Amos 7:1-17

It is very easy for us to be misunderstood.  We may be doing the very best thing possible for someone but they may still misinterpret it as being harmful to them.  Amos was called to be a prophet of the Lord.  He did not choose to be a prophet and had been happy to be a farmer but when God calls you to do something you do it with all of your heart no matter how men may misinterpret our actions.  The desire of Amos’s heart was to serve the people by warning them of God’s impending judgment.  This is not a popular message but it is a very important message as the hard truth is always more helpful than easy lies. 

AMOS REQUESTS FOR GOD TO HAVE MERCY ON THE NATION: God revels to Amos three different ways that He plans to judge the nation of Israel.  First He shows Amos a plague of locust that will come and devour the land.  Amos knows that this will bring great financial burden to the people and cause starvation to the poorest people of the nation so He prays for God to relent and God answers Amos’s prayer.  Next God shows Amos how He is planning to judge the nation with fire.  Once again Amos pleads with God not to send a fire that would destroy both the just and the unjust and God answers Amos’s prayer.  Finally God reveals that He will judge Israel with a plumb line that is designed to reveal those who are just and unjust.  This is what Amos was requesting of the Lord and became the theme of his message for the people to repent so they would not fail the test of the plumb line.  He was interceding for the people before the Lord and interceding for the Lord before the people.  This is what all of us are called to do through our prayers and our preaching. 


THE NATION REQUESTS FOR AMOS TO SERVE GOD ELSEWHERE: Despite Amos’s valiant efforts on behalf of the people in praying for God to be merciful; they still did not want to hear God’s message.  The king sends his messenger to tell Amos to leave the country and go to Judah where people cared about what God had to say.  They refused to listen to Amos and threatened to have him exiled.  The nation refused to believe that God would judge them so they accused Amos of wanting evil for the people.  Amos refused to back down from his message and refuses to leave the land to which he was called to minister.  He reminds the leaders that he was a simple farmer when God called him to be a prophet.  His messages were not made up or designed to hurt the people.  He was desperately trying to help the people turn from their wicked ways so they could avoid God’s wrath.  This is the task of every one of us as we seek to evangelize a world that does not know the Lord.  Our message may not be popular but we have been called to deliver it no matter how unpopular it may be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than a...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:3-7

I thank God   whom I serve, as did my ancestors,   with a clear conscience, as I remember you   constantly in my prayers night and day.    As I remember your tears,   I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.    I am reminded of   your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and   your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.    For this reason I remind you   to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us   a spirit not of fear but   of power and love and self-control. It is easy for us to forget many important things especially in the face of difficulty or danger.  Paul is in prison and Timothy is facing difficult times in ministry so there are important reminders that Paul wants to make sure that Timothy understands.  God has given us everything we need to face the difficulties He allows i...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Therefore   do not be ashamed of   the testimony about our Lord, nor of   me his prisoner, but   share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,   who saved us and   called us to a holy calling,   not because of our works but because of   his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus   before the ages began, and which now has   been manifested through   the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,   who abolished death and   brought life and   immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But   I am not ashamed, for   I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until   that day   what has been entrusted to me.  Follow   the pattern of   the sound words   that you have heard from me, in   the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ...
Read more