Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Amos 5:18-27.  Let’s go!

Amos 5:18-20 (NIV) 
18  Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. 
19  It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. 
20  Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light– pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

On verses 18-20:  Many people in Amos’ day were giving God regular offerings and sacrifices, but would carry on lifestyles of sin in other ways.  They would talk about the “day of the Lord” (i.e. the day when God comes to His people and establishes His kingdom) as a happy time for them.  According to some scholars, verse 18 is the earliest reference in the Bible to “the day of the Lord”.  Amos clarifies that the Israelites should not look forward to the day of the Lord. For that day will “be darkness, not light” (v18, 20), a day when you think you have escaped the trials of this world, only to be destroyed by the greatest trial of all.  This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, rather than in the Lord. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Amos 5:1-17.  Let’s go!

Amos 5:1-2 (NIV) 
1  Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: 
2  “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.”

On verses 1-3, 16-17:  Having been given a preview of Israel’s eventual demise because of her continual idolatry (v3, 16-17), Amos laments for Israel.  As Amos says in verse 1, “Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you”.  I believe Amos’ lamenting heart here is in line with God’s.  God is not one who delights in our destruction, even when we get what we deserve for our sin.  A loving Father who cares deeply for His children, God grieves and weeps for His children when they make wrong choices and suffer as a result.
 

Hi GAMErs,

Amos 4:1 (NIV) 
1  Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”

On verses 1-3:  While Israel was experiencing great economic prosperity during this time, there was a wide discrepancy between the rich and the poor in Israel.   Here Amos accuses the rich, upper class women, and indirectly their husbands, of oppressing the poor and taking advantage of the needy in order to satisfy their expensive tastes.  Playing off the fact that Samaria, Israel’s capital city, had a lot of lush fields and fattened cattle, Amos calls these women “cows of Bashan” (v1).  This is followed by a promise from God that these upper class women would be cast out of their own city one day, like fish being taken away on hooks (v2-3).

What can we learn from this?  It angers God when the rich take advantage of the poor, or when those who have more materially show no concern for those who have less.  God has no issues with people having wealth, but He watches what we do with our wealth.  Justice is a big theme in the book of Amos.

Hi GAMErs,

Amos 3:1-2 (NIV)
1  Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel–against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2  “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

On verses 1-2:  The Lord chose Israel especially to be a light to other nations.  However, Israel was not faithful to the Lord, breaking His heart and defaming His name with their continual idolatry.  The fact that God would punish Israel for their sins shows us that with authority from God comes accountability from God.

What can we learn from this?  God holds accountable those to whom He has given authority.  If we are faithful with the authority He has given us, He will reward us.  If we are unfaithful with that authority, He will discipline us.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Amos 2:1-16.  Let’s go!
 
Amos 2:1-8 (NIV) 
1  This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king, 
2  I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. ……

On verses 1-8:  Whether it’s treating our neighbors dishonorably like Moab did (v1-3), rejecting the Lord to follow other gods as Judah did (v4-5), abusing the poor (v6-7), committing sexual immorality (v7-8), and ignoring God’s holiness as Israel did (v8), God sees all the ways that we sin against Him.  Nothing is hidden from His view.  Yet what amazes me is that as holy and just as God is, God is equally loving and merciful, so much so that the wrath God feels toward our sin He placed on His own Son instead so that ultimately we could be spared the punishment we deserve for our sin.  God did not turn back His wrath from our sin.  Instead, He directed His wrath against our sin toward His own Son instead, so that we could go free.  It is at the cross where Jesus died that we see all at once the incredible holiness, justice, love and mercy of God.