by his friend,
and, as it were, his colleague." Calvin.
Isaiah views the condition of affairs from the standpoint
of the leaders ; Micah from that of the humble folk.
Against whom did he prophesy ? V. 1.
Notice the names of the cities. Why ?
Read 2 Kings 16 to get the historical setting of the
prophecy. " In touch, then, with the capital, feeling every throb
of its folly and its panic, but standing on that border which
must, as he believed, bear the brunt of the invasion that
its crimes were attracting, Micah lifted up his voice. They
were days of great excitement. The words of Amos
and Hosea had been fulfilled upon Northern Israel.
Should Judah escape, whose injustice and impurity were
as flagrant as her sisters ? It were vain to think so. The
Assyrians had come up to the northern border. Isaiah
was expecting their assault upon Mount Zion. The Lord's
controversy was not closed. Micah will summon the
whole earth to hear the old indictment and the still un
exhausted sentence."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 79

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Second Day: Micah 1:2-7. Punishment Coming.
II. Threat of judgment, 1 :2-i6.
1. Punishment is coming on Samaria, 1 :2~7.
Where was Samaria ?

Who is speaking in vs. 2-4 ?
What does he say ?
God speaks in vs. 5-7.
Why were they to be punished ?
How was Samaria the sin of Jacob ? V. 5.
What had Jerusalem to do with Judah ? V. 5.
Destruction : of city, v. 6 ; of false religions, v. 7.

80 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Third Day : Micah i :8-i6. A Lament.
2. The prophet's lament, vs. 8-16.
What is the meaning of " / will go stripped and
naked"? V. 8.

Why does he use the words jackals and ostriches?
V. 8.

Why " tell it not in Gath "? V. 10. Cf. 2 Sam. 1 :2c

Locate on the map the various cities mentioned here.
On " / have rolled myself in the dust," v. 10, see 2
Sam. 13:19.
Why does he use the expression, "Make thee bald"?
V. 16.

State the substance of these verses.

There is a play upon words here which cannot be repro
duced. Dr. Morgan says it is as if we said : " In Phila
delphia there is no brotherly love."
" Having thus pictured the doom which threatened his
people, Micah turns to declare the sins for which it has
been sent upon them."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 81

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Fourth Day : Micah 2 a-5. The Cause Stated.
III. The cause of the coming judgment ; the sins of the
great. Chs. 2 and 3.
1. The sin and its punishment.
They do not sin accidentally; they calmly in the
time of reflection devise evil.

What is the sin described here ? . Cf. 1 Kings 21.

Note devise in vs. 1 and 3. Gal. 6 7.
Punishment is to follow sin.
What is the meaning of v. 5? Note that God makes
the punishment fit the crime.

Prayer : " O God, we are so prone to do that which is
evil in Thy sight, we devise iniquity, even as Thy people
of old. But Thou, Lord, art our helper, Thou art merci
ful and long-suffering ; look upon us in our weakness, and
with Thine own mighty power guard us from the sins into
which in our own strength we so often fall. Make us
strong to do Thy will in the strength of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen."

82 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Fifth Day: Micah 2:6-13. The Request and His
Reply.
2. He is asked not to prophesy, v. 6.
Have you ever felt uncomfortable under the preaching
of some man of God. Cf. Isa. 30 :g, 10 ; Amos 7 :i2.

What must have been the condition of the people at such
a time ?

3. The prophet's answer, vs. 7-1 1.
" This is the evil — the ease with which evil is done in
the country."
What sin is referred to in v. 8 ?

The kind of preacher they liked was one who tells them
things they like to hear, v. 1 1. Isn't this very largely true

nowr

?

Notice that vs. 12, 13 are an interruption to the thought.
Some think they are the words of the false prophets.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 83

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Sixth Day : Micah 3 :i-8. Sins of the Great.
What class is addressed here ? Vs. 1-4.
What was their sin? Vs. 2, 3.

" O masters, lords and rulers of all lands,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing, distorted and soul-quenched ?
How will you ever straighten up this shape ;
Touch it again with immortality ;
Give back the upward looking and the light,
Rebuild in it the music and the dream ;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes ? "
Seers, diviners, v. 7. We know little of what the Seers
were ; they were like prophets, 1 Sam. 9 :g. Diviners were
those who thought themselves inspired.
Vs. 5-8 are addressed to the false prophets ; they shall
have no vision. God help us when we cease to see visions.
See the promises in Joel. Acts 2 :i7.
Note the true prophet's power, v. 8. What was it ?

Compare v. 8 with Acts 1 :8. The God of the Old Tes
tament is the God of the New Testament, too.

84 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWELFTH WEEK. SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT.

Seventh Day : Micah 3 :9-i2. Hopeless Corruption
of the Leaders.
To whom are these verses addressed ?
What three classes of the people are mentioned in v. 1 1 ?
What was the sin of each ?
What was their common sin ?
What was to be the result ?

" One hundred and fifteen years after Jerusalem was
rescued from the hands of Sennacherib, the prophecy of
Micah was fulfilled. Jerusalem became a heap of ruins,
the temple a smoking pile, and the people were led away
into far captivity."
According to Jer. 26:18, 19, this prophecy of Micah's
made a deep impression upon king and people.

Message for To-day :
God give us men ! A time like this demands
Great hearts, strong minds, true faith, and willing
hands ;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill ;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy ;
Men who possess opinions and a will ;
Men who have honor, men who cannot die."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 85

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

First Day: Micah Chs. 1-3. Judgment Because of
Sin.
What are we taught as to the nature of God ? 1 -.2, 3 ;
2:353:11.

What is it that brings punishment ? 1 :5 ; 3 4, 6, 12.
What are we taught of God's omnipotence ? 1 :6 ; 2 13.
What classes had sinned? 2:1, 2, 8; 3:1, 9.

Fill in the references in the following outline:
I. Title.
II. Threat of judgment.
1. Punishment is coming.
2.' Micah's lament.
III. The cause of the coming judgment : the sins of the
great.
I. Sin and its punishment.
2. Asked not to prophesy.
3. His answer.
4. Sins of the great.
5. Hopelessly corrupt leaders.

86 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Second Day: Micah 4:1-5. Isa. 2:2-4. Ideal
Happiness.
IV. Visions of the triumphant future. Chs. 4, 5.
How is it that both Micah and Isaiah prophesy in the
same words? See another striking example of this in
2 Peter 2 and Jude.

What is meant by latter days? V. 1.
What is going to happen?
While these studies are based on the Minor Proph
ets, it will be well as we proceed to try to catch the mes
sage of the other prophets. Isaiah and Micah being
contemporaries, we might think to-day of that greatest
of the Hebrew prophets, Isaiah, who appears in Jeru
salem at the end of the reign of Uzziah (740 b.c), a
hundred years before Jeremiah. He " was a child when
Amos appeared at Bethel, and a youth when Hosea
began to prophesy in north Israel." He prophesied
under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah. He had constant access to the court and pres
ence of the king. " Seated at the tiller he guides by the
divine compass the little ship of his fatherland through
the rocks and breakers of a wild and stormy period."
His book is divided into two distinct sections. Chs.
I_39> 40-66; and the plain difference in these two
parts has caused some scholars to think that they were
written by different men. The first section contains
various prophecies concerning Judah, Israel, and for
eign nations ; the second section is a continuous prophecy
of " Israel's restoration from exile in Babylon."
Read Isa. 53.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 87

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Third Day: Micah 4:6-5:1. Exile and Restora
tion.
What day is referred to in v. 6?
Why gather the lame?

Some one has said that Christianity is the " survival
of the unfit." Cf. Luke 14:21.
God is to become their king; it is a prophecy of res
toration. Who is addressed in v. 8?

What is the substance of vs. 9-5 :i.

Read Ps. 46.

The fourth great division of the history of the Hebrew
people (see study for fifth week, second day) is The
Chosen Nation under a secular kingship side by side
with a Theocracy.
1. Reign of David and Solomon. 2 Sam. 2-22; 1
Kings 1-11.
2. The Schism of the Kingdom of Judah and Israel
side by side. 1 Kings 12 to 2 Kings 17.
3. The Kingdom of Judah to its Captivity. 2 Kings
18-25.

88 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Fourth Day : Micah 5 :2-9. The Coming King.
What prophecy have we here? See Matt. 2:6; John
742.

" Whose goings forth are from of old? " V. 1. Cf.
Isa. 63:9.
What are we told about the Messiah in these verses,
omitting vs. 6, 7?

Christ's " lowly origin was a fact. He sprang from
the most democratic of peoples. His ancestor was a
shepherd, and His mother a peasant girl. He Himself
was a carpenter: at home, as His parables show, in the
fields, and the folds and the barns of His country; with
the servants of the great houses, with the unemployed
in the markets, with the woman in the hovel seeking
one piece of silver, with the shepherd on the moors seek
ing the lost sheep. The poor had the Gospel preached
to them; and the common people heard Him gladly."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 89

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Fifth Day: Micah 5:10-15. Demoralizing Influ
ences to be Cut Off.
This refers to the same day as 4:6, a day of restora
tion and rejoicing; what, then, is the meaning of vs.
10, 11?

Soothsayers, v. 12. "Truth tellers," more precisely
here diviners of the clouds.
In v. 12 he refers again to those who had led them
astray. What is the meaning of vs. 12, 13?

What title can be given to this section of the book of
Micah ?

This might have been the end of the book: Destruc
tion (Chs. 1-3) ; Deliverance (Chs. 4, 5). This is God's
plan of salvation: man lost, destroyed by his own sin;
saved, delivered by God through Jesus Christ. " He
took me up out of the horrible pit."
Prayer : " Almighty God, Thou who art of purer eyes
than to behold iniquity, search my heart to-day and see
if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the
way everlasting; take out of my life everything that
works against Thee, all ambitions, desires, thoughts
which hinder my intercourse with Thee; may the in
iquities of my heart which have separated Thee from
me be forever blotted out through the grace of my Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen."

90 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Sixth Day: Micah Chs. 4, 5. Deliverance.
What blessings are to come to them? 4:1, 3, 6, 10,
13; 5=9. 10-15.

Who is to do all this? 4:6, 7, 10, 13 et seq.

Note the number of times " I will " occurs in these
chapters. Make a list of the things Jehovah says He will do.

What is God's people to become? 4:5; 57, 8.

In Micah we have God's controversy with His people.
He pleads with them to be at one with Him, for they
cannot go on together. " Enoch walked with God,"
but it was because they were agreed. " Shall two walk
together, except they be agreed ? " Amos 3 :3-

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 91

THIRTEENTH WEEK. VISIONS OF THE
TRIUMPHANT FUTURE.

Seventh Day: Micah 5:2. The Messianic Promise.
How is this promise used in the New Testament?

Notice in the following passages how the Messianic
promise increased in definiteness through the Old Tes
tament :
Gen. 3:15. Of the seed of the woman.
Gen. 9:26, 27. Of the family of Noah, line of Shem.
Gen. 12:1-3. Of the seed of Abraham.
Gen. 49:10. Of the tribe of Judah.
2 Sam. 7:11-16. Of the house of David.
Micah 5:1-4. To be born in Bethlehem.

Memorize 5 :2.

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by ;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light ;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night."

92 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

First Day: Micah 6:1-8. The Reasonableness of
Religion.
Part V of the book begins here, chs. 6 and 7. It
might be called " The Lord's controversy with His peo
ple." " These few verses (6:1-8), in which Micah sets forth
the true essence of religion, may raise a well-founded
title to be counted as the most important in the prophetic
literature. Like almost no others, they afford us an
insight into the innermost nature of the religion of Israel,
as delivered by the prophets."
The prophet speaks in vs. 1, 2.
Who does he call to hear, and why?
God speaks in vs. 3-5.
What does God call them?
What is God's attitude toward them?

Why does He refer them to the old history?
George A. Smith, commenting on this fact, says : " It
is the fact of redemption which forms the main ground
of His appeal." See " Ye are not your own ; ye are
bought with a price."
The people speak in vs. 6, 7.
What is the meaning of what they say?

Hear the prophet's answer in v. 8.
What is it?

It has been called " The greatest saying in the Old
Testament." Cf. Zech. 7:8-10.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 93

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Second Day: Micah 6:9-16. Destruction is Com
ing.
God answers.
Hear ye the rod, v. 9, i. e., Hear ye the prophecy of
punishment. What sins does He call their attention to in vs. 9-1 1.

To whom does he refer by the words, The Man of
Wisdom, v. 9?
Why has God punished them? V. 13.

Where have we had a prediction similar to that in vs.
14, IS-

What were " The statutes of Omri " ? V. 16.

Message for To-day, vs. 6-8: How shall I come to
God ? Shall I do some outward act ? " Shall I come
before Him with burnt offerings ? " No. May I not
please Him by giving. " Will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams ? " No. Perhaps by suffering I can
win my way to Him. " Shall I give my firstborn for
my transgression ? " No. What, then ? " By being.
By being just and merciful and humble before our
God. It is the answer of all the prophets; it is the an
swer of all the apostles ; it is the answer of Christ Him
self. God needs not our services, He needs not our
gifts, least of all does He need our suffering; but He
needs us — our hearts, our lives, our love."

94 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Third Day: Micah 7:1-6. The Times are Bad.
The reply of the people. " One of the most poignant
criticisms of a commercial community which has ever
appeared in literature."
The people, speaking as one man, say : " I am all
alone ; there is no company of us — no cluster."
The godly man has perished — no righteous men are
left in the land, v. 2.
What sins are enumerated?

