This month, we are looking into the books of Joel, Amos, and
Obadiah. These Minor Prophets continue God’s call for repentance and warnings
of coming punishment for their sinful ways. Throughout the book of Joel, God
calls his people to repentance. However, the repentance he desires is an inward
act, not the outward display of penitence (Joel 2:13). In the book of Amos, it
is a warning for the desire for the day of the Lord for it will be justice and
judgment many are not ready for (Amos 5:24). In Obadiah, it is the reminder
that your deeds will come back (verse 15). However, there are signs of hope in
the words of doom.
My favorite verse is Joel 2:28a, “And afterward, I will pour
out my Spirit on all people.” In this verse, God tells us that His Spirit is available
to all who calls on him. Joel 2:32a “And everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.” His Spirit is no longer just for the prophets, kings and
judges. Ezekiel also spoke of an outpouring of the Spirit in Ezekiel 39:29 when
the Lord says “I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my
Spirit on the house of Israel.” This reminds me of how the printing of the
Bible by Johannes Gutenberg in 1454/55 helped bring the Word of God to the
masses rather than the learned few. Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32 in Acts 2:16-21
where the outpouring of the Spirit occurred after Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
In Amos, God gives the message of the coming punishment to
Israel who has not listened to the warnings from his prophets. However, God
wants to redeem, not punish. In Amos 9:8, the Lord says “Surely the eyes of the
Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of
the earth—yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob.” In this verse,
God tells us that punishment is not permanent. When punishment is necessary, he
will not withhold it. Like a loving father, God will discipline those he loves
in order to correct them. Although punishment is never fun and we didn’t like
it as kids but it was necessary in order to show us the correct way to behave.
Therefore, God’s discipline is a sign of his love. When the punishment is over,
God promised to “plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them” (Amos 9:15). God will restore what he has
taken away with something better and permanent.
Very little is known about the prophet Obadiah. The book
attributed to him is only 21 verses; however, the words carry a great message.
The main warning is against the kingdom of Edom which had descended from Esau,
Jacob’s twin brother. The animosity between Edom and Israel stems from Esau’s
hatred for his brother who stole his blessing (Genesis 27:1-36). Even though
the brothers reconciled and parted ways in peace (Genesis 33), the descendants
continued the animosity as Edom had participated in and relished in the destruction
of Jerusalem and the slaughter of Judeans during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II
(Psalm 137:7, Jeremiah 49:7-22). God promises that the house of Jacob will be
uplifted while the house of Esau will be destroyed (verses 17-18). At the time
of the prophecy, it looked like Edom would survive more than Israel would;
however, by the first century CE, the nation no longer existed.
In conclusion, while Joel, Amos and Obadiah were Minor
Prophets, they still carried a great message from God. The message of repentance
and returning to God is the main theme of Joel’s message but deeper reading
shows that God hid messages of hope too. In Amos, God reminds us that he is a
loving parent who punishes when necessary but wants to build up and restore
rather than tear down and leave his people in ruins. Obadiah carries the
message to those against God’s people: you will be destroyed. What does this
mean for us today? It is a message of hope despite the hard times. It is a
lesson to learn from past mistakes and punishments. It is a message to hatred
and animosity against God’s people will be met with his wrath.
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