Hosea
“A book written for naughty children.” Pastor Dolman.
Contemporary with Isaiah.
1—3 Division 1—Israel, the unfaithful wife. God’s dispensational ways.
1:4 “The blood of Jezreel.” The destruction of Ahaz’s house in the field of Naboth. Christ’s life sworn away—therefore the great tribulation.
1:11 Judah and Israel to be reunited in the land.
2:8 Note the place that knowledge has in this book—2:20; 4:1; 4:6; 5:4; 6:3; 6:6; 8:2; 14:9.
3:3 Me for Himself—Rom. 12:1. Himself for me.
4—14 Division 2—Jehovah’s controversy with Israel.
4:1 No truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God.
5:5 Pride goeth before a fall.
5:15 Messiah’s return to Heaven—awaiting Israel’s repentance.
7:4 The leaven of uncleanness working—See 1 Cor. 5.
7:8 All dough on one side!
10:1 Contrast John 15. See Isa. 5; Rev. 14. Empty lives and empty religion—Isa. 29:8; Matt. 15:9; Jas. 1:26; Isa. 1:13; 1 Cor. 15:2.
Empty lives; empty belief; empty religion; empty worship; empty profession.
11:3 Teaching a child to walk. “My safety is not that I take the Lord’s hand in mine, but that He takes mine in His—He takes me by the arms.” Dolman, [last part] Illustrated in Acts 16:7, 9, 15.
11:8-9 The sovereignty of God in grace. Ch. 13:14.
12:1 “Every wind of doctrine.”
12:3-5 Jacob—a supplanter from the first, yet saved by grace.
12:7 The typical Israelite—in his fallen condition.
13:7-8 The nations of the Gentiles. See Dan. 7.
13:9—14:9 Future blessing.
13:11 Prayer answered in judgment.
14:1-3 God Himself supplies the words for the repentant people to use when they return to Him.
Joel
The time of the end—The great tribulation and deliverance of the remnant followed by the establishment of the kingdom on earth.
Theme—“The day of the Lord.” Joel’s date un-known.
A recent locust plague seen as a divine visitation and used as picturing the judgments of the day of the Lord.
1:1 Joel—“Jehovah is God.”
1:6 The attack of the last Assyrian—the king of the north.
1:7 Israel—the vine and fig tree.
1:14-15 Learn from calamities to humble yourselves before God.
2 The promised outpouring of the Spirit.
2:1-14 The silver trumpets—See Num. 10. The trumpet of alarm.
2:1 “Ye are come to Mount Sion.” Note the place that Zion has in Joel. (1) The alarm sounded in Zion.
2:10 See Rev. 6. The sixth seal. Clearly this is symbolical —not literal.
2:13 Call to repentance.
2:15 (2) The people called to Zion. See ch. 2:23-31. 2:15-32 The trumpet of the assembling.
2:20 The drying up of the Euphrates. The 6th vial following the 6th trumpet of Revelation.
2:23 (3) Children of Zion—See v. 32.
The latter rain to be restored to Palestine.
2:29 It was the same Spirit poured out on Pentecost— but not the same period of time to which the prophet here refers.
2:32 (4) Deliverance in Zion. The call of God.
3 The premillennial judgments.
3:1-16 (5) Zion the place of judgment.
3:2 The judgment of nations as in Matthew 25.
3:11 The descent of the Lord and the heavenly saints.
3:13 See the harvest and the vintage—Rev. 14.
3:17 (6) Zion God’s holy mountain.
3:21 (7) Zion, the end reached.
Amos
The Government of God. His divine sovereignty over Israel and the nations. Somewhat earlier than Isaiah.
1—2 Division 1—Eight messages to the nations surrounding Palestine and to Judah and Israel.
1:1 Tekoa—in the Hill country of Judea.
1:9 [last part] i.e., the covenant between Hiram and David.
3—6 Division 2—The Word of the Lord to Israel—the northern kingdom.
3:2 Responsibility flows from acknowledged relationship.
3:6 i.e., Evil in the sense not of sin, but of calamity.
4:6-11 Jehovah’s five challenges.
4:12 Warnings unheeded. Judgment must fall.
5:5 A call to turn from false worship.
5:10 The reprover hated. Isa. 29:21.
5:25 The idolatry of the wilderness never judged.
6:12 The fruit of righteousness—See Phil. 1:11, etc.
