Amos

(349) December 15: Amos 1-3 & Revelation 5

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.


To discover:­
As you read note the particular sins Amos condemns.

To ponder:
Like Hosea, Amos spoke at a time in which Assyria loomed, and Israelites might hve wrongly presumed they were in favour with God because of some military successes. In being a shepherd Amos’ call demonstrates how God often uses ordinary people for great purposes. His ministry is dated by a famous earthquake that took place during Uzziah’s reign (1v1, see Zech 14v5). He speaks of God roaring with wrath sufficient to cause the land to shrivel up in this way (1v2). In what follows, the repeated phrase “for three sins…even for four” stresses how fitting judgement would be for three sins, let alone four. The point is that the nations have persistently done wrong. The description of judgement in terms of “fire” is a figurative description of destruction under God’s burning anger.
           First, God promises destruction on Damascus and its king, with its people being exiled, and all for their attacking Gilead with sledges usually used for cutting down crops. Total destruction is then pronounced against the Philistines in Gaza for enslaving whole communities (probably from Judah) and selling them to Edom. We are also told Tyre did the same, breaking a treaty, and so will receive the same punishment. Edom are to be consumed for pursuing their brother nation Israel (Edom stemmed from Esau, Jacob’s brother) without compassion. The same is declared for Ammon in the context of a battle, in which their king and officials will be exiled. Their sin was to do violence even to pregnant women in Gilead. Moab is condemned not for action against Judah, but for the evil if doing violence to the corpse of Edom’s king. She will be consumed in war and her king and officials killed (1v3-2v3). These sins have a contemporary ring. So we can be certain of God’s outrage today at violence committed against his people, forced slavery and people trafficking, and evil done to the dead.
            The shock to God’s people hearing Amos is that God now turns to speak against Judah (the south) and Israel (the north). The point is that they will be treated no differently from the nations. Judah is charged with rejecting God’s law in following false gods (2v4-5), but the major portion refers to Israel. It seems judges were condemning the righteous for material gain, and denying justice to the poor and oppressed. And not only did the people break God’s law by keeping other people’s garments taken in pledge for debt (against Ex 22v26f), but they lay on them by their so called altars. Perhaps it was there that fathers and sons had sex with the same girl (probably a prostitute of the Canaanite religion). At their pagan temples they also get drunk on wine taken as fines, which were probably unjustified. The picture is of a nation seeped in injustice, immorality, greed, drunkenness and idolatry (2v6-8). And these can still be found in God’s church and even amongst his ministers.
            To this God rehearses his kindness in redeeming Israel from Egypt and leading her for 40 years through the desert to inherit her land. He also speaks of the prophets and Nazirites he raised up to serve him, but who the people have corrupted by forcing the Nazarites to drink and commanding the prophets to be silent. God therefore says he will crush the kingdom, with none able to escape no matter how capable or brave (2v10-16). This demonstrates how serious it is for those who have experienced God’s mercy to turn from him into such sin, or to cause those who serve him not to. There will be no escape from his judgement.
            The “whole family” of Israel brought from Egypt is now addressed – north and south. It is because they alone were chosen by God that they will be punished for all their sins – implying a greater judgement than that on the other nations. The sense of 3v3-6 seems understood from 3v7. God only acts when he has first revealed his plan to his prophets. So the two agreeing to walk together are God and his prophet, the roar and growl, God’s word of judgement through him, the snare and trap, what is coming on the people, and the trembling and disaster, what he will cause for the city. The logic is that what God says through Amos is certainly going to occur – just as all he as spoken throughout scripture and in Christ is. So God declares he has roared and all should fear, and he has spoken, so prophets can only pass on what he has said (3v8).
            Here we see from where God’s judgement will come. He speaks as if to send emissaries to Ashdod (in Assyria) and Egypt, to assemble in Samaria (the north of Israel) and witness her unrest, oppression and plunder as those who do not know how to do right. God therefore states that the land will be overrun and strongholds pulled down and plundered. He adds that just as a shepherd might save barely anything of a devoured sheep from a lion’s mouth, so barely anything from the wealthy in Samaria and Damascus who have beds and couches will be saved (3v9-12). Again, God tells Amos to testify against Jacob (ie. Israel) that on the day he punishes them for their sins, he will destroy their idolatrous altars, and the wealth gained through oppression – whether it is two homes or a mansion that are richly adorned (3v9-15). This urges us to ensure our wealth is not gained at through the oppression of others, and resonates with Jesus’ and James’ challenge to those who seek money but are not rich towards God.
           
Praying it home:                                                    
Praise God for his concern for justice and standing up for the oppressed. Pray that people would turn from the sins Amos highlights in your country and church.

Thinking further:
To read the NIV Study Bible introduction to Amos, click here.

If you receive this post by email, visit bible2014.blogspot.co.uk and make a comment.

                                                                                                                              
(350) December 16: Amos 4-6 & Revelation 6


Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.


To discover:­
As you read consider how the people wrongly presume all is well with them and God.

To ponder:
We begin with women who oppress the needy and demand their husbands feed their drunkenness. They are described as cows from the cattle country of Bashan. This stresses they are beast-like, fattened for slaughter. So Amos declares the Sovereign and so ruling LORD has sworn they will be taken away with hooks, through breaks in the wall no doubt created by conquest (4v1-3). In the light of this, Amos tells Israel to carry on with their religion at the key sites in Bethel and Gilgal. It seems this is called sin because it was hypocritical, as they are told to continue with daily sacrifices, tithes, and offerings, while boasting in them (4v4-5). The point is that no amount of religiousness puts us right with God. He looks for loving obedience.
            He continues noting how they did not return to him despite his holding back food and rain, despite limiting their harvests, despite ruining them with disease or locusts, despite sending Egypt-like plagues, and despite causing military defeat and sending natural disaster (4v6-11). The sense is that all these things, as expressions of covenant curse (Deut 28-30), should have awakened the people to the fact they were under judgement for sin and so brought them to repentance. Yet because they refused this, God declares he will unleash these same things in an unrestrained way. And we are reminded he is well able to so as the almighty creator who reveals his thoughts and turns dawn to darkness. So he warns the people to prepare to meet their God (4v12-13). For us, all suffering in some sense should bring us to repentance in signalling our whole race is under the curse of Eden for sin (Rev 9v20-21). And without such repentance, suffering will be experienced in fullness within hell.
            Amos now turns to lament Israel’s fall. The title “virgin” stresses her vulnerability, like that of a young woman. We are told she will be deserted – without help from allies, nor from God. And she will never rise again, not being re-established as a nation as Judah would be. Indeed, only a tenth will remain after battle. God therefore calls the people to seek him rather than their religious sites, with the promise that they will live if they do – ie. he will not bring this disaster. Yet if they don’t, he promises to devour their previous religious sites and the people themselves with fire. Here “house of Joseph” refers to the north under the representative tribe of Ephraim, Joseph’s eldest son (5v1-6).
            The LORD then addresses those who reject justice and righteousness, reminding them of his name as the creator of the stars and commander of the seas, who turns light to darkness and destroys strongholds. He charges them with hating those who correct sinners and who speak truth, and with forcing the poor to give them grain. He states they will not live in their mansions or enjoy their plush vineyards. He adds that they oppress the righteous, take bribes, and deprive the poor of justice, making the times so evil that prudent people are too fearful to speak out. Again, God therefore calls them to seek good and so live, promising that then God would be with them in the way they say he already is, and might even show mercy on the remnant that remains after the coming disaster. However, he affirms this disaster will occur nevertheless – bringing wailing in every quarter of city or land as the LORD passes through (5v7-17). This all shows how readily people can delude themselves in claiming God is for them when in reality he is against them. Moreover we see that in the church (and perhaps even nations) people can so persist in refusing to repent that judgement becomes inevitable even if there is then a sudden change of heart.
            In what follows we see the religious self-delusion once more. As many Christians today, the people long for the day of the LORD in which God would come to them, assuming that will mean light and joy. But God asks why they long for it, when it will actually mean the darkness of judgement because of their sin. Those who think they have found safety, will find only that harm strikes them nevertheless (5v18-20). So God declares he “hates” and has no regard for their religious activity and worship, calling them instead to persistent and abundant justice and righteousness. Speaking of Israel’s time in the desert, 5v25 must mean that they didn’t only bring sacrifices and offerings (which they did bring to the tabernacle), but also loving obedience to his law. Yet now, their religion is not only unrighteous, but idolatrous. So although they lift up their idolatrous motifs as if to follow in procession, such processions will end in exile beyond Damascus (5v21-26). Christians must recognize that no matter how much they might sing their songs, attend their conferences, and presume God is present with them, if they are not living in loving obedience to him, he hates and gives no regard to it at all.
            Chapter 6 therefore begins addressing the complacent In Zion (Jerusalem, the south) and Samaria (the north). They are complacent because they presume God’s favour. Having addressed the women, God now addresses the notable men, with the north in particular in mind. He tells them to see how better off they are than Syria or Philistia. Yet they put off the evil day, probably in the sense of not facing up to its immanence. Instead they enjoy their wealth seen with images of laziness (bed) and greed (food). They enjoy their song, drink, and fine lotions, but do not grieve over Joseph’s (the north’s) sins. So the north will be the first to be exiled. It’s a challenge to ensure we grieve over those of our day rather than just enjoying our wealth on the presumption all is well.
            God continues by swearing that he detests Jacob’s (Israel’s) pride, and her fortresses that she presumes will withhold attack. He then stresses how he will totally destroy the city of Samaria with the picture of a hidden survivor being warned not to mention God’s name, presumably because he might hear and act against them (6v1-11). 6v12-14 notes that people don’t risk riding or ploughing in dangerous places, but Israel have corrupted justice and righteousness and taken pride in their own strength. The point is probably that this is far more dangerous and foolish. And so God declares he will stir up a nation (Assyria) that will oppress Israel (the northern kingdom).
                                                                               
