Amos Chapter 8

This chapter is filled with promises of the destruction God will visit upon Israel for their transgressions. We see how powerful and mighty he is and what he is capable of. If I were Israel during this time period, I would be scared out of my mind. It's strange to think that we are as misled as Israel was during Amos's time, but I feel that if anything we have strayed farther from the path than Israel did. This brings up the question of what we truly deserve to receive from God. Instead of the widespread destruction that He promises to Israel, we are extended the hand of reconciliation through Jesus. Facing these facts again places the action that occurred on the cross as one of vast importance, paramount among all of mankind's history, for on that day, God reconciled us to Him. He did not promise that it would be easy to follow this new path laid forth by Jesus, but He has promised to always stand ready to support us and carry us, to welcome us back when we have wandered. I see in these verses the anguish that God has towards seeing Israel sin and it reminds me again how lucky I am that a lowly carpenter was nailed to a cross.

Amos Chapter 7

I'm not gonna lie....I'm a little confused by the first part (verses 1-9) of this chapter. I had to look up what a plumb line was because I thought I knew what one was but couldn't interpret the meaning of these verses. My best guess as to the meaning behind the plump line section is that God had raised up Israel, raised their defenses to build a wall to protect them from outside influences. Now, God is standing on that wall with His plumb line, which in my mind represents His word and plans. He then measures the "wall" of Israel with his Plumb Line and finds that this wall is no longer straight. It is instead bowed, indicating Israel's willingness to conform to the world through their acceptance of Ba'al and other gods in place of the One True God. I think this image is interesting as it brings to mind that God measures us against His will. I wonder what He would find if I were to be measured with his plumb line......

The second part of this chapter is interesting to me for a reason entirely different than the previous passage. Here we see for the first time how Amos deals with criticism leveled against him for his harsh words and his lack of a priestly pedigree. In the face of such harsh criticism, he remains steadfast to God even though he is "a herdsman". Such confidence is inspiring!

Amos Chapter 6

This chapter is pretty straightforward and in a similar vein to chapters 4 and 5. In the first half we see God addressing through Amos an issue that is again relevant in today's world as it was in the "way back when" of Amos's time period. In these verses God denounces Israel as a nation of pride and greed, a nation that is comfortable in its own strength and fattens itself on the spoils of victory and times of peace. Sounds kinda familiar, right? I struggle with pride just like many people and often find myself focusing more on my own strengths instead of God's providence. It's hard to find time during my day to think and reflect on God and to seek Him out. Even though I know He wants me to seek Him. Even though He pursues me incessantly, perpetually drawing me back into His folds.  This is what we see in these first chapters of Amos as well. God has pursued Israel and now has resulted to drastic consequences to get their attention. This just serves to reinforce that we should be seeking Him more, something I need to be better about doing.

Amos Chapter 5

In this chapter we see God's continuing call to repent being described to the Israelites by Amos. I think it's important to note first that the attitude which God approaches this is described as a "lamentation" in verse 1. To me this paints the picture of a father reluctant to punish His child but willing to do so in the hopes that the child will mature and return to commune with the father. And what a Father it is in these verses! I love the description of God we find in verses 8 and 9. These words are so eloquent, both describing how awesome and mighty He is while illustrating the good things He does for us. I particularly enjoy the description of God as the one "who made the Pleiades and Orion". This stems from my enjoyment of the macrocosm that surrounds us: the planets, the galaxies, the stars, etc. The sheer vastness of the universe we live in is often overwhelming to contemplate for me. It is a humbling thought experiment that severely diminishes my sense of pride. Simultaneously, it fills me with a feeling of being loved because this same being who created and filled the vastness of the universe loves me and wants a relationship with me. It makes me sad that the Israelites, who were so intimately connected to God as His chosen people, turned their backs on Him even when confronted by all the things He does for them and His awesomeness.