7—9 Division 3—Five visions having to do with God’s sovereignty.
7:10-17 Parenthesis.
7:14 Amos’ “call to the ministry.”
9:9 Compare the sifting of Peter—Luke 22:31, 32.
Obadiah
Judgment of Edom.
1—15 The character of Edom exposed.
Edom—a type of the flesh characterized by seven things:
(1) Pride v. 3.
(2) Self-confidence v. 3.
(3) Self-exaltation v. 4.
(4) Self-deception vv. 5, 6.
(5) Worldly wisdom v. 8.
(6) Violent opposition to the people of God vv. 10, n.
(7) Gloating over the sufferings of God’s people v. 12.
16—21 Israel’s deliverance and Edom’s final judgment to be coincident or concurrent.
17 It is a great thing when we really possess our possessions, entering into our inheritance in Christ—See Eph. 1:3.
Jonah
The Divine Sovereignty.
1:14 [last clause] key verse—for Thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased Thee. See Matt. 12:39; Luke 11:29.
Micah
Contemporary with Isaiah. Cited in Jer. 26:16-19.
Israel’s blessing dependent on the coming Saviour.
1—2 Division 1—Arraignment of Israel for their sins.
1:2 As in the beginning of Leviticus: the voice of Jehovah from the sanctuary.
1:11 Beth-ezel—The house at hand: that is the inn or half-way house.
1:15 David, the glory of Israel in his day, had sought refuge there.
2:10 The call to separation.
2:11 More ready to listen to false prophets who leave them free to follow their own desires, than to the true man of God who rebukes sin.
3—5 Division 2—Future blessing through Messiah conditioned upon repentance.
3 Princes and priests apostate.
3:5 Teaching for money—“Who when they have something to bite with their teeth, cry Peace; but who prepare war against him that putteth nothing in their mouths.” Lesser trans.
3:6 Judicial blindness visited upon the people.
3:8 Empowered by the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1; Zech. 4:6.
4:1-3 Duplicate of Isa. 2:2-4. The first dominion—the Kingdom of God.
4:1 Supreme.
4:2 Universal.
4:3 Peaceful.
4:4-5 Prosperous both in things temporal and things spiritual.
4:8 He who is to rule the nations with the iron rod comes from Israel.
4:10 Rev. 12—when Zion travails.
The Babylonian captivity.
5:1 The smitten judge—Isa. 50:6.
5:2 Christ to be born in Bethlehem.
5:8 This the Jew has been through the centuries of the dispersion, and particularly in these last days.
6 Division 3—The Lord’s controversy with His people.
6:5-6 Chastening with a view to blessing.
7 Division 4—Confidence in God—The expression of the remnant in the last days.
7:9 An exercised soul under the discipline of the Lord. See Job 34:31; Heb. 12:5.
Nahum
(Consolation)—The Doom of Nineveh.
“Out of Galilee” Nahum and Jonah both came. Both the Galilean prophets had to do with Nineveh. Nineveh and Babylon both founded by Nimrod.
1 Jehovah the confidence of His people in every time of trouble.
Delivered before the death of Sennacherib and therefore a century before the destruction of Nineveh.
1:3 [last part] He is just above the clouds.
1:7 What wondrous contrasts are seen in Him!
1:11 The army of Sennacherib.
2—3 Division 2—The destruction of Nineveh.
2 i.e., The leader of the Babylonians who destroyed Nineveh, entering the city while the people were holding a drunken feast. The river Tigris overflowed and carried away the flood gates, so overwhelming its palaces.
2:11-12 The lion: the king, lioness, and young lions: his household.
3:7 Nineveh literally laid waste as here prophesied.
3:8 No—No-Anion destroyed by Sargon shortly before.
3:11 The chastening of the Lord.
3:17 See Rev. 9:7.
3:18 i.e., Saracus grandson of Esar-haddon.
Habakkuk
Possibly a contemporary of Jeremiah. He writes in view of the Chaldean invasion.
1:2 Habakkuk’s complaint.
1:5 Jehovah’s answer. Cited by Paul, Acts 13:40-41.
1:12 The prophet’s expostulation.
2:2 Jehovah’s answer.
2:4 The only place “faith” is found in the O.T. In the N.T. it is found in every Book.
The just—Romans.
Shall live—Galatians.
By faith—Hebrews.
2:9 Woe—covetousness—See Heb. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:8.
