Literary Style. In view of the rural antecedents of Amos, it has been customary to ascribe to his writings a degree of homely rusticity. As we read over his prophecies, we discover reminiscences of his earlier life. He speaks of threshing instruments, of harvest carts loaded with sheaves, of shepherds fighting with wild beasts, of the labors of the ploughman, and of other rural pursuits and objects as he had observed them on the hills and in the vales of Tekoa. But, as will have been observed from the extracts given, the style of Amos shows no rustic uncouthness. His discourses are skilfully put together; his thought moves on a high plane; and his sentences exhibit a satisfying artistic finish. Though he falls below Isaiah in grandeur of thought and intensity of expression, he shows himself a vigorous thinker and writer. It is evident that his earlier years were not wholly taken up with tending sheep; there must have been days and nights given to studying the literature of his people and to pondering the deep things of God. Obadiah. — The prophecy of Obadiah consists of a single chapter, and has the distinction of being the shortest book in the Old Testament. Its date has been a matter of dispute among biblical scholars; but the statements of the tenth verse, which speaks of the capture of Jerusalem as a past fact, seem to refer to the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The prophet may, therefore, be regarded as post-exilic. Nothing whatever is known of the prophet; the introduction merely announces "the vision of Obadiah." He voices the age-long hostility of his people against Edom, whose doom or judgment he declares in brief but striking terms: "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, And though thou set thy nest among the stars, The Occasion. The occasion that evoked the prophecy is clearly stated. Edom had taken part with the Chaldeans in the invasion of Judah, and had rejoiced at the downfall of Jerusalem. This alien alliance of the children of Esau seemed to the prophet to call for condemnation and judg ment: "For thy violence against thy brother Jacob Shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, In the day that the strangers carried away his forces, And foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress." Future of Zion. The prophet concludes his brief discourse in a triumphant tone. Though Edom and "all the heathen" be destroyed, the glory of Israel shall be revived "Upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble." The numerous parallels between Obadiah and the doom prophecy against Edom in the forty-ninth chapter of Jeremiah make it perfectly evident that one borrowed from the other, unless both drew upon an earlier document. The question has given rise to much critical discussion, which, however, does not affect the truth of the message of either prophet. RESEARCH WORK HOSEA The unfaithfulness of Israel in symbol, Hos. 1-3. A reproof of people and priests, Hos. 4. An announcement of divine judgments, Hos. 5. An exhortation to repentance, Hos. 6. A reproof of Israel, Hos. 7. Assyrian invasion foretold, Hos. 8. Sin and judgment, Hos. 10. Ingratitude and punishment, Hos. 11. Reproof of Ephraim and Judah, Hos. 12, 13. JOEL A plague of locusts, Joel 1. The coming day of the Lord, Joel 2: 1-17. AMOS Judgments against various nations, Amos I. An elegy over Israel, Amos 5. Luxury punished with captivity, Amos 6. OBADIAH The doom of Edom, Obad. I. CHAPTER XIII STUDIES IN JONAH, MICAH, NAHUM, AND HABAKKUK Book of Jonah. The book of Jonah, though often made a stumbling-block, is one of the most remarkable productions in the Old Testament. As an artistic composition, it is worthy of high praise; but its literary excellence falls into insignificance in comparison with its spiritual message. Unlike the other prophetical books, it is wholly narrative in form; but the framers of the Old Testament canon made no mistake in placing Jonah, not among the historical writings, but among the prophets. The hero of the book is "Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, of Gath-hepher." He lived in the early days of Jeroboam II., and predicted the military successes of that sovereign. He lived at a time when Nineveh was the capital of the world empire of Assyria. But it is safe to say that Jonah was not the author of the book that bears his The language of the narrative belongs to a later period; and, as we shall presently see, its message is adapted to post-exilic times. It was probably written some time in the fourth century before Christ. name. - The Story. The story of Jonah is well known. The prophet was divinely commissioned to rebuke the great city of Nineveh for its wickedness. The task was an unwelcome one; and to escape its responsibilities, the narrowminded prophet embarked at Joppa for the distant West. But he was not permitted to escape the divine call; and 1 2 Kings 14:25. when a severe storm arose, of which he acknowledged himself the cause, he was hurled into the sea. He was swallowed by a great fish, which after "three days and three nights" cast him upon dry land. Humbled by this extraordinary experience, Jonah now proceeded, in obedience to a second divine call, to fulfil his prophetic mission. He entered the mighty capital of Assyria, and began to proclaim aloud in its streets, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed." The city was deeply moved, and promptly repented in sackcloth and ashes. "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, which He said He would do unto them; and He did it not." This act of mercy toward a heathen city displeased the surly prophet. In his anger he made himself a shelter east of the city, and took up his abode there to await results. A gourd sprang up in a night to afford him a grateful protection from the heat. He rejoiced in its shade; but it withered as quickly as it came. The prophet was vexed beyond measure, and thus gave an opportunity to present the great lesson of the book. "And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry even unto death. And the Lord said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night; and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city; wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" Lesson of Tolerance. The book of Jonah is full of moral lessons, which devout scholars have often pointed out. It teaches, for example, that it is vain for a prophet |