Study Desk

You look forward to the day when the Lord comes to judge. But you are in for trouble! It won't be a time of sunshine; all will be darkness.

Israel, for forty years you wandered in the desert, without bringing offerings or sacrifices to me.

Do you rulers in Jerusalem and in the city of Samaria feel safe and at ease? Everyone bows down to you, and you think you are better than any other nation. But you are in for trouble!

As you carry out a corpse to prepare it for burial, your relative in the house will ask, "Are there others?" You will answer, "No!" Then your relative will reply, "Be quiet! Don't dare mention the name of the Lord ."

In my vision the locusts ate every crop in the land, and I said to the Lord , "Forgive me for asking, but how can the nation survive? It's so weak."

Amaziah the priest at Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel, "Amos is plotting against you in the very heart of Israel. Our nation cannot put up with his message for very long.

and asked, "Amos, what do you see?" "A basket of ripe fruit," I replied. Then he said, "This is the end for my people Israel. I won't forgive them again.

You say to yourselves, "How much longer before the end of the New Moon Festival? When will the Sabbath be over? Our wheat is ready, and we want to sell it now. We can't wait to cheat and charge high prices for the grain we sell. We will use dishonest scales

and mix dust in the grain. Those who are needy and poor don't have any money. We will make them our slaves for the price of a pair of sandals."

The Lord God gave Obadiah a message about Edom, and this is what we heard: "I, the Lord , have sent a messenger with orders for the nations to attack Edom."

The day is coming when I, the Lord , will judge the nations. And, Edom, you will pay in full for what you have done.

So they prayed to the Lord , "Please don't let us drown for taking this man's life. Don't hold us guilty for killing an innocent man. All of this happened because you wanted it to."

The Lord sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

When I was in trouble, Lord , I prayed to you, and you listened to me. From deep in the world of the dead, I begged for your help, and you answered my prayer.

After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, "Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!"

Then he and his officials sent out an order for everyone in the city to obey. It said: None of you or your animals may eat or drink a thing. Each of you must wear sackcloth, and you must even put sackcloth on your animals. You must also pray to the Lord God with all your heart and stop being sinful and cruel. Maybe God will change his mind and have mercy on us, so we won't be destroyed.

So he prayed: Our Lord , I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn't destroy Nineveh. That's why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don't like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.

Samaria's idols will be smashed, and the wages of temple prostitutes will be destroyed by fire. Silver and gold from those idols will then be used by foreigners as payment for prostitutes.

Everyone in Maroth hoped for the best, but the Lord sent disaster down on Jerusalem.

But here is what the Lord says: "I am planning trouble for you. Your necks will be caught in a noose, and you will be disgraced in this time of disaster."