Written by: Ray Khan – Church Army
Notes
At the time of Amos things looked good in Israel. There was prosperity, security
in leadership, faithfulness in worship. On the surface things looked good,
it looked like God was really blessing the nation, but underneath something
was happening. Amos is writing 2 years before an earthquake, things are not
what they seem for Israel. The foundations are about to be shaken.
A normal kind of man, a shepherd, had a vision.
This was not a pleasant vision. It was disturbing. The vision begins with a wake up call! A lion is roaring about to pounce for the kill. The lion is God, the roar is to shake people out of their complacency and the pounce is judgment.
What is your picture of God? I have often heard people speak messages they believe are inspired by God and most of these messages are words of comfort and love, more of a lullaby than a roar that could shake the tops of mountains. I have sung songs in church and heard prayers that have transformed God into a purring cat and not a wild lion.
What is your picture of God? Is God too tame? Too safe? Can your understanding of God embrace Amos’ vision of God as a wild dangerous beast?
Today think about your understanding of God. Have you made God a pet, someone who is there for you, who will do what you want? Is your understanding of God too small?
Prayer
Forgive me Lord, for I have made you too small in my eyes.
Help me today to see that you are the king of the whole cosmos; the God of
the star fields.
You hold galaxies that are light years away in your hand and you delight in
the emergence of a new tiny microbe.
Thank you that you look at me with joy and love. Help me to see just how awesome
you are. Amen
Amos 1 v 3-5
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Damascus,
I will punish them.
They drove over the people of Gilead with threshing boards that had iron teeth.
So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael that will destroy the strong towers
of Ben-Hadad.
I will break down the bar of the gate to Damascus and destroy the king who
is in the Valley of Aven, as well as the leader of Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will be taken captive to the country of Kir,” says
the LORD.
Notes
Most of us will be very lucky and not have to encounter the ugly cruel face
of evil. In this reading and the following readings we will encounter the
most disgusting images of evil and cruelty committed with violence against
innocent people.
Think back to those uncomfortable images in the news. Terrorist attacks, Rwanda, the civil war in Yugoslavia. Today in Uganda, children are being abducted to be soldiers and forced to kill their families. 5,000 children seek refuge and safety in towns where abduction is rife. Last year 9,000 young people were abducted.
It would be so easy just to ignore the awful reality of evil in our world. God does not turn his face away from evil, he acts on what he sees and, in the cases of Syria and the other nations surrounding Judah and Israel, his response is judgment and punishment.
Judgment is an uncomfortable word for most people and the image of God giving out punishment sounds too harsh and even old-fashioned for some. However in the face of evil it is comforting to know that God sees and will one day bring justice.
Reflection
Someone once wrote, “Evil triumphs when good people do nothing”.
Today make an effort not to turn a blind eye to evil, but do something about
it. Perhaps you can join or start a campaign that will highlight the evil that
children face in Uganda or elsewhere.
Amos 1 v 6-10
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Gaza,
I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area as slaves to Edom.
So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza that will destroy the city’s
strong buildings.
I will destroy the king of the city of Ashdod, as well as the leader of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn against the people of the city of Ekron, and the last of the
Philistines will die,” says the Lord GOD.
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Tyre,
I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area as slaves to Edom, and they forgot the
agreement among relatives they had made with Israel.
So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre that will destroy the city’s
strong buildings.”
Notes
Here is a question. Does God protect his people from evil?
In the reading for today, we have an account mentioned of the Philistines taking the Israelites and selling them as slaves to the surrounding nation. Did God protect his people then? The answer must be an uncomfortable “no”.
Christians have been persecuted since the early days of the church in Jerusalem. We know of the stories of the Christians sent to lions during the Roman period. What is interesting is that Christians responded to these situations in many different ways, including cowardice, but even more so by being willing to die and suffer for their faith. Did God protect them? No.
Today Christians are still being persecuted for what they believe. Churches are burnt down, worship is restricted, and leaders are arrested and killed. These incidences are happening all over the world – in Cuba, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea and many other countries. But persecution can happen in more subtle forms – bullying, the way that Christians are portrayed in the media, a bias against Christian values in the West. Does God protect us today? No.
