August 2026

READ: Zeph. 1:4–11.“…who worship and swear oaths by the LORD. But also swear by Milcom …” The prophet Zephaniah sees that the hearts of God’s people are drawn to idols. After Hezekiah’s reign, the worship of Baal  returns. Many within the covenant community join the world. However, they also continue to speak the Name of

READ: Zeph. 1:1–3:  ‘I will utterly consume everything …’ Zephaniah ministered during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, probably before the prophet Jeremiah began his ministry. The ten-tribe kingdom had already been carried away into exile. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin still dwelt in their own land, with Jerusalem as their capital. These

READ: Matt. 12:38–42: ‘… For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth … the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment … indeed, a greater than Jonah

READ: Jon. 4:9–11: ‘… It is right for me to be angry … You have had pity on the plant … should I not pity Nineveh, that great city …?’ Jonah insists that he is justified in his anger. Indeed, he accuses God of acting wrongly, of committing an injustice. This is a very serious

READ: Jon. 4:5–9: … in the shade … to see what would become of the city … it withered …Then he wished death … Verse 5 describes the situation that already existed during the events of verse 1. Jonah had gone out of the city and made for himself a shelter, probably of branches, on

READ: Jon. 4:4: Then the LORD said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ As an answer to Jonah’s bitter complaint, the LORD asks him a decisive question: “Is it right for you to be angry?” Once again the LORD shows Jonah grace and wants Jonah to pause and reflect. In verse 2 Jonah

READ: Jon. 4:1–3: … it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry … for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God … therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me … Jonah 3 concluded with the announcement that God withheld His judgment from Nineveh because of the people’s faith and

READ: Jon. 3:10: Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. One wonder follows another. Indeed, God Himself joins them together in His dealings with men, and this has much

READ: Jon. 3:5–9: … Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Jonah’s message from God appears severe: you shall be overthrown. Yet it is also longsuffering: there is still time for repentance. Forty days remain. The response of the inhabitants

READ: Jon. 3:3,4: … Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! Then Jonah goes. Now he is obedient. Upon arriving at Nineveh, he would ordinarily require three days to reach the principal parts of this great city, such was its size. Yet he does not even get that far. Within a single day the