Amos 8- Gods Presence

 ”Hear this, you who trample on the needy and do away with the poor of the land, asking, “When will the New Moon be over so we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, so we may market wheat? We can reduce the measure while increasing the price and cheat with dishonest scales. We can buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and even sell the chaff!” 

Look, the days are coming — this is the declaration of the Lord God  — when I will send a famine through the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭6‬, ‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This heartbreaking passage is highlighting how Gods people are no longer caring for the poor and downtrodden.  They are actively looking for ways to cheat people, just so that they can get ahead.  And God is disgusted by it!  His punishment here is unique and devastating…He is going to stop talking to them.  He stops speaking to prophets.

This is the ultimate cold shoulder…this actually happens to Israel right before Jusus comes for 400 years, no prophets, no visions, no words from God.  They reject living the way God instructs them hundreds of times through the centuries and this is the final straw.  He finally gets their attention…everyone is listening, waiting, watching, hoping…then He sends Jesus…what a gracious gift, God himself comes in person to remind them of the incredible peace of knowing and having relationship with God!

Lord, help me be sensitive to You and how You speak to me in prayer and especially through Your Word!  I have hated the times You seemed distant, give me the strength to continually draw near.  Help me pay attention and surrender to You, let me experience the joy of Your presence every day!

Amos 7- Gods Calling

 ”So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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We finally learn some details about who Amos is as people are getting frustrated with what he is telling them. What stands out to me is that he was faithfully doing his job (shepherd and farmer) when God asked him to do some thing else.  He wasn’t angling for a different job or efforting toward it…but God sought him out and gave him a new responsibility…a crappy responsibility for sure, but he was confident in his calling.

I have never been able to understand how to do this well.  I still don’t know what this should look like in my own life…most of the changes in my life were to some degree, worked toward.  I put effort toward making something happen.  I wanted something and decided to put all my effort into making it happen…and it usually did…bet rarely turned out the way I had planned…often times it was worse than expected or a complete disaster!

Lord, I don’t know where the line is for what You want me to do vs what I want me to do.  Please align my will with Yours, line up my desires with Yours, shape me into who You want me to be.  God pluck me out of faithfully doing the work you have given me and assign me a task for Your glory.  Let it be fully Your hand, Your guidance, Your will…and give me patience in the meantime!

Amos 6- Prides Fall

 ”The Lord God has sworn by himself  — this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Armies: I loathe Jacob’s pride and hate his citadels, so I will hand over the city and everything in it. 

…you who rejoice over Lo-debar and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim for ourselves by our own strength?”“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬, ‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This passage starts by describing all the ways that Gods people are living in luxury: comfy beds, good food, drinking, music and even spa days (vs 4-6)…but they don’t care about others.  Their selflessness has turned to pride…only thinking about what is best for themselves.  God then very emphatically declares, using the strongest language possible, He HATES their pride…and the things that make them proud.  He loathes that they take credit for all their own victories and imagine He has done nothing to help them.

Interestingly, God does not hate His people, just what has turned them away from Him.  He still loves them and wants them to live in freedom and joy.  What would this look like in my life?  How would I behave today if I was thinking like them?

Lord God, you have blessed me in incredible ways and only through your strength have I had any victories.  Thank you for opening my eyes to pride and graciously crushing my idols to draw me close to You!  It was painful, but worth it!!! Help me never forget and fall back into thinking so highly of myself that others are an afterthought…

Amos 5- Good vs Evil

 ”For the Lord says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live! 

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth  — the Lord is his name. 

Pursue good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord, the God of Armies, will be with you as you have claimed. 

Hate evil and love good; establish justice at the city gate. Perhaps the Lord, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬, ‭8‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬, ‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Good vs evil…it is a repeated theme as God is highlighting what is not going right for His people.  This chapter emphasizes the destruction that they deserve, but follows each statement with reminders of who God is, and very clearly lays out what He desires from us.

It is surprising that they needed the simple reminder to flee from evil and chase after that is good!  That seems like it should be a no brainer!  But when I reflect on my own choices I find that there is often a mixture of good and evil, even if only in my motivations.  Sometimes I want something for the simple reason that it makes me feel good even if it is worse for someone else, or it is the opposite of what God wants me to do.

Lord, You have blessed me in so many ways, You have loved me through foolish decisions and You have SAVED ME!  Help me to live every aspect of my life prayerfully seeking you and what you want from me.  Help me to see where I am being selfish and strengthen me to choose good over evil…even when it seems less enjoyable.  Give me your eternal joy in my obedience to you in every part of life and thought!

Amos 4- Wants to be Known

 ”He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God continues to list out the ways He has attempted to get the attention of His people in ch4.  But, at the end He describes Himself…He tells about what he has made, His power to change and create…but then most astonishingly He says He wants us to know His thoughts!

That may seem insignificant to us as we know that is how to make friends and enjoy one another.  Telling others what we think is natural in close relationships…The reason this is mind blowing to me is that it would be similar to me making a fleet of paper airplanes, then gathering them together to tell them what I think.  That is the vast difference between us and God.  Yet that is exactly what He does!

Lord, you put so much effort into helping me understand who you are, and often I take it for granted.  I don’t realize how incredibly precious we are to you.  Help me to value Your Word and our time together in prayer as much as You do!  Let it be the most important part of my day!!!

Amos 3- Knowing God

 ”I have known only you out of all the clans of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. If a ram’s horn is blown in a city, aren’t people afraid? If a disaster occurs in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬, ‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context 

Prior to Jesus sacrifice of dying on the cross in our place, the agreement that God had with His people was that if they lived according to His ways they would be blessed, or else they would suffer punishment.  They had to live with the consequences of their actions.  God would use disaster and even Israel’s enemy’s to punish them.

I find this an interesting statement from God: “I have known only you”… This is a statement of intimacy, a declaration of intentionality to draw near to Israel, an unworthy group of people.  Although God only holds our punishment against us now if we have NOT trusted Jesus, he does still seek to know us individually.  He desires relationship with me personally…that blows me away…the God who created everything, controls all things and yet still has time to want to know me intimately.

Lord, help me to remember this really is who You are. Remind me that knowing You is the most joyous task on my list every day.  Since that is true, help me to live as if it were true and the most important thing.

Amos 2- Foolishness of Pride

 ”The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Judah for three crimes, even four, because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord and have not kept his statutes. The lies that their ancestors followed have led them astray. Therefore, I will send fire against Judah, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.“

‭‭Amos‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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After condemning all of Israel’s neighbors, God turns his sights on His own people.  Frustrated and angry that they have turned away from the most important thing He has called them to be about: no longer are they trusting in God to protect them, but rather trusting in their own strengths and abilities.

His people were expecting their citadel to protect them and God reminds them that it is weak in comparison to His power…and He is willing to prove it to get their attention.  I have needed this same treatment to refocus my attention and remind me that God is ultimately the one I should trust, no one or no thing else.

Lord, I need you to keep my mind and heart focused on you, not my strengths or skills.  You have blessed me in many ways, so it is easy to fall back into trusting myself…which is PRIDE in the extreme!  I need You Lord, every hour I need you!!!