Good morning,
This week we will study the book of Amos. Today we will look at Chapters 4-8.
Chapters 4-8 Amos warns that Israel will be destroyed, and gives examples of this judgment. Amos comes, announces God’s coming judgment to the Northern Kingdom and uses the phrase, “the day of the Lord” referring to God intervening to punish and judge the wicked city, which would eventually be exile by the Assyrians.
- …yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. (Amos 4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11) Even though Israel had been punished through famine, no rain, disease and mildew, pestilence, and fire, they would not return to the Lord
- …seek me… (Amos 5:4, 6, 8, 14) For thus saith theLord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: (Amos 5:4)
- Seek good not evil (Amos 5:14-15) Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so theLord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
- God despises ceremonies without righteousness (Amos 5:21-27) Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith theLord, whose name is The God of hosts. (Amos 5:27)
- Judgment upon Israel (Amos 6:14, 7:16-17) But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith theLord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness. (Amos 6:14) Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. (Amos 7:16-17)
- Famine of God’s Word (Amos 8:11-12) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
God is a longsuffering. However, His longsuffering has its limits. When god continues to try and get our attention and we reject it, we are ripe for God’s judgment. God is looking for people with repentant hearts. He wants us to seek Him, return to Him, and seek good over evil. God promises life for those who will.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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