Amos 9

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“Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people.” The Lord God was ordering the destruction of the place of divine worship. God's people would be driven out of the special land that He had given to them.

There was no place for Israel to run and hide. The One who ruled over heaven and earth would stand against them as their enemy. His power was formidable as the God who “touches the earth and it melts.” Could they appeal to Him based upon their favored status as an elect people group? He discouraged any such entreaties, calling them a “sinful kingdom.” The Lord had brought them out of Egypt into Canaan, but then He had also taken even the Philistines and the Syrians from a former homeland and given them a new life in a far-off territory. In short, Israel could not presume to point with pride to their status as a chosen people when they were rebelling against the Lord's commandments.

Despite these uncompromising words of judgment, there was still hope for some among the Jews. “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” Jehovah announced a future resurrection of a coming David. “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen.” An eternal world of blessing would be brought into existence, not just for Jews, but also for “all the nations who are called by My Name.” At a crucial moment in the very early history of the New Testament church (Acts 15:16-17), James would quote Amos 9:11-12 to prove that the Hebrew prophets had long ago anticipated a coming era when Gentiles would worship the God of Israel without first having to become circumcised Jews.

The death and resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of a new world full of bountiful life for people all over the world. Without Jesus as our Substitute, we would have no possibility of fleeing the Lord's devastating justice against us. What an enemy we would have in the Lord of Hosts! Yet our loving Father has far better plans for us than unending despair. Because of the righteousness and blood of Jesus, we know that we have the best of all possible defenders as our heavenly Advocate. What a Friend we have in Jesus!

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, there will finally come a Day of Judgment. Just as the Old Covenant ended, the current age will eventually be completed. No man shall be able to escape from You. Our only hope in that Day will be the great Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He lives, You will not make a full end of Your people. Through the resurrection of Christ You have raised up the booth of David. Even the nations who were far off have now begun to worship You through this Messiah. There will be a great future era of prosperity for all the Jews and Gentiles who are called by Your name. Peace and prosperity shall be ours forever in You.

Amos 8

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“The end has come upon my people Israel.” Soon their “song” would turn to “wailings.” Why would everyone be overcome by sadness? “So many dead bodies!” The attack of foreign armies and the eventual exile of the northern kingdom would lead to a destruction that would be far more devastating than anything they anticipated.

In the days of Amos the land of Israel was enjoying a great time of prosperity. Yet their wealth was built upon corrupt business practices. Their greed, lies, and brutality were not acceptable to the Lord. How bad were they? They sold “the needy for a pair of sandals” and were very willing to cheat their customers, giving them “the chaff” when they thought they were buying “the wheat.”

God would display unsettling signs in the heavens as a warning that their prophesied losses would soon be an overwhelming reality. This would amount to a very swift reversal of their earlier ill-gotten gains. “I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation.” They would be distraught like parents grieving “for an only son” who had died.

Israel had rejected the revelation that God had sent them through His prophets. They would no longer have the option of hearing the Lord's oracles, for God would bring a “famine,” not of bread, but of “hearing the words of the Lord.” Sadly, the nation would never really return, at least not as it once was under the leadership of the kings who reigned in Samaria. “They shall fall, and never rise again.”

Would there be any future for the Jews? The Lord would reveal in Amos 9:8 this good news: “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” Peace with God through the Old Testament Law would certainly be unattainable, and there would be a number of centuries when Israel would have no true prophets at all. Nonetheless, the ancient promises of the Lord toward His elect would never be abandoned. A new way of shalom with God beyond the Law would be revealed through the proclamation of His abundant grace. Jews and Gentiles would learn that the only way for us to be “justified” would be through the gift of Jesus as our atoning sacrifice. (Romans 3:19-25)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious God, the world is moving toward destruction. There is a Day of Judgment coming. Men treat their companions and neighbors as objects with no real dignity. They will surely face Your discipline and wrath. Will we presume upon Your mercy and do the very same things as Your enemies? Father, look upon our weakness and speak to us with clarity and power. Please do not remove Your Word from Your church. Make us a people of love and service. May we be a testimony to all those around Your children, and rescue us from every peril.

Amos 7

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God gave Amos three visions of discipline against Israel. The first two, locusts and fire, were overwhelming to the prophet, and he pleaded for the Lord's mercy. “O Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The response of the Almighty was favorable to these entreaties. “The Lord relented concerning this: 'It shall not be,' said the Lord.”