Was God with them in their time of trial?
Did God see their suffering?
The answer is yes and our reading affirms this. God sees the injustice his people have suffered and will one day bring judgment. The book of Revelation was written during the time of one of the great persecutions. John, who wrote the book, affirms that it is God who is in control, and it is God who will judge the evil acts of people and bring about a new heaven and a new earth.
Reflection
Even when things seem beyond your control and when you experience injustice
for your faith in Jesus, remember that God sees, that God is ultimately in
control and will one day bring all of humanity to account.
Amos 1 v 11-15
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Edom,
I will punish them.
They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, with the sword, showing them
no mercy.
They were angry all the time and kept on being very angry.
So I will send fire on the city of Teman that will even destroy the strong
buildings of Bozrah.”
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Ammon,
I will punish them.
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead so they could take over that
land and make their own country larger.
So I will send fire on the city wall of Rabbah that will destroy its strong
buildings.
It will come during a day of battle, during a stormy day with strong winds.
Then their king and leaders will be taken captive; they will all be taken away
together,” says the LORD.
Notes
Ishmael and Isaac shared the same father, Abraham, but had different mothers.
In the end they went their separate ways. From Ishmael came the people of Palestine
(including Edom) and from Isaac came the people of the Jews. Despite this relationship,
the people of Edom showed no mercy to their relatives, killing them. We see
this conflict still being played out today in Israel and Palestine where these
two peoples, who have the same fatherly descendent, Abraham, continue to treat
each other in evil and unjust ways.
Families can be very close and supportive, but they can also be a battlefield. Today some families have half-brothers and sisters, and all sorts of complicated relationships. What is our response to all of this?
I can remember going through a bad time with my brother, I did not like him much. It was at this time that I read the passage from 1 John 4 v 20, “Those who do not love their brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have never seen.” I can remember as a 14-year-old boy praying and crying about this and asking God to help me.
Families are often the testing ground for forgiveness and practical love. It is far easier to love someone you like, than to love your brother or sister who lives with you, borrows your things and makes life hell for you. It is to this test that some of us are called.
Action
Do something kind and good to a member of your family who you find difficult.
Be gentler and kinder to them today.
Amos 2 v 1-5
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Moab,
I will punish them.
They burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.
So I will send fire on Moab that will destroy the strong buildings of the city
of Kerioth.
The people of Moab will die in a great noise, in the middle of the sounds of
war and trumpets.
So I will bring an end to the king of Moab, and I will kill all its leaders
with him,” says the LORD.
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Judah,
I will punish them.
They rejected the teachings of the LORD and did not keep his commands; they
followed the same gods as their ancestors had followed.
So I will send fire on Judah, and it will destroy the strong buildings of Jerusalem.”
Notes
The nations surrounding Israel have been exposed for the evil that they
have done, they treated people with cruel violence; sold them into slavery;
ignored family ties and broke treaties and now they treat the dead with contempt.
The wild lion (Amos’ vision of God) has seen all this and roared his
judgment and punishment on these nations. The Israelites must have felt comforted
by these messages, especially as they were the victims of some of these evil
acts.
The Israelites were having it good, they were wealthy and successful. The worship of God was being faithfully and beautifully carried out in the Temple in Jerusalem and people were faithful in attending the worship of God. But the wild lion turns his eyes towards his people and now roars judgment and punishment on them. Things are starting to get uncomfortable.
God exposes his people. Yes they are faithful to him in worship, but they also worship other gods, they reject his teachings. They see no problems in worshipping God and worshipping other false gods, and so they refuse to obey God’s desire for them to be faithful only to him.
Reflection
God calls us to be faithful to him. It is so easy to be distracted by
the culture that surrounds us – friends, music, TV, money, success, looking
good – and making these things into false gods.
Today think about what influences you the most in the decisions you make, the attitudes you have and the actions that you do. Have you chosen to ignore God’s way? Have you made these things into false gods?
Prayer
Lord God, expose me for who I am, that I might follow you and love you more.
