Haggai 2: Motivation to work on rebuilding the temple

 In general, human beings are selfish. In Haggai 2 we read:

1-3 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: “Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: ‘Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

The prophet says that the temple is in a bad shape compared to the former temple. The Lord calls his people to work on his temple:

4-5 “‘So get to work, Zerubbabel!’—God is speaking.
“‘Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!’
“‘Get to work, all you people!’—God is speaking.
“‘Yes, get to work! For I am with you.’ The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! ‘Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.’

The Lord says to work on his temple, and the Lord says that He is with his people on this job. This must be a good motivation to the believer. It would be very difficult to work on something outside our own interest without believing that the Lord is present.

14 Then Haggai said, “‘So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.’ God says so.
15-17 “‘Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn’t it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn’t seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.’ God’s Decree.

The prophet says that Judah is contaminated because they are selfish, caring for their own interests. This reflects on how the temple is being treated: it is not a priority for them. So, they do the temple that should be holly but it is not, it is contaminated. They can´t expect that doing the temple in this way, the would become holly because a dirt thing contaminates clean things but not vice-versa. An objection to this idea is that Jesus was not contaminated, instead, his touch was powerful to make us right.
The text continues:

18-19 “‘Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.’”

In a certain date, the temple rebuilding was launched. The Lord is saying to pay attention how He will be blessing his people from that day on. Before, they had bad crops, after, they will have good crops.
Even the work that we do normally is changed when we prioritize the Lord.

Haggai 1: my own house vs the Temple

Haggai is a prophet who talks to the Jews who returned from Babylon during the reign of king Darius, in special, he talks to the governor of Judah: Zerubbabel (descendant of David) and to the high priest. He says:

2 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”
3-4 Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

in other words: where is your priority? in your own house or in the temple?
He says that the Lord is punishing this behavior because they work in vain, they use money but get nothing in return. He follows:

9-11 “And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a meager crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”

In Haggai days, there must be many synagogues (that appeared in Babylon captivity) where Jews had communion, but the temple was special because in there, the Jews could exercise some activities such as sacrifices for their sins and more specially to celebrate the Passover and other feasts. The temple meant the presence of the Lord among his people. Interestingly, for us Christians, the temple as a building doesn't look so important. According to the Messiah himself, He is the temple who lived (physically) among us. Perhaps this passage could be used by some pastor when building a church, but I think, it would be a misuse of this passage.

The people listened to the prophet Haggai and understood that he had a message from the Lord.

13 Then Haggai, God’s messenger, preached God’s Message to the people: “I am with you!” God’s Word.

It reminds me the movie "star wars": "may the force be with you"; but here, it is the Lord himself saying "I am with you!" by the prophet. May the Lord be with us, may we prioritize our communion with Him.

Zephaniah 3: Jeusalem will be restored

We read (MSG):
1-5 Doom to the rebellious city,
    the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn’t take advice,
    wouldn’t accept correction,
Wouldn’t trust God,
    wouldn’t even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
    are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
    out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
    They’re opportunists—you can’t trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
    They use God’s law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.
Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
    untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
    At evening he’s still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
    and without shame, persist in evil.

It is very interesting:

Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
    untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
    At evening he’s still at it, strong as ever.

The Lord is righteous and powerful. He remains in the midst of Jerusalem which was very degraded. How can the Lord be righteous if He allowed it to happen? The answer is that He is merciful. He is waiting for repentance; but not forever. He will deal with iniquity:

8
“Well, if that’s what you want, stick around.”
    God’s Decree.
“Your day in court is coming,
    but remember I’ll be there to bring evidence.
I’ll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
    round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
    my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
    that will purge and purify the earth.

The Lord will indeed restore Jerusalem.

11-13 All my scattered, exiled people
    will come home with offerings for worship.
You’ll no longer have to be ashamed
    of all those acts of rebellion.
I’ll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
    No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I’ll leave a core of people among you
    who are poor in spirit—
What’s left of Israel that’s really Israel.
    They’ll make their home in God.
This core holy people
    will not do wrong.
They won’t lie,
    won’t use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
    unanxious, they’ll live at peace.”

Zephaniah 2 - Seek God

 
 

The Lord says (by the prophet):

3
Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
    who live by God’s justice.
Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
    Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.

This message is addressed to the saved people, the "quietly disicplined people who live by God's justice". It is very interesting the word "perhaps". Seek God's right ways and perphaps you will escape the ander of God. The Lord wants that his people seek for him.

In Zephaniah's days Assyria is the great nation, but he says


11-12 God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
    All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
    will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
    you, too, will die—I’ll see to it.”


The Lord will destroy all earth-made gods. The land belongs the chosen people of the Lord.

Zephaniah 1: the day of the Lord

 Zephaniah lived in days of the reign of Josiah. He proclaims Judgement Day, the day of the Lord:

7-9 Quiet now!
    Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near:
    The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God’s Judgment Day,
    I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
    Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions
    that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!” God’s Decree!

The Lord will destroy not only Israel but the whole earth will be affected:


2
“I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
    a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.
3
“Men and women and animals,
    including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
    but especially people.

The Lord wants repentance.

Habakkuk 3 - a prayer

Habakkuk prays:

 1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:
God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,
    and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
    Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
    remember mercy.

Habakkuk reminds me: I read in Bible about great miracles that the Lord has made, although I didn't see any. Habakkuk heard about miracles made by the Lord and he claims to the Lord : "Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them."
We read in Habakkuk :

3 God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Selahb
His glory covered the heavens,
and His praise filled the earth.
4His radiance was like the sunlight;
rays flashed from His hand,
where His power is hidden.
5 Plague went before Him,
and fever followed in His steps.
6He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and startled the nations;
the ancient mountains crumbled;
the perpetual hills collapsed.
His ways are everlasting.

Is it really happening or is it a vision? Habakkuk has just prayed asking the Lord to act among his people. It seems that he has been a vision of the future:


12You marched across the earth with fury;
You threshed the nations in wrath.
13You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
to save Your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked
and stripped him from head to toe.
Selah
14With his own spear You pierced his head,
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though ready
to secretly devour the weak.
15You trampled the sea with Your horses,
churning the great waters.
16I heard and trembled within;
my lips quivered at the sound.
Decay entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress
to come upon the people who invade us.
17Though the fig tree does not bud
and no fruit is on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though the sheep are cut off from the fold
and no cattle are in the stalls,
18yet I will exult in the LORD;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
19GOD the Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer;
He makes me walk upon the heights!


He must be seeing the doom of Babylon. The righteous will live by faith. Even though, Babylon is winning now, he expects that the Lord will save his people.

Habakkuk 2: the righteous one will live by his faith.

 In Habakkuk 2 the Lord answers the question from the prophet: "How can the Lord use a wicked nation such as Babylon to make justice?".
The answer begins with a famous verse: "the righteous one will live by his faith." in verse 4. However we read in MSG:

 
4 “Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
    full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
    through loyal and steady believing
    is fully alive, really alive.

Certainly most Babylonians are bloated by self-importance - full of themselves but soul-empty. Habakkuk, however, must live in a different way - through loyal and steady believing. Although it is not possible to understand very well what the Lord is doing, it is necessary to trust in Him.

5-6
“Note well: Money deceives.
    The arrogant rich don’t last.
They are more hungry for wealth
    than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
    but the ‘more’ they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
    graveyards filled with corpses.

In MSG (not in original I think we read):

5 (...)Soon the whole world will be taunting them:
6-8
“‘Who do you think you are—
    getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
    you can get away with this?’
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
    stand up and make you the victim?
You’ve plundered nation after nation.
    Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
    a payback for all your murders and massacres.

Who is getting rich by wicked ways? Babylon. The Lord will do justice to Babylon. It is necessary that Habakkuk trust in Him.

Habakkuk 1: Can justice come from an unjust nation?

