Exploring the "Little" Books of the Old Testament-Book Two: Hosea, Lamentations, Joel

by Sylvia Bambola

While book one covered God’s extraordinary love, in book two we see a different side, that of God’s righteous anger. Because He is holy, He cannot abide unrepentant sin. Thus, judgments are pronounced. But the amazing thing is that God’s judgments are really offshoots of His love because they’re meant to bring the offending party to Him. In addition, His mercy can be found even in the midst of these judgments. Ever ready to forgive, God always prefers repentance over punishment.

380 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2026

About the author

Sylvia Bambola was born in Romania but lived her early years in Germany, a Germany still reeling from the devastation of World War II. At age seven she relocated with her adopted military family and saw the Statue of Liberty and America for the first time. But the memory of those years in Germany lingered and was the inspiration behind her novel, Refiner’s Fire, which won a Silver Angel Award, and was a Christy Finalist.

Life as an “army brat” gave her the opportunity to live in several states, including Hawaii. Then came nursing school in New York after which she married and began a family. Raising two children and being the wife of a business executive made for a busy life. So did working in marketing for a telecommunications company, then a medical software company.

Her first novel, A Vessel of Honor, written under the pen name of Margaret Miller, garnered a Small Press Editor’s Choice Award and was seriously considered for production as a television movie.

Bambola is the author of six published novels, lives in sunny Florida and has two grown children. She’s been a guest speaker at Women’s Aglow and various church functions, is a Bible study teacher at her church, and is learning to play the guitar.