Amos: A Prophet

Amos’s name means “burden bearer.” He was a minor prophet. He prophesied from about 760 B.C. to 750 B.C. This would be during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash in Judah, and King Uzziah who was reigning in Israel. Amos was a shepherd, and a “dresser of sycamore trees.” This basically means that he farmed sycamore trees. His hometown was Tekoa, a small town in the wilderness of Judah about six miles south of Bethlehem, and 11 miles from Jerusalem. Because of his occupations, he moved around a lot. Then God called him to prophesy to several towns in Judah and Israel.

Amos was known as the prophet of visions because of the five visions he saw. He did not want to be called a prophet because he wasn't like the other prophets. He was just a herdsman and had not been taught to prophesy. God told him to tell the people to repent of their sins, and that he was going to bring judgment upon the land. He describes the five visions he has seen; a plague of locusts, a devastating fire, a plumb line which symbolizes how far the people have deviated from God's standards, a basket of fruit which symbolizes the short time left before the judgment, and a vision of Jehovah striking the top of the false temple in Bethel and destroying it. He then prophesies the eventual restoration of the land.

The people rejected Amos’s message. At this time, the nation was at peace and had forgotten that it was God who had given them their blessings. They were lazy, wicked, and worldly. The upper classes lived in luxury, and the lower classes struggled to meet their basic needs. We do not know what happened to Amos after he was done prophesying. Maybe he went back to his former jobs.

Malachi: A Prophet

Malachi was the last Old Testament prophet. All of his writings are contained in the book of Malachi, which are only four chapters long. Malachi was a minor prophet. The label of minor prophet means that Malachi had a small book, not necessarily a small purpose. Malachi touched on Judah’s unfaithfulness, Elijah coming, and the Day of Judgment.

Malachi prophesied for about 15 years, from 445-430 B.C., after Judah returned from captivity. They still showed unfaithfulness. The people of Judah had recently returned to their homeland, but they still disobeyed God in many ways. Through Malachi God told the people of Israel to stop bringing unworthy sacrifices.

In Malachi chapters 4 verses 5-6, Malachi speaks the word of the Lord to the people: “See, I will send the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” Elijah came to prepare the way for Jesus, as the Bible says in Isaiah 40:3 “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Malachi also prophesied about the Lord’s Judgment. The Lord was angry about many things concerning Israel’s behavior, and he told them that when he spoke through Malachi. The people were not bringing acceptable offerings to God. Malachi said that if they brought adequate offerings to God, he would answer their prayers. Many of the people wouldn’t listen to Malachi’s prophecies. Most of the people wouldn’t listen to what Malachi was saying. God set the people who did apart as righteous because of their faithfulness. Malachi’s life teaches us to follow God in everything we do.

Josiah: A Good King

Josiah was the 16th king of Judah.  His story can be found in 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 and 2 Chronicles 34-36:1.  Josiah was the best king.  No one, even his ancestor David compares to the way Josiah lived.  In all his ways Josiah followed the Lord.  As king, Josiah rebuilt the temple, tore down the bad altars, and was killed by Pharaoh Neco.

When he was 8 years old, Josiah became the 16th king of Judah, and he reigned for 31 years.  The first thing he did as king was rebuild the Temple.  As the Temple was being rebuilt, the high priest Hilkiah found the book of the law.  After reading it, Josiah brought the people together and renewed the covenant.  Even so, the Lord caused Judah to fall and be exiled to another country.

Josiah also tore down all of the altars, idols, and Asherah poles.  He fulfilled everything the prophet from Judah had said when he prophesied to Jeroboam king of Israel.  In addition to removing the vile things from Judah, Josiah led the people in a Passover celebration like no other.  Never since the days of the judges had any comparable Passover been celebrated.

In the 31st year of his reign, Josiah went out to fight Pharaoh Neco.  Neco was fighting at the Euphrates river and warned Josiah that he was on a mission from God, but Josiah wouldn't listen.  He still went up to fight Neco, and so he was shot and killed by archers.  Josiah's son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king.

Ibzan - A Judge of Israel

Ibzan’s story can be found in Judges twelve verses eight through ten. His father was Salmon, also known as Salma. His mother was Rahab. Ibzan’s hometown was Beth-lehem. This would be Eprath, not Jerusalem. Ibzan became judge after Jephthah’s death. He was the twelfth judge of Israel.

Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters. A large family suggests that he was polygamous, meaning that he had more than one wife. This was tolerated, but never in God’s plan. Large families were a sign of wealth and power. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside of his clan, probably outside of Israel. For his sons, he brought in thirty young women from outside of his clan to be married to. This would suggest that he was seeking political alliances and to extend his sphere of influences. He encouraged his sons to have only one wife.

Ibzan is also known as Boaz. He married Ruth the Moabite. Ruth had previously been married to Ibzan’s cousin. When she was widowed, she moved to Judah with Naomi, her mother in law. There she met Boaz. She was his last wife, and together they had a son named Obed. They are the ancestors of King David who was born four generations later. Nothing is said about his adversaries, so there was probably not a threat to Israel during his lifetime. Therefore, Ibzan never fought any major battles.

Ibzan judged Israel for seven years. When Ibzan died, he was buried in Beth-lehem, his hometown. Elon judged Israel for ten years after Ibzan’s death.