Habakkuk was written before Babylon defeat Judah.
Habakkuk can´t understand how the Lord that is righteous and powerful allow so much injustice:

1-4 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it:
God, how long do I have to cry out for help
    before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”
    before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
    stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
    quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
    Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
    and stand justice on its head.

The Lord answers that He will deal with the injustice sending Bayblon:

5-11
“Look around at the godless nations.
    Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something’s about to take place
    and you’re going to find it hard to believe.
I’m about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
    Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
    grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
    making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
    attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
    thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
    circling in on carrion.
They’re out to kill. Death is on their minds.
    They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
    poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
    and leave them in the dust.
They’ll all be blown away by the wind.
    Brazen in sin, they call strength their god.”


Habakkuk can´t understand: "how can justice comes from a godless nation?"

12-13
God, you’re from eternity, aren’t you?
    Holy God, we aren’t going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
    Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can’t be serious!
    You can’t condone evil!
So why don’t you do something about this?
    Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
    and you stand around and watch!

It is very interesting how Habakkuk argue with the Lord. How can the Holy Lord use a nation such as Babylon. The Lord can't approve evil but now it seems so when He uses Babylon. How can be this happening? In a similar way, there are many questions like that about the world that we live today. How can evil people in places of authority?

Nahum 3: Who will die for Nineveh?

 In Nahum3 we read:

16
Your merchants have multiplied
    until they outnumber the stars.
But like a swarm of locusts,
    they strip the land and fly away.
17
Your guards[d] and officials are also like swarming locusts
    that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day.
But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up,
    all of them will fly away and disappear.

Nineveh will fall. Merchants and guards will fly away from Nineveh. There is nobody that really loves Nineveh and will for for her.
In contrast to the first Christians, they chose to die instead of negating that Jesus is the Messiah. With that courage, in a way, Christianity conquered Rome.

Nahum 2: the destruction of Nineveh comes

Nineveh is strong (on top of the world) according to chapter 1:

12
And God has something to say about all this:
    “Even though you’re on top of the world,
With all the applause and all the votes,
    you’ll be mowed down flat.


but in chapter 2, we read:

13
“Assyria, I’m your enemy,”
    says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“I’ll torch your chariots. They’ll go up in smoke.
    ‘Lion Country’ will be strewn with carcasses.
The war business is over—you’re out of work:
    You’ll have no more wars to report,
No more victories to announce.
    You’re out of war work forever.”

Nahum wrote it when Nineveh was strong and dominating Judah, so his message was similar to someone in Jesus times saying that Rome would fall. Certainly, a message that could rise problems to Nahum

Nahum 1: The Lord Is Awesome

Nahum predicted the fall of Nineveh of Assyria a century after Jonas. Nineveh has been evil to the Judah. Prophet Nhaum says that the Lord reigns. We read:

2-3
God is serious business.
    He won’t be trifled with.
He avenges his foes.
    He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging.
But God doesn’t lose his temper.
    He’s powerful, but it’s a patient power.
Still, no one gets by with anything.
    Sooner or later, everyone pays.
Tornadoes and hurricanes
    are the wake of his passage,
Storm clouds are the dust
    he shakes off his feet.

Although the Lord doesn't lose his temper, He will punish Niniveh because He is righteous; sooner or later, everyone pays.
Sometimes we may think that God in Old Testament is different from the merciful Lord in the New Testament; however we read:

7
God is good,
    a hiding place in tough times.
He recognizes and welcomes
    anyone looking for help,
No matter how desperate the trouble.

The Lord loves the one in trouble. He is merciful and helpful, specially to his chosen people.

Micah 7: the Lord will restore Israel

Micah says:

2 There’s not a decent person in sight.
    Right-living humans are extinct.

in contrast, Micah will trust in the Lord:

7
But me, I’m not giving up.
    I’m sticking around to see what God will do.
I’m waiting for God to make things right.
    I’m counting on God to listen to me.

He understands that the Lord listen to his prayers, so he is waiting on the Lord.
Perhaps Micah talks in name of the nation of Israel/Judah; but if Micah talks about himself, he acknowledges that he sinned. It is much easier to understand that Micah is talking in name of Israel:


8-10
Don’t, enemy, crow over me.
    I’m down, but I’m not out.
I’m sitting in the dark right now,
    but God is my light.
I can take God’s punishing rage.
    I deserve it—I sinned.
But it’s not forever. He’s on my side
    and is going to get me out of this.
He’ll turn on the lights and show me his ways.
    I’ll see the whole picture and how right he is.
And my enemy will see it, too,
    and be discredited—yes, disgraced!
This enemy who kept taunting,
    “So where is this God of yours?”
I’m going to see it with these, my own eyes—
    my enemy disgraced, trash in the gutter.

Although the Lord's people has been humiliated, the Lord will lift Israel among other nations. Micah prays:

14-17
Shepherd, O God, your people with your staff,
    your dear and precious flock.
Uniquely yours in a grove of trees,
    centered in lotus land.
Let them graze in lush Bashan
    as in the old days in green Gilead.
Reproduce the miracle-wonders
    of our exodus from Egypt.
And the godless nations: Put them in their place—
    humiliated in their arrogance, speechless and clueless.
Make them slink like snakes, crawl like cockroaches,
    come out of their holes from under their rocks
And face our God.
    Fill them with holy fear and trembling.

Micah trusts that the Lord is good, He is merciful, thus he writes:
    
18-20
Where is the god who can compare with you—
    wiping the slate clean of guilt,
Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear,
    to the past sins of your purged and precious people?
You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long,
    for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most.
And compassion is on its way to us.
    You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing.
You’ll sink our sins
    to the bottom of the ocean.
You’ll stay true to your word to Father Jacob
    and continue the compassion you showed Grandfather Abraham—
Everything you promised our ancestors
    from a long time ago.

So, Micah writes about the day of the Lord (where the Lord's people face punishment for their sins), he also writes about the restauration of the people of Lord, the people that the Lord loves and takes care.

Micah 6: what the Lord wants from his chosen people?

8
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.

But, although it is easy to understand what the Lord wants, his chosen people sins:

10-13
“Do you expect me to overlook obscene wealth
    you’ve piled up by cheating and fraud?
Do you think I’ll tolerate shady deals
    and shifty scheming?
I’m tired of the violent rich
    bullying their way with bluffs and lies.
I’m fed up. Beginning now, you’re finished.
    You’ll pay for your sins down to your last cent.

The Lord will punish his people.
    
14-16    
No matter how much you get, it will never be enough—
    hollow stomachs, empty hearts.
No matter how hard you work, you’ll have nothing to show for it—
    bankrupt lives, wasted souls.
You’ll plant grass
    but never get a lawn.
You’ll make jelly
    but never spread it on your bread.
You’ll press apples
    but never drink the cider.
You have lived by the standards of your king, Omri,
    the decadent lifestyle of the family of Ahab.
Because you’ve slavishly followed their fashions,
    I’m forcing you into bankruptcy.
Your way of life will be laughed at, a tasteless joke.
    Your lives will be derided as futile and fake.”

In NIV the verse 16 finishes as:

 you will bear the scorn of the nations.

We Christians think of ourselves as the chosen people of the Lord; I myself included. This chapter made me think that the Lord is a great teacher and He will do whatever is necessary to correct his chosen people. May I constantly repent from my sins and turn to the Lord.

Micah 5 - the David´s son who will shepherd-rule Israel

Micah lived during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah. In verse 1 we read that the king of Israel is humiliated:

1 But for now, prepare for the worst, victim daughter!
    The siege is set against us.
They humiliate Israel’s king,
    slapping him around like a rag doll.

However there is hope because there will be a king who will rule Israel as a shepherd that defends the people of the Lord.

