noon, and darken the earth in the clear day.  Their feasts shall be turned into mourning, their songs into lamentation, and they shall go into captivity beyond Damascus.  But while all the sinners among God’s people thus perish by the sword, he will remember his true Israel for good.  He will rear up again the fallen tabernacle of David, bring again the captivity of his people of Israel, and plant them for ever in their own land in peace and prosperity.  Thus do the visions of Amos, like those of Hosea and Joel, close with a cheering view of the future glory of Zion.  Amos is twice quoted in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:42, 43; 15:16, 17).

IV.  OBADIAH.

8.  The short prophecy of Obadiah is directed against Edom.  The Edomites were conspicuous for their hatred of the covenant people.  See Ezek. 25:12; 35:5-15; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11, and the parallel prophecy of Jer. 49:7-22.  Accordingly they stand here, in respect to both their guilt and punishment, as the representatives of Zion’s enemies in all ages.  In like manner the promised victory of God’s people over them shadows forth the universal triumph of the kingdom of heaven which is reserved for “the last days.”

Concerning the date of Obadiah’s prophecy expositors are not agreed.  The whole question turns upon the interpretation of verses 11-14.  That these contain an historic allusion to the exultation of the Edomites over the capture and plunder of Jerusalem cannot well be doubted.  If this was the final capture of the city by the Chaldeans, then Obadiah’s place will be after the beginning of the Babylonish captivity.  But since no mention is made of the burning of Jerusalem, some suppose that the prophet refers to an earlier capture, as that by the Philistines and Arabians under Jehoram. 2 Chron. 21:16, 17.  In favor of this view is urged the fact that Jeremiah, who was in the habit of using the writings of the earlier prophets, has much in common with Obadiah.

That Jeremiah borrowed the language of Obadiah is far more probable than that both prophets availed themselves of an older document, as some have conjectured.  Since, however, Jerusalem was taken more than once by the Chaldeans before its final overthrow (2 Kings chap. 24; Dan. 1:1), Obadiah may have referred to one of these earlier captures, and yet have written before Jeremiah penned his prophecy against Edom.

V. JONAH.

9.  We learn from 2 Kings 14:25 that Jonah, the son of Amittai, was of Gath-hepher, which is undoubtedly the same as Gittah-hepher, a town of the tribe of Zebulun in the northern part of Palestine (Josh. 19:13); and that he predicted the successes of Jeroboam II.  According to the general analogy of Scripture, prophecies like this, relating to one particular event, are not separated by any great space of time from their fulfilment.  He belongs, therefore, in all probability, to the days of Jeroboam II, when Amos also flourished.  There is no valid reason for assigning him, as some do, to an earlier date.