Why are the symbols of a brier and thorn hedge
appropriate? V. 4.

Vs. 5, 6. Those who should be friends are now
enemies. " Micah depicts the sufferings of the peasantry at the
hands of their lords from much closer personal observa
tion than was possible to Isaiah as a resident of the
capital. He speaks as a man of the people, and reveals
to us, as no other prophet does, the feelings of the com
monalty toward their oppressors." The same thing is
going on to-day; can you mention some instances?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 95

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Fourth Day: Micah 77-17. Israel's Confession
and Prayer.
See the contrast in vs. 6 and 7.
A man could not trust his own family, he could trust
God. " My God will hear me."
Note the confession in v. 9. Cf. Luke 15:18, 21. 1
John 1 :g.
The prophet assures them that it is all right. " Your
wall will be rebuilt in the day you return to God," vs.
H-I3- What do they pray for in vs. 14-17?

Prayer : " Who is a God like unto Thee, O God ; that
pardoneth iniquity and delighteth in mercy. Thou hast
so often turned to us again when we have turned away
from Thee into sin and misery; Thou hast trodden our
iniquities under Thy feet, Thou hast cast our sins into
the depths of the sea; unto Thee, and Thee alone, do
we look for salvation. Be gracious to us and cause
Thy face to shine upon us and grant us Thy peace.
Amen."

96 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Fifth Day: Micah 7:18-20. A Hymn of Praise.
What attributes of God does he dwell on in this lyric
poem?

What will God do?

Memorize v. 19.
Why " to Jacob " and " to Abraham," v. 20, who had
been dead so long? Cf. Rev. 6:9-11.

What promises are referred to in v. 20? Cf. Isa.
12:1-6.

How will God treat our sin if we will let Him? V.
19. Cf. Isa. 38:17; Jer. 31:34.
" He will have compassion upon us," v. 19. Cf. Matt.
9:36. " Subdual of iniquities and casting of sins into the
depths are expressions instinct with allusion to the ever-
memorable escape of Israel from Pharaoh in the Red
Sea. Our iniquities and sins are the Egyptians that
pursue us, making our lives wretched, and bent on drag
ging us back into captivity. The Lord come between
us and them, and cast them into a deep sleep from
which they shall never awake to molest us. Then shall
we thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord for the
subdual of iniquities, the victory over sin, which is
by His Grace, not by our prowess."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 97

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Sixth Day: Micah 6:8. Righteousness, Mercy,
Humility.
This great saying deserves to be studied by itself.
What three things does the prophet say God asks His
people to do ?

He seems to sum up the teaching of Amos, " Doing
justly " ; Hosea, " Loving-kindness " ; and Isaiah,
" Walking humbly."
Memorize this verse.
" It is no mere religion of legal obedience that these
words proclaim. Jehovah requires of man not only to
do, but to love mercy. A heart that delights in acts of
piety and loving-kindness, the humility that walks in
lowly communion with God — these are the things in
which Jehovah takes pleasure, and this is the teaching
of the law and the prophets, on which our Lord Him
self has set His seal (Matt. 22:37 et seq.)."
"An expressive activity is necessary to the student
of the Bible."

98 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FOURTEENTH WEEK. GOD'S CONTRO
VERSY.

Seventh Day: Micah Chs. 1-7.
Run over the studies on Micah and write out the fol
lowing outline :
I. 1:1.

II. 1:2-16.
III. Chs. 2 and 3.
IV. Chs. 4 and 5.
V. Chs. 6 and 7.
Key thought: Judgment followed by redemption.
" The supreme authority in all the affairs of men is
God." Key word: Controversy.
Key text: 6:2.
The Message of Micah : " Micah's message is con
veniently summarized in ch. 6:8, and it is obvious as
we read it that he has profited in no slight measure by
the teaching of his predecessors. Amos had empha
sized righteousness, or ' doing justly,' as the essence of
his teaching; Hosea the duty of loving-kindness, or the
mercy that is kindled in the human breast as a reflection
of the divine; and Isaiah, the sublime thought of holi
ness, or divine majesty, before which man can only walk
humbly, and tremble at His word. And now the prophet
of Moresheth-gath combines all three: he embraces
righteousness, mercy, and humility in one supreme re
quirement."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 99

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

First Day: Zephaniah 1:1-6. Judgment
Threatened.
I. Title 1:1. Notice in the Modern Reader's Bible
this is printed as a title-page. Such it might well be.
The date of the book is fixed by the reference to King
Josiah, 640-609 b.c.
What do we know about this prophet ?

The fact that he is careful to trace his pedigree back to
Hezekiah, his great-grandfather, leads us to believe that
this was the king of that name.
He speaks as one who lived in a city — Jerusalem, vs.
4, 5-
Against which nation does he speak? V. 4.

" The conditions reflected are twofold — the idolatrous
and sceptical state of the people and an impending in
vasion." II. The Threat of Judgment, 1 :2-i8.
Everything to be destroyed, vs. 2 and 3.
Judah and Jerusalem to be destroyed, vs. 4-6.

i oo The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Second Day : Zephaniah i 7-18. Dies Ira.
He continues his description of impending destruction.
God has prepared a sacrificial feast, v. 7.

Who is to be destroyed i

What does he mean by " such as are clothed with for
eign apparel"? V. 8. Cf. Matt. 11:8.

What kind of people are intended by " those that leap
over the threshold " ? V. 9.
In vs. 10-13 we have his description of the city in ruins.
What was the "Fish gate"? V. 10. Cf. Neh. 3:1-3.
What was " the second quarter " ? V. 10. Cf. 2 Kings
22 :i4.
What is the meaning of v. 11?
Notice how thorough the destruction is to be: God is
going to take a lamp and look into the dark comers, v.
12. Cf. Amos 9:2, 3.
The terrible day, vs. 14-18.
It is near, v. 14. What are its characteristics? Vs.
15-18. In the Vulgate v. 15 begins "Dies ira, dies ilia."
These words were adopted by Thomas of Celano as the
opening words of his splendid hymn on the last judg
ment: " Day of vengeance, without morrow,
Earth shall end in flame and sorrow,
As from saint and seer we borrow."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 101

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Third Day: Zephaniah 2:1-3. Repent!
III. An admonition to repent. 2 :i~3 7.
Study the meaning of repentance as shown in the fol
lowing references: Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3; Acts 26:20;
Matt. 3 :8.

For what is true repentance but in thought —
Not even in inmost thought to think again
The sins that made the past so pleasant to us."

Compare v. 3 with 1:12.

In Josiah's thirteenth year (627 b.c), while Zephaniah
was speaking, the call comes to one of the greatest of the
prophets, Jeremiah, and for more than forty years he lived
among his people, suffering as only He of whom he was a
type, Jesus Christ, suffered (cf. 20:2; 11:21; 36:19, 26;
38:4). His life was one long sorrow (9:2; 5:10; 20:14).
He died at last far from home in Egypt. He has been
called " The prophet of the bleeding heart and the iron
will." The first thirty-five chapters of his book are de
voted to prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and
the last six have to do with Egypt and other foreign na
tions ; between them is a historical section of nine chapters
telling about the collection of the prophecies into a volume.
Read the verses mentioned above.

io2 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Fourth Day: Zephaniah 2:4-15. Whole Earth to
be Destroyed.
Study this section with the map and notice how all
points of the compass are included.
West, vs. 4-7. Locate these places on the map.
East, vs. 8-1 1. What fate was to come upon these
nations ?
South, v. 12.
North, vs. 13-15.
God rules all nations, v. 4. Cf. Zech. 9:1-7; Amos
1 :3-2 :3.
What is the prophet's purpose in telling Judah that all
these nations are to suffer ?

Message for To-day : What a blessed thing it would be
if we could learn by observation ; but, no ; most of us must
have the experience ourselves before we learn. We see
God visiting the sins of the fathers upon the third and
fourth generations of them that hate Him, but we are not
taught thereby.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 103

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Fifth Day: Zephaniah 3:1-7. Still Another Call.
To Jerusalem : Repent. V. 1 refers to Jerusalem.
What was her sin ? V. 2.

What classes are referred to in vs. 3 and 4?
What were their respective sins?
God is contrasted with the wicked rulers, v. 5.
What is the purpose of v. 6 ?
It was no use, v. 7.
Read Ps. 14.

io4 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Sixth Day: Zephaniah 3:8-20. The Promise to
the Faithful.
This is Part IV of the book.
What is the substance of v. 8 ?

In vs. 14-20 we have the Song of the Redeemed.
Read Ps. 126.
What is the substance of this song?

" To Zephaniah has fallen the lot of uttering the very
sweetest love-song in the Old Testament : That exquisite
picture of the motherhood of God which we have in the
third chapter, in which he gives us a picture of God rejoic
ing over His people, silent in His love, and suddenly
breaking in upon the silence of His love with a song of
delight. What revelation of the heart of God is more ex
quisite than this : the picture of God singing for very joy
over His people! It is a picture of the motherhood of
God."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 105

FIFTEENTH WEEK. A CALL TO REPENTANCE.

Seventh Day : The Book of Zephaniah.
Read the book through and note the following outline ;
make a brief summary under each section :
I. Title, 1:1.
II. The threat of judgment, 1 :2-i8.
III. The admonition to repent, 2 :i-3 7.
IV. The promise to the faithful, 3 :8-20.
The Message of Zephaniah: This is not a hap-hazard
world. God is in the midst of it. He is a jealous God.
Because of their sins and their indifference all nations are
to be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: He will search
the innermost recesses of the nations of the earth, and no
land shall escape. Nothing that they possess, no power of
their own, will avail in the day of wrath and trouble and
distress that is coming. Yet they are invited to turn from
their sin and seek Him. In the midst of all their sensual
ity God sees good in them still ; and if they will turn from
their evil ways and come back to Him, He will receive
them. " Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast
out." " They shall feed and lie down, and none shall
make them afraid."
Key thought : A call to repentance.
Key word : Repent.
" Repentance is to leave the sin we loved before
And show that we in earnest grieve by doing so no
more."
Key text : 2 :3.
Prayer : " Almighty God, make us perfect in Christ
Jesus ; out of His fulness may we all receive, and rest in
Him forever more. May His passion be our deliverance ;
His wounds be our healing; His cross our redemption;
and His death our life. With His righteousness may we
be clothed; by His spirit may we be sanctified; in His
blood may we be cleansed ; and to His image may we be
conformed. Amen."

io6 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

First Day: Nahum i:i-6. A God of Vengeance.
I. The Title, 1:1. Note the double title: Burden of
Nineveh, or oracle concerning Nineveh (margin) ; Book
of the vision of Nahum.
Ch. I is an introduction to the book.
Nothing is known about Nahum. His name means
consolation. Even Elkosh, his native place, is uncertain.
Capernaum means the " village of Nahum," and may
have had something to do with the prophet. See John
7 :52, however, " Search and see that out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet."
G. A. Smith says Nahum is a supplement to Jonah.
" Nahum's book is one great ' at last.' " Cf. vs. 8, 9.
He prophesies against Nineveh, a foreign city, for
the benefit of Judah, v. 15.
What use would such a prophecy be to God's people ?
He was speaking in Jerusalem.
Date: Nineveh was destroyed in 606 b.c. Thebes fell
in 663 b.c. Nahum prophesied between these dates.
II. God is a God of vengeance. Vs. 2-6.
What different descriptions of God's power does the
prophet give?
" Let us place ourselves among the people who for so
long a time had been thwarted, crushed, and demoralized
by the most brutal enemy which was ever suffered to roll
its forces across the world, and we shall sympathize with
the author, who for the moment will feel nothing about
his God save that He is a God of vengeance."
What character does Nahum give to God?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 107

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

Second Day: Nahum 17-15. Enemies Will Be
Punished.
III. Jehovah will destroy the enemies of His people,
vs. 7-15.
Note the contrast in vs. 7 and 8, what God is to His
friends and what He is to His enemies.

To whom is v. 14 addressed? V. 15?
What is the meaning of v. 15?
Read Ps. I.

Prayer : " Lord God omnipotent, we know that Thou
art a jealous God, and that no man can stand before
Thee and continue in unrighteousness, but we praise
Thy name that Thou art slow to anger, although Thou
wilt by no means clear the guilty, Thou who rebukest
the sea and maketh even it a dry land. In tenderness
and mercy visit us and save us even from ourselves for
Jesus' sake. Amen."

108 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

Third Day: Nahum 2:1-7. In God's Hands at
Last.
IV. Nineveh's fall 2:1-37.
This is the prophecy proper to which what precedes
has been introductory.
" The scene now changes from the presence and awful
arsenal of the Almighty to the historical consummation
of His vengeance."
The prophet seems to see the siege of Nineveh, and he
speaks to the besieged people.
Notice the vividness of the description. Cf. Amos
2:4-11. They are urged to fortify, v. 1, 2.
V. 3 seems to describe what is going on outside the
walls ; while v. 4 gives a picture of the inside.
The warriors are dazed, v. 5.
The city is captured, vs. 6, 7.
Nineveh was destroyed by a flood of the Tigris.
Nineveh stands for Assyria, of which it was the cap
ital. She had exacted tribute from all the smaller states
of western Asia.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 109

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE.

Fourth Day: Nahum 2:8-13. Destruction.
The siege is over; the prophet speaks to the victors.
What is the meaning of v. 8?

