Placing Amos on a timeline is relatively easy as 1:1 sets his ministry in the days of King Uzziah and King Jereboam (II), two years before the earthquake.

Amos 1

• against Syria (vs 3-5)
• against Philistia (vs 6-8)
• against Tyre (vs 9-10)
• against Edom (vs 11-12)
• against Ammon (vs 13-15)

Amos 2

• against Moab (vs 1-3)
• against Judah (vs 4-5)
• against Israel (vs 6-8)
• against all who despise the goodness of the Lord (vs 9-12)
• against the rich and powerful who resist God (vs 13-16)

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What does this book teach us about God?

Joel 1

• old men should teach the younger generations about God’s judgments (vs 1-3)
• locusts and caterpillars can be judgments from God (vs 4)
• consider the irony that the drunken sinners have no more wine (vs 5-7)
• consider the tragedy that there is no food available for sacrifices (vs 8-13)
• ask what to do (vs 14-18)
• the prophet’s resolve to pray (vs 19-20)

Joel 2

• do these plagues represent human adversaries? (vs 1-11)
• call to repentance (vs 12-20)
• God promises restoration (vs 21-27)
• God’s Spirit will come (vs 28-29)
• destruction or deliverance? (vs 30-32)

Joel 3

• heathen are not exempt from judgment (vs 1-3)
• Tyre and Sidon may expect reward; but they will receive judgment (vs 4-8)
• what is this valley battle? (vs 9-15)
• eternal peace and blessing (vs 16-21)

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Who were the Ninevites? And why didn’t Jonah want them to be saved?

Jonah 3

• Mercifully, God did not abandon Jonah for his disobedience (vs 1-2)
• Obediently, Jonah went to Ninevah to preach (vs 3-4)
• From the King of Ninevah downward, the people repented and hoped in God’s mercy.

Jonah 4

• Can you imagine a preacher who did not want his congregation to get right with God (vs 1)?
• Jonah, like many others, held a grudge against the Assyrians; and he didn’t want them to be saved (vs 2).
• He’d rather die than see the salvation of his enemies (vs 3, 8).
• God prepared an object lesson to teach Jonah about mercy (vs 4-11).
• Do you well to be angry (vs 4, 9)

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Who hasn’t heard of Jonah and the whale? But who remembers how many days he was in the belly of the great fish? And who remembers why this is significant?

Jonah 1

• Jonah disobeyed the clear word of the Lord (vs 1-3)
• His sin brought everyone around him in danger of their lives (vs 4-5)
• He knew quite well that his sin was the cause of the danger (vs 12)
• The sailors tried futilely to save the ship themselves (vs 13)
• Realizing that Jonah was right, the sailors asked God’s mercy before they tossed the disobedient prophet overboard (vs 14-15)
• With Jonah gone, the waves calmed; and the sailors worshipped the Lord (vs 16)
• Jonah, meanwhile, had been swallowed by a great fish (vs 17)

Jonah 2

• Jonah prayed (vs 1). In such a situation, would you have prayed?
• He realized that he was away from God; yet he determined to change (vs 4, 7, 9)
• If there were any hope at all, it must be from the Lord (vs 9)
• And Jonah was released from his fishy grave (vs 10)

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