2-4
But you, Bethlehem, David’s country,
    the runt of the litter—
From you will come the leader
    who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He’ll be no upstart, no pretender.
    His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes
    until the birth pangs are over and the child is born,
And the scattered brothers come back
    home to the family of Israel.
He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God’s strength,
    centered in the majesty of God-Revealed.
And the people will have a good and safe home,
    for the whole world will hold him in respect—
    Peacemaker of the world!
    
We Christians understand that Jesus is the One who will shepherd-rule Israel. Reading Micah 5 we have the impression of a king that will defend and rule over other nations:

5-6
And if some bullying Assyrian shows up,
    invades and violates our land, don’t worry.
We’ll put him in his place, send him packing,
    and watch his every move.
Shepherd-rule will extend as far as needed,
    to Assyria and all other Nimrod-bullies.
Our shepherd-ruler will save us from old or new enemies,
    from anyone who invades or violates our land.

However, did Jesus defend Israel from the Romans at his time? Was Jesus humiliated? Yes, Jesus was humiliated much more than the kings of Israel at Micah's days. we believe that Jesus resurrected from the death, and in doing so, He had victory over an enemy that is far greater than the Romans. In a way, Jesus won over the Romans. Rome persecuted Christians but after some centuries decided that it was foolish to stay against the Messiah.

Mich 4: The Making of God’s People

Micah 4 prophecies about the exile to Babylon and a future where many nations go to Jerusalem to seek Lord's direction.

9-10
So why the doomsday hysterics?
    You still have a king, don’t you?
But maybe he’s not doing his job
    and you’re panicked like a woman in labor.
Well, go ahead—twist and scream, Daughter Jerusalem.
    You are like a woman in childbirth.
You’ll soon be out of the city, on your way
    and camping in the open country.
And then you’ll arrive in Babylon.
    What you lost in Jerusalem will be found in Babylon.
God will give you new life again.
    He’ll redeem you from your enemies.

The prophecy says that Judah will go to Babylon. It would be easy to think that the Lord has abandoned Judah, to think that the enemies prevailed over them; but Micah prophecies that He will give a new life again.

11-12
But for right now, they’re ganged up against you,
    many godless peoples, saying,
“Kick her when she’s down! Violate her!
    We want to see Zion grovel in the dirt.”
These blasphemers have no idea
    what God is thinking and doing in this.
They don’t know that this is the making of God’s people,
    that they are wheat being threshed, gold being refined.

The Lord is making a people invincible through suffering in exile:

13
On your feet, Daughter of Zion! Be threshed of chaff,
    be refined of dross.
I’m remaking you into a people invincible,
    into God’s juggernaut to crush the godless peoples.
You’ll bring their plunder as holy offerings to God,
    their wealth to the Master of the earth.

Micah 3: Is all Israel the people of the Lord?

 In Micah 3 we read about leaders and false prophets who take advantage of others. This Israel of oppressed people are called the people of the Lord while the Lord is against its leaders and false prophets who use their position in their own benefit.

We read about the leaders:

1-3 Then I said:
“Listen, leaders of Jacob, leaders of Israel:
    Don’t you know anything of justice?
Haters of good, lovers of evil:
    Isn’t justice in your job description?
But you skin my people alive.
    You rip the meat off their bones.
You break up the bones, chop the meat,
    and throw it in a pot for cannibal stew.”

We read about the prophets:

5-7
Here is God’s Message to the prophets,
    the preachers who lie to my people:
“For as long as they’re well paid and well fed,
    the prophets preach, ‘Isn’t life wonderful! Peace to all!’
But if you don’t pay up and jump on their bandwagon,
    their ‘God bless you’ turns into ‘God damn you.’
Therefore, you’re going blind. You’ll see nothing.
    You’ll live in deep shadows and know nothing.
The sun has set on the prophets.
    They’ve had their day; from now on it’s night.
Visionaries will be confused,
    experts will be all mixed up.
They’ll hide behind their reputations and make lame excuses
    to cover up their God-ignorance.”

It is necessary courage to stay against the leaders of Israel. Micah knows that he is talking by the Spirit:

8
But me—I’m filled with God’s power,
    filled with God’s Spirit of justice and strength,
Ready to confront Jacob’s crime
    and Israel’s sin.

Micah 2: YHWH is righteous and merciful.

YHWH is righteous. He is against all evil that is done against his people.

2 They desire other people’s fields, so they seize them.
    They desire people’s houses, so they take them.
    They cheat a man and his family,
        a man and his inheritance.

Imagine if you had your house stolen. You would claim for justice. The Lord is our avenger:

3 So this is what Yahweh says:
I’m planning a disaster to punish your family.
    You won’t be able to rescue yourselves.
    You will no longer be able to walk proudly.
        This will be a time of disaster.

There is a catch: even these people who harm others think that the Lord is with them because they listen to false prophets:

6
Your prophets say, “Don’t prophesy!
    Don’t prophesy such things!
        Disgrace will never overtake us.”
7
Should the descendants of Jacob be asked:
    Has the Ruach Yahweh become impatient with you?
        Has he done these things?
            Are his words good for those who live honestly?

Some people live without the fear of Lord.
The Lord is merciful. He will deliver his people:

12
I will surely gather all of you, Jacob.
    I will surely bring together the few people left in Israel.
    I will gather them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture.
        They will make a lot of noise
            because there will be so many people.

Very interestingly his people will follow their king:        

13
The Lord will open the way and lead them.
    They will break out, go through the gate, and leave.
    Their king will travel in front of them.
    Yahweh will lead the people.

Micah 1 - Destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem

 Micah was a prophet from Judah who lived in times of Isaiah. He announced the destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem because they have sinned against the Lord.
We read:

2 Attention! Let all the peoples of the world listen. For the Lord in his holy Temple has made accusations against you!
3 Look! He is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and comes to earth, walking on the mountaintops. 4 They melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in fire, like water pouring down a hill.
5 And why is this happening? Because of the sins of Israel and Judah. What sins? The idolatry and oppression centering in the capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem!
6 Therefore, the entire city of Samaria will crumble into a heap of rubble and become an open field, her streets plowed up for planting grapes! The Lord will tear down her wall and her forts, exposing their foundations, and pour their stones into the valleys below. 7 All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; her ornate idol temples, built with the gifts of worshipers, will all be burned.

The Lord will punish the idolatry and oppression by sending his people to the exile:

16 Weep, weep for your little ones. For they are snatched away, and you will never see them again. They have gone as slaves to distant lands. Shave your heads in sorrow.

We can think of the promised land as a land for the chosen people of the Lord. That means, the people who in fact praise the Lord (and don't worship false gods) and walk in His way (don´t oppress the weak). The Lord decided to take off his people from the land due to their sins, but fortunately there is hope as we will see.

Jonah 4: Jonah is rebuked by the Lord. He was angry with the Lord, twice.

 Jonah 4: Jonah is rebuked by the Lord. He was angry with the Lord, twice.

We read:

1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
3 “So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!”
4 God said, “What do you have to be angry about?”

Jonah was angry because the Lord is rich in love, in particular to his enemies.

7-8 But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”

9 Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”
Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!”
10-11 God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”

Lord is rich in Love, specially to humans. Jonah was in love for a plant who brought him a shadow. I, like Jonah, am very prone to love whatever brings me something. The Lord is really the great Father who loves humans much more than plants, even, hostile humans.  

Jonah 3: a bet on the Lord's mercy

The Lord is merciful even though He is also righteous and punishes the wicked.
Jonah hated the people of Niniveh, certainly, they deserved to be destroyed. It is not common that a prophet from the Lord preaches on a foreign land, however Jonah preaches:

4 Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.”

Apparently he preached to just a small portion of the city because the city was much greater than a one days' walk length. He would be glad if it really were smashed; but the people of Nineveh bet on the Lord's mercy!