He commands the victors to rob her (v. 9), and they
do (v. 10).
The rulers of Nineveh were like lions who killed and
destroyed; they and theirs shall be killed and destroyed
now, v. n-13. Cf. 3:1, "the bloody city."

" The world power which exacted tribute from all the
smaller states of Western Asia was Assyria, with its
capital at Nineveh. Masterful and ruthless she ruled
them with a rod of iron. We sometimes speak of the
barbarities of modern warfare, and heaven forbid that
anyone should seek to make little of its horrors. But
modern warfare is kindness itself when compared with
the savage cruelties of a Sargon or a Sennacherib.
Imagine the fiendish device of flaying men alive! or the
inhuman practice of putting out a captive's eyes ! or
dragging away a batch of exiles with a hook in their
nose ! ' How deeply seated was their thirst for blood
and vengeance on an enemy is exemplified in a bass-relief
which represents Assur-bani-pal and his queen feasting
in their garden while the head of a conquered Elamite
king hangs from a tree above.' "

i io The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

Fifth Day: Nahum 3:1-7. The Cause of It All.
The prophet gives the reasons for Nineveh's down
fall. What reason is assigned in vs. 1-3 ?

What reason in v. 4?

What is God going to do to her?

How many sins are mentioned here?

" Nineveh vanished from history totally and at once —
so that those who passed over its ruins saw the visible
proofs of the wrath of God."
Message for To-day : " Behold I am against thee " is
ever God's cry to the wicked; their way is rough be
cause He is against them. And yet God is ever calling
to the wicked, " Come now and let us reason together."
" Let the wicked forsake his way . . . and let him re
turn unto our God . . . for He will abundantly par
don." If men choose the rough way, it is because they
will not hear the loving Father's voice.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 1 1

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

Sixth Day: Nahum 3:8-19. The Certainty of
Destruction.
This is Part V of the book.
Noamon in v. 8 is Thebes.
Read the marginal explanation of v. 8.
What is meant by Ethiopia, Egypt, Put, and Lubin
in v. 9 ?

What was the mistake Thebes made?

What happened to Thebes?
State the substance of vs. 10-13.

What is meant by " Thy people in the midst of thee
are women"? V. 13.

Nothing will avail, v. 14-17.
What does v. 18 mean?
Why should there be rejoicing at Nineveh's fall?
" The nature of Nahum's message is significant
enough. He proclaims with no uncertain sound that no
kingdom founded upon brute force can ultimately tri
umph. It carries within its own structure the secret of
its dissolution. It has chosen might instead of right,
and violence instead of equity, and it needs no vision
of the faculty divine to tell us what shall be the end of
such a choice. It shall perish in the flames of its own
kindling; and go down to the dust a heap of shapeless
mounds." " His language is strong and brilliant, his rhythm
rumbles and rolls, leaps and flashes like the horsemen he
describes." .

1 1 2 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SIXTEENTH WEEK. " VENGEANCE IS MINE."

Seventh Day: Nahum Chs. i, 2, 3.
I. Title, 1:1.
II. Jehovah is a God of Vengeance, 1 :2-6.
III. God will destroy the enemies of his people,
1 7-15-
IV. Nineveh's fall, 2:1-37.
1. The siege and capture of the city, 2:1-13.
2. The cause of it all, 3:1-7.
V. The certainty of Nineveh's destruction, 3 :8-i9.
1. She is not better than Thebes that was de
stroyed, 3:8-10.
2. She shall be destroyed, 11-13.
3. Nothing will help, 14-17.
4. None will mourn; all will rejoice, 18, 19.
The Message of Nahum : " Nineveh represents the
haughty glory of this world. It recognizes nothing but
its own selfish grandeur. So the world hates meek
ness, scorns control, loves mastery, breathes the spirit
of Nimrod rather than the spirit of Christ. With this
our God shall deal in terrible judgment. The cities of
the nations shall fall; the thrones that have resisted the
authority of Christ and His word shall be overturned;
the peoples that have made their own glory all their
care shall be utterly wasted; the world itself, with the
lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life, shall
pass away ; but they that do the will of God shall abide
forever." Key thought : God's vengeance on man's pride.
Key word: Vengeance.
Key texts : 1 :2. Gal. 6 7.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 113

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

First Day : Hab. i :i-ii. God Is in His World.
Title 1 :i. The Burden, or Oracle, which Habakkuk
did see. Cf. 2 :2.
His name " means one who comforts and holds up his
people, as one embraces a weeping person." Luther.
He has been called " The prophet of Faith." " Other
prophets attack the sins ; he is the first to state the prob
lems of life."
The tradition is that he was a priest. He may have
been a Levite.
Against which nation does he speak ?

The date is very uncertain.
Part I. A dialogue between Jehovah and the prophet:
" How long shall the wicked be allowed to triumph over
the righteous ? " chs. 1 and 2.
The prophet speaks in vs. 2-4.
Give a summary of what he says.

What sins does he describe ?
In vs. 5 to 1 1 we have God's answer. Paraphrase these
verses.

Jehovah is going to bring the Chaldeans upon them.

1 14 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Second Day : Hab. i :i2-2 :i.
The prophet speaks again.
What plea does he make in v. 12 ?

The pronouns him and he in vs. 12, 15, 16, 17 refer to
the Chaldeans.
Why is the name Rock an appropriate one for God ?

The Chaldeans in vs. 15-17 are compared to fishermen
who rejoice over a successful catch. They may have been
used by God to chastise Israel, but they exceeded all
bounds. Cf. Isa. 47 :6, 7 ; Zech. 1 :i4, 15.
On 2 :i read the following:
" The prophet possesses the capacity of recognizing God
in history. He feels it when catastrophes are in the air.
He stands on his watch-tower and spies out the signs of
the times, so as to interpret them to his people, and to
point out to them the right way, which will surely guide
them out of all danger."
Message for To-day : " He sacrfficeth unto his net,"
v. 16. This is indeed an. old sin. Man, in his prosperity,
forgets God, and worships the earthly means by which he
has prospered. " Is not this great Babylon that I have
builded ? " is the cry to-day over and over again.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 1 5

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Third Day: Hab. 2:2-19. The Sins of the Chal
deans.
God answers : " Write the message and make it so plain
that a man may read it as he runs, for the time will soon
prove it to be true : ' The Chaldeans are proud, they will
fall; the righteous man, however much oppressed now,
shall live because he is faithful,' " vs. 2-4.
See Paul's use of 2 4 in Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3 :n.
V. 5 describes the haughty Chaldeans and the nations
they have destroyed; such nations will some day taunt
them about their covetousness (6-8), their selfishness
(9-1 1 ), their unholy passion for building (12-14), their
delight in conquest (15-17), their idolatry (18, 19).
What does he say is the condition of deliverance ? Vs.
2-4.

Memorize v. 4.
Message for To-day : " Wait for it," v. 3. " A large
part of the church's history, and of every believer's experi
ence, is occupied by waiting. The whole of the Old Tes
tament was a waiting for one dispensation. The whole of
the New is waiting for another. David speaks of his wait
ing for God more than twenty-five times." Cf. 3 :i6.
" They also serve, who only stand and wait."

n6 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Fourth Day: Hab. 3:1-7. The Prayer and its
Answer.
In ch. 3 we have the prophet's prayer in the form of a
Psalm. Many of the Psalms are prayers, e.g., 86, 90.
V. 1 is the title.
Shigionoth, 3:1. The same word is used in the title of
Ps. 7. It describes the kind of Psalm or the musical in
strument upon which the accompaniment was played.
Here it means " an elegy."
At the end of the Psalm is the musical direction so fre
quent in Psalms.
The prayer is really in v. 2.
What is the substance of it ?

Vs. 3-7 describe God's coming in a storm, in response
to the prayer. Notice the details :

The word Selah, vs. 3, 9, 13. This is a musical term of
some kind. It may mean that at the point where it is
placed in the Psalm the music is to be louder.
Prayer : " O Lord, revive Thy work. In the midst of
selfishness and unholy ambition ; in the midst of sin and
sorrow ; in the midst of trial and temptation ; in the midst
of our ordinary, every-day life make Thyself known, re
vive Thy work, O Lord. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 117

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Fifth Day: Hab. 3:8-15. God is Coming to Save
His People.
Why God came — to save His people. " Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people."
Make a summary of these verses.

Notice the following familiar verses in Habakkuk:
2:4; 1:13; 1:5; 2:20; 3:2.
Memorize 2:20.
Referring to the study of the second day of the fifth
week, notice that the Fifth Division of Old Testament
History is The Chosen Nation Reconstructed as a Jewish
Church. 1 and 2 Chron., Ezra and Nehemiah.
Who and what were the Chaldeans?

1 1 8 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Sixth Day: Hab. 3:16-19. The Effect of the Rev
elation on the Prophet.
V. 16. " Fear, excited by the threatenings of God,
issues in ' rest ' followed by the mercies of God."
Under what circumstances does the prophet say he
will rejoice? Vs. 17, 18.

What is it that causes his rejoicing?

Have you ever rejoiced under such circumstances?
Prayer : " Grant, Almighty God, as the dullness and
hardness of our flesh is so great that it is needful for
us in various ways to be afflicted — Oh, grant that we
patiently bear Thy chastisement, and under a deep feel
ing of sorrow flee to Thy mercy displayed to us in Christ,
so that we may depend not on the earthly blessings of
this perishable life, but relying on Thy word go forward in
the course of our calling^, until at length we be gathered
to that blessed rest which is laid up for us in heaven,
through Christ our Lord. Amen." — Calvin's Exposition
of Habakkuk.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 119

SEVENTEENTH WEEK. THE JUST SHALL
LIVE BY FAITH.

Seventh Day : Hab. Chs. i, 2, 3.
Read the book through. " Speaking for myself, as a
student of world literature, I do not know to what I should
turn for specimens of literary perfection rather than to the
rhapsodies of Habakkuk and Joel."
The book has been condensed as follows :
Prophet: O Lord! the wickedness of our times, 1 :i-4.
God: I will bring the Chaldeans, 1 :5-n.
Prophet : O Lord ! the desolation of the arrogant Chal
deans, 1 :i2-2:i.
God: The fivefold woe against Chaldea, 2:2-19.
Prayer: " A choral echo, anthem of praise to the God
who comes to judge and save," 3 :i-i9.
The Message of Habakkuk : " As he brooded over these
desolating thoughts, as he looked out on a day of the Lord,
which was a day of clouds and thick darkness ; the light of
truth dawned on the soul of the troubled Levite ; and for
himself, for his nation, for all time it was granted him to
see at least in germ, and to set forth at least in outline the
two great truths upon which, as on the great main pillars
of a temple, the consolations of this life must rest : 1. God
is the Lord. 2._ The righteous shall live by faith."
Key thought : The just shall live by faith.
Key word: Faith.
Key text : 2 4.

120 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

First Day: Obadiah 1-9. Edom's Punishment.
I. Title, 1 :ia.
What does he mean by vision? V. 1.

Who was Obadiah?

Nothing is said about the date.
" This little book has been tossed out of one century
into another by successive critics, till there exists in their
estimates of its date a difference of nearly 600 years."
He seems to quote Joel 1 :i5; 3:17; 2:32; Amos 9:12.
About whom does he speak?

To whom is he speaking?
Edom has been called " That bitter brother of Israel."
Why? Cf. v. 10. Gen. 32:3. Numb. 20:21.

II. Destruction of Edom, 1 :i&-i6.
a. Obadiah foretells her punishment in vs. 16-9.
" O, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock," v. 3.
" The Biblical World " for November, 1901, contains pict
ures of these very rocks. "Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he faU."
What does he mean by vs. 5 and 6?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 121

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Second Day: Obadiah 10-14. Why God is Going
to Punish Edom.
b. Reasons for punishment, 10-14. What are they?
How was Edom Jacob's brother? V. 10.
Of what sin does the prophet accuse them?

Compare Obadiah with Jer. 497-22, and notice the
similarity. According to Obadiah, sometimes it is a sin to be
neutral : not to do anything when something ought to
be done is a sin. It is the sin of the Laodiceans (Rev.
3:15, 16). It is the sin of indifference, which is so com
mon among men to-day. Let us see to it that it is not
our sin.
Read Ps. 2.
" The prophecy of Obadiah has always been a special
favorite with the Jews. They realize, what indeed is
plain, that the prophecy has yet to receive its true fulfill
ment; and thev see in it a typical reference to Rome.
To them the Edomites represent Christians, at whose
hands in earlier days they suffered so terribly."

122 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Third Day: Obadiah 15-21. Punishment and Res
toration.
Compare Lam. 4:21, 22.
c. Their punishment, 15-16.
What does he mean by the day of Jehovah? Cf. mar
ginal references.

Note the word " drunk " in prophecy. What does it
mean? Cf. Isa. 63:6; Jer. 51 :57.

III. Promise of Restoration, vs. 17-21.
This ending is frequent in the Minor Prophets. Cf.
Amos 9:11 et seq.; Joel 3 :i8 et seq.
House of Esau, v. 18. Who is referred to here?

Locate on the map the places referred to in vs. 19-20.
The prophets always rest the truth of what they say
on the fact that it is God's word : " Jehovah hath spoken
it," v. 18.

