Amos 9  The first 4 verses of this chapter remind me of Psalm 139 where David writes about the fact that no matter where he goes.. God sees him.  Here the Lord tells Israel that they cannot hide from Him.. they can "dig into Sheol".. they can "ascend to heaven".. they can hide on the mountain top or on the bottom of the sea.. there is no place to hide from Him.  

Verses 5-6 describe the greatness of God, " And the Lord God of hosts, the One who touches the land so that it melts, and all those who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises us like the Nile and subsides like the Nile of Egypt; the One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, the Lord is His name." 

Verses 7-10 once again describe the coming judgement on the sin. 

But, Amos ends his prophetic book with the good news.. there will come a day, when God will restore His people. A remnant will remain.   The city will be rebuilt.. the vineyards and gardens will once again produce. The people of God will inhabit the city of God. 

This is what we long for. 

Father, we understand that the Day of the Lord is coming.. all sin will be judged and all those who have rejected Jesus will perish..  We also understand that those who call on the name of Jesus and have been saved.. will see the new Jerusalem and will dwell with You forever.  We pray for those who are lost.. that they might repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.  We pray for those who are believers.. to remain steadfast and faithful until that day. We pray.. knowing that You have called us to pray and to go.. to share the good news of salvation.  Use us as You desire.. to do Your full will today. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Amos 8  Amos is given another vision.. the Lord shows him a basket of "summer fruit".. ripe fruit.. and the message is that the time is ripe.. the day has come.. " The end has come for My people Israel, I will spare them no longer." 

What was ahead for Israel was devastating.. .there would be corpses everywhere.. too many to even bury.  The sins of Israel brought about their destruction:  They trampled the needy. They were so greedy that they couldn't wait until the sabbath or feast days were over so they could make more money.  They cheated people by using false measurements.. they made "the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger.. " In other words, they sold a smaller amount for more money.. even using altered scales. They cheated poor people so they could have a bigger profit.. "So as to buy the helpless for money and the needy for a pair of sandals." 

Does this sound familiar?  Do you go to the store and find that the package you used to buy has shrunk and yet costs more?  Do the salaries of big business CEOs  seem extravagant? America has more and more homelessness.. more and more people who cannot afford food to feed their families. We  seem to be in the same situation that Israel was in .. way back in Amos' day. We need to take heed!

The Lord was about to carry out judgement upon Israel.. darkness was coming, mourning was coming, famine was coming, "And the people will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, But they will not find it."  This final punishment is the worst.. God would be silent.  There would be no hope.

Father, we hear Your voice now.. but we know that many do not and a time will come when Your word will become scarce. There will be a hunger and thirst for it.. and yet it will not be found. This is true in some countries around the world already.  Will it be true of America too?  Again we pray that Your word would spread rapidly and run freely across our nation before it is too late. Let ears be opened to receive the wonderful truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do not be silent, Lord. We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. 

 Amos 6  Amos gives us a picture of Israel.. "at ease... " feeling secure..  and very, very arrogant.  They thought themselves better than the surrounding nations.  They sat back on their "beds of ivory".. eating the best foods.. making music for themselves.. drinking sacred wines and using sacred oils.   They had no concerns about anyone but themselves.. 

"The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: 'I loathe the arrogance of Jacob, and I detest his citadels. Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains." 

Their wealth and power could not save them from judgement.  They had "turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood."  The Lord would send an army that would smash "the great house... to fragments." 

What must the Lord think of our nation? We have been arrogant.. we have sat back on our own "beds of ivory" and forgotten justice and righteousness.  When will the Lord have enough of this?  When will He decide to bring judgement on America?  Or has it already begun?

Chapter 7

Amos was given a vision.. the Lord was "forming a locust-swarm"  that would devour the crops. But, Amos prayed, "Lord God, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?"  And the Lord changed His mind. 

Then the Lord gave Amos a vision of a great consuming fire.  Again, Amos prayed, "Lord God, please stop!"  And again the Lord changed His mind. 

But, the Lord gave Amos one more vision.. "the Lord was standing by a vertical wall, with a plumb line in His hand."  Because Israel did not.. measure up.. God would no longer tolerate their sinfulness.  The sword would come against them. They would be taken into exile. 