5 The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.

Even the king repented. He made a decree:

8-9 (...) Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”

It was really a bet: "who knows? Let us repent and expect that the Lord is merciful to us".
The prodigal son bet on the mercy of his father too; but unfortunately the older son didn't.
Am I betting on the mercy of the Lord?

Jonas2: Salvation belongs to God!

Jonas was about to die in the middle of the ocean. There was no way to survive. I will face death one day; a death that is certain.
Jonah saw the power of the Lord moving in his favor to deliver him; although he was fleeing from the Lord. Certainly the Lord was merciful to Jonah.
For Jonah, the temple of Jerusalem was very important, even though he was prophet from Israel and not from Judah. Jonah expected death:

3-4 You threw me into ocean’s depths,
    into a watery grave,
With ocean waves, ocean breakers
    crashing over me.
I said, ‘I’ve been thrown away,
    thrown out, out of your sight.
I’ll never again lay eyes
    on your Holy Temple.’

facing death, Jonah prayed to the Lord:

2 He prayed:
“In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God.
    He answered me.
From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’
    You heard my cry.

and he was saved:

6b-9 Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive,
    O God, my God!
When my life was slipping away,
    I remembered God,
And my prayer got through to you,
    made it all the way to your Holy Temple.
Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,
    walk away from their only true love.
But I’m worshiping you, God,
    calling out in thanksgiving!
And I’ll do what I promised I’d do!
    Salvation belongs to God!”

Jonah saw that his prayer went to the Holy Temple where the Lord listened to Him. Jonah was very thankful and he wanted to please the Lord through sacrifices. We are called to carry the cross after Jesus. May I carry the cross with joy in my heard, pleased by what Jesus has been doing to me.

Jonah 1: the disobedient prophet

A prophet is one who announces the message of the Lord. We are used to read messages from prophets, but in the book of Jonah we read about the life of the prophet.
In first chapter, the prophet should fear the Lord, but it seems that pagans fear the Lord more:


11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.
12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”
13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.
14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”
15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.
16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.

Here the pagan sailors are in awe of God because the storm was over as soon as they throw Jonah in sea. They realized that the Lord is really the One who commands heaven and earth. They worshiped the Lord.
It is very common to read prophecies against pagan nations, but in the book of Jonah, it becomes clearer and clearer that the Lord loves humans in general.

Obadiah 1: Esau/Edom should love his brother Jacob/Israel

 Obadiah must have been written when Judah was invaded by Babylon, thus he should be alive in times of Jeremiah. Edom (descendants of Esau) became glad when Babylon invaded Judah. We read:

10-14
Because of the murderous history compiled
    against your brother Jacob,
You will be looked down on by everyone.
    You’ll lose your place in history.
On that day you stood there and didn’t do anything.
    Strangers took your brother’s army into exile.
Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
    You stood there and watched.
    You were as bad as they were.
You shouldn’t have gloated over your brother
    when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn’t have laughed and joked at Judah’s sons
    when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn’t have talked so big
    when everything was so bad.
You shouldn’t have taken advantage of my people
    when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
    by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn’t have taken the shirt off their back
    when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
And you shouldn’t have stood waiting at the outskirts
    and cut off refugees,
And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
    who had lost everything.

Edom is similar to the ones who became glad when the Jews were persecuted and killed by the Nazis. Edom took advantage of this situation. Edom thought of themself as a much more valued people than the Jews that were being despised at that moment. Edom became proud and arrogant. In a similar situation, it is very easy to despise the poor today as if they just have what they deserve (judging that they are lazy, for instance). Even though it may be true, it was also true that the Lord was punishing Judah for their sins but no one should be glad about it.

Amos 9: don´t count on "the Lord is good, therefore He will nor harm us".

In the last chapter of Amos, we read:

7-8 “Do you Israelites think you’re any better than the far-off Cushites?” God’s Decree.
“Am I not involved with all nations? Didn’t I bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, the Arameans from Qir? But you can be sure that I, God, the Master, have my eye on the Kingdom of Sin. I’m going to wipe it off the face of the earth. Still, I won’t totally destroy the family of Jacob.” God’s Decree.

The Lord is calling Israel as the "Kingdom of Sin". He is wiping Israel off the face of the earth but He won't totally destroy the family of Jacob. Nowadays, it is very clear that it happened. Where is the 10 tribes of Israel? However, at Amos times, it was not so clear it would happen, by contrary, it was common to think that the Lord is good and therefore He would not harm his people.

10
All the sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’

Very interestingly, the sinners of Israel think that the catastrophe will not overtake them, but they are very wrong. Wouldn't this message be to me as a Christian who think of myself as a chosen of the Lord? The chosen is led to obey the Lord. However, the Lord will restore Israel:

11
“On that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David,
And wall up its gaps;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old;

And that's how Amos finishes.

Amos 8: love instead of sacrifices.

We read a message:

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the new moon be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the ephah smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with dishonest scales,
6
So as to buy the helpless for money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

It is addressed to those who oppress the needy. They are religious: they respect the Sabbath saying: "when will it be over, so that we may open the wheat market?". That is, their hearts are not in obeying the Lord. It is very likely that they feel secure in their religiosity, however:

7-8
God swears against the arrogance of Jacob:
    “I’m keeping track of their every last sin.”
God’s oath will shake earth’s foundations,
    dissolve the whole world into tears.
God’s oath will sweep in like a river that rises,
    flooding houses and lands,
And then recedes,
    leaving behind a sea of mud.

Amos 7: A stranger in the nest

In Amos 7, it becomes clearer that the prophet was not from Israel. Amos was a stranger in the nest. We read:

10 Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel:
“Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he’s doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He’s got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?
11    ‘Jeroboam will be killed.
    Israel is headed for exile.’”

Amaziah was a priest aligned with the king of Israel. He spoke in the name of the Lord and, as priest, he did sacrifices. For him, Amos was a rebel against the king Jeroboam and against Israel. Was the message of Amos, a message of love from the Lord? In a way, yes; however, it was calling to change, to repentance; thus it was a confrontation message.


12-13 Then Amaziah confronted Amos: “Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from! Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don’t show your face here again. This is the king’s chapel. This is a royal shrine.”

Here it is very clear that Amos came from Judah ("go back to Judah where you came from"). It is easy to understand that the priest Amaziah had a lot of privileges as being priest, but Amos had only problems.


14-15 But Amos stood up to Amaziah: “I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees. Then God took me off the farm and said, ‘Go preach to my people Israel.’

16-17 “So listen to God’s Word. You tell me, ‘Don’t preach to Israel. Don’t say anything against the family of Isaac.’ But here’s what God is telling you:
    Your wife will become a whore in town.
    Your children will get killed.
    Your land will be auctioned off.
    You will die homeless and friendless.
    And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home.”

    
Amos forsees a lot of problems to Amaziah. In a way, the Lord will make clear that Amos is right and Amaziah wrong.

Amos 6: Live as there is no resurrection and no justice

Amos was prophet who spoke to Samaria and Judah/Zion:

1-2 Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion,
    who think Mount Samaria is the good life.
You assume you’re at the top of the heap,
    voted the number-one best place to live. (...)
3-6 (...)
Woe to those who live in luxury
    and expect everyone else to serve them!
Woe to those who live only for today,
    indifferent to the fate of others!
Woe to the playboys, the playgirls,
    who think life is a party held just for them!
Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain!
    those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles!
They could not care less
    about their country going to ruin.

Amos is almost saying: "Woe to those who laugh because they will cry". The problem is not being happy, it is to be indifferent to others. I am afraid I am living this good life now. Am I indifferent to the fate of others?

12-13
Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks?
    Do you plow the sea with oxen?
You’d cripple the horses
    and drown the oxen.
And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice,
    a bloated corpse of righteousness,
Bragging of your trivial pursuits,
    beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!”

The verses 12-13 are translated very differently, but let us take what the MSG says. It is addressed to those who think of themselves as righteous due to religious practices (not in text, inferred), but are not righteous at all; in fact, they addressed to be punished (by the Assyrians). It seems not so different from our days.

Amos 5: the day of the Lord and the return of Jesus

Today, we Christians long for the return of Jesus: it will be a day of victory, where the King will establish the kingdom of the Lord here on earth.  It will be a bad day for non Christians, but Christians will celebrate on this future day.
Reading Amos 5, it seems to me that "God's Judgement Day" is very similar, if not equal to the return of Jesus. We read:

18-20
Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!
    Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,
    the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion
    right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day’s work
    and is raped by a neighbor.
At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
    a black cloud with no silver lining.

In Amos 5, the prophet warns that Israel is not prepared to Judgement Day.

4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:
“Seek me and live.
    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”


The Lord wants that his people seek him, but where? In Bethel, Gilgal or Beer-sheeba? No.
Does it have to do with sacrifices? or attending religious meetings?


21-24
“I can’t stand your religious meetings.
    I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
    your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
    your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
    When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
    I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

"Seek the Lord" has much more to do God's will:

14
Seek good and not evil—
    and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
    and maybe it will happen (that the God-of-the-Angel-Armies becomes your best friend indeed).

Certainly Jesus want his people doing his will when He returns, as the Lord wants his people doing his will in Judgement Day.

Amos 4: You Never Got Hungry for God

People were living as if there is no God and no Judgement Day. We read:

1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan
    grazing on the slopes of Samaria.
You women! Mean to the poor,
    cruel to the down-and-out!
Indolent and pampered, you demand of your husbands,
    ‘Bring us a tall, cool drink!’

The prophet addresses women from a higher class that are centered on themselves. They want to be served by others.

2-3
“This is serious — I, God, have sworn by my holiness!
    Be well warned: Judgment Day is coming!
They’re going to rope you up and haul you off,
    keep the stragglers in line with cattle prods.
They’ll drag you through the ruined city walls,
    forcing you out single file,
And kick you to kingdom come.”

These women will be treated as cattle or fishes that are conducted by hooks to be killed or punished in Judgement day. Thus the prophet is speaking in the name of the Lord so that they repent.
The Lord wants that Israel comes to Him:

6
“You know, don’t you, that I’m the One
    who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards,
Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines?
    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.”

The text goes on like:

"I am the One who made you such harm  and such harm but
    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.

The Lord sent troubles for his people to seek Him.
Am I hungry for the Lord?

Amos 3: the chosen people of the Lord will face consequences of their idolatry

Amos argues that something happens in response to another action. For instance:

3-7
Do two people walk hand in hand
    if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
    if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
    if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
    if nothing trips it? (...)

In particular we read:

(...)-7 And when disaster strikes the city,
    doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

Amos is a prophet. Israel/Samaria is doing economically fine - it seem that there is nothing to worry; however, the prophet Amos is warning Israel about a disaster that the Lord will send to them.

9-11
Announce to the forts of Assyria,
    announce to the forts of Egypt—
Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:
    what a snake pit of brutality and terror!
They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.
    “They stockpile violence and blight.
Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.
    He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”

The Lord is calling pagan countries to witness how the Lord will deal with his people (that can't and won't do anything right). An enemy (Assyria) will strip Israel of his power.    
The Lord wants that his people behaves accordingly to their calling:

2
“Out of all the families on earth,
    I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

This calling is to love the Lord and not false gods:

13-15
“Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—
    this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,
    pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,
The horned altars will all be dehorned
    and scattered around.
I’ll tear down the winter palace,
    smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.
The luxury homes will be demolished,
    all those pretentious houses.”
        God’s Decree.
    

Amos 2: Judgment on Israel

In Amos 2 we read judgements against Moab, Judah and Israel, but the text focus on Israel.
The Lord is upset with the response that Israel gave to His love, instead of one loving another, people were greedy:

6-8 (...)
They buy and sell upstanding people.
    People for them are only things — ways of making money.
They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.
    They’d sell their own grandmother!
They grind the penniless into the dirt,
    shove the luckless into the ditch.
Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—
    a sacrilege against my Holy Name.
Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor
    is piled up at the shrine of their god,
While they sit around drinking wine
    they’ve conned from their victims.

Our world is not so different: "people are only things - ways of making money". The great problem is that the Lord showed love to Israel:
    

9-11
“In contrast, I was always on your side.
    I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,
Amorites with the stature of great cedars,
    tough as thick oaks.
I destroyed them from the top branches down.
    I destroyed them from the roots up.
And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,
    led you safely through the wilderness for forty years
And then handed you the country of the Amorites
    like a piece of cake on a platter.
I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,
    set aside your best youth for training in holiness.
Isn’t this so, Israel?”

Thus, the Lord expected love from His people.
So I ask myself: the Lord showed love to me. Am I showing love to others? I am afraid the answer is "not so much".

Amos 1: the Lord is against nations around Israel/Judah.

Amos was a sheepherd in Takoa, Judah. He received a message from the Lord concerning Israel when Israel was doing fine economically in times of Jeroboam II. Reading the Old Testament, we see that the Lord loved Israel despite its idolatry.
We read:

2 The Message:
God roars from Zion,
    shouts from Jerusalem!
The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds,
    shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak.

The temple is in Jerusalem, Judah and the Lord shouts from there. His voice can be heard in distant places such as Mount Carmel in Israel.
The Lord is against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom and Ammon. They mistreated the people of the Lord. For instance Gaza turned Israelites as slaves and sold them to Edom:

6-8 God’s Message:
“Because of the three great sins of Gaza
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She deported whole towns
    and then sold the people to Edom.
For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza,
    burning up all her forts.
    (...)

One application of this text is that the Lord knows I belong to his people. Although I may be mistreated by others (because I belong to Him), I believe that the Lord is taking care of me. Eventually, He will deal with those that mistreated me.    

Joel 3: Judgement day

The book o Joel finishes saying:

1-3 “In those days, yes, at that very time
    when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem,
I’ll assemble all the godless nations.
    I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley
And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all
    because of their treatment of my own people Israel.
They scattered my people all over the pagan world
    and grabbed my land for themselves.
They threw dice for my people
    and used them for barter.
They would trade a boy for a whore,
    sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink.

Jerusalem is not alive as in older days. The Lord will renew Jerusalem in the last days. The Lord will assemble all the godless nations against Israel (are we in the last days?), but the Lord will defend His people:

15-17
“The sky turns black,
    sun and moon go dark, stars burn out.
God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem.
    Earth and sky quake in terror.
But God is a safe hiding place,
    a granite safe house for the children of Israel.
Then you’ll know for sure
    that I’m your God,
Living in Zion,
    my sacred mountain.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city,
    posted: ‘no trespassing.’
Milk Rivering out of the Hills

It is difficult to understand with our heart that "God is a safe hiding place", but it will become very clear in the last days. Besides, the Lord is gracious:


18-21
(...) Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
    Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.”
    God has moved into Zion for good.
    

Joel 2: Repent before Judgement Day!

Joel 2 calls Israel to repent before Judgement Day. The Lord is preparing an army of locusts that will devour everything:

3 Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden.
    When it leaves, it is Death Valley.
    Nothing escapes unscathed.

11 God’s Judgment Day — great and terrible.
    Who can possibly survive this?

The Lord calls Israel to repentance before Judgement Day:

13-14
Change your life, not just your clothes.
    Come back to God, your God.
And here’s why: God is kind and merciful.
    He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,
This most patient God, extravagant in love,
    always ready to cancel catastrophe.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll do it now,
    maybe he’ll turn around and show pity.
Maybe, when all’s said and done,
    there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God!