Message for To-day : " The house of Jacob shall pos
sess its possessions." Really owning what we have.
How many good things we have and yet we do not pos
sess them. So many of the rich gifts which have come
to us — liberty, opportunity, the open Bible, the heritage
of the past, health — are not fully possessed because we
are always wanting something else. Let us possess our
possessions and enjoy them.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 123

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Fourth Day: Obadiah.
Read the Book of Obadiah through.
Write opposite the following divisions of the book the
verses covered by each.
I. Title.
II. Destruction of Edom.
a. Punishment foretold.
b. Reasons for punishment.
c. Their punishment.
III. Promise of Restoration.
Key thought : The curse of cowardice.
Key word: Edom.
Key text: 21.
The Message of Obadiah : " The Spirit of greed and
cruelty is forever hateful to Jehovah, and so surely as
any nation is actuated thereby in her dealings with other
nations, by the Nemesis of God's judgments, so shall she
perish sooner or later."

124 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Fifth Day: Obadiah 1-21.
" The kingdom shall be Jehovah's," v. 21.
Who were the Patriarchs?

Familiarize yourself with the following: Abraham
was called to leave his country and to found a new
nation. Read the promise to him, Gen. 12:1.
His two sons were Isaac and Ishmael.
Isaac's two sons were lacob and Esau.
The Twelve Tribes came from Jacob: Edom and
Moab came from Esau.
Make a list of the Twelve Tribes. See Gen. 35 :23-26.

Which ones became Israel, the Northern Kingdom,
and which became Judah, the Southern Kingdom?

Prayer : " Lord Jesus, help us to be brave ; when Thy
cause needs my help may I fearlessly give it. Thou
didst bear all things for me: everywhere Thou wert
brave, give to me Thy bravery. May I stand up for
Thee in the midst of all surroundings, and by my testi
mony lead others to Thee. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 125

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Sixth Day: Ezek. 2:1-8 and 33:1-9.
In 507 b.c. began the Babylonian captivity, when the
elite of Judah were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar
(2 Kings 24:10-16). Among these captives was the
prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:2, 3), who continued for
twenty years to speak to his people. At first his theme
was the coming destruction of Jerusalem. This fills
twenty-four chapters of his book. (Cf. 4:16; 5:12;
6:6; 24:9.)
The people would not hear; Jerusalem was destroyed
in 586. Then he began a series of prophecies, filled
with promises of restoration (33:11; 36:11; 37:14),
closing his book with his great vision of the " New
Jerusalem" (chs. 40-48).
Ezekiel's message was fivefold: God's majesty, Israel's
apostasy, judgments on the heathen nations, Israel's res
toration, and the final consummation of the Kingdom of
Peace. Add any further facts you may have learned about
Ezekiel.

126 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

EIGHTEENTH WEEK. "THE CURSE OF
COWARDICE."

Seventh Day: Ps. 126, 137. The Exile.
One of the greatest events in the history of Israel is
the Babylonian exile, when the people of Judah were
carried away from Jerusalem by the Babylonians into a
strange land. Exile was a means used to subdue rebel
lious tribes, and had been used in 722 b.c, when the
Assyrians transported the Ten Tribes of Israel from
Samaria (2 Kings 17:1-6, 20). The result was that
they disappeared. So in 596 b.c. the people of Judah
were carried away (2 Kings 25:1-12), an event of
which the prophets had often spoken and which the
people dreaded (Jer. 13:19, 40:3). Its effect upon
them is described in the 137th Psalm. The book of
Daniel gives an account of some of the captives. After
the discipline of the captivity they were restored to their
land. Ezra 1 ; Ps. 126.
Read Jer. 19:5-7 and state what we learn here about
the condition of the captives.
Message for To-day: "Observe how God punished
His ancient people. Look at Judah sitting amid the ruins
of Jerusalem ; her temple without a worshipper and her
streets choked with the dead ; look at that bound, weep
ing, bleeding remnant of a nation, toiling on its way to
Babylon, and may I not warn you with the apostle:
' If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest
He spare not thee ?' "

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 127

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

First Day: Haggai 1:1-6. The Reprimand.
This book falls into four addresses. The First Address
is ch. 1 :i-i5. The Call to Build.
The first prophet of the Restoration. Read Ezra, chs.
i-3- Where was Haggai speaking?
Fix the date of the book from 1:1. Cf. Zech. 1:1.
For the first time a date is fixed by the reign of a heathen
king. He speaks to the head of the civil as well as the
ecclesiastical government.
Notice from Ezra 1 that God had moved Cyrus to
permit the Jewish captives to go back to Jerusalem
for the purpose of rebuilding the temple and a large
number returned (2:64-67).
This was in 536 b.c When Haggai is speaking, it is
the second year of Darius, 520 B.C. They had returned
to build the temple: sixteen years had elapsed, and still
it had not been rebuilt. " At this crisis appeared an
aged and venerable man, Haggai, who had seen with
his own eyes the old temple and the old Jerusalem, and
who must therefore have been in his seventies, with
words of warning and exhortation."
Who was the governor of Judah?
What did the people say? V. 2.
What accusation does the prophet bring against
them? V. 4.
When had the temple been destroyed? V. 4.
What was the result of neglecting their duty? V. 6.
Memorize v. 6.
Message for To-day: God called them out of cap
tivity to rebuild His home; they did not do it and did
not prosper. How long ago did He call you out of the
captivity of sin? Have you since then been helping to
establish His kingdom ? That is what He called you for.

[28 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

Second Day: Haggai 17-11. The Command.
What does he mean by consider your ways? V. 7.
What command is given them? V. 8.
What was their condition and what had caused it?
Vs. 9-1 1.

Make a summary of vs. 4-1 1.
Someone has said there are seven disappointments in
vs. 6-9. What are they?
We can imagine the state of affairs: They had been
permitted to return to Jerusalem for the express pur
pose of rebuilding the temple. They had laid the foun
dations, and now they were using for their own comfort
able houses the material which should have gone into
the temple. They have their homes. God's home lies
waste. " Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea 1 "

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 129

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

Third Day: Haggai i :i2-i5. Effect of the Address.
What do they do? Vs. 12, 14.
What is Jehovah's response to their actions? V. 13.
Why did the people obey Haggai's words? V. 12.
What is Haggai called in v. 13?
What is the meaning of the word " spirit " in v. 14?

Message for To-day: It was the voice of God,
though the words were Haggai's, v. 12. May our prayer
be that men may hear God when we speak; He does
speak through men to-day, why not through you?

130 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

, Fourth Day: Haggai 2:1-9. Encouragement.
Second Address. 2:1-9. Courage.
How much later than the First Address?

This shows us how long they had been working on
the temple.
To whom does he speak?

Why " remnant of the people " ? V. 2.
What is the meaning of v. 3? Cf. v. 9.

How long ago had the first temple been destroyed?
Notice in v. 4 " be strong," " be strong," " be strong,"
" and work," " for I am with you."
He promises them that all nations shall contribute to
the glory of the new temple, vs. 6, 7.
Why can he do this ? V. 8.

How is the new temple to compare with the old?
V.9. Make a brief summary of this Second Address.

Message for To-day : " This house in its former
glory . . . the latter glory of this house," 3, 9. " Then
there are more people who are always lamenting the
departed greatness of spiritual power; they cry for an
other good old-fashioned revival like that under Moody."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 131

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

Fifth Day: Haggai 2:10-19. "The Power of the
Unclean."
This is the Third Address.
How long after the First Address was this one deliv
ered?

They are still building, v. 15.
For the reason of v. 11, read Deut. 17:8, 9.
In Lev. 6:27 it is provided that anything touched by
holy flesh shall be holy, so Haggai says : " If holy flesh,
by touching a garment, make it holy, will the garment
make holy what it touches ? " What is the answer ?

Why are the Ten Commandments still effective, but
not the Levitical law?

What is the substance of v. 13?

Application : Their holy offerings were not contagious :
their uncleanness was, v. 14. Sin seems to be con
tagious, while goodness is not.
What does v. 16 mean?

What was their condition before and after their
obedience? Vs. 15-19.

132 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

Sixth Day: Haggai 2:20-23. I Will Bless Thee.
This is the Fourth Address.
Notice each time whose word it is: 1:1; 2:1; 2:10;
2:20. The prophet is only the agent.
When was this address delivered ?

To Zerubbabel : one of the ancestors of Jesus. Matt.
1 :i2. What does he mean by " / will shake "? V. 21.

Write out the substance of this short address.

What is the meaning of " signet " ? V. 23. Cf . Au
thorized Version.
Notice the seven " I wills " of God in Haggai 1:8 (2) ;
2:6; 2:7, 9; 2:22; 2:23.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 133

NINETEENTH WEEK. ARISE AND BUILD.

Seventh Day: Haggai Chs. i, 2. Ps. 127.
I. First Address: The Call to Build, 1:1-15.
II. Second Address: Courage, 2:1-9.
III. Third Address : " The Power of the Unclean,"
2:10-19. IV. Fourth Address : I Will Bless Thee, 2 :20-23.
Key thought : Be strong and work.
" Be strong !
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle ; face it. 'Tis God's gift."
Key word : Build.
Key text : 1 :8.
" Too often men still say, ' The time has not come.'
How many people are not doing what they ought be
cause they are waiting for some set time."
A student once went to the president of his univer
sity and declared his determination to enter the minis
try, when he had finished his course. The reply came,
" Why not enter it now ? "
The Message of Haggai : The sum of Haggai's four
addresses is briefly: "Why do you permit God's home
to lie waste, while you beautify your own? Rise up
and build! This temple which you now build, small
though it may seem now, will rival the former in its
beauty. Go on with your work ; God punishes you now
because of your self-seeking worldliness, but He will
bless you. He has chosen you as His peculiar treasure."
What a message for this time of selfishness and com
mercial strife!

134 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

First Day : Zech. i :i-6. Repent.
Note the absence of the usual title.
Zechariah was a member of the priestly family of Iddo,
v. i, one of the priests who returned to Jerusalem after
the captivity. Cf. Neh. 12:4. Here he is called a
prophet, in Neh. he is called a priest.
Date : After the return from exile. The eighth month
in the second year of Darius, v. 1, was November, 520 b.c
Notice that other dates are given for other parts of the
book, 1 7; 7:1.
He was a contemporary of Haggai, cf. 1:1 and Hag.
1:1. To whom did he speak ? Ezra 5 :i, 6, 14.
Whether Zechariah wrote all of this book has been
much discussed. The discussion arose years ago (1638),
when it was noticed that Zech. 11 :i2, 13 was quoted by
Matt. 27:9 as from Jeremiah.
" The conclusion therefore at which it seems not un
reasonable to arrive is that, while we hold ourselves open
to give candid consideration to any fresh argument that
may be adduced, we have not as yet sufficient ground for
relinquishing the ancient and tenable belief that the book
of Zechariah is throughout the work of the author whose
name it bears."
The book falls into three parts: Chs. 1-8, 9-1 1, and
12-14. Part I. Visions and Fasts, chs. 1-8.
1. Introduction, 1 :i-6.
What is the invitation of v. 3 ?
What promise is made in v. 3 ?
What example is set before them ?
Use the marginal references for further information.
To what argument does the prophet appeal in vs. 4-6 ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 135

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Second Day : Zech. i 7-17. The Vision of the Mes
sengers.
2. Eight visions, 1 7-6 :8.
These were for the encouragement of Zerubbabel and
Joshua in rebuilding the temple. They were disappointed
that God had not revealed Himself when they returned to
Jerusalem, 1 :i6, 17.
First Vision: Four horsemen.
Notice the date, v. 7, some months later.
What did the prophet see ?

What were these horsemen ? V. 10.
What report did they bring back ? V. 1 1.
What did they mean by their report?
What was the angel's question in v. 12 ?
" Three score and ten years," v. 12, refer to what?
What is the Lord's answer?
How would this encourage Zerubbabel and Joshua?

Message for To-day : God is in His world. It seems
sometimes as if the spirit of evil was in control, but the
messengers of God are going about ; He knows what is
being done. " The Lord shall yet comfort Zion." Let us
not be discouraged.

136 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Third Day : Zech. i :i8-2i. Destruction of Enemies.
Second Vision: Four horns and four smiths.
Horns, v. 18. The horn was a symbol of honor, Job
16:15, and of power. Jer. 48:25; Amos 6:13.
What four nations are thought to be referred to ?

It seems better to take " four horns " to mean enemies
on all sides, rather than particular nations.
Who is referred to by the smiths ?

What is intended in the use of the three names in v. 19?

What effect would such a vision have ?

Read Ps. 75.
Prayer : " O Almighty God, the Supreme Governor of
all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to
whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be
merciful to those, who truly repent, save and deliver us,
we humbly beseech Thee, from the hands of our enemies ;
that we, being armed with Thy defence, may be preserved
ever more from all perils, to glorify Thee, who art the
only giver of all victory ; through the merits of Thy Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 137

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Fourth Day : Zech. 2 :i~5. The City of Peace.
Third Vision : The man with the measuring line.
What does the measuring of Jerusalem mean ?

Jerusalem is to have a time when they will not need
walls to keep out enemies. What kind of a time would
that be ?

On "villages without walls," see Ezek. 38:11.
Who is to be her protector ?

What would be the effect of this vision ?

Message for To-day : " Run speak to this young man,"
v. 4. What a message for the members of our Associa
tions ! It comes ringing down the ages from the lips of
our great Captain. But how laggard we are ; how slowly
we move ; how we hesitate and hold back and make ex
cuse. O men, run is the command, run, speak — for the
young man is waiting to hear and the young man is your
brother.

138 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Fifth Day : Zech. 2 :6-i3. Come Back.
This is a lyric piece interrupting the visions ; what
would you say was its subject?