Praying it home:                                                    
Praise God that he is slow in judgement, warning us in the trial of life to turn to him. Pray that you would not be complacent about God’s favour, but live in true repentance.

Thinking further:
None today.

If you receive this post by email, visit bible2014.blogspot.co.uk and make a comment.

                                                                                                                              
(351) December 17: Amos 7-9 & Revelation 7

Ask God to open your mind, heart and will to understand, delight in and obey what you read.


To discover:­
As you read consider how God’s mercy is evident.

To ponder:
Chapter 7 begins affirming God’s judgements can be restrained. First, in a vision Amos sees him preparing a swarm of locusts to strip the second crop at harvest, after the king seems to have taken the first as some form of tax. This would have left the people with nothing. The sense is that in his vision Amos sees the locusts strip the land, causing him to cry out for God to forgive Jacob (Israel), fearing the people would not survive if this actually happened as they are so small a nation. And God relents. Second, he sees God calling for a supernatural sort of fire to devour the land and even dry up the sea. Again, Amos cries for God to stop, and he relents. Nevertheless, in what follows we learn that Jacob will still be judged. A plumb line is a weight hung on a string that was used to ensure walls were vertical when built. By saying he was setting a plumb line against Israel, God is saying he is measuring them for uprightness. And it is clear he finds them lacking as he declares he will destroy their high places and sanctuaries of worship, and bring his own sword against the kingly house. The point of the whole section is that despite this, the judgement could be a lot worse (7v1-9). We should remember that in experiencing some degree of good in life, none actually get what their sins deserve.
            Just as we saw happened to Jeremiah, we then read of a priest telling the king (Jereboam) that Amos is conspiring against him by saying he will die and the people be exiled. The priest also told Amos to return to Judah and not prophesy at Bethel, which was the place of the temple for the northern kingdom – created as an alternative to the rightful one in Jerusalem (the south). Amos responds by outlining his call from being a shepherd and carer of trees. His point must be that this proves he is a true prophet as there was nothing that disposed him to taking on this role. He then proclaims God’s word in response to the priest who had told him not to preach against Israel. It is a prediction of what Assyria’s oppression would mean for him: His wife would become a prostitute, his children be killed by the sword, the land divided, he himself die in a pagan country, and Israel suffer exile. It’s a terrible future, but reflects the seriousness of opposing those who preach God’s word (7v10-17).
            Amos now sees a basket of ripe fruit that signifies Israel is ripe for being picked in judgement. God’s declaration that he will spare them no longer once again reminds us that he has been immensely patient with them in not acting sooner. His outline of what “that day” will bring is sobering: The songs of the temple will become wails, followed by bodies everywhere and silence. God then addresses those who oppress the poor in the land, who long for the end of their religious feasts so they can get back to dishonestly making money, enslaving the poor, and selling bad products. These are the key sins Amos has opposed. And to those who commit them, God swears by Israel’s pride (probably the land - her greatest possession) that he will never forget what they’ve done. This is a way of saying his judgement is certain. He therefore speaks of the land itself trembling, the sky being darkened, the singing at religious feats becoming a time of mourning as for an only son – implying a more intense grief than when one has numerous children (8v1-10). Here we have to recall the earthquake and darkness, when God’s only son died upon the cross. The implication is that there he experienced this punishment so that those who come to him would not have to.
