(4.) Obadiah (עבדיה).—Obadiah prophesies against the Edomites, and announces the Divine decree against them for their cruel treatment of Judah in times of distress.
(5.) Jonah (יונה).—Jonah, son of Amittai, prophesied success to King Jeroboam II. (2 Kings xiv. 25). He was sent to threaten the inhabitants of Nineveh with the destruction of their city in forty days. Instead of going to Nineveh he set out in a boat for Tarshish; during a storm he was thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish, and again brought to the shore. He then carried out the Divine mission, the result of which was that the Ninevites repented of their evil deeds and [[82]]obtained a respite. Jonah, disappointed that the threat of which he was the bearer was not fulfilled, was rebuked by God, and taught by his own grief at the destruction of a plant “that had come up in a night” how wrong it was to wish that God should not show mercy upon the inhabitants of Nineveh, and to neglect anything that could lead to their repentance and consequent salvation.
(6.) Micah (מיכה).—Micah of Moresha was likewise a contemporary of Isaiah. He prophesied in Judah.
1. (i.–iii.) He raises his voice especially against the princes, magistrates, and false prophets, who unite in oppressing and ruining the people. When Micah tells them their sins and the coming punishment, they say to him, “Do not preach; they do not preach for such things; they do not offend” (ii. 6). But the prophet of the Lord is not deterred from his mission, but continues to denounce their wickedness: “Her chiefs judge for bribery, and her priests teach for payment, and her prophets decide for silver; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord in our midst? no evil shall come upon us. Therefore shall Zion be plowed into a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the Temple as the high places of a forest” (iii. 11, 12).
2. (iv.–v.) Like Isaiah, he depicts the Messianic period, in which the house of Jacob will be an example of true faith in God to all nations; in which Israel will be restored to his land, under the rule of a descendant of David. But a period of trials and troubles must precede those happy days, in order to punish Israel, and to purify and prepare him for his future greatness. [[83]]
3. (vi.–vii.) The same principles are taught in the next part (vi. and vii.) in the form of a controversy (ריב ליי עם עמו) between the Lord and His people. The latter are reminded of the benefits God has bestowed on them; and when they ask how they are expected to show their gratitude, the prophet says, “O man, He has told thee what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (vi. 8).
(7.) Nahum (נחום).—The fall of Nineveh is predicted. The power of the mighty Assyrian Empire, hitherto a terror to Judah and other kingdoms, will come to an end; no remedy can save her any more.
(8.) Habakkuk (חבקוק).—Habakkuk prophesied at the time when the Casdim or Chaldeans were about to occupy the place of the Assyrians as conquerors of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and to become the rod in the hand of God for the punishment of Israel. Habakkuk, on receiving the mission to announce the Casdim as the executors of the Divine decree, is at a loss to understand why these wicked and cruel people should be chosen to chastise those who are far less wicked; why the evil-doer should swallow him who is more righteous. The answer he receives is, “But the just shall live by his faith.” The evil-doer will in due time receive his full punishment. Habakkuk then gives expression to his implicit faith in the justice of God, in a hymn which is superscribed, “Prayer (תפלה) of the prophet Habakkuk on account of errors;” for in it he rectifies, as it were, his previous groundless doubt.
(9.) Zephaniah (צפניה).—He prophesied in the days [[84]]of King Josiah. He proclaims the approach of the great day of the Lord, on which all those who turned away from Him will receive their punishment, all the rich and powerful who say the Lord does neither good nor evil. He appeals to the humble in the land (ענוי ארץ) to seek the Lord in prayer, in order to be saved on “the day of the anger of the Lord.” For the Philistines, the Phœnicians, Moab, Ammon, and Assyria will be punished, nor will Jerusalem escape free. “I will then turn,” he says in the name of God, “a pure language to the nations, that all of them will call by the name of God, and serve Him with one accord” (iii. 9). “In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty on my holy mountain. And I will leave in thy midst a poor and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, and they shall not speak falsehood, and a tongue of deceit shall not be found in their mouth” (iii. 9, 11–13).
(10.) Haggai (חגי)—The Israelites, who by the command of Cyrus had discontinued the rebuilding of the Temple after the foundation had been laid by his permission, were exhorted by Haggai, in the second year of the reign of Darius, to resume the work. Guided by Zerubbabel and Joshua, son of Jehozadak, they obeyed, and the prophet describes to them the blessing which they will henceforth enjoy.