Athalia: A Bad Queen

Athalia was Queen of Judah for 6 years. Her story can be found in 2nd Kings chapter 11 and 2nd Chronicles 22:10-25:15. Athalia's name means "whom God afflicts" which is fitting since she did evil in the eyes of the LORD. As queen, she led the people in Baal worship, slaughtered most of Ahazia's descendants, and was killed when she protested the crowning of Joash, boy king.

Athalia was the 7th ruler of Judah. She was queen from 843 B.C. to 837 B.C. She was also the only female ruler in either kingdom. During her reign, Athalia led the people to worship Baal. She even used sacred things from the Temple in her Baal worship. God's anger burned against Athalia because of all the wicked things she did.

Athalia's first act as queen was to kill all descendants of her son Ahazia so no one could contest her position by claiming, "I am the rightful heir". However, there was one survivor. His name was Joash. In the 7th year of Athalia's reign, Joash was crowned king. When Athalia heard the commotion coming from the temple, she went down to see what it was all about. The people of Judah were rejoicing over the new king. When Athalia protested, Jehoiada ordered that she be taken out and killed with the sword. Athalia did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so He punished her.

Hezekiah - The Best King

Hezekiah's mother was Abijah. His father, Ahaz was king before him. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years.

Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He removed the high places, smashed the idols, and cut down the Assherah poles. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after him. The Lord was with Hezekiah, he was successful in everything he did.

Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria. In the fourth year of Hezekiah's reign, the king of Assyria laid siege against Samaria. Samaria was captured in the sixth year of his reign because they had violated the covenant of the Lord; they had neither listened to nor obeyed His commands. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, the king of Assyria attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Hezekiah said to the king of Assyria that he had sinned, to withdraw from Judah, and he would pay whatever he asked. The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold.

Later, Hezekiah became ill. He was told by the prophet Isaiah that the Lord had said to put his affairs in order because he was going to die, he would not recover. Hezekiah wept bitterly, and prayed that the Lord would remember his faithfulness. The Lord heard his prayer and saw his tears. He added fifteen more years to Hezekiah's life. When Hezekiah died he was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants were. Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Jephthah: Judge of Israel

Jephthah judged Israel for 6 years.  His story can be found in Judges 10:6-12:8.  Today I am going to tell you about some important things in Jephthah's life: he was chased away by his  half-brothers: he sacrificed his daughter because of a foolish vow; and Jephthah and his warriors fought the Ephraimites. 

Jephthah's father was Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute.  Because of this, his half-brothers disowned him.  "You are not going to get any inheritance because you are the son of another woman", they said.  Later the Gileadite elders came to Jephthah because they needed help defeating the Ammonites.  At first he was unsure because these were the same men who'd sent him away, but Jephthah led the army and conquered the Ammonites. 

Before he left for war, Jephthah made a foolish vow to the Lord,saying that whatever came out of his house to the Lord, saying that whatever came out of his hose when  he returned would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.  When he returned from battle victorious his daughter came out to meet him, dancing to the sound of tambourines.  Jephthah was very distressed, she was his only child.  Even so, he still sacrificed her to the Lord.  This should teach us never to make a vow without thinking through the possible consequences.  

After returning from war and sacrificing his daughter, the men of Gilead fought the men of Ephriam.  The Ephraimites were mad because they thought Jephthah hadn't asked them to come fight the Ammonites.  So Jephthah and the Gileadites slaughtered the men of Ephraim at the Jordan River.  A total of 42,000 Ephraimites were slaughtered at that time. 

While he was alive, Jephthah led Israel.  He was chased away by his half-brothers, sacrificed his only daughter to God, and fought against Ephraim.  Jephthah's life can teach us that everyone is valuable to God, even if men think they are worthless. 

Manasseh - A Bad King

Manasseh was born to Hezekiah. His father, Hezekiah, was king before him. When he was twelve years old, his father died and he became king. Manasseh was the thirteenth king of Judah. He reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-five years. This was about 697 B.C. to 642 B.C. Manasseh was the longest reigning king of Judah. He was also the most wicked. Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Manasseh erected altars for Baal, and to all the starry hosts in the temple of the Lord. He also made an Assherah pole. Manasseh sacrificed his own son to the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination. He led the people to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Then the Lord said through the prophets that he would bring disaster to the land of Judah. He would hand them over to their enemies, wipe out Jerusalem, wiping it and turning it over. The Lord would forsake the remnant of their inheritance; they would be looted and plundered by their foes. This would happen because of the evil they did in the eyes of the Lord.

Manasseh paid no attention to the warnings of the prophets. After Manasseh had been taken prisoner, Manasseh cried out to the Lord. The Lord heard his pleas, and brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and his kingdom. Manasseh then knew that the Lord is God.

Manasseh turned from his wicked ways. He got rid of the foreign gods. He also removed the images from the temple of the Lord, and from all the high places. He restored the altar of the Lord, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.

Manasseh died and was buried in his palace garden. The garden was called Uzzah. Manasseh was succeeded by his son Amon.

My Garden

Here are a few things I have learned about gardening:

NOTHING keeps rabbits away.

(Except a fence.)



Things that need to be staked,
should be staked as soon as they are tall enough.



Not every plant takes.



Radishes won't be ready all at the same time,
even if they are planted at the same time.

I don't use gardening gloves.

Watermelon spreads.

Ours grew out through the fence!

There are lots of weeds!

Zucchini doesn't need to be staked,

it needs it's own time zone!

Gardening is FUN!

I Corinthians 3:7-8 says:
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

Even though mom says this verse is about telling others about Christ, it is true in my garden, too.