The third vision was quite different. Amos saw a “plumb line,” a tool used by a builder to help him make sure that every wall is built straight in order to be more stable for years to come. What was the meaning of this final vision? The Lord was providing a guiding voice for Israel. Amos himself served as a warning to the people in his day. Would they heed the message of the Word of the Lord, or would they all face the devastation of imminent loss and dislocation?

There can be little doubt that Israel's governing authorities were not eager to turn away from sin. One religious leader insisted that it was time for Amos to return home to Judah. The Lord's ambassador was not dwelling among the northern tribes according to his own plan or desire. God had sent him away from his home in order to bring divine oracles to those who did not want to repent. Israel's rejection of Amos would bring great trouble to many families, including that of the false priest who was very sure that the Lord's messenger was the big problem. The entire nation would face a devastating sanction from Jehovah: “Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.”

Every true prophet of God throughout the history of the Jews raised a heavenly standard for people who were facing danger because of their disobedience. The coming Messiah would be the ultimate “plumb line” of holiness for God's people. More than that, Jesus would also suffer the consequences for the disobedience of the Lord's chosen flock. God was well aware that all of His children were far “too small” to face His anger. Our only hope has always been that the Almighty would provide a way for us to receive His mercy. Centuries before the coming of our Savior, Amos had interceded for God's people when he asked the Lord to “forgive” them. Our cries for pardon have found the best divine reply in the death of Jesus for sinners. In Him we have not only the true Man of perfect obedience, but also the Author of our secure hope to receive eternal life, not through our own keeping of the Law, but through the grace of God that is ours because our debt has been paid.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Sovereign Lord, You have displayed to us the serious consequences of the rebellion of men. Even within Your church we could never face the discipline that we rightly deserve as a consequence of our sin. Set Your Son as a plumb line among Your people. He is the standard of all righteousness. Help us to regard Him in all His holy beauty, and to consider the glory of His work as our Substitute. This one great King has given His life for us, and yet He lives. He has brought the Word of truth to us. He was a most unexpected prophet, and His words and actions were the fullest expression of truth ever known among men. Shall we ignore Him, and die as if we were strangers to the covenant of grace? Have mercy, O Lord.

Amos 6

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“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion.” God is not against His people's enjoyment of the physical blessings that He provides. He wants them to be able to have happiness about all that He Himself considers to be a healthy provision for them. Yet with those joys of life, the Lord also calls us to be “grieved” over the “ruin” of His kingdom.

Leading families in ancient Israel were full of pride concerning their own achievements. They imagined that they were better than all of their neighbors, but they were not rightly evaluating the “day of disaster” that they would face from the Almighty.

The wealthy rulers enjoyed all the benefits of their positions of influence. They had well-furnished homes and plenty of entertainment to fill their days. They drank “bowls” of wine and anointed their bodies with expensive ointments. None of these good gifts would save them from the troubles that would soon take place. Even in the finest palaces, once haughty dignitaries would crouch in fear after the assault of powerful foreign adversaries. Their great houses would be reduced to “fragments.”

The society of the northern tribes was in great moral and spiritual disarray despite their outward prosperity. All of their boasts in wealth would be of no comfort to them when they were overtaken by forces from the east. They would find themselves in the hands of more powerful men who would rule harshly over them. Even more significant than imperial authorities such as the Assyrian kings, God Himself would discipline them according to His own eternal plan.

The church in every era needs to care about those developments that move the heart of God. We cannot safely be governed by our own desires for greatness. We should rejoice as the Lord rejoices and mourn with our great King at those things that grieve the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus has instructed the church to seek first the Kingdom of God. Only by having the mind of Christ can we live life well during a time and place of significant departure from biblical standards.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, we care about Your church. We will not be at ease in the face of so much lawlessness among Your people. We look for the pleasures of the life to come, and give up on the pride of our hearts and the passing attractions of sin. Grant to us a due regard for the seriousness of disobedience within Your covenant community. Please forgive us, for we have not loved justice and holiness as we should. 

Amos 5

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Israel was in a very dire spiritual condition. “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel.” Though there was “none to raise her up,” at the end of Amos we read at the end of Amos of one who would be raised up and would thus bring new life to dead “ruins.” (Amos 9:11) This gave the reader hope that the Lord still had a plan of blessing for His chosen flock.