Babylon is to be destroyed, vs. 6-9.
A call to rejoice because God is going to be with them,
10-13. Note the missionary promise in v. 11. Cf . 9 :io ; Jonah
4:11; Joel 2:2853:2.

Message for To-day : " He that toucheth you toucheth
the apple of His eye," v. 8. It does seem as if God could
not find language strong enough to describe the tender
ness and love He has for His people. He is as sensitive to
His people's conditions as a man is to that most delicate
organ of his body — the eye. Can't you endure more
heroically when you remember that God feels it too ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 139

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Sixth Day : Zech. 3 :i-5. The Vision Itself.
Fourth Vision : The high priest and Satan, cf . Job. 1 :6.
What did the prophet see ?

Note that Satan is a person. Cf. Matt. 4:10.
What is referred to by " a brand " in v. 2? What by
"the lire"?

Joshua, the high priest, clothed in filthy garments, sym
bols of sin. Isa. 64 :6.
The high priest bore the people's sins. " In such a high
priest Christian theology has seen the prototype of
Christ." What command is given in vs. 4, 5 ?

This is symbolical of the restoration of the priesthood.
Religious obstacles were to be taken out of the way.
The putting on of clean garments has always been a
type of change from sin to purity. See the stronger figure
used by Paul in Rom. 13 :i4.

140 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTIETH WEEK. VISIONS OF ENCOUR
AGEMENT.

Seventh Day : Zech. 3 :6-io. The Promise of a King.
Fourth Vision (continued) :
" To render judgment, in the place of God, was part of
the high priest's office," Deut. 17:8-11.
What was the high priest to do ? V. 7.

" Them that stand by," v. 7, cf. v. 4. The purified
Joshua was to have a place among the angels of God and
have access to God, cf. Ps. 66 :i8. Can it be that some of
your prayers are not answered because you are not in this
condition ?
V. 8. " To Joshua and his fellows I foretell the coming
of ' my servant, Branch,' because they, the priesthood in
all their office and ministry, as well as in what has just
happened to them in the vision in the person of their chief,
are types of Him."
" My servant " is a frequent name of Messiah in Isaiah.
See also Acts 3:13; 4:27, 30, where Servant is a proper
name. This is, of course, a clear prophecy of a coming Messiah.
What is meant by "the stone" in v. 9? Cf. 6:12;
4 7, 9 ; Eph. 2 :2o.
What does v. 10 mean ?

" We are told in the Talmud that when, on the great
day of Atonement, the high priest had performed the
various duties of that solemn day, he was escorted home
in a festive manner, and was accustomed to give a festal
entertainment to his friends. The maidens and youths of
the people went forth to their gardens and vineyards with
songs and dances ; social entertainments took place on all
sides and universal gladness closed the festival of that sol
emn day."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 141

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

First Day: Zech. 4:1-14. Not by Might nor Power.
Fifth Vision: The Golden Candlestick and the Olive
Trees. What did the prophet see? Vs. 1-5.

Why seven?

Connect vs. 3 and 12.
G. A. Smith says of vs. 7-9 : " It is one of the greatest
sayings of the Old Testament, there is none more spiritual
and more comforting."
These were words of encouragement to Zechariah.
Some have supposed that by the two olive trees Zerub
babel and Shealtiel were meant. It seems more probable
that they merely indicate a generous source of supply.
Here, again, care must be taken not to press the imagery
of the vision too far.
How would this vision encourage them ?

Message for To-day : " Not by might nor by an army,
but by my spirit." If we could only learn that this is
God's way! We seek to conquer by an army. How
quietly all the mighty processes of nature work. Cf. 1
Kings 19:11, 12.
Memorize Zech. 4:6, last clause.

142 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Second Day: Zech. 5:1-4. The Curse of God.
Sixth Vision: The flying roll.
What did the prophet see ? Vs. 1, 2.

What would it look like to him ?

How large was the roll in feet and inches ?
The roll symbolizes the curse of God going over the
earth. Notice that only the wicked are hurt by it, vs. 3, 4.
" Be sure your sin will find you out."
How would this encourage Zerubbabel ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 143

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Third Day : Zech. 5 :5-n. Wickedness.
Seventh Vision : The woman in a barrel.
Describe in your own words what the prophet saw.

Ephah, v. 6 ; cf . Amos 8 :5 ; Lev. 19 :36.
Talent of lead, v. 7. Marg. round piece.
The woman is said to be a personification of wickedness.
Wickedness is carried out of the land.
Why " to the land of Shinar"? V. 11.

"In her own place," v. 11. There is a place for the
wicked.

What encouragement would Zerubbabel get out of this
vision ?

Prayer : " Our blessed Lord, we thank Thee that Thou
hast prepared a place for those who love and serve Thee.
We know that every one shall go to his own place ; grant,
we beseech Thee, that our place may be with Thee forever.
Amen."

144 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Fourth Day: Zech. 6:1-8. Messengers of Wrath..
Eighth Vision: The chariots of the Four Winds.
What did the prophet see?

The imagery of this vision must not be too closely
pressed. The interpreting angel gives a very general in
terpretation of the vision. " It apparently signifies the
swift and mighty engines of destruction (four in number,
like ' the winds of heaven '), which fall with twofold
vengeance (v. 6) on Babylon, the latest enemy of Israel,
while they execute wrath also upon Egypt, her earlier
oppressor, and thus cause that ' shaking of all nations,'
which was the promised precursor of good." Hag. 2 7.
" As the series of visions opened with one of the uni
versal' providence of God, so they close with another of
the same. The first vision had postponed God's over
throw of the nations till His own time, and this the last
vision now describes as .begun, the religious and moral
needs of Israel having been meanwhile met by the visions
which came between, and every obstacle of God's action
for the deliverance of His people being removed."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 145

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Fifth Day : Zech. 6:9-15. Joshua Crowned.
3. Result of the visions. 6:9-15.
God having spoken by visions now speaks by a symbolic
action, cf. Heb. 1:1.
They are to take the gifts which have been sent home
by the Jews in captivity, v. 10.
The high priest Joshua is to be crowned, v. II.
What is the meaning of vs. 12, 13 ?

The missionary promise, v. 15.
" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run."
" The visions have revealed the removal of the guilt of
the land, the restoration of Israel to their standing before
God, the revival of the great national institutions and
God's will to destroy the heathen forces of the world.
With the temple built, Israel should be again in the posi
tion which she enjoyed before the exile. Zechariah,
therefore, proceeds to exhort his people to put away the
fasts which the exile had made necessary and address
themselves as of old to the virtues and duties of the civic
life and he introduces his orations to this end by a natural
appeal to the experiences of the former days."
Message for To-day: For him who is willing to see
God gives many visions of encouragement to-day. Look
at the wonderful growth of Christianity, out of that little
land of Judah into all nations of the earth ; look at Jesus
the supreme person in the world to-day, and take courage.
" The morning light is breaking,
The darkness disappears."

146 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Sixth Day : Zech. 1 7-6 :8.
Examine again the following verses and state the pur
pose of the visions: 1 :i6, 21 ; 2:4; 3:10; 4:9; 54; 5 :ii ;
6:8.

What was each vision ?
ist:

2d: 3d:
4th: 5th:
6th: 7th: 8th:

What message for to-day comes to you from these
visions ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 147

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK. GOD REIGNS.

Seventh Day: Ps. 139:1-12.
There were three outside nations which played an im
portant part in Israel's history : In the north was Assyria
with Nineveh, its great city. Consult the map and locate
this country. Another was Babylonia in the south, with
Babylon as its capital. Then there was Syria, with Da
mascus as its leading city. Syria included the country
known as Palestine. These nations are often spoken of
by the names of their great cities. Cf. Nahum. 1:1, Amos
5 15, Zech. 6:10. Fix the relative positions of these coun
tries in your mind. After studying the map, draw one
here.

148 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

First Day: Zech. 7:1-7. Obedience Better Than
Fasting.
4. The Deputation from Bethel. Chs. 7 and 8.
How long after the visions was this? 1 7 and 7:1.

Where was Bethel?
To what place did they come?

Bethel was one of the cities to which the captives had
returned from Babylon. Ezra 2:1, 28.
a. The question, 7 :i~4.
b. The answer, 7:5-8:23.
The question was whether they; now that the captiv
ity is over, ought to observe a national fast which had
been instituted during the captivity, "So many years,"
v. 4. " Even these seventy years," v. 5.
To the prophets, v. 3. Haggai and Zachariah. Cf.
Hag. 2:11.
The answer of the prophet:
1. Obedience is better than fasts, 5-7. "Let them
drop their fasts and practise the virtues, the neglect of
which had made their fasts a necessity."
Do you ever hear such questions as those in vs. 5
and 6?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 149

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

Second Day: Zech. 7:8-14. Mercy, not Sacrifice.
The answer of the prophet (continued) :
2. God wants justice and mercy, not sacrifice.
Each time it is " the word of the Lord " that comes to
the prophet (7:1, 8; 8:1, 18). He doesn't try to tell
them merely what he thinks.
What hint do we have in v. 12 of the way God spoke
through the prophet?

Speak to me by name, O Master,
Let me know it is for me.
Speak, that I may follow faster
With a step more firm and free
Where the shepherd leads his flock
In the shadow of the rock."

Memorize 7:9.

150 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

Twenty-second week, "thus saith
JEHOVAH."

Third Day : Zech. 8 :i-8. The Peace of God.
The answer of the prophet (continued) :
3. The glorious time coming when God shall be their
God, vs. 1-8.
Notice the " Thus saith Jehovah," vs. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7.
What does God say in each instance ?
V. 1.

3-
4- 6.

Message for To-day, vs. 4, 5 : " But what an oracle
for these times of ours! Whether in the large cities
of the old world, where so few of the workers may
hope for a quiet old age, sitting in the sun, and the
children's days of play are shortened by premature toil
and knowledge of evil; or in the newest fringes of the
new world, where men's hardness and coarseness are,
in the struggle for gold, unawed by reverence for age
and unsoftened by the fellowship of childhood — Zacha-
riah's great promise is equally needed. Even there shall
it be fulfilled if men will remember his conditions — that
the first regard of a community, however straightened
its means, be the provision of religion, that truth and
whole-hearted justice abound in the gates, with love and
loyalty in every heart toward every other."
Memorize 8:5.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 151

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

Fourth Day: Zech. 8:9-17. The Past and the
Present.
The answer of the prophet (continued) :
What does God say in each paragraph?
V. 9.

V. 14.

What are the things that God hates? V. 17. Does
He still hate them?

Note in ch. 8 ten short oracles, each introduced by
the words " Thus saith Jehovah" : 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14,
19, 20, 23.

Message for To-day : " For ourselves the chief
profit of these beautiful oracles is their lesson that the
remedy for the sordid tempers and cruel hatreds en
gendered by the fierce struggle for existence is found
in civil and religious hopes, in a noble ideal for the
national life, and in the assurance that God's love is at
the back of all, with nothing impossible to it."

152 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

Fifth Day: Zech. 8:18-23. Sorrow Turned to Joy.
The answer of the prophet (continued) :
4. All fasts shall become feasts of joy.
The question of 7:3 is now answered.
What is the meaning of vs. 20, 21 ?

V. 22. Here is the missionary promise again. What
is it?

Read Ps. 122.
Message for To-day: We have heard that God is
with you. When Mr. Moody was on the Spree, while
she was thought to be sinking, it is said that all kinds
of people, believers and unbelievers, came to ask him
to pray. They had heard that God was with him. O,
that more of us could lead such lives that our fellows
would know that God was with us. Would that our
national life were such that the whole world might
know that God is with us as a people.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 53

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

Sixth Day: Zech. 7:1-8:23. The Mistakes of the
Past and the Possibilities of the Future.
What was the question the people asked? 7:3.

The answer was in four parts; give the substance
of each part.

3-
4-

Prayer : " Dear Father, here I am, where Thou hast
placed me. Thou dost know the plans for me which
are in Thy mind. .Teach me that I may know them.
Give me grace that I may accomplish them. Make me
strong that I may fill them as Thou dost will. I am
not here for my own purposes, for Thou God has sent
me into the world. Inspire me, O Holy Spirit, that I
may embody Thine own self. Mould me, O Creator
of us all, that I may take on immortality in the likeness
of Jesus Christ. Amen."

154 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SECOND WEEK. "THUS SAITH
JEHOVAH."

Seventh Day: Zech. Chs. i-8.