Father in heaven, give us ears to hear!  The sins of our country are piling up and we need to see that You  will not tolerate this much longer.  We pray for revival.. for repentance.. for justice to "roll down like waters" and "righteousness like and overflowing stream."(5:24)  May the Church rise up and proclaim the Truth with boldness.  May the Love of Christ overflow every believer's life so that others will be drawn to You.  May Your will be done.. on earth as it is in heaven! In Jesus' name we ask these things. Amen. 

 Amos 3-5  The message of the Lord is like a roaring lion.. " The Lord God has spoken! Who can help but prophesy?" Amos preaches.  The people of Israel "do not know how to do what is right, declares the Lord, those who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels."  Therefore.. punishment will come. 

These words could be spoken in our own country.. right now! Violence and devastation.. oppression.. greed.. drunkenness... and no regard for God or His Word. 

Our God is holy, Amos reminds us, and He gives every opportunity for people to return to Him. Five times in chapter 4 the Lord says, "Yet you have not returned to Me.."   He caused a famine.. (v6); He held back the rain.. (v7-8); He sent destruction upon their gardens (v9); He sent a plague...(v10);  He "overthrew" them.. (v11).. and they never called upon Him through it all! They seemed to have forgotten their God! So, Amos reminds them.... 

"Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I shall do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel. For behold He who forms the mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of hosts is His  name." (v 12-13) 

This God.. is the only one who can save them.. "Seek Me that you may live.." He calls to them.  "He who made the Pleiades and Orion and changes deep darkness into morning, who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, The Lord is His Name." (5:4-8)

The Lord knows every transgression, Amos reminds them.. He knows the greatness of your sins.. and He calls you to seek Him.. "Seek good  and not evil, that you may live; And thus the Lord God of hosts be with you."  Later He says, "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."  He calls all of us to seek Him so that we can have a changed heart.. a changed life.. a changed nation.  For unless we change.. we will also be taken away. 

Father in heaven, our world needs to know Who You are.. the Creator and the Sustainer of life.. the only source of Life.. We need to know Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.. sent as the Light of the world.. to overcome the darkness.  It has felt lately.. like the darkness is spreading.. but we are so thankful that it can never overcome the Light.. for Jesus has overcome it all!  We serve a risen Savior who still calls for men and women to seek You.  We pray that today will be the day of salvation for many who are ready to seek good.. seek life.. seek Jesus.  We pray this in His powerful Name! Amen.

 Amos 2  Amos continues to  speak the Word.. judgements that the Lord would bring upon nation after nation. 

Moab was judged because of their cruelty.. they desecrated the grave of the king of Edom and rebelled against God in every way.  Their punishment would be a great battle that would bring about their end. 

The Gentile nations would be judged because they rebelled against God's will for all mankind.. but Judah and Israel would be judged because they broke God's Law that was given through the Mosaic Covenant. 

Judah's sin was idolatry.  They believed the "lies".. the deception that idols were real and not false gods.  Their punishment would be the destruction of Jerusalem and exile into  Babylon. 

Israel also practiced idolatry, but the list of their transgressions goes on... they preyed upon the poor.. callously selling them into slavery; they practiced sexual immorality; they abused and took advantage of those in need; and they would take sacred wine and drink to heathen gods..  Despite all the God had done for the nation of Israel.. they rebelled against Him and against His Word. 

The punishment for Israel was severe.. they would be crushed. They would be overcome.. their army would not be able to run away.. not have the strength or the courage to fight.. and not have any way to escape the coming judgement. 

The Words of the Lord to Israel in Amos 3:2 are chilling, "You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities."  To those who have been given much... much is required. ( Luke 12:48)  Israel had every resource.. every opportunity.. every blessing that God gave them.. yet they chose to turn away. 

I know people who once claimed to be Christians.. and yet now they have walked away from Jesus.  It is heart-breaking.  It is not always easy to be a faithful follower of Christ. We get discouraged.. we get distracted.. we get rebellious.. or angry.. or.. whatever.  But.. life without Jesus is a life without hope.. a life without purpose.. a life without truth.  May we learn from the experiences of Israel and Judah.. let us stay faithful and committed to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength!