In the meantime the Israelites would face horrific tragedies. The best course of action for the nation was quite simple. “Seek Me and live.” Yes, “seek good, and not evil.” Yet the nation would not turn toward God. The men and women of the north maintained idolatrous patterns of worship and abusive habits of governance. They continued to “trample on the poor” and to “turn aside the needy” from the place of public justice at the city gate.

How would God discipline them? “In all the streets” everyone would hear the sounds of grieving people “wailing” because of their great losses. They imagined that everything would be turned around immediately in an imminent coming of “the Day of the Lord,” but this was an empty hope. The divine power coming their way would be most unpleasant.

The Lord's covenant people among the northern tribes could not worship their way out of the pain that would soon be theirs. The Lord said, “I hate, I despise your feasts.” The obvious problem with their acts of devotion was that they demonstrated no real inclination to change their ways from pursuing evil. God called them to a better life of true holiness. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Within a few decades Jehovah would send them “into exile beyond Damascus.” Was all hope of peace lost forever? When would a king of righteousness come? When would God establish a better existence characterized by heavenly goodness? The Almighty would bring life for those who were spiritually dead by raising up His own Son to reign over a new world. The death and resurrection of Jesus was necessary in order to establish a second creation beyond the desperate cries of the afflicted. Jesus Himself would announce that heaven's life-giving streams would flow through His redeemed people. Anyone who would believe in Him, “out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, there is so much sin all around us, among us, and even within us. Why do we seek after idols? Why will we not run to You, O Lord? You put the stars up in the heavens and formed the constellations. You bring water upon the earth, and floods upon the lands according to Your decree. Will we turn aside the needy when they come to us for help? Will we pursue injustice as our fathers did in former days? Do we not recognize that there will be consequences for the iniquity within us? We can only see the Day of the Lord as a day of joy because of what Christ has done for us. Send forth His righteousness among us like a mighty stream, that we might pursue the way of holiness with integrity.

Amos 4

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The Lord has an oracle of indictment against the rich women of Israel who “oppress the poor” and “crush the needy.” They were “cows of Bashan” who said to their husbands, “Bring, that we may drink!” God would take them away to exile “with fishhooks.”

The leading ladies of Samaria were typical of the Lord's depraved people. They liked to combine their acts of religion with their rebellion against the Almighty. Though they might seem to be spiritual giants and encouraged others to join them at all the great places of worship, they journeyed to holy cities like “Bethel” and “Gilgal” only to “transgress.” Like so many showy followers of Jehovah throughout the centuries, they wanted everyone to see their “tithes” and their “freewill offerings,” but everything they brought to God was “leavened” with sin. “For so you love to do, O people of Israel.”

The Lord had disciplined them over many years, but to no avail. He sent His afflicting providences that brought trouble upon their crops and their health, “yet you do not return to Me.” What was the Lord to do with those who simply would not repent?

He would send them far away into exile. Their life of pleasure and ease would be over. Those who had heretofore survived difficult times might soon face the end of their days. Up to this moment they had been like “a brand plucked out of the burning,” but now their time of reckoning was surely coming. “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Who was this Divine Being who would soon judge them? He was the God who “forms the mountains” and “creates the wind.” He knew what was in the heart of a man or a woman even when they deceived themselves so persuasively. He was, and continues to be, the Great I-AM, “the Lord, the God of hosts.” To stand before Him without an atoning sacrifice should be any rational person's greatest fear, but now Jesus has made a way for us to safely call upon God as our beloved Father.

We have been reconciled with the God of eternity through the work of His Son. Rescued from death and hell through the I-AM who lived and died for us, perfect love will surely cast away all our fears (1 John 4:18). “Prepare to meet your God!” Absolutely, but because of Jesus these words express our highest hopes and not our worst terror, for we are sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, and “we will see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious Lord, where is the righteous woman who gives herself completely to Your service? Are all given over to base pleasures and lazy living? Thank You for Your correction of us even through suffering. How could we be so insensitive to Your acts of discipline? We are very slow to return to You. Will it be necessary for You to remove the lampstand of Your church in many lands? You are the Lord of Hosts. You know what is right and good, and You will accomplish Your glorious plan. Save us, O God!