Review the book to this point. Verify the following
outline :
Part I. Visions and Fasts, chs. 1-8.
i. Introduction, i :i-6.
2. Eight visions, i 7-6 :8.
ist. Four horsemen, 1 7-17.
2d. Four horns and four smiths, 1 : 18-21.
3d. The man with the measuring line, 2:1-5.
(An interruption, 2:6-13.)
4th. The high priest and Satan, 3:1-10.
5th. The Golden Candlestick and Olive Trees,
4:1-14.
6th. The flying roll, 5:1-4.
7th. The woman in a barrel, 5:5-11.
8th. The chariots of the Four Winds, 6:1-8.
3. Result of the visions, 6:9-15.
4. The Deputation from Bethel, 7:1-8:23.
a. The question, 7:1-4.
b. The answer, 7:5-8:23.
1. Obedience better than fasts, 7:5-7.
2. Justice, not sacrifice, 7:8-14.
3. Glorious times coming, 8:1-17.
4. Fasts shall be feasts of joy, 8:18-23.
What message has come to you from your study of
the book of Zechariah thus far?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 155

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

First Day: Zech. 9:1-8. Punishment of Israel's
Enemies.
Part II. The First Burden of the Word of the Lord :
The coming of the King, chs. 9-1 1.
" The hope of a mother for her first born, the pride of
a father in his son, the devotion of a slave to his liberator,
the eagerness of the woman for her lover, the enthusiasm
of soldiers for their captain — unite all these noblest affec
tions of the human heart and you yet shall fail to reach
the passion and the glory with which prophecy looked for
the King to come."
There is an abrupt and decided change at this point in
the book.
The word burden is usually used of a prophecy of judg
ment. The sentence hung down as a heavy weight, not
only upon the heart of the prophet, but upon the people to
whom he spoke.
As you read the remainder of the book notice how rich
it is in Messianic prophecies.
Hadrach, v. 1. This word caused much speculation for
a time as to whether it was the name of a king or not. It
has now been settled, as many other important questions
are being settled, by discovering the word in an Assyrian
inscription as the name of a city near Nineveh.
The places mentioned were enemies of Israel.
On vs. 3, 4. See Luke 12:16-21.
What is the meaning of v. 7?

Read Ps. 91.

1 56 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Second Day : Zech. 9 :9-i7- The Coming of the King.
What is the prophecy of v. 9 ?
When was it fulfilled ?
What attributes of the King are mentioned here?
What attribute is referred to in v. 10 ?
Was the section of country referred to in v. 10 very
large ?
What is the meaning of v. 10?

Covenant, v. 1 1 . See Ex. 24 15-8 ; Matt. 26 :28.
The Pit, v. 11. This was a common name for dun
geons, which sometimes were old wells, Jer. 37 :i6.
Victory is coming to Judah, vs. 13-17.
What particulars in these verses show a time of peace
and prosperity coming?

Message for To-day : " Thy sons, O Zion, against thy
sons, O Greece." " How true it is that Zion must be
against Greece. The one stood for religion and the
beauty of holiness ; the other for culture and the love of
beauty. The one was sensitive to the moral purity of God,
and therefore to the moral sanctions of life ; the other was
sensitive to aesthetic beauty, and therefore to the natural
glory of life. Hebraism adored and glorified God : Hel
lenism deified the world and glorified man."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 157

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Third Day : Zech. 10 :i-i2. Judah's Supremacy.
Latter rain, v. 1. This was the rain that fell in the
spring and helped the growing grain. The blessing of
rain was often a symbol of the blessing of God upon His
people. Ps. 65:9, 10. So here, cf. 14:17.
Teraphim, v. 2. What was this? Cf. 1 Sam. 19:13;
Gen. 31:19; Ezek. 21:21; Hos. 3:4.

What is the contrast between vs. 1 and 2 ?
Shepherds, he-goats, v. 3, are names for the rulers and
principal men.
What is the substance of vs. 3-5 ?

Corner-stone, v. 4. Unless God supplies the foundation
the house will not stand, Eph. 2 :2o.
What promise is in vs. 6-12?

Note how the Jews have been sown among the people,
v. 9. " The people are warned to seek their blessing from
Jehovah, and not from teraphim and diviners, whom their
false shepherds follow. Jehovah, visiting His flock, shall
punish these, give proper rulers, make the people strong,
and gather in their exiles to fill Gilead and Lebanon."

158 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Fourth Day: Zech. 11:1-6. Feed the Flock.
Lebanon, v. 1. Lebanon stood between Israel and her
enemies as a bulwark. Her gates had to be opened,
figuratively, to let the invaders through.
Vs. 1-4 are poetical, yet there is a literal meaning as
well. It is the fire of an invading army ; the storm break
ing upon the shepherds and their sheep.
God speaks to the prophet, vs. 4-6.
Flock of slaughter, v. 4. The flocks exposed to slaugh
ter. Who are the sheep ?

Vs. 4-6. " To me Jehovah gave an important commis
sion. ' Be a true shepherd,' he commanded, ' to my poor
sheep,' so abused by those who have ruled over them.
Their foreign masters have treated them as brute beasts
without remorse or mercy, exulting in their value as prop
erty." Read Ps. 23.
Message for To-day : " Feed the flock," v. 4. Feed my
sheep, John 21 : 16, 17. It is a far cry from one of these
commands to the other, but God changes not. As he
spoke to His prophets and to His disciples, so he speaks
to us to-day. " Let him that is taught, communicate,"
Gal. 6:6, is still the word of God to us. What are you
doing to obey it ? Are you feeding the flock ?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 1 5 9

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Fifth Day: Zech. 1 17-14. The Prophet's Failure.
The command had been obeyed, v. 7. Have you obeyed
it?
The allegory here has been called a " Summary of the
history of Israel." Is this a good name for it?

Instead of taking one staff of office as a shepherd, he
takes two. He names one Beauty or Grace to signify that
part of his work should be to show the people God's gra-
ciousness ; the other he calls Bands, signifying especially
the union of the people.
What does v. 8 mean ?

But it is no use ; he has to let them go, vs. 9, to.
His work is done ; he asks for his wages, v. 12.
And what do they give him? The miserly price of a
slave, v. 12. He casts it away to show that they have
rejected not him, but Jehovah, and breaks his other staff.
"The spiritual principles which underlie' this allegory
are obvious. God's own sheep, persecuted and helpless
tho' they be, are yet obstinate, and their obstinacy not only
renders God's goodwill to them futile, but causes the
death of the one man who could have done them good.
The guilty sacrifice the innocent, but in this execute their
own doom. This is a summary of the history of Israel."

160 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Sixth Day : Zech. ii :i5-i7- Jehovah's Punishment.
Foolish Shepherd, v. 15. They had rejected the Good
Shepherd : a different kind should be provided.
Note in v. 16, why the shepherd is foolish ; the things he
does not do.

The priests during the days of the Reformation were
often called shepherds, who, instead of feeding the sheep,
fed on the sheep.
Cf. Jude 12, where those who lead others astray are
called shepherds.
What is to happen to the foolish shepherd ?

Read John 10.
Prayer : " Lord Jesus, Thou great shepherd of the
sheep, I am the sheep that has gone astray ; seek me out
and bring me again to Thy fold. May I dwell in Thy
house all the days of my life and praise Thee forever
and ever with them that are there. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 161

TWENTY-THIRD WEEK. THE KING OF PEACE.

Seventh Day: Zech. Chs. 9, 10, 11. The Coming
King.
Part II. The Burden of the Word of the Lord, chs.
9-1 1, (continued).
Fill out the following outline :
9:1-8.

9-17.
10:1-12. 11:1-3. 4-6. 7-14.
15-17-
Study the Messianic prophecies :
The coming King, 9 :g ; Matt. 21 4, 5.
The thirty pieces of silver, 11:12, 13; Matt. 26:15;
27 :g, 10.
Him whom they have pierced, 12:10; John 19:37.
Smite the shepherd, 137; Matt. 26 :$i.
They restore the temple, 6 :i3.
My servant the Branch, 3:8, 6:12.

1 62 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

First Day: Zech. 12:1-9. Jehovah's Protection of
His People.
Part III. The Second Burden of the Word of the
Lord : The great deliverance and the better age, chs. 12,
13. T4-
What attributes are ascribed to God in v. 1 ?

Cup of reeling, v. 2. " Jerusalem stands forth like
some vast bowl or basin, round which all nations gather,
eager to swallow down its inviting contents. But the
draught proves to be far other than they anticipated, and
they reel and stagger back from it, confused and dis
comfited." Burdensome stone, v. 3. Too heavy for anyone to
lift. What is the meaning of vs. 2, 3?

What promise is in vs. 4, 5 ?
Paraphrase v. 6.

One of the results of the deliverance is found in v. 8.
What was it to be ?

Another result is in v. 9. What was it?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 163

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Second Day: Zech. 12:10-14. Penitence for Sin.
This is one more result of the deliverance, a repentant
people. How were they to manifest their penitence ?

Did you ever manifest yours in this way?
See Luke 22:61, 62.

Message for To-day : " They shall look upon me
whom they have pierced," v. 10. Yes, the day is com
ing when we must look upon Him. " We shall know
Him by the print of the nails." Whether we shall look
upon Him in terror or with joy we are now deciding.
What is your decision?

164 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Third Day: Zech. 13:1-9. Purification From
Guilt.
A great promise of an open fountain in which the
people might be cleansed. Cf. John 1:29; Isa. 1:18;
Ps. 51:2, 7-
Hairy mantle, v. 4. The prophet's usual garb, 2 Kings
1 :8 ; Matt. 3 4.
When was this promise fulfilled ? I John 1 7 ; Heb.
9:i3. H-
Idols are to be destroyed, v. 2.
There shall be no rival of the true God. How is it
with you, have the idols been destroyed?
There is to be no need of prophets, so prophecy is
to be abolished, vs. 2-6.
Vs. 3-6 have been paraphrased : " Since the prophets
as a class have become mere mercenary, untruthful pro
fessionals, whose nearest relatives feel compelled to
silence or slay them, they are no longer worth maintain
ing. So completely will they be under the ban that they
shall cease to boast of their visions and to wear rough
cloaks of skin, like Elijah, and will instead claim that
they are farmers. When one of these is asked concern
ing his wounded hands, he will reply evasively :' I re
ceived these wounds from my friends 1 ' "
What is God going to do to them ? Vs. 7-9.

Message for To-day : " / will reHne them as silver
is refined," v. 9. " More and more it comes to me, that
as in the Father's house above there are many rooms,
so in His school below there are many benches. No
two of us are taught alike. Just why you should have
been and are being led — just why you should have such
hard lessons to learn no one knows but God: but He
knows — and that is worth everything to a child."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 165

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Fourth Day: Zech. 14:1-11. Judgment of the
Heathen.
A day of the Lord is coming, v. 1.
What is the substance of v. 2 ?

God shall fight for Jerusalem, v. 3.
Try to reaUze the beauty of vs. 6-8.
No need of a distinction between day and night.
Living waters shall flow out in winter and summer.
Cf. Ps. 126 4. " As streams in the south." They never
freeze. Prosperity in the land, vs. 9-1 1. What are the char
acteristics of the period?

Ps. 24:1-6.

1 66 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Fifth Day: Zech. 14:12-21.
Hostile nations to be destroyed, vs. 12-15.
Notice the vividness of v. 12.
What is to be the effect upon the nations that are left ?
Cf . Rev. 7 :g.

Feast of Tabernacles, v. 16. " It was the last and
greatest festival of the Jewish year, gathering up into
itself, as it were, the year's worship, and at the same
time typifying the ingathering of all nations into the
Church of God."
What is there in this section that makes it a mission
ary promise?

Everything is to be holy unto the Lord, v. 20. Cf.
Rev. 21 =27.

Read Ps. 84.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 167

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Sixth Day: Zech. Chs. 12, 13, 14. The Messianic
Promises in Zechariah and their Fulfilment.
Gather up these promises once more and notice in the
New Testament their fulfilment.

Read again the Messianic promises we have had up
to this point. Mic. 5 :2, 3 ; Amos 9:11; Mic. 4:1-7 et al.

Prayer : " We long for Thy coming, dear Lord ; Thy
servants wait patiently for the glad day when Thou
shalt summon us to meet Thee. Grant that we may so
live day by day that whether Thy coming be at even,
or at midnight, or at cock crowing, or in the morning,
we shall be waiting for Thee, watching for Thee, ready
to go with Thee. Amen."

1 68 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. THE GREAT DE
LIVERANCE.

Seventh Day: Deut. 32:7-35.
Make an outline of the book of Zechariah based on
the prior studies.
Part I.

2. 3-4-
Part II.
Part III.
Key thought: The Supremacy of God.
Key word: Jealous.
Key text: 8:2.
The Message of Zechariah : " His message was ex
clusively that of the absolute enthronement of Jehovah.
He gives them the picture of Jehovah watching; of
Jehovah acting; and of Jehovah blessing in spite of all
their failure. . . . It is the picture of God acting, as
well as watching, and the picture necessarily, therefore,
of God's blessing. . . . God is on His throne, watch
ing, acting, and He will bless, but men will only come into
possession of the blessing and realization of it as they
get back to Him and fulfil His purpose."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 169

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

First Day: Mal. 1:1-5. God's Love.
I. Title, 1:1.
Some have thought the book to be anonymous.
Malachi means " My messenger" ; it may not be a
proper name.
To whom does he speak? Who was Edom? Cf.
Obadiah 1-4.
Date: The book is not dated. That it was after the
captivity is shown by the fact of temple service, 1 7 ;
2:13, and the absence of idolatry. The temple was
finally completed in 516 B.C.
" The situation in Judah at the time when Malachi
prophesied was one of depression and discontent. The
expectation which earlier prophets had aroused had not
been fulfilled ; the restoration from Babylon had brought
with it none of the ideal glories promised by Isaiah ; bad
harvest increased the disappointment: hence many
among the people began to doubt the Divine justice;
Jehovah, they argued, could no longer be the Holy God,
for He was heedless of His people's necessity, and per
mitted sin to continue unpunished; to what purpose,
therefore, -should they concern themselves with His
service ? "
" The essential principles of the religion of Israel
which had been shaken pr obscured by the delinquency
of the people during the half century after the rebuild
ing of the Temple were three: the distinctive Love of
Jehovah for His people, His Holiness and His Right
eousness; the Book of Malachi takes up each of these
in turn and proves or enforces it according as the people
have formerly doubted it or in their carelessness done
it despite."
II. Introduction, 1 :2-5. God's love of Jacob con
trasted with His hatred of Esau. Rom. 9:13.
"/ have loved you," v. 1. This was God's attitude
toward them.

