Amos 7 - Danger Ahead!

Amos - Chapter 7

God gave Amos visions. Visions of the judgement He was about to send on Israel. Locusts to devour, fire. Amos pleads for them, and God relents. Then God shows Amos something else, a plumb line. A tool used by builders to make sure that their buildings are straight. God says that the high places shall be made desolate, the sanctuaries laid waste, and He will rise against the house of Jeroboam. He will stand in judgement over Israel, judgement by sword. (Jeroboam was an evil king who led Israel into sin.)

Amaziah was a priest not in the line of the Tribe of Levi. He was at Bethel to perform idolatrous services. He realized that Amos was prophesying against them, and therefore wanted to get rid of Amos. I wonder about the prophets of today. Are they prophets of God? If God were to send a prophet who gave a message of judgement against America, would they want to cast them out? I know there were prophets who prophesied Trump would win and the evil would be exposed. But what if the evil that God is concerned about is the evil in His people, and not the leaders? What is a time of judgement and purge is coming and it will not be avoided? I know that even now, prophets continue to insist that a time of judgement is coming, that Biden is not the real president. They have moved the date forward to mid-April or May. Why do people keep following these shifting targets? Perhaps we do not want to think about the possibility of a time of judgement? 

Amos does not back down. He prophesies against Amaziah. Bad stuff, read it. Yet even though Amaziah will go down in flames, that should not be our concern. What should matter to us is what is our standing before God. Likewise, whether or not the swamp is drained should not be our main focus. Evil will always be among us until judgement day. Our focus should be on God and serving Him, because He is the righteous one.

Amos 5 - Seek the Lord!

Amos - Chapter 5

The prophet begins by lamenting over Israel, who has fallen. 

Things are not looking good for Israel. What will God do? What should the people do?

Seek the Lord and live. So we storm the castle, right? We show up in large numbers, right? We post memes and are not afraid to repost the ones that say, "If you agree, type AMEN and share, right?

Maybe, maybe not. But first things first, we seek the Lord our God. Perhaps that is why we are in this mess in the first place, we have been listening to others and seeking our good rather than seeking the Lord, thinking that goodness and comfort are what God wants for us. (Where is that found in the Bible?) We are warned not to go to Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba. These places, places of prophets and worship will get their justice. I think this refers to the  idea that we shouldn't go to preachers or others to tell us what to do in this time, as we are responsible for our faith and actions. Go to the Lord. Pray. Study and know your Bible. I believe that if more people knew their Bibles, they wouldn't fall prey to many of the charlatans that claim to speak as prophets or messengers of the Lord, but are actually wolves in sheep's clothing, masquerading as angels of light. (2 Cor 11:14)

So if God is not all about our goodness and comfort, what does He want for us? Holiness and righteousness come to mind. He knows that perfection is beyond us, but striving for perfection is within everyone's grasp. Whole nations have been subject to captivity that they might repent and turn to the Lord. Those that do reap the reward. Not rewards, as in goodness and comfort, but reward, as in salvation. Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind, as I see people post it whenever things go south. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." But do we understand the context of that promise? That the people would be in captivity for a long time, and that some of them would not see life after captivity? The future and hope is not a return to prosperity or a rescue from their enemies, it is the salvation they receive as a result of seeking the Lord.

Here's the passage in Amos that has me thinking, 5:21-24. 

“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

What? God HATES our feasts and gatherings? He does not accept our offerings? He considers our songs an irritating noise? Why? Because they are offered without justice. They are offered in ignorance, with a lack of knowledge of who God is and what He wants for and from us. 

So what does it all come down to? No matter the circumstance, seek the Lord, not easy or convenient answers. Paul, before writing Philippians 4:13, another verse most often taken out of context, writes Philippians 4:11-12, which states, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." That secret is the very essence of Amos 5, seek the Lord. So when he states in verse 13, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." it is really a statement of why he could endure all things (past tense) rather than a promise that looks forward promising God's eternal blessing in all our endeavors. Perhaps a better rendering of this verse would be, "I have prevailed in all these things because of God who gave me the strength. Prevailing in an eternal sense, and not temporal.

But don't take my word for it, seek the Lord,