Father in heaven, we hallow Your Name for You are the great I Am.. our Creator and King. We ask that Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on this earth.. in every nation. We pray for the Truth to be proclaimed among all people and that many more will turn to Jesus Christ and find forgiveness for their sins.  Draw us closer to Your heart today, Lord God. Fill us with Your Spirit. May Jesus Christ be glorified in us.. Your children.. today. We ask this in His Name. amen. 

 Amos 1  A shepherd from Judah, sent to Israel.. Amos had an assignment from the Lord.. to warn Israel of coming judgement. So, he went.. and he spoke what the Lord gave him.. "The Lord roars from Zion, and from Jerusalem He utters His voice; and the shepherd's pasture grounds mourn, and the summit of Carmel dries up." (v2)

The news that Amos brings is not good news. It is a pronouncement of God's judgement and punishment upon the people of Israel ... and upon Gentile nations...  who have become corrupt. Amos speaks against individual city/states or regions.. detailing their specific transgressions:

Damascus had "threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron." Like a sledge that was used to separate grain from its husks.. Damascus had continually raked over the people and land of Gilead causing great suffering. God would punish Damascus by burning its gates; destroying its king, and exiling them back to their original homeland, Mesopotamia. 

Gaza had "deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom."  These people were slave traders.  They captured whole communities and sold them. They took defenseless people and shipped them off. God would punish this Philistine nation by complete annihilation.

Tyre had also "delivered up an entire population to Edom." Tyre betrayed those that were part of a treaty or covenant with them. They were callous and evil in their treatment of those who were supposed to be "brothers".  For this, God would punish them severely. In 332 BC Alexander the Great conquered Tyre.. thousands were killed and many more taken and sold as slaves. 

Edom had "pursued his brother with a sword... stifled his compassion.."  and poured out anger and fury. Edom came from Esau.. and Israel came from Jacob. All these years later.. anger and hatred continued..and continues even now...  God would make Edom subject to the Assyrians and its land would become desolate. 

Ammon had "ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their borders." These were terrorists seeking to decimate their enemy. They were heartless.  They preyed on the defenseless. God's punishment would consume them. 

God will not ignore the sins of mankind.. He responds with fire.. He will "unleash" His power.. He will "consume" those who do such evil. 

We live in a world that still sees this kind of evil.. cruel, heartless, hateful people who prey upon the defenseless out of anger or out of greed.  Take note.. God sees and He will repay those who do such evil. 

Father in heaven, look at those who are suffering.. those taken and sold into slavery.. those terrorized.. those suffering just because they are Your people.  Take heed, Lord God, and move once again to deliver Your children.  May every nation bow before You and exalt You, even as Your Word has declared.. "Cease striving and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ( Psalm 46:10)  May we see You move in great ways, Lord God.. unleash Your power even now that the evil of the wicked will come to and end and the righteous will be established. ( Psalm 7:9)   We ask this in the powerful name of the One who holds all things together.. Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 Colossians 3:18-4  As we walk "in Christ".. putting on the "heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.."  and as we strive to do "all things" in His name...we are called to remember that it is the Lord Christ whom we serve.  In every relationship we have on this earth.. may Christ be honored!

Paul teaches that wives, husbands, children, slaves, and masters.. each have a responsibility to serve others as is "fitting in the Lord".  For a wife, it means being "subject" to her husband.. and for the husband it mean to "love" his wife as Christ loves His church.  For children, it means to obey their parents.. and for parents it means to raising them in a godly way. 

A slave who is called of Christ to serve.. will serve with "sincerity of heart".. working to please the Lord and not necessarily the man. The master.. who loves the Lord and walks in Christ would be just and fair.

No matter what our occupation.. no matter what are family is like.. as followers of Christ, we want to live in a way that serves Him.   Colossians 4:2 gives us the key.... "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert with an attitude of thanksgiving;"  We serve a Savior who "holds all things together "; who "reconciled all things to Himself".. Who holds all the riches of glory.. and is our Hope.  He will give us wisdom and understanding when we keep our minds centered on Him. who is "seated at the right hand of God"!  We have an all-powerful, supernatural, perfect, and loving Lord who will help us to do all these things and be the people He wants us to be.. 

Paul leaves us with one more instruction, "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person." (4:5-6)

 Father.. As we walk in this world.. may the love and compassion, the kindness and humility.. the gentleness and patience of Jesus be seen.. be manifested..  in all we do and in all we say. . Thank You.  Amen.