While there is still another half of Amos Chapter 5 where God details the fruitlessness of Israel's sacrifices and offerings due to their emptiness and where Amos declares that Israel is deserving of what is about to befall them (calling it justice), I want to focus instead on verse 14 and 15. In these verses we see a clear command that is applicable in today's world as well as the times described in Amos. "Seek good and abhor evil". Such a simple command, but one that is not so easily followed or fulfilled because it ultimately requires a person to have the ability to discern between good and evil first in order to know which path to follow. This requires that a person has a decision making paradigm aligned with God's idea of Good and Evil. The best way to do this is by studying the Bible. Doing so allows a person to come to know God and to better think about the manner in which God calls us to act in given situations. Matthew 22:37-40 is a great place to start, but this knowledge isn't limited to the New Testament solely. Studying the Old Testament allows us to see different aspects of God's character, especially through the lens of His relationship with Israel. While this is no easy task, it is a task that will enrich your life and make you a better servant of God to the point where "the Lord, God of Hosts, will be with you." This phrase always reminds me of the story of Elisha praying to God to open the eyes of his servant so that he may see the Heavenly Host that surrounds them. A part of me imagines that same host surrounding me because that paints an amazing picture in my mind. Who wouldn't want their own personal guard of angels with flaming chariots and swords?

Amos Chapter 4

One of the first thing that we see in this chapter is Amos's endearing term for the Israelites: the cows of Bashan. I honestly had no idea what this term meant so I did the logical thing......and Googled it. Apparently, the cows of Bashan were a breed of of cattle known to be very big and very strong. However, they were very greedy about their food and were almost impossible to in their enclosures. In fact Matthew Henry calls them "wanton and unruly", both very apt descriptions of Israelites in this time period. With this reference we again see reference to Amos's humble upbringing as a shepherd. Following this analogy up, we again see a recurrence of the reference to the Assyrian army in verse two and three.

I found verses 4 and 5 to be interesting as it seems to me that these two verses are pointing to the fact that Israel will sin then offer sacrifices to cover their sins then go sin again. In my opinion this is not something that is specific to the Israelites of this time period but is something that can apply to our lives as well. When we sin, we usually pray to God and ask for forgiveness and that's the end of it. We'll forget the event happened, we'll forget that every sin is a knife to God's heart. And we'll continue with our lives and sometimes we'll sin again in the same manner. This is similar to how Israel is behaving in this passage. And God does not like it. He does not like it at all.

Amos Chapter 3

In Chapter Three, we see God continuing to lay out his plans and reasons for judgement against Israel. This chapter can basically be divided into sections of roughly equal length. In verses 1-8, God lays out Israel's culpability in their sins against Him. As can be seen from verse 1, God calls not only Israel but also Judah to the table to answer for their wrongs, because they were both one family when God brought them out of Egypt. Thus He is speaking to the sum of the nation of Israel, all twelve tribes, not just the ten tribes of Israel that exists by the time of the account separate from Judah. The meat of this section though lies in verses 2-8. In verse 3, we see a reference to the Covenant God made with Israel, with the mention of two people walking together after having agreed to walk together. Which makes sense, right? I mean, the only way two people can walk together is if they are in accord with each other, having a similar vision and tread a similar path. Such was the case when Israel and God swore the Covenant. However, Israel has changed, has begun to tread a different path and in doing so breaks away from the path upon which God trod  Thus the source of the variance and grievances between God and Israel. Following this, God states that Israel's has brought their judgement upon them. They are to be the Lion's prey. Remember, God mentioned in Chapter One about how He is "roaring" to Israel. We see that reference again with the mention that a lion (God) does not "roar" unless there is "prey" (Israel). This is meant to signify that God is not full of empty words but is a God of action derived from anger.

