Grudges, retaliation, revenge and bitterness are themes in human history. Obadiah’s short prophetic message is a warning to all of us to rid ourselves of the radioactivity of retaliation.

One of the themes in the prophets is their call of exhortation to God’s people. The call can be to get back to Torah observance, or justice or it in case of Haggai to stop procrastinating. We get to learn from how God shepherds His people during periods of “we will do it later” and gain wisdom for our own tendencies.

Scripture is an epic narrative full of characters, rules, history and miracles. It can be difficult to understand how it applies to our lives and what it means for us to live as those who believe and follow God. Micah helps by giving the most succinct summary of what God wants.

Restore: to bring back to or put back into a former or original state. There might not be a greater truth than God’s ability to restore. It goes further than forgiveness by renewing what was lost or broken. Joel 2 does a prophetic dive into the miraculous work of restoration.

Hosea the prophet’s life and marriage to Gomer the prostitute is both moving and mysterious. There is no happily ever after. Instead we are left to consider how we treat God and if we will be a faithful covenant partner to Him.