2:12 Woe—oppression.
2:15 Woe—sensuality.
2:19 Woe—idolatry.
3 Prayer—In chapter 3 we have “prayer set to music.”
3:1 Shigionoth—a wandering ode.
3:2 REVIVE Thy Work—Ps. 138:7, Ps. 85:6.
3:4 horns—or, bright beams out of his side—where the Roman spear pierced Him!
3:13 See the head that was wounded to death—Rev. 13.
3:16 A sense of utter unworthiness.
Zephaniah
“Hidden of Jehovah.”
Written to warn formalists and apostates of coming judgment and to comfort the righteous remnant who cling to the Word of God. Link with the letter to Philadelphia, Revelation 3.
645—610 b.c. Contemporary with Jeremiah.
1 Division 1—Idolaters and apostates must suffer for their sin. The day of the Lord announced.
1:4 The false remnant of Baal. 1:6 Two classes.
1:7 Details of the coming day of wrath.
1:12 Searching out—not in grace but in judgment.
2 The judgment of the nations.
2:1-3 Division 2—The call to repentance. 2:3 Meekness to be sought, see Matt. 11:28-30.
2:4-15 Division 3—The nations in the day of the Lord.
2:10 The pride of Moab.
3 Blessing following judgment.
3:1-7 Division 4—A second call to repentance.
3:2 Four solemn indictments.
3:3-4 Princes, judges, prophets, priests, all apostate.
3:8-20 Division 5—Ultimate salvation.
3:13 The true remnant.
3:14-17 Jehovah “in the midst.”
Haggai
[Many passages underlined but no marginal comments.]
Zechariah
The Prophet of the Coming Glory.
Contemporary with Haggai—in the days of the restoration. Messages to encourage the builders of the house of God.
1:4 A call to consider seriously and turn to the Lord.
1:7—6:15 Eight visions in one night.
1:8-17 Vision 1—Israel guarded by God while in their lowly state.
1:18-21 Vision 2—The four Gentile powers under which they suffered, to be eventually destroyed.
2 Vision 3—Jerusalem to be reclaimed and restored.
2:8 Israel, a missionary people in the last days.
3 Vision 4—The cleansing of the nation.
3:2 Sovereign grace.
3:4-5 Cleansed, clothed, crowned.
4 Vision 5—The filling and anointing with the Spirit.
4:6 The light sustained or maintained by the unseen oil— testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit. See Micah 3:8.
4:10 [last part] Rev. 5:6.
4:14 Kingship or royalty and priesthood.
5:1-4 Vision 6—Iniquity searched out and removed.
“Cursed is everyone that continueth not.”
5:5-11 Vision 7—Commercialized religion, Babylonish in origin.
5:7 talent of lead—Lead—dross—imitation of silver—base metal—See Ezek. 22:18.
6 Vision 8—Though Israel be surrounded with the mountains of judgment, all shall work for their good.
6:12 The Branch—behold the Man—John 19:5.
6:13 The Royal Priest—”crown Him Lord of all.”
7—8 Call to self-judgment in view of the divine purpose of blessing.
8:7-8 The future return of the Jews.
9—14 The prophetic program.
9:9 The First Coming of the Messiah.
9:10 [last part] His Second Coming.
10:1 The latter rain for Israel.
10:11 Connect with Ezek. 30:13.
11 The Good Shepherd rejected: the idol shepherd accepted.
11:15 The antichrist.
12—14 The great tribulation and the deliverance of Judah and Israel, followed by the Kingdom.
14:10 The corner of Hananeel—See Jer. 31:38.
Malachi
Note Jehovah’s eightfold controversy with His people.
1:2 Controversy 1—See Rom. 9:13—“Loved” and “hated” have reference here as in Romans 9 to God’s dealings with Jacob’s descendants and Esau’s children in regard to privilege on earth.
1:4 Edom—a type of the flesh—incurably evil.
1:6 Controversy 2.
1:7 Controversy 3.
2:1-2 God’s Word to the priests.
2:5 The covenant with Levi.
2:10 Israel, nationally the children of God.
2:14 Controversy 4.
2:15 Warning against mixed marriages.
2:17 Controversy 5.
3:6 The unchanging One.
3:7 Controversy 6.
3:8 Controversy 7.
3:13 Controversy 8.
4:1 Not annihilation—but judgment on earth at the Lord’s return.