The second section details more of the punishment that God will mete out to Israel. We see mention of the Assyrian invasion here in verse 11. We also see mention of the false gods Israel is worshiping in lieu of the One True God in verse 12. Furthermore, we see that Israel's days of resplendent luxuries with their "summer houses" and "winter houses" and "ivory houses" are over. These are the things they have taken comfort in instead of their God. I feel the echoes here of today's world where we too place our trust, our time, and out money in things that bring us fleeting comfort. God reminds us in verse 10 that all who sin and suffer judgement will not come out on the other side unscathed. Reading and reflecting over this chapter reminds me again how the gift of God offered to us through Jesus is all the more an awesome symbol of His love for us. Throughout this entire book so far we have seen God punishing those who have sinned against Him, even the children of his beloved and special people.  How much more so should we who are apart from the Israelites be punished for our sins. We broke the Covenant just as much as the Israelites. We too deserve judgement, yet it is God who steps forward and pays the price for breaking the Covenant with a sacrificial offering from His own flesh. This love offered to us by God is special in that it's roots lie in an eternal promise to never be forgotten, to never to be left alone. And that by itself is a love that should be foremost in our hearts and minds. Yet we too get caught up in the luxuries of our world: our technology and money. Let us strive not to forget that we too deserve punishment for our sins, but have been saved from that by a God whose love for us is more vast than the entire realm of the heavens.

Amos Chapter 2

In this chapter, we see the continuing theme of God offering up Judgement against nations that have sinned against him. However, while the first chapter dealt with all of Israel's enemies, we see in this chapter the inclusion of both Israel and Judah alongside their enemies. If anything, God's response to Israel is harsher and more detailed than the others. Amos takes the time to point out all the things He has done for them (i.e. rescuing them from Egypt, raising up Nazarites and prophets). This serves to illustrate that God has made the efforts to maintain the relationship, but it is Israel who has cast him aside so that they may trade the innocent for silver and corrupt the Nazarites. The wrath of God is nothing to be messed with. Even more so to a nation that had been chosen to be God's special people.

Reading this, I was a little blown away by the similarities between the Israel being judged in Amos and today's world. What's even scarier is how God punished Israel for their transgressions, transgressions that are being committed in today's world as well. Sexual immorality, lack of love for our neighbors, and drunkenness can be found in our society. However, the difference between the Israel of Amos's time and today's world is that one major event has changed our punishment. The actions of the Cross have served to remove us from the path of God's wrath in a manner that I bet the naked warrior fleeing from God in verse 16 would be jealous of. Through the blood shed by Christ, God recognizes us as His adopted children, children that are washed white of sin. The one small yet world-shattering act of the Cross has redeemed us and for that I am thankful. And I'm sure my friends are as well because I doubt they would enjoy the sight of my naked manliness fleeing the wrath of God.

Amos Chapter 1

Lots of stuff going on in this first chapter of Amos. God basically lays the hammer down on all of Israel's enemies/neighbors. It's only the first chapter yet we see that God is already raring for action. Looking over the chapter there are two things that really stick out to me.

The first is that God does not relent on his Judgement whether it be for three sins or for four. The number of sins does not matter, for they are still sins. This should serve as a warning for the Israelites because God is ready to send judgement against anyone who transgresses against Him, even if that someone is His beloved child. It is a certain fact that during this time period, Israel is not being the most obedient of children. I think this highlights even more so the importance of the Grace that has been allotted to us from the Cross. Surely we are just as guilty of transgressing against God as these enemies of Israel. Without the Cross, we should be cowering in fear from the voice that "roars from Zion" (v2). Talk about a not-so-pleasant experience. That roar should probably be a Roar with a capital R.

The second thing that I really struck me about this chapter was the credentials of the messenger God selects to deliver this message. Amos is a shepherd, one of the lowest of the low in terms of socioeconomic status. This is book is the only mention of Amos in the Bible so it's safe to assume that he was of low importance in the grand scheme of the running of the nations of Israel and Judah. Yet God chooses him to deliver this message of judgement. Probably not the most enviable of tasks. Looking through the Bible though, it is evident that God makes a point of using certain people to deliver His messages or to fulfill His plan. This is also not the first time He's used a plan shepherd to do something important (e.g. David).