170 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Second Day : Mal. i :6-i4. Priests' Sins.
" Taking his stand on the unchanging love of God
(1:2) he entreats, rebukes and warns the entire com
munity with respect to three great evils which had
marred the spirituality of their ideals : polluted worship,
broken marriage vows, unbelief."
III. Sins of the Priests and their punishment, 1 :6-2 :g.
Note the construction of Malachi's paragraphs: 1.
The truth stated. 2. The objection. 3. The answer.
1:2; 1 :6 ; 2:17 et al.
What sins are mentioned in vs. 6, 7, and 8?

They offer to God what they would not offer to a
superior on earth. Isn't this true of many of us to-day ?
V. 9. " If you don't believe it try to perform your
function as priests."
"Better a temple closed than a temple profaned,"
v. 10.
One of the great evils was the slovenly worship. Cf.
1 :6, 7, 8, 13.
V. 11. "Never have we had in prophecy, even the
most far seeing and evangelical, a statement so far see
ing and generous as this." What was the statement?
What further sins are mentioned?

What is the meaning of v. 14?
Are you in danger of this curse?

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 171

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Third Day: Mal. 2:1-9. Punishment.
What did God require of the priests? V. 2.
What was to be their punishment ?

What was " the covenant with Levi " ? V. 4. Cf.
margin.

Why does he refer to Levi in speaking of the priests ?

Notice in v. 7 a description of what we should be.
2 Cor. 5 :20.
What had the priests really done? V. 8.

What further sin is specified in v. 9?

" This, then, is something of the situation that con
fronted the author of Malachi: A priesthood lazy and
corrupt, neglecting to instruct the people in religion,
and offering imperfect sacrifices in the temple ; many
of the leaders, including doubtless the priests them
selves, united in marriage to the wealthy people of the
land, to accomplish which they had resorted to divorce;
and the mass of the people so far sunk in despair that
they had almost ceased to believe that God cared for
them, or that they had any duty to perform toward
Him." Prayer: (Write out a prayer based on some lesson
from this paragraph.)

172 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Fourth Day: Mal. 2:10-17. "The Cruelty of
Divorce."
IV. Sins of the people, 2:10-3:6. "Like priest, like
people." Although brothers they had deceived each other, v.
10. Cf. Ex. 19:4-6.
What sins are referred to vs. 11, 13? Neh. 13:23-27.

God will punish such sin, v. 12.
Vs. 14-16. What warnings are given here?
What evil does God hate according to v. 16?

¦ V. 17. " Jehovah is tired of hearing you complain
that He shows especial favor to evil-doers, and that he
never punishes vice nor rewards virtue."
Note their continual questions. Wherein? 1 :2, 6, 7;
3 7, 8, 13.
" It is a picture of a people who imagine they are
all right, when they are all wrong."
Notice through the book how Malachi insists on com
pliance with the demands of the law as one of the con
ditions on which God's blessing may be expected: 1 :i4;
2 :8 ; 37; 4 4. Contrast this with the New Testament
teaching. Eph. 2 :8, 9.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 173

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Fifth Day: Mal. 3:1-6. Some Day It Will Come
Right.
A messenger is to prepare the way, then the Lord will
come. See marginal references.
What is His coming to be like ?

Fullers' soap, used to purify and whiten the goods.
Priests are to be purified, v. 3. Cf. 1 :6-i4.
God will be a source of joy to the righteous, v. 4, but
a punishment to the wicked, v. 5.
The sins of v. 5 were the prevailing Oriental sins.
What reason is given for this condition in v. 6?

Message for To-day :¦ " The message of Malachi was
a tract for his times, but it is equally inspiring for the
humble Christian of to-day, whose outlook on life is cir
cumscribed and despondent, over whom others win ad
vantage, who is led to question the value of honor, devo
tion, and probity. Let him fix his gaze, not upon himself
nor upon the world around, but upon the all-wise, ever-
loving, just, and gracious Father."

174 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Sixth Day: Mal. 37-15. Robbing God.
V. Warnings, 37-4:3;
Note again the peculiar constructions of the para
graph. See study for second day.
Rebuke as to offerings.
To whom is God speaking in v. 7?

God asks them to return to Him. They reply, how
can we return? By paying the tithe. Withholding the
tithe showed unbelief. By paying it they would show
that they trusted Him.
How is it true that by not giving tithes they robbed
God? Neh. 13:10-12.

How were they to get blessings?
What were the blessings to be?

Memorize v. 10.
Could we be blessed in the same way now?
Florence Nightingale once said the secret of her suc
cess was that she never refused God anything.
The old complaint, the wicked prosper, God's service
is a vain service. Isn't this the complaint nowadays?
Read Ps. 37:1-11.
Vs. 13-15. "What good do we gain by being faith
ful to God ? What is the use, after all, of our service,
our prayer, our lamentation? It is the proud who are
happy, and the wicked who are built up." See Job 3.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 175

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK. UNCONSCIOUS
CORRUPTION.

Seventh Day: Mal. 3:16-4:6. God's Righteous
Judgment.
" The apocalypse of this last judgment is one of the
grandest in all scripture. To the wicked it shall be a
terrible fire, root and branch shall they be burned out,
but to the righteous a fair morning of God.
Over against their complaint God speaks. What is
meant by " a book of remembrance " ?
How did those who believed in God increase their
faith? V. 16.
" The importance of such a little band of Puritans
in the midst of a godless nation ought not to be over
looked." What is the promise of vs. 17, 18?
What is to happen to the wicked?
What to the righteous?
VI. Conclusion, 4:4-6.
Remember the law, Moses. Why?
Look for Elijah, v. 5.
These two appeared at the transfiguration.
The final promise, v. 6. What was it?
Go over the studies for the week and make an outline
of the book.
" Malachi is like a late evening which brings a long
day to a close, but he is also like a morning dawn which
brings with it the promise of a new and more glorious
day." Key thought; Infidelity of returned captives.
Key word : Robbery.
Key text : 3 :8.

176 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

First Day : Joel i n-7. It Is a Time to Weep.
Title, 1:1.
We know nothing about Joel except what we get from
his book.
" Receiving, as it does, no weight from the personality
of the prophet, it may tell the more forcibly, and shine
the more brightly through the inherent force and clear
ness of its own truth."
What inferences may be drawn about his home from
2:1, 15,23,32:3:1,6,8.
Where did he live ? 1:13, 14.

The date of the book is very uncertain. Most scholars
agree on a late date. G. A. Smith says 444 b.c
Against which nation did he speak ?

Part I. The scourge of locusts and deliverance from
them, 1 :2-2 127. Help in temporal disaster.
1. Lamentation over destruction by locusts, 1 :2-i4.
To what class does Joel speak in v. 2 ?

The awfulness of the plague is shown by vs. 2, 3, and 4,
cf. 2:4-11.
What class is addressed in v. 5 ?
Vs. 6 and 7 describe the way in which locusts or grass
hoppers have overrun the land.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 177

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Second Day : Joel i :8-i4. Sorrow and Lamentation.
Who is addressed in vs. 8-10?
Why "girded with sackcloth"? V. 8.
What have the locusts destroyed? Vs. 8-10.
In vs. 11-12 what class is called upon?

Note in all these cases the completeness of the destruc
tion. In vs. 13, 14 still another class is called upon 5 who are
they?

What are they urged to do ? V. 14.

What classes of the people has He called upon so far ?

What words in vs. 2-14 show the completeness of the
destruction ?

178 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Third Day : Joel i : 15-20. The Drought.
2. The drought, 1:15-20.
Vs. 2-14 have been summarized: "Terrible times;
everything destroyed; mourn ye drunkards, there is no
more wine; mourn all people, your land is destroyed;
mourn ye priests, your occupation is gone ; let all classes
turn to God in this their day of trouble."

What different expressions does the prophet use to de
scribe the drought ?

Message for To-day : " The water brooks are dried
up." It seems oftentimes as if this would have to be our
cry, everything is so dry spiritually. It seems as if the
rivers of God have dried up. But there is help in such
times of need — as there surely will be such times — and
that help comes alone from God. In answer to our cry, as
in answer to Joel's, He will send a fountain from the house
of Jehovah, 3 :i8. Those who are strangers to God may
be like a desolate wilderness, but for God's own people
" the brooks of Judah shall flow with water."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 179

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Fourth Day : Joel 2 :i-i 1. Come and Pray.
3. Summons to prayer and fasting, 2:1-20.
The prophet summons them to prayer and fasting for
the removal of the scourge.
Dr. Morgan calls this first trumpet " The trumpet of
alarm ; and the second trumpet, in v. 15, " The trumpet of
repentance." What is the meaning of v. 2 ?
Read carefully the wonderful description of the coming
of the locusts in vs. 4-1 1, cf. Ex. 10:12.
" Summoning all the people I could collect, we went out
to meet and attack them [locusts], hoping to stop their
progress altogether, or, at least, to turn aside the line of
their march. . . . But their number was astounding;
the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On
they came like a living deluge. We dug trenches and
kindled fires and beat and burned to death ' heaps and
heaps,' but the effort was utterly useless." They de
stroyed every green leaf. " I saw large fig orchards
' clean bare,' not a leaf remaining ; and as the bark of the
fig tree is of a silvery whiteness, the whole orchards, thus
rifled of their green veils, spread abroad their branches
' made white,' in melancholy nakedness to the burning
sun." — Land and the Book.
What would be the condition of the people after such
a visitation ?
This is symboHcal of the . destruction God will bring
upon the wicked.
Message for To-day : " The day of the Lord," v. 2.
" This is, as never before, the day of MAN. Progress,
invention, culture, are helping to make man imagine that
he can do without God, and there is a tendency everywhere
to deify human reason and human ability. The results
are disastrous to all that is highest and best in human pos
sibility. When these facts overwhelm us our hope is in
the assurance that the day of the Lord is now present and
yet in all its majesty is yet to come."

180 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Fifth Day : Joel 2 : 12-20. God May Hear Even Yet.
What is the meaning of vs. 12-14?

" Rend your hearts and not your garments," v. 13, calls
for what kind of religion ?

Memorize v. 13.
What is implied as to their worship heretofore ?

He calls them to prayer, v. 15.
How extensive is the call? V. 16.

What prayer are they to make ?

In answer to their prayer Jehovah promises to remove
the locusts — they are called the " northern army."
Notice the two things necessary: heart service and a
realization of God's goodness.
When the prodigal decided to go home (Luke 1.5),
which moved him most,, the misery he was in or the
thought of a loving father waiting to receive him ?
Prayer : " My transgressions, O Lord, are multiplied,
and I am not worthy to behold and see the height of
heaven for the multitude of my iniquities. I have pro
voked Thy wrath, and done evil before Thee: I did not
Thy will, neither kept I Thy commandments. Now,
therefore, I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching Thee
of grace. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I
acknowledge mine iniquities : wherefore I humbly beseech
Thee, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me, and destroy me
not with mine iniquities,. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 181

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Sixth Day : Joel 2 :2i-27. Promise of Rain.
4. The promise of rain, 2 :2i-27.
What is the promise of vs. 21-23 ?

What is meant by " former rain," " latter rain " ?
Why was this done ? V. 27.

Summary : Scourge of locusts ; great drought ; prayer ;
promise of removal of locusts ; promise of abundant rain.
Notice that so far it has been only temporal relief.
V. 25 was written on the walls of a rescue mission in
New York. Comp. 1 4 and tell why it was appropriate.
Read Ps. 27:1-6.

1 82 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK. PUNISHMENT AND
DELIVERANCE.

Seventh Day : Joel i :i-2 :27- The Scourge— Locusts
and Drought.
Read chs. i and 2 and fill out the following :
Part I. 1 :2-2 =27.
1. 1 :2-i4. 2-4. 5-7-
8-12.
I3-H-
2. 15-20.
3. 2:1-11. 12-20.
4. 2:21-27.
Message for To-day : " Your sons shall prophesy," v.
28. Paul sums up the teachings of the twelfth and thir
teenth chapters of first Corinthians in the first verse of the
fourteenth chapter, when he says, " Follow after love ; yet
desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but," he goes on, " rather
that ye may prophesy." To prophesy, both in Old Testa
ment times and in New Testament times, as well as now,
was and is what God wants, and prophesying is witness
ing. We are in the world to be witnesses. Acts 1 :8.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 183

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

First Day: Joel 2:28-32. Acts 2:17-21. Promise
of the Spirit.
Up to this point we have had the historical occasion
looking into the past; we come now to the prophecy
itself, looking into the future.
Part II. The Holy Spirit and Deliverance, 2:28-3:21.
As the preceding passages referred to temporal relief,
this refers to spiritual.
The promise of the Spirit's outpouring, v. 28, is sug
gested by the promise of rain.
What were to be the characteristics of the time
spoken of here?

What is the promise of vs. 28, 29?
When was it fulfilled?

Cf . The wish of Moses in Numb. 1 1 :29-
Was this promise entirely fulfilled at Pentecost?

Message for To-day : " Your young men shall see
visions." What a miserable place this world would be
if there were no visions. If Moody had not seen visions
of recitation halls and dormitories on the hillsides of
Northfield and Mount Hermon; if Mott had not seen
visions of the students of the world united in Christian
effort; if Edison and Marconi and Morse and all the
rest of them had not had their visions ! May our young
men see visions !

