Minor #30

Truth:
1. The revelation in this Zephaniah is very simple and concerns two matters -- Jehovah's judgment and His salvation.
2. The name Zephaniah in Hebrew means "Jah hides" or "Jah treasures," probably signifying to be hidden by Jehovah as His treasure in the day of His anger.  In the day of God's anger, we need to be the treasure hidden in Him.
3. Jehovah's salvation to Israel is for Christ to be the King of Israel.

Life experience/Application:
1. God's judgment is first on Israel and then on the nations, but His salvation is first to the Gentile s and then to Israel.
2. To change a people's language is to change their culture because culture is wrapped up with language.  The original language of any people is dirty and impure.  When a person's language has become pure, this indicates that a person has been thoroughly saved.

Minor #29

Truth:
1. The earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah.

2. Habakkuk expresses his natural concept, without much revelation of Christ.  Even Habakkuk's concept of trusting in Jehovah during a time of need was natural.

3. 

Life experience/Application:
1. When Paul was short of food, he did not "trust" in the Lord in the way Habakkuk did; rather, he took the opportunity to fast.  Instead of trying to keep the law, he lived Christ.

2. We will see that the crucial matter is not trusting but realizing that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us.

3. Praise You, Lord.  You are one with me.  Regardless of how weak and poor I am, I am in You and You are in me.

Minor #28

Truth:
1. Christ is the linking factor in the books of Micah, Jonah, and Habakkuk, and the Bible is the divine revelation given by God's speaking through man.

2. Christ is the eternal One' His origin is in eternity.

3. Whereas the entire Bible is the divine revelation, it is the kernel, the intrinsic part, that is good for eating and drinking to nourish us.

Life experience/Application:
1. By faith we have received the salvation that was prepared, completed, and consummated by Christ's coming forth, and as a result we now are believers constituting the Body of Christ.

2. We have seen His origin, birth, death, and resurrection.  We have also seen that through His going forth after His resurrection, God's complete salvation has come to us and that we have received it by faith.

3. We need to see that Christ, the eternal One, has gone forth in His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection and that His going forth is continuing today as more believers are added to Him.

4. Before believing we were outside of Christ; we were in Adam.  But one day we were transferred out of Adam and into Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God.

5. The Spirit is the all-inclusive One indwelling us, moving in us, anointing us, and mingling with us.

6. In order to see Christ in reality 150 psalms, but to enjoy Christ, to feed on Christ, we need to come to the revelation of Christ in the Psalms.

Minor #27

Truth:
1. The name Habakkuk in Hebrew means "embracing" or "clinging to," signifying that we need to seek God by embracing Him or clinging to Him.  

2. The subject of Habakkuk's ministry is the righteous judgement of God first on Israel by the Chaldeans and then on the Chaldeans by the nations.

3. The central thought of Habakkuk is this: the righteous God will judge both the evil Israel and the violent Chaldeans, and only the righteous one shall live by his faith, that all the earth may know the glory of Jehovah and be silent before Jehovah, who is in His holy temple, and that His seeker may sing to Him in prayer, in lauding, and in trusting in Him.

4. The unique way for sinners to obtain God's eternal salvation is to believe in God's embodiment, Christ, that they may become righteous and be justified to have life and live.

Life experience/Application:
1. God saves us by coming to us.  In order to be saved by God, we must be embraced by God and we must cling to Him.

Minor #26

Truth:
1. Whereas Jonah brought, or extended, God's salvation to Nineveh, Nahum brought God's judgment upon that sinful city.
2. In Nahum, we see both the fact and the cause of God's judgment on Nineveh.
3. Nahum means "comfort" and "avenge," signifying that Jehovah God comforts His elect, Israel, and avenges Israel of her enemy, Nineveh.
4. The cities of Babel and Nineveh were built by Nimrod and became the capitals of the nations of Babylon and Assyria.
5. The destruction of Nineveh is for the restoration of the excellency of Israel.
6. Gods wonderful preserving act was carried out by the locusts.  God used one kind of locusts to deal with another kind of locust in order to preserve Israel.

Minor #25

Truth:
1. Ch. 7 is about observation and expectation.  His observation involved a close study and examination of the condition and situation of God's people.  His expectation was related to his attempt to find something with which he could encourage himself.

2. Micah's praise here is centered not on the virtues of God's elect people but on God's attributes.  Such a praise is very comforting.

Life experience/Application:
1. Because contending is a matter of fighting by speaking, it is not pleasant for anyone involved.

2. From Micah's experience we should learn not to look at ourselves.  I will look for Jehovah; / I will wait for the God of my salvation.

Minor #24

Truth:
1. When Micah and the other prophets spoke concerning Christ, they were touching great things.  However, when they turned from Christ to their own observations regarding the condition and situation of God's people, they became small.

2. Both Micah and Amos observed that the people used one measure for buying and a different measure for selling and that their weights and balances were deceitful.

3. Christ is all-inclusive because He will be the Ruler, the Shepherd, and the peace of Israel, and He will also bring forth the seven shepherds and the eight princes.

Life experience/Application:
1. If we have an opinion or concept, that opinion or concept must be Christ.  We should have no heart to express our opinion.