365 Reflections

Often times, when we think about the prophets of the Old Testament, we perceive them as a sort of grumpy, dour, negative doom and gloom sort of individual. But have you ever thought where the nation, and even the world, would be if it were not for a prophet willing to tell us the truth?  Amos 7 introduces us to the response of the prophet as God declared His intentions to judge faithless Israel. He is first presented with the image of a locust plague devouring the nation. The prophet, who we may mistake as an angry doom-sayer, intercedes on behalf of the people.  Amos 7:2–3 (ESV) When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” 3 The Lord relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord. Another prophesy of doom comes to the prophet from the Lord. This time fire swept across the land and devoured it. Once again, the prophet intercedes.  Amos 7:4–6 (ESV) This is what the Lord God show...

Again and again the prophets warn that ease and comfort are sometimes the most notable signs of approaching doom. is that where America is? In Amos 6, the prophet chides the noble leaders of Israel, who assume their luxury and notability are signs no distress is coming.  Amos 6:1 (ESV) “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! The judgment first comes for the rich in Amos. Usually in antiquity, the rich avoid the hostilities of takeovers and wars because they have the means by which to escape. God here makes certain that it shall not be the case for His people. The rich will not avoid disaster through their abundance.  Amos 6:7 (ESV) Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” God asks them to consider the nations already toppled by the hand of the Lord....

Delayed post. I’m in Greece with a group of people from my church. Today we travel from Athens to Corinth. We will be taking in the sights of Pauls travels around the Mediterranean for the next few days. I will post as possible, but that’s where I’m at. As I think about it, I’m traveling the world of the New Testament while writing about Amos the prophet who lived in the sliver of land in the Old Testament. God’s vision for the people of Israel, fulfilled in Christ and carried forward by Paul was bigger than anyone in Amos’ day even dreamed.  Amos 5:18-20 (ESV) Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, 19 as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?  The people of Israel longed for the day of the Lord. But they were unaware that...

We continue to see that the prophet Amos was not some hillbilly country bumpkin but a skilled orator, writer, and convicting prophet sent from God. Never judge a book by its cover. In Amos 5, the prophet writes a lamentation over Israel, which would be an ancient funeral dirge.  Amos 5:1–2 (ESV) Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 2 “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.” The prophet is predicting the end of Israel. And in the next verse, he sheds more light on the trouble to come.  Amos 5:3 (ESV) For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.” Now these words were fulfilled later, but at the time of their statement, they must have sounded like nonsense. Even one chapter earlie,r we heard about the "cows of Bashan" who lived in luxury and the "vibrant"...

Amos didn't mince words with self-centered people. He called out the women in the higher end of society who specialized in wine drinking and exploitation of the poor with some of the most shocking words in the book.  Amos 4:1 (ESV) “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan , who are on the mountain of Samaria , who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’ Notice these "society" women are referred to as cows, grazing and eating to their hearts' content, along with drinking excessively and ordering their husbands around. A sign of judgment upon a land is when women dominate men.  Amos is calling out the state of the nation. They lived in luxury while exploiting the needy to suit their own desires. Luxury can be just as dangerous as poverty. For it deadens the senses of the heart away from the Lord and makes people expendable. Those who use people for their own overindulgence will have to give account to the Father who sent ...

What does it take to be a prophet? Amos is a case study as he declares God's word to the slumbering nation of Israel .  A prophet must be willing to hold people to account for the terms they have broken with the Lord.  Amos 3:1–2 ( ESV ) Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt : 2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Amos calls out Israel's failure as God's chosen. They had an exclusive relationship with the Lord. And their relationship and knowledge of the Lord required extraordinary faithfulness and loyalty. They were to live according to the New Testament principle , to whom much is given, much is required . Many talk of the privileges that are ours in the Lord, but what about the responsibilities? The Lord asks: Amos 3:3 (ESV) “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Israel was i...

Amos continues a series of judgments on the nations around Israel . From Ammon at the end of chapter 1 he moves on to Moab in the beginning of chapter 2.  Amos 2:1–3 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom . 2 So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth , and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its princes with him,” says the LORD. We should note that the Lord condemned the actions of Edom, who mercilessly treated his enemies; now Edom is the victim of Moab's merciless treatment. The image of "burning" bones of the king expresses a deep hostility within the nation.  It is an oft-forgotten reality that those who are hurt also hurt others. No one stands innocent in the righteousness. We are all cursed with the inward ...

The Lord will softly speak. And the Lord will shout when necessary. In Amos, the prophet opens up with the latter.  Amos 1:1–2 (ESV) The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 And he said: “ The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.” Amos is a southern kingdom prophet who lived during the reign of a righteous and noble king builder, Uzziah, and then in the years of the naive yet Lord-honoring Jeroboam. It was a world of peace and advancement. The lack of war led to significant commercial endeavors. However, that peace and prosperity gave rise to a different side of societal sin that is often found in modern America—a system based on greed and indulgence.  Amos opens his book denouncing the 6 nations outside of Israe...