"The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” Amos 8:11
As we march through the book of Amos, we come to more imagery in chapter eight that showed how God was about to judge Israel. We see a basket of ripe fruit. A feast perhaps? No, it meant that Israel was ripe for judgment. But there’s something more to the fruit imagery that is lost on us as people who don’t speak Hebrew. We’ll take a look at that on Sunday. And along with this feast image there is a promise of famine; a famine of hearing God’s word. God’s word was being spoken but the Israelites weren’t able to recognize it because of the hardness of their hearts. God was constantly telling His people to listen and obey, but they didn’t, and they paid a painful price. In preparation for Sunday, let’s prepare our hearts to receive God’s word and not harden our hearts like the Israelites.
Amos 7 is about God’s Mercy, God’s Measuring, and God’s Messenger. As Amos stands between God and Israel, he receives clear revelation from God that should be clear to Israel as well. We finally have a story in Amos (the rest is prophetic revelation) that shows how the leaders of Israel were tired of the message to repent. How often do we get tired of God’s Word simply because it’s not what we want to hear? May we be open to hearing and heeding God’s Measuring Standard.
God speaks a word of woe through Amos to those who are satisfied with their comfort when people around them are suffering. It is a woe to the complacent. If nothing changes, God promises to turn the tables. This week we’ll look at Amos’ words through the lens of one of Jesus’ stories at the end of Luke 16. May we not be lulled into complacency when it comes to following our Lord.
All of us pursue justice and righteousness at least from time to time. Often we’re content with that, and we’re content when our leaders do that. God’s heart is not for periodic justice and righteousness, rather God calls us to “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) May we as a church be refreshing streams to those around us!
This section of Amos has a series of accusations and judgements from God against Israel. After that, God pleads 5 times for a response, and the section ends with God’s imminent warning: Prepare to Meet Your Maker. The situation is harsh, but through it all God’s heart and desire for his children comes through. God’s heart hasn’t changed: God still calls us to return to him in faith and in the pursuit of justice and righteousness. The Good News is that through Christ, our lives can be shaped to meet our Maker with confidence!