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#862
Though you cannot impart grace to your children,
yet you may impart knowledge.
AMOS 1
Amos and Hosea lived at the same time. Hosea was
very upset by what awful judgments were ahead for
Israel, but Amos also tells of what will happen
to some of the nations surrounding Israel.
Amos not only heard the words of the Lord, but he
saw them; that is, he saw what the words meant.
This prophet is writing to the ten tribes before
they were taken away captives; they've never been
heard of since. They're known as "the lost
ten tribes", and are here called the kingdom
of Israel.
God kept a record of all the things which the
enemies of Israel did. There are five paragraphs
or divisions. Each one starts with the same words.
"For three transgressions and for four".
The number "three" tells us that God
had enough proof. The number "four" in
the Bible means that whatever is being spoken of,
goes out in all four directions. Like east, west,
north and south. In other words, it is for all.
We call it "universal". You shall see
eight separate judgments which are yet to fall on
these nations surrounding Israel and Israel
itself.
Amos 1:3-5 The first one is about Damascus. It
was the capital city of Syria - the country to
the north of Israel. God has not forgotten what
that nation did to His people.
Amos 1:6-8 Next, Gaza: these days in the news, we
hear a lot about the "Gaza strip". It
was the centre of the land of the Philistines.
They were the bitter enemies of Israel in the
days of King Saul and King David, and they are
again today. Of course the official leaders didn't
like to have to listen to an ordinary herdsman (cattleman)
bringing the Word of God to the nation (Read 7:10).
However, God is not influenced by what the
officials think.
Amos 1:9-10 City of Tyre. It has been conquered
by three world empires in succession.
Amos 1:11-12 Now follows Edom. This was on the
other side of the river Jordan. The Arabs are
still fighting Israel. God remembers that they
are guilty.
Amos 1:13-15 Ammon was very cruel. God does not
forget. All this tells us that God has a perfect
record of the complete life of every person.
#863
Cynicism is ever the outward face of emptiness.
Amos 2
Amos 2:1-3 Next comes Moab. You remember its
beginning. Gen. 19:30-37. Today's verses tell
Moab's end.
Amos 2:4-5 Here is a surprise. Even Judah does
not escape. Judah was a part of Israel. Notice
what these people were guilty of. They paid no
attention to God's Word! Are we careful about it?
Do we read it every day? Do we obey it?
Amos 2:6-8 Lastly, the whole of Israel. They had
no use for those who followed the Lord! What a
terrible thing to be guilty of. God does not
forget.
Amos 2:10 God reminds them of what He had
graciously done for them. He tells them this to
shame them!
Amos 2:12 Nazarites were any who devoted
themselves completely to the Lord. Israelites
enticed them to give up.
Amos 2:16 God's patience will come to an end
concerning these eight different groups.
#864
Remember, in order to have a man in Christ, it
was necessary for Christ to be broken; but in
order to have Christ seen in man, the vessel must
be broken.
Amos 3
Amos 3:1-2 The Israelites are going to be
punished in a different way from the others. The
nearer a person is brought to God, the more
careful that person has to be about his life.
God is telling those people that punishment was
coming. But that a little remnant (verse 12)
would be saved. Just like two legs, or an ear of
a sheep would be rescued by a shepherd from the
lion's mouth, so a few out of Israel would be
saved in the future. Believers today are like a
remnant. If you are believing God's Word your
heart is filled with peace and comfort. Nothing
can disturb you.
#865
The value of the Bible does not consist merely in
knowing it, but in obeying it.
Amos 4
Today's chapter is also instructive and helpful.
God tells of small punishments which He has sent
as a warning to Israel. But they would not take
any notice. Count up the number of times in this
chapter that He says "yet have ye not
returned unto me".
Amos 4:12 So the final warning "prepare to
meet thy God".
This chapter commences (and continues to the end
of the book) to give the pleadings of God to His
people, to turn from their wickedness, for He
knew He could not bless them unless they did turn.
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Dear reader,
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