The guilty will certainly be punished. If they enter the sacred place of worship, even that will not shelter them, v.1. Flight and concealment will be in vain. Let them climb ever so high, or burrow ever so deep; let them scale the loftiest hills, or dive into the deepest seas—the consequences of their sins will overtake them, vs. 2, 3. How ean sinners hope to escape from him whose chambers are built in the heavens and whose voice governs the tides, v. 6? The great desolations of

the past prove the exactness and severity of his judgments, vs. 7, 8. How remarkably y. 9 has been fulfiled? Notwithstanding their scatterings, the Hebrew people have been preserved as a race.

The final paragraph, vs. 11-15, is very reassuring. It is a burst of noble anticipation, quoted by the Apostle James, Acts 15:14-17. The promises made to Abraham and David are yet to be fulfilled. The derision of their foes, of whom Edom was the ringleader, will be silenced. Through the parted curtain, we descry the golden age of the future. There is a divine plan working to its conclusion, and Israel shall yet come again to the land given to their fathers.

(a) What is the warning which sounds through the book of Amos? (b) In what visions is Israel’s future foretold?

(c) To what tribe did Amos belong? What was his occupation when summoned to the prophet’s office?

(d) How have the circumstances of his life influenced the style of his book?

(Each question applies to the paragraph of corresponding number in the Comments.)

Upon what nations were God’s judgments to fall? What is indicated as their principal sin and how does it differ from the transgression of Judah?

3. What remembrance should have restrained Israel from sin?

4. Why did the sin of Israel demand punishment even more than that of the heathen?

5. What was God’s purpose in sending calamity upon

Israel? In what verses does Amos describe God as the Creator

7. Why did the Lord reject the offerings of Israel?

8. For what sins are the nobles of Israel specially condemned?

9. What answer did Amos make to the accusation of Amaziah?

10. What unsatisfied desire would Israel experience, which would be greater than a famine of bread?

11. With what promise of restoration does the prophecy of Amos end?

3. False Kings, Prophets, and Priests. .3.

With regard to the personal life of Obadiah, information is lacking. His prophecy was probably delivered about the time of the fall of Jerusalem, B.C. 586. It is the shortest of the prophetical writings, containing but twenty-one verses. Its theme is the doom of Edom, because that nation mocked Jerusalem when the latter was destroyed. Its predictions have been completely fulfilled.

Jonah was a native of Goth-hepher in Zebulun. Some think that he was a contemporary and disciple of Elijah, and that he therefore lived about 850 B.C. He is the oldest of the prophets whose writings have come down to us. That the book is historical may be gathered from the references of our Lord in Matthew 12:39-41 and 16:4.

The narrative presents a most striking contrast between the long-suffering mercy of God and the hard indifference of a good man to the fate of a great Gentile city. Probably it indicates the dawn of a better era, when the Chosen People shall enter upon that long education, the results of which Paul tells us in Ephesians 2: 19-22; 3: 1-8.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, but their activities lay apart. Micah lived in the country and was con-

cerned with both Israel and Judah, while Isaiah’s career ts closely associated with the fortunes of Jerusalem.

The book of Micah shows a clear understanding of the events of the time. He foresaw. the invasions of Shalmaneser and Sennacherib, the dispersion of Israel, and the destruction of Jerusalem. Alone among the prophets he foretells the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, 5:2. ‘‘ His special office, as a herald of coming judgment, causes a predominant severity of tone; but all harshness is softened into exquisite beauty at the close.’’

Obadiah. A vision was granted to Obadiah of the penalty to be meted out to Edom for his cruelty to his brother Israel. Instead of showing sympathy, the Edomites had feasted their eyes on the misery of their kinsfolk, eagerly watching for their destruction. See Num. 20: 14-21 and Ps. 137:7. But the very calamities which had befallen Jacob would visit them.

Since we know not how soon we may be called upon to suffer, we should feel compassion for rather than exultation in, the sufferings of others. Malice harbored in any form contains the seed of future suffering. The great day of God is at hand, v. 15, which shall bring retribution to all who have set themselves against the kingdom of God. When our Lord returns he will bring redemption to his saints, and his people shall possess their possessions. This suggests the solemn inquiry whether as the heirs of God, we have yet entered upon our inheritance. O happy day, when the kingdom shall be the Lord’s and we shall reign with him!

(Owing to the brevity of this book, review questions are omitted.)