            God continues by promising a famine of the word of God, when people would wander in all directions seeking it but not finding it. This implies 8v13 is speaking of Israel’s young men and women thirsting for God’s word. And without it, they will follow the false gods of Samaria, Dan and Beersheba, and so fall, never to rise again (8v11-14). In one sense this lack of the word of God is the most serious judgement, because it means people are not called to repentance, but handed over to believe whatever false views are being propounded. This was fulfilled in some sense when prophecy ceased from the time of Malachi to that of John the Baptist. But it applies more broadly too. When God removes faithful evangelists or Bible teachers from his church, the implication is that it may be an act of judgement on that church and the nation it inhabits.
            Chapter 9 begins with Amos actually seeing the Lord standing in a temple. This implies some human-like form – perhaps that of God the Son. Because Amos has been speaking predominantly to the northern kingdom (7v12-13), this probably refers to the northern temple in Bethel. The point is that the Lord is supervising its destruction. He commands it be brought down on the heads of the people, and declares that he will kill with the sword any that survive – stressing in vivid language that this will be inescapable wherever they seek to hide, and even if they go into exile. In stating he will fix his eyes on them for evil not good, he means for “harm” as a fitting punishment, rather than for evil per se, as God never does what is wrong (9v1-4).
            Amos then declares that “the Lord” in the temple is the “LORD Almighty,” using language to stress his power and majesty as creator (9v5, see 8v8). This should bring awe – but also conviction that he can and will do just as he says. And so he now speaks of the Israelites being to him no different than the pagan nations, who he also brought into their various lands. This comparison would have been a shock, implying that Israel had lost her privileged relationship with God because of her sin. Indeed, God declares the north to be a sinful kingdom which he will utterly destroy, despite the fact that the people say disaster will never overtake them. However, he qualifies this by saying he will not destroy all Jacob, presumably as he will keep some descendents alive in the south (Judea). This is probably the meaning of the sieve illustration. As the nation is sieved by the nations, the imperfect pebbles (sinners) would be separated from the grain (repentant). This took place as the righteous from the north travelled to the south, and reflects how times of trial often reveal those with genuine faith (see 1 Pet 1v7).
            Compacting this destruction with God’s future for his people as the other prophets do, Amos ends with hope in Christ. God will restore David’s fallen tent (kingdom), and it will possess the land of Edom (Israel’s great enemy) and all nations, which bear God’s name because they are ultimately his. The reference to a “remnant” from Edom may imply the inclusion of some of its people in God’s kingdom. Whatever the case, Israel’s land will so flourish that it is pictured with harvesters overtaking those planting, and mountains dripping with wine from the vineyards! The sense is that God will bring his people from exile to rebuild and be replanted, never to be uprooted again, but to enjoy an existence of abundance, peace and joy (9v11-15, esp, v14). We share in this future.
           
Praying it home:                                                    
Praise God for his mercy in providing evangelists and preachers. Pray that you would heed and never oppose those who faithfully teach the scriptures.

Thinking further:
None today.


If you receive this post by email, visit bible2014.blogspot.co.uk and make a comment.