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.