The Lord will not only save his people from the locust but He will also pour His Spirit on his people:

25-27
“I’ll make up for the years of the locust,
    the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
    fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
    I sent your way.
You’ll eat your fill of good food.
    You’ll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.
    Never again will my people be despised.
You’ll know without question
    that I’m in the thick of life with Israel,
That I’m your God, yes, your God,
    the one and only real God.
Never again will my people be despised.

28-32 “And that’s just the beginning: After that—
“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
    your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
    men and women both.
I’ll set wonders in the sky above
    and signs on the earth below:
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
    the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Judgment Day of God,
    the Day tremendous and awesome.
Whoever calls, ‘Help, God!’
    gets help.
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be a great rescue—just as God said.
Included in the survivors
    are those that God calls.”

It is very interesting that Joel 2:28-32 is referenced in Acts 2:17-21. It is also interesting that the Lord will pour His Spirit before Judgement Day, in the last days; so we are living in the last days before Judgement Day.

Joel 1: We live in chaos.

Due to the consequences of sin, we live in a chaos, in a world that doesn't properly support life.
The locusts eat our food:

4
What the chewing locust left,
    the gobbling locust ate;
What the gobbling locust left,
    the munching locust ate;
What the munching locust left,
    the chomping locust ate.

The invader, our enemy, has eliminated the wine:

5-7
Sober up, you drunks!
    Get in touch with reality—and weep!
Your supply of booze is cut off.
    You’re on the wagon, like it or not.
My country’s being invaded
    by an army invincible, past numbering,
Teeth like those of a lion,
    fangs like those of a tiger.
It has ruined my vineyards,
    stripped my orchards,
And clear-cut the country.
    The landscape’s a moonscape.

There is no food in the sanctuary of the Lord:

8-10
Weep like a young virgin dressed in black,
    mourning the loss of her fiancé.
Without grain and grapes,
    worship has been brought to a standstill
    in the Sanctuary of God.
The priests are at a loss.
    God’s ministers don’t know what to do.
The fields are sterile.
    The very ground grieves.
The wheat fields are lifeless,
    vineyards dried up, olive oil gone.

God's judgment day has come:
    
15-18
What a day! Doomsday!
    God’s Judgment Day has come.
The Strong God has arrived.
    This is serious business!
Food is just a memory at our tables,
    as are joy and singing from God’s Sanctuary.
The seeds in the field are dead,
    barns deserted,
Grain silos abandoned.
    Who needs them? The crops have failed!
The farm animals groan—oh, how they groan!
    The cattle mill around.
There’s nothing for them to eat.
    Not even the sheep find anything.    

Hosea 14: The Lord heals the apostasy

The Lord is good, we are not. He wants Israel despite her apostasy. He calls Israel to repent, He teaches Israel what to say when repented.

1-3 O Israel, come back! Return to your God!
    You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
    and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin,
    accept our confession.
Receive as restitution
    our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us;
    horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
    to something we’ve made or made up.
You’re our last hope. Is it not true
    that in you the orphan finds mercy?”

The Lord is the One who heals, apostasy included:    
    
4-8
“I will heal their waywardness.
    I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.
I will make a fresh start with Israel.
    He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. (...)


What will be the response of Israel to the One who heals? Will Israel turn to the Lord? The following verses appeals Israel to choose to live well. The Father wants us to live by his side, and have a meaningful life.

9
If you want to live well,
    make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
    you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
    Right-living people walk them easily;
    wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Hosea 13: life or death to Ephraim?

Most churches nowadays invite others to "accept Jesus" as his saviour. Hosea 13 goes in a different way to Ephraim. The Lord declares that He is the Lord of Ephraim, despite Ephraim sins of idolatry:

4-6
“I’m still your God,
    the God who saved you out of Egypt.
I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.
    I’m the one and only God who delivers.
I took care of you during the wilderness hard times,
    those years when you had nothing.
I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
    gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
    You forgot me.

It is very likely that a preacher would say something like to Ephraim: "as you worshiped false gods and made terrible things, you show by your acts that you are not from the Lord."; however it is very interesting that the Lord says: "I am still your God who made this and this to you, remember it". This approach is much more affirmative - it makes the person look to the Lord and not to himself.
The Lord reminds idolatrous Ephraim that He loves Ephraim, but He also punishes:

7-12
“I’ll charge them like a lion,
    like a leopard stalking in the brush.
I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs.
    I’ll rip out their guts.
Coyotes will make a meal of them.
    Crows will clean their bones.
I’m going to destroy you, Israel.
    Who is going to stop me?
Where is your trusty king you thought would save you?
    Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly?
All these rulers you insisted on having,
    demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’?
Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it.
    Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him.
I have a detailed record of your infidelities—
    Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.

The Lord is the One who gives life and death as He pleases. Salvation comes from the Lord and not from a human king. The Lord wants Eprhaim to repent and seek the Lord because He is the source of life.

13-15
“When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born,
    Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb.
When the passage into life opened up,
    he didn’t show.
Shall I intervene and pull them into life?
    Shall I snatch them from a certain death?
Who is afraid of you, Death?
    Who cares about your threats, Tomb?
In the end I’m abolishing regret,
    banishing sorrow,
Even though Ephraim ran wild,
    the black sheep of the family.

    
Theses verses appear in 1 Cor 15, when Paul speaks about ressurrection: "Who is afraid of you, Death?". Here, the Lord may bring life to Ephraim. But in the next verses we read:

15-16
“God’s tornado is on its way,
    roaring out of the desert.
It will devastate the country,
    leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.
The cities will be gutted,
    dear possessions gone for good.
Now Samaria has to face the charges
    because she has rebelled against her God:
Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,
    pregnant women ripped open.”

The Lord is the One who brings death too.
So, we ask: "life of death to Ephraim?"

Hosea 12: The Lord wants Israel, although Israel doesn't want the Lord.

Israel is doing good in her own eyes, saying "I am rich", although far from the Lord.

7-8
The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud.
    They love to rip people off!
Ephraim boasted, “Look, I’m rich!
    I’ve made it big!
And look how well I’ve covered my tracks:
    not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!”

The Lord wants Israel back to Him:
    
9-11
“But not so fast! I’m God, your God!
    Your God from the days in Egypt!
I’m going to put you back to living in tents,
    as in the old days when you worshiped in the wilderness.
I speak through the prophets
    to give clear pictures of the way things are.
    Using prophets, I tell revealing stories.
I show Gilead rampant with religious scandal
    and Gilgal teeming with empty-headed religion.
I expose their worship centers as
    stinking piles of garbage in their gardens.”
    
In a similar way, the Lord is the One who came in my life. May the Lord destroy my false gods and make me live depending on Him as a poor lives in tents.

Hosea 11: Israel can trust on the Lord's love despite her infidelity

The Lord loved Israel and  set him free when in Egypt, worshiping sex gods. Although the Lord was good, Israel wanted to go back to Egypt or even go over to Assyria. What will the Lord do?

1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.
    I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.
But when others called him,
    he ran off and left me.
He worshiped the popular sex gods,
    he played at religion with toy gods.
Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.
    I rescued him from human bondage,
But he never acknowledged my help,
    never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,
That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,
    that I bent down to feed him.
Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—
    anything but return to me!
That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets
    and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.
My people are hell-bent on leaving me.
    They pray to god Baal for help.
    He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.
But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?
    How can I turn you loose, Israel?
How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,
    devastated like luckless Zeboim?
I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.
    My insides churn in protest.
And so I’m not going to act on my anger.
    I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.
And why? Because I am God and not a human.
    I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.


The Lord decided not to give up on Israel/Eprhaim. He could destroy Ephraim but He is Holy and decided to be in the midst of His people. We are unfaithful, but we stay with the Lord because He loves us and insist on being in our midst.

Hosea 10: The one who doesn't trust in the Lord does it All on his Own

11-15
Ephraim was a trained heifer
    that loved to thresh.
Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck,
    I wanted to harness Ephraim,
Put Ephraim to work in the fields—
    Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing:
Sow righteousness,
    reap love.
It’s time to till the ready earth,
    it’s time to dig in with God,
Until he arrives
    with righteousness ripe for harvest.
But instead you plowed wicked ways,
    reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies.
You thought you could do it all on your own,
    flush with weapons and manpower.
But the volcano of war will erupt among your people.
    All your defense posts will be leveled
As viciously as king Shalman
    leveled the town of Beth-arba,
When mothers and their babies
    were smashed on the rocks.
That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God,
    because of your off-the-charts evil.
Some morning you’re going to wake up
    and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing.


Ephraim were created to serve the Lord. He wanted Ephraim to sow righteousness and reap love, but instead, she plowed wicked ways and reaped a crop of evil because she thought she chould do it all on her own, flush with weapons and manpower. May I be different from Ephraim. May I sow righteousness and reap love.

Hosea 9: Efraim will be starved for God.

The Lord will take the land of Israel from the Israelites because they were not faithful to the Lord. The Isralites will flee to Egypt and Assyria. What will they think there?

1-6 Don’t waste your life in wild orgies, Israel.
    Don’t party away your life with the heathen.
You walk away from your God at the drop of a hat
    and like a whore sell yourself promiscuously
    at every sex-and-religion party on the street.
All that party food won’t fill you up.
    You’ll end up hungrier than ever.
At this rate you’ll not last long in God’s land:
    Some of you are going to end up bankrupt in Egypt.
    Some of you will be disillusioned in Assyria.
As refugees in Egypt and Assyria,
    you won’t have much chance to worship God—
Sentenced to rations of bread and water,
    and your souls polluted by the spirit-dirty air.
You’ll be starved for God,
    exiled from God’s own country.
Will you be homesick for the old Holy Days?
    Will you miss festival worship of God?
Be warned! When you escape from the frying pan of disaster,
    you’ll fall into the fire of Egypt.
    Egypt will give you a fine funeral!
What use will all your god-inspired silver be then
    as you eke out a living in a field of weeds?

The prophet says that they will be starved for the Lord. He questions: "Will you be homesick for the old Holy Days? Will you miss festival worship of God?"

Hosea 8: religion that displeases the Lord

The Israelites were religious. They worshiped the Lord in a so wrong way, that in fact, they were sinning more even when they thought that they were pleasing the Lord. They didn't consult the Lord. They made a gold calf-god and named it "the Lord"  - a great sin. Instead of seeking refuge in the Lord, they sought refuge in Assyria - another lover for the prostitute Israel.


4-10
“They crown kings, but without asking me.
    They set up princes but don’t let me in on it.
Instead, they make idols, using silver and gold,
    idols that will be their ruin.
Throw that gold calf-god on the trash heap, Samaria!
    I’m seething with anger against that rubbish!
How long before they shape up?
    And they’re Israelites!
A sculptor made that thing—
    it’s not God.
That Samaritan calf
    will be broken to bits.
Look at them! Planting wind-seeds,
    they’ll harvest tornadoes.
Wheat with no head
    produces no flour.
And even if it did,
    strangers would gulp it down.
Israel is swallowed up and spit out.
    Among the pagans they’re a piece of junk.
They trotted off to Assyria:
    Why, even wild donkeys stick to their own kind,
    but donkey-Ephraim goes out and pays to get lovers.
Now, because of their whoring life among the pagans,
    I’m going to gather them together and confront them.
They’re going to reap the consequences soon,
    feel what it’s like to be oppressed by the big king.

The Lord, in his mercy, sent Hosea to Israel in order to make them understand how far they were from the Lord because they were unable to understand it.
May the Lord guide me and set me free from a religious activity that in fact, kindles the wrath of the Lord.

Hosea 7: Israel ignores the love of the Lord.

In chapter 7, the Lord is against Israel because although He has loved and He hasn't been loved.

1-2 “Every time I gave Israel a fresh start,
    wiped the slate clean and got them going again,
Ephraim soon filled the slate with new sins,
    the treachery of Samaria written out in bold print. (...)

Israel would show love for the Lord if they asked Him direction and protection but instead they seek refuge in Egypt and Assyria:

11-16
“Ephraim is bird-brained,
    mindless, clueless,
First chirping after Egypt,
    then fluttering after Assyria.
I’ll throw my net over them. I’ll clip their wings.
    I’ll teach them to mind me! (...)

It is very similar to a son who searches approval of his silly colleagues, instead of his own father.

Hosea 6: relationship instead of religion

The gods demmand sacrifice to get something that we want. The Lord wants me because He (in his kindness) loves me. The people of Israel were treating the Lord like other gods, but it is not what the Lord wants.

4-7
“What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
    What do I make of you, Judah?
Your declarations of love last no longer
    than morning mist and predawn dew.
That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention,
    why my words cut you to the quick:
To wake you up to my judgment
    blazing like light.
I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.
    I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.
You broke the covenant—just like Adam!
    You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches!

Hosea 5: They couldn’t turn to God if they wanted to

We are slaves of sin and we can´t turn to God even if we want to.
That was the case of Israel.


3-4 “I know you, Ephraim, inside and out.
    Yes, Israel, I see right through you!
Ephraim, you’ve played your sex-and-religion games long enough.
    All Israel is thoroughly polluted.
They couldn’t turn to God if they wanted to.
    Their evil life is a bad habit.
Every breath they take is a whore’s breath.
    They wouldn’t recognize God if they saw me.

Ephaim was enslaved in sex-and-religon games for a long time. So, is there any hope to Ephraim?
Yes, there is hope: the Lord will attack Ephaim as a grizzly - a ferrous animal. The Lord is good, good enough to attack Ephaim when needed.

14-15
“I’m a grizzly charging Ephraim,
    a grizzly with cubs charging Judah.
I’ll rip them to pieces—yes, I will!
    No one can stop me now.
I’ll drag them off.
    No one can help them.
Then I’ll go back to where I came from
    until they come to their senses.
When they finally hit rock bottom,
    maybe they’ll come looking for me.”

Hosea 4 - the Lord calls Israel to leave idolatry and prostitution

Israel in Hosea days doesn't worship the Lord in Jerusalem (because Jerusalem belongs to Judah) and therefore doesn't celebrate the Passover accordingly. Israel mix the worship to the Lord with the worship to false idols with a lot of sex included that are against the will of the Lord.

1-3 Attention all Israelites! God’s Message!
    God indicts the whole population:
“No one is faithful. No one loves.
    No one knows the first thing about God.
All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex,
    sheer anarchy, one murder after another!
And because of all this, the very land itself weeps
    and everything in it is grief-stricken—
animals in the fields and birds on the wing,
    even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless.

There is consequence of the sin, not only to humans but also to the Lord's creation (animals, birds, fish).
Israel has priests that shoudl praise the Lord but:

4-10
...
You, priest, are the one in the dock.
    You stumble around in broad daylight,
And then the prophets take over and stumble all night.
    Your mother is as bad as you.
My people are ruined
    because they don’t know what’s right or true.
Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge,
    I’ve turned my back on you priests.
Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God,
    I’m no longer recognizing your children.
The more priests, the more sin.
    They traded in their glory for shame.
They pig out on my people’s sins.
    They can’t wait for the latest in evil.
The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests,
    the priests from the people.
I’m on my way to make them both pay
    and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived.
They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever,
    have sex and get no satisfaction.
They walked out on me, their God,
    for a life of rutting with whores.

There is no difference between the priests and the people. They have sex and get no satisfaction. It reminds Romans 1: they are left to their sins, but they can´t be satisfied sinning. Not so much different from today. However the Lord is gracious: He is calling the Israelites to leave prostitution and idolatry.

Hosea 3: a whore to be redeemed

Hosea has a wife that is a whore living outside home, loved by someone else. He receives a message from the Lord:

1 Then God ordered me, “Start all over: Love your wife again,
    your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.
Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people,
    even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy.”

Hosea as a man of the Lord deserved a better wife, but now he has to go after his cheating wife.

2-3 I did it. I paid good money to get her back.
    It cost me the price of a slave.
Then I told her, “From now on you’re living with me.
    No more whoring, no more sleeping around.
    You’re living with me and I’m living with you.”

Is it fair to Hosea? It is not fair, however, Hosea had to pay a price to get his wife back. The Lord had to pay a price for me. Did I deserve it? Did Hosea's wife deseve to be redeemed? Of course not, but the Lord is good. The purpose to be redeemed is to come back home:

4-5 The people of Israel are going to live a long time
    stripped of security and protection,
without religion and comfort,
    godless and prayerless.
But in time they’ll come back, these Israelites,
    come back looking for their God and their David-King.
They’ll come back chastened to reverence
    before God and his good gifts, ready for the End of the story of his love.

Hosea 2: The Lord's love changes us

It is very difficult for Hosea to be married to a whore.
The first reaction is wrath. The husband (Hosea, the Lord) is saying to their children:


2-13 “Haul your mother into court. Accuse her!
    She’s no longer my wife.
    I’m no longer her husband.
Tell her to quit dressing like a whore,
    displaying her breasts for sale.
If she refuses, I’ll rip off her clothes
    and expose her, naked as a newborn.
I’ll turn her skin into dried-out leather,
    her body into a badlands landscape,
    a rack of bones in the desert.
I’ll have nothing to do with her children,
    born one and all in a whorehouse.
Face it: Your mother’s been a whore,
    bringing bastard children into the world.
She said, ‘I’m off to see my lovers!
    They’ll wine and dine me,
Dress and caress me,
    perfume and adorn me!’

The Lord decides to fix Israel, despite her will:

But I’ll fix her: I’ll dump her in a field of thistles,
    then lose her in a dead-end alley.
She’ll go on the hunt for her lovers
    but not bring down a single one.
She’ll look high and low
    but won’t find a one.
Then she’ll say,
‘I’m going back to my husband, the one I started out with.
    That was a better life by far than this one.’
She didn’t know that it was I all along
    who wined and dined and adorned her,
That I was the one who dressed her up
    in the big-city fashions and jewelry
    that she wasted on wild Baal-orgies.
I’m about to bring her up short: No more wining and dining!
    Silk lingerie and gowns are a thing of the past.
I’ll expose her genitals to the public.
    All her fly-by-night lovers will be helpless to help her.
Party time is over. I’m calling a halt to the whole business,
    her wild weekends and unholy holidays.
I’ll wreck her sumptuous gardens and ornamental fountains,
    of which she bragged, ‘Whoring paid for all this!’
They will soon be dumping grounds for garbage,
    feeding grounds for stray dogs and cats.
I’ll make her pay for her indulgence in promiscuous religion—
    all that sensuous Baal worship
And all the promiscuous sex that went with it,
    stalking her lovers, dressed to kill,
And not a thought for me.”
    God’s Message!

Can she leave prostitution? Cah she be changed? The Lord decides to take Israel to the wilderness as a man that goes back to the places where the romance began.

14-15 “And now, here’s what I’m going to do:
    I’m going to start all over again.
I’m taking her back out into the wilderness
    where we had our first date, and I’ll court her.
I’ll give her bouquets of roses.
    I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.
She’ll respond like she did as a young girl,
    those days when she was fresh out of Egypt.

The Lord wants that Israel sees the Lord not as a rude master, but as a good lover:

16-20  “At that time”—this is God’s Message still—
    “you’ll address me, ‘Dear husband!’
Never again will you address me,
    ‘My slave-master!’
I’ll wash your mouth out with soap,
    get rid of all the dirty false-god names,
    not so much as a whisper of those names again.
At the same time I’ll make a peace treaty between you
    and wild animals and birds and reptiles,
And get rid of all weapons of war.
    Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!
And then I’ll marry you for good—forever!
    I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.
Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.
    You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.

The Lord will make the creation treats well Israel, in harmony:

21-23
“On the very same day, I’ll answer”—this is God’s Message—
    “I’ll answer the sky, sky will answer earth,
Earth will answer grain and wine and olive oil,
    and they’ll all answer Jezreel.
I’ll plant her in the good earth.
    I’ll have mercy on No-Mercy.
I’ll say to Nobody, ‘You’re my dear Somebody,’
    and he’ll say ‘You’re my God!’”

Hosea 1: a marriage with a whore

 Hosea is from Israel and lives around 786–746 BC, before Daniel and Ezekias.


2 The first time God spoke to Hosea he said:
“Find a whore and marry her.
    Make this whore the mother of your children.
And here’s why: This whole country
    has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God.”

3 Hosea did it. He picked Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She got pregnant and gave him a son.

We are always told to be far away from whores, but here, the Lord says the opposite because the Lord wants to show Israel (the whore) how He feels. He has 3 children:

• Jezreel - son,  punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
• Lo-Ruhamah - daughter -  “not loved”
• Lo-Ammi - son, "not my people"

A marriage can be broken by infidelity. The covenant between the Lord and Israel faces a serius thread because Israel worship false gods.

Daniel 12: eternal life x eternal shame

 Daniel 12 ends the prophecy with:

1-2 That’s when Michael, the great angel-prince, champion of your people, will step in. It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.

³ “‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.

⁴ “‘This is a confidential report, Daniel, for your eyes and ears only. Keep it secret. Put the book under lock and key until the end. In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what’s going on.’

Daniel received a very enigmatic message. Indeed, there is a lot of frantic running around in order to get what this message meant. In the Old Testament there are few texts about life after death. In Daniel 12:2 we read:

2 Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.

There will be a resurrection of many (or all?) who have been long dead: some to eternal life and others to eternal shame. Some argue that this means a soul living forever in heaven or in hell. The opposite of "eternal life" could be "eternal death"; or the opposite of "eternal shame" could be "eternal praise" (or perhaps, "short term shame"). 

Now, I will argument against the idea of a soul being punished eternally in hell. This idea comes from the belief that we have an eternal soul, but where in the Bible can we find such idea? Daniel 12:2 and another in Matthew (that seems a copy of this one) are used to argue an eternal punishment in hell, even though it doesn't say anything about "eternal soul".

A soul that stays forever in hell in shame has "eternal life"?

Yes, I think so, that is: "eternal life" doesn't mean a life without suffering or shame. The problem is that we can´t split very well two fates based on "eternal life" and "eternal shame". Besides, "eternal shame" doesn't mean that the person is alive. It is possible to die in shame and stay in shame forever. For instance: Edgar Allan Poe was first buried in a place of shame, but after some public commotion he was moved to a more honorable grave. A dead can be in eternal shame as in a shameful grave.

Besides this verse and its reference in Matthew by Jesus, I really don't know of any other verse that are used to say that a soul suffers eternally in hell; and even this verse is not clear enough. For me, the Bible seems to say the opposite: "eternal life" in opposition to "death", so the term "second death" (a death after resurrection, found in Revelation) makes sense.

Anyway, Daniel asks when this things happen. The answer:

¹¹ “From the time that the daily worship is banished from the Temple and the obscene desecration is set up in its place, there will be 1,290 days.

¹² “Blessed are those who patiently make it through the 1,335 days.

¹³ “And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.”

It is very difficult to fit this prophecy and its end (1290 days) with Antiochos or even the destruction of Jerusalem because there is no resurrection yet. For me, I 'd better relax and believe that when it is all over, I will be alive again with Jesus.