184 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Second Day: Joel 3:1-8. Enemies Will be De
stroyed.
The promise made in these verses is suggested by
the promised destruction of the locusts. What is the
promise ?

What nations are referred to in these verses?
What was their sin?
Write out a summary of chs. 1 and 2.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 185

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Third Day : Joel 3 :9-i3- The Assembly.
A call to the nations to assemble: God is ready to
judge. lehoshaphat, v. 12. Jehovah judges.
What does the prophet mean by v. 13?

Contrast v. 10 with Micah 4:3, and state why these
sayings are so different.
Notice the repetition of the word come in vs. 9, 11,
12, 13-
Write out the substance of this section.

1 86 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SEVENTH' WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Fourth Day : Joel 3 : 14-17. The Judgment.
We have again the closing promise so frequent in the
Minor Prophets.
Cf. the words of Jesus in Matt. 24 and 25.
" There are two classes in the world : those who call
on God, those who do not. There is a day of judgment
when one shall receive blessings, the other destruction."
What you are doing now determines which class you
will be in hereafter.

Summary :
Locusts : Locusts destroyed ; enemies destroyed.
Drought: rain; outpouring of Spirit.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 187

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Fifth Day: Joel 3:18-21. The Glorious Future.
We have here again at the close of the prophecy the
promise of restoration.
What is the promise here?

What do these verses show concerning God's power
and authority over other nations than the chosen people?

How many times these messengers of God, after de
nouncing judgment upon a sinful people, in terms so
severe that there seems to be no way of escape, turn
at last to assure their hearers that God is a God of
mercy, that " He will not always chide, neither will He
keep His anger forever."

Fill out the following outline:
Part II. 2:28-3:21.

2.

Conclusion, 3:18-21.

1 88 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Sixth Day: Joel 3:18. The Messianic Prophecy.
What is the prophecy of this verse?

Cf. Ezek. 47:1-12.
The teaching of the book concerning prayer. Read
1 :i4, 19; 2:12, 13, 15-17, 32; and tell what Joel teaches
on this great subject.

Message for To-day: The Spirit comes to qualify
men for bearing witness, 3:28 (cf. Acts 1:8). When
the apostles testified with such power that multitudes
were won for Christ, Peter said the prophecy of Joel
was being fulfilled. Are you living such a life that it
may be fulfilled in you? Are you seeking the Spirit for
some other purpose?

The Message of tlie Twelve Prophets 189

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND DELIVERANCE.

Seventh Day: Joel Chs. i, 2, 3. The Day of
Jehovah.
Read the book through and see how it tells about the
day of Jehovah.

The Message of Joel : " Our message to the age must
always be that of the Divine supremacy, of the Divine
immanence, of the Divine activity. We want to tell
them that the Lord that sitteth in the heavens laughs at
the folly of their rebellion, and weeps over the misery
of their sin, and waits as King to pardon repenting
souls. Whenever men and nations return to the Lord,
His mercy receives them and provides escape from judg
ment. That seems to me to be the great and marvel
lous message of Joel to this age — the God of govern
ment and the God of grace."
Key thought: God in judgment and mercy.
Key word: Judgment.
Key text: 2:13.

190 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

First Day: Jonah 1:1-6. The Mission Disobeyed.,
The book falls naturally into four parts, corresponding
nearly with the division into chapters.
What do we know about the authorship of the book ?

Note that Jonah is always spoken of in the third person,
never in the first. The book does not claim to have been
written by Jonah. It has been called " The Prophetic
Story of Jonah."
What do we know about Jonah? 1 :i, 9. ; 2 Kings 14:25.

What is the subject of ch. 1 ?
Where was Nineveh ?
What are we told about it? Cf. Nahum 2 :i~7.
Where was Tarshish?
What was the command to Jonah?
What does " cry against it," v. 2, mean ?
Where was Joppa ?
What did Jonah do in answer to God's command ?
Why did he fly ? 4 :2.
What happened when Jonah disobeyed ?
Memorize v. 6.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 191

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Second Day : Jonah i 7-17. The Missionary in
Trouble.
What method did the sailors use to detect Jonah? Cf.
Acts 1 :26.

What was Jonah doing? Cf. Jesus asleep in the ship.
" Where guilt is there is peril; where Christ is there is
safety." This has been called Jonah's punishment; another has
said it is rather his conversion.
What can you say, from the prayer in v. 14 and from
v. 16, had been the effect on the sailors ?

Note : The sailors turn to God and are saved.
Contrast the tender care of these heathen sailors for
Jonah, God's prophet, with Israel's treatment of the
prophets and Jonah's treatment of God.
The fish swallows Jonah : " Man can build a submarine
boat to carry a hundred passengers, but they deny the
great God the power to prepare a fish to carry one." —
Morgan. " And this is the tragedy of the book of Jonah, that a
book which is made the means of one of the most sublime
revelations of truth in the Old Testament should be known
to most only for its connection with a whale."

192 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Third Day : Jonah 2 :i-io. A Prayer.
What is the subject of ch. 2?

What thought is in Jonah's mind as he sings this
prayer-song ?
What Psalms does he refer to? Use the marginal
references.

What does he pray for ?
Read Ps. 130.
Note : Jonah turns to God and is saved.
Prayer : " O Thou forgiving God, how often like Thy
servant in the olden days we have been disobedient to
Thy command. In great mercy bear with us in our
stubbornness, forgive our wilfulness and speak to us
again, so that we may obey. As Thou didst listen to the
crying of thy disobedient servant as he turned to Thee,
so listen to us to-day, for Jesus' sake. Amen."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 193

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Fourth Day: Jonah 3:1-10. Another Chance.
What is the subject of ch. 3?

" Having learned thro' suffering his moral kinship with
the heathen, and having offered his life for some of them,
Jonah receives a second commission to go to Nineveh."
His second commission, vs. 1, 2.
How does this call differ from the first ?

Note his simple obedience.
What does he mean by " Of three days' journey " ?
V.3.

What did he preach ?
What was the result of his preaching?

Upon the people? V. 5.
Upon the king? V. 6.
What was done ?
What were the people urged to do? V. 8.

Note: The Ninevites turn to God and are saved,
v. 10, cf. Nahum 2:13.
"The purpose of the parable (of Jonah), and it is
patent from first to last, is to illustrate the mission of
prophecy to the Gentiles, God's care of them, and their
susceptibility to His word."

194 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Fifth Day: Jonah 4:1-11. A Disgruntled Mis
sionary.
What is the subject of ch. 4?
Why was Jonah displeased ?
Does Deut. 18:21, 22 throw any light on the reason?

Note God's question, v. 4, and that Jonah instead of
answering just sulks.
Why did he go out and watch the city ? V. 5.

How does God rebuke him ?
What is the meaning of vs. 10, 11?
What kind of people are referred to in v. 11?

Make an outline of the book based on the studies for
the week.

Key thought : True repentance brings salvation.
Key word : Repent.
Key text: 3:10; see also Jer. 187, 8.
" In this book the prophecy of Israel quits the scene of
battle as victor, and as victor in its severest struggle — that
against self."

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 195

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Sixth Day : Jonah 1-4.
One purpose of the book of Jonah was " to teach in
opposition to the narrow, exclusive view which was too
apt to be popular with the Jews, that God's purposes of
grace are not limited to Israel alone, but that they are open
to the heathen as well, if only they abandon their sinful
courses and turn to Him in true penitence."
" The truth which we find in the book of Jonah is as
full and fresh a revelation of God's will as prophecy any
where achieves. That God has granted to the Gentiles
also repentance unto life is nowhere else in the Old Testa
ment so vividly illustrated."

Make a study of the book as a call to foreign mission
service :
1. God is conscious of the heathen's need.
2. The command to go to the heathen.
3. Disobedience and unrest.
4. Obedience.
5. Hard work and discouragement on the field.

" I have read the book of Jonah at least a hundred times,
and I will publicly avow, for I am not ashamed of my
weakness, that I cannot even now take up this marvellous
book, nay, not even speak of it, without the tears rising
to my eyes, and my heart beating higher. This appar
ently trivial book is one of the deepest and grandest that
was ever written, and I should like to say to every one
who approaches it, ' Take off thy shoes, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground.' " — Cornill.

196 The Message of the Twelve Prophets

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK. SALVATION TO
THE UTTERMOST.

Seventh Day : Ps. 95.
How shall we interpret the book of Jonah ?
" The sea represents death and judgment. Jonah went
into it willingly, unresistingly, yet not of his own act. The
hands of Gentiles cast him forth. In due time Jesus laid
down His own life, yet not by His own act. The hands of
Gentiles nailed Him to the cross. Jonah went down out
of sight into the abyss, and the sea was calm ; the element
that had threatened to destroy the seamen bore them safely
up and onward. So Jesus went down, not into sorrow
merely, but into judgment ; fell under the power of death,
and was confined within the bars of the grave ; and lo, the
sea is calm to us, there is deliverance from going down
into the pit, for God has found a ransom ; and in right
eousness which reproved and threatened us, now forms
our protection and support."
" But in the book of Jonah ... we see a great
recovery and expansion of the best elements of prophecy.
God's character and Israel's true mission to the world are
revealed in the spirit of Hosea and the sea of the Exile,
with, much of the tenderness, the insight, the analysis of
character and even the humor of classic prophecy. These
qualities raise the book of Jonah, tho' it is probably the
last of our twelve, to the highest rank among them. No
book is more worthy to stand by the side of Isaiah
XL-LV ; none is nearer in spirit to the New Testament."
What the book teaches :
1. That it is wrong for a prophet to attempt to evade
God's command. To show a prophet's duty:
a. To deliver God's message, whatever it is.
b. To be fearless.
c. Not to be terrified about the fulfilment.
2. To illustrate Jer. 187, 8.
To show that prophecies were conditional.
3. God's treatment of heathen a warning to Israel.
4. God's care of those outside.

The Message of the Twelve Prophets 197

TESTIMONY AS TO WHAT THE MESSAGE IS.
" The sacred thought embodied in these varied Scrip
tures is at once varied and the same. Hosea loves to
dwell upon God's yearning love, the love of the husband
for the fallen wife, the love of the father for his prodigal
son. Amos takes his stand for morals as against religion
itself, when the two have irreligiously clashed. Micah
presents the true and the false prophecy contending in the
struggles of daily life. But other themes grow together
into the one prophetic theme of judgment — the Hebrew
counterpart of our modern providence. With Nahum it
is a judgment upon the foe, as a form of mercy to God's
people ; Jonah comes as a corrective, with the thought of
Jehovah's mercy extending outside His people to the six-
score thousand innocents of Nineveh. The mystery of
judgment which troubled the wise men of Israel — the
impunity of the wicked — appears in Habakkuk magnified
to the scale of nations ; this prophet's problem is the sight
of the Chaldean allowed to prosper and punish wicked
ness less great than his own. Several of the prophecies
are filled with a ' Day of the Lord ' ; the judgment regu
larly appears as a visitation first upon Israel, to destroy
the evil that is in it ; then there is a purification and restora
tion, and finally a judgment between Israel and the na
tions ; there is at the last an inauguration of a heaven,
but it is a heaven upon earth."
What message has come to you from these studies ?

Who is wise and he shall understand these things?
Prudent and he shall know them ?
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the just shall walk in them :
But transgressors shall fall therein ! "
— Hos. 14 :g.

Bible Study Courses
INTRODUCTORY
Introduction to Bible Study. /. IV. Cook. Cloth, 25 cents ;
paper, 15 cents.
An elementary course, replacing "Studies in Faith and
Conduct" by the same author. It deals with the authorship of
the Bible, its general contents, geography, institutions and
fundamental teachings.
Outline Studies in Biblical Facts and History. /. N. DePuy
and J. B. Travis. Cloth, 35 cents ; paper, 20 cents.
The four parts treat of: I. Bible Composition and History,
four lessons; II. Historical Studies in the Old Testament, thirteen
lessons; III. Historical Studies in the New Testament, seven
lessons ; IV. Conclusion, two lessons.
Progressive Bible Studies. F. S. Goodman. Cloth, 25 cents ;
paper, 15 cents.
This course is elementary in character. It contains nine
lessons on the Bible and its use, nine on fundamental truths as a
preparation for service and seven personal work studies in the
Life of Jesus Christ.

TRAINING
Teaching of Bible Classes. E. F. See. Cloth, 60 cents ;
paper, 40 cents.
A revised and greatly enlarged edition of Mr. See's course on
teacher training. The purpose of the book is to make a simple
statement of the elementary principles of teaching in so far as
they are applicable to Biblical instruction. The different parts
are devoted to a consideration of the teacher, the student and
the lesson.
Studies for Personal Workers. H. A. Johnston. Cloth, 66
cents; paper, 45 cents. Special abridged edition,
paper, 25 cents.
Studies covering the principal features of personal work and
designed to help those engaged in individual effort in winning
men. Among the topics are : Man's Need, Man's Responsibility
for Man, Equipment for Personal Work, Ways of Working, the
Use of the Bible, and three" lessons on notable personal workers.
Christ Among Men. James McConaughy. Cloth, 40 cents ;
paper, 25 cents.
A series of twenty-five lessons on Christ's interviews with
individuals. This course aims to help persons in the work of
winning other lives to the service of Christ and for stimulus,
guidance and training for personal work.

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION PRESS
3 West 29th Street, New York

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08844 5078