Forgive me for the way that I have changed good things into false gods. Help
me to follow you today. Amen
Amos 2 v 6-8
This is what the LORD says:
“For the many crimes of Israel,
I will punish them.
For silver, they sell people who have done nothing wrong; they sell the poor
to buy a pair of sandals.
They walk on poor people as if they were dirt, and they refuse to be fair to
those who are suffering.
Fathers and sons have sexual relations with the same woman, and so they ruin
my holy name.
As they worship at their altars, they lie down on clothes taken from the poor.
They fine people, and with that money they buy wine to drink in the house of
their god.
Notes
I can remember talking to someone, who was not a Christian, about Christians.
It was a really interesting chat. He felt that Christians were only interested
in themselves; they spent money on their buildings; their energies on what
they do together; they did not get stuck into the real world, but created
a holy fence around them to protect themselves from reality. I pointed out
that this was not the whole picture but, I had to admit, what he said had
some truth.
The Israelites in this reading forgot that God is interested in more than just how they worshipped or prayed. God is interested in how we treat people – the Israelites treated the poor and weak shamefully; they cheated people and sold them as slaves. They did not value people – treating them like no more than a pair of sandals. They did not even value themselves (that is what the bit about sex and wine is all about). Yes, they were faithful in worship of God, but they did not allow that worship to impact on their lives and relationships with other people. They treated others and themselves as if they were nothing, it did not matter what they did. But God sees and he roars his judgment.
Thought
How much does a pair of trainers cost?
In the UK top brand trainers can cost anything from £50. The average
monthly wage for a factory worker who makes these trainers is £32!!!
How much do we value people – the same price as a pair of top brand trainers?
Action
Find out more about fair-trade products? [www.fairtrade.org.uk]
Why not try to get your school, workplace, home or church to use fair-trade
products.
Amos 2 v 9-16
“But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were tall like
cedar trees and as strong as oaks - I destroyed them completely.
It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt and led you for forty years
through the desert so I could give you the land of the Amorites.
I made some of your children to be prophets and some of your young people to
be Nazirites.
People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the LORD.
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and told the prophets not to prophesy.
Now I will make you get stuck, as a wagon loaded with grain gets stuck.
No one will escape, not even the fastest runner.
Strong people will not be strong enough; warriors will not be able to save
themselves.
Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight, and even fast runners
will not get away; soldiers on horses will not escape alive.
At that time even the bravest warriors will run away without their armour,” says
the LORD.
Notes
Amos reminds the Israelites about a time when God freed them from slavery
in Egypt and led them through the wilderness into the Promised Land. God helped
them overcome their enemies.
The Israelites were going through a good time at the time of Amos, and they assumed that God was blessing them. But they moved away from the source of their real joy, God. They wanted to hear the nice comforting messages from prophets, but silenced the prophets who spoke messages that were too uncomfortable, too challenging.
The Nazirites were men who dedicated their lives to God; they were a sort of monk. These men must have been a challenge to the lifestyle of the Israelites. They tried to get these men to drink, to break their vows. It could be that the Israelites felt that such dedication was pointless. After all, their lifestyle must be OK, God is blessing them!!
Amos is comparing the faithfulness of God, the prophets and the Nazirites with the unfaithfulness of the Israelites. The roar of the lion is heard and he is about to pounce for the kill.
I have noticed a pattern in my own journey with God: when things are really tough I find that I am trusting and relying on God. When I look back on those times I can still feel the pain, but I can also see God holding me, giving me hope, being there.
When things are going well I tend to put God into the background of my life, I rely more on myself than on others. I am thankful for these times, but God doesn’t seem as near as he was in the tough times, and if I am honest I know that it is me who has moved away and not God.
Reflection
God is faithful to us and all he asks is for us to be faithful to him. Today
try to keep the lines of communication open, to keep close to him, by following
his way. And if we fail we can rely on the promise from 1 John 1 v 9 “But
if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God
to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.”
Give thanks to God because he so faithful to you.
The views expressed by the writers of our daily e-mails are not necessarily those of Church Army or word-on-the-web but of the individual writers.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes