We know that God is deeply interested in the righteousness of His people. But what does He expect of unbelievers? The book of Amos provides us with the answer. He shows us that everyone is accountable to God.

The introduction of the book of Amos indicates that the primary focus of the prophet’s ministry was directed toward the Northern Kingdom of Israel (v. 1). The book opens on a note of warning, with the Lord pictured as one who roars like a lion and shakes the earth like thunder (v. 2). As a result, there is widespread devastation from the lowest valleys, where the sheep were pastured, to the mountain heights. All had been blasted by drought. According to Amos, this was far more than a meteorological event. It was an act of divine judgment emanating from Israel’s God.

Yet instead of reproving the people of Israel for their sin, beginning in verse 3, Amos addressed Israel’s Gentile neighbors. Damascus and its ruling dynasty were condemned for using military tactics, which was so brutal that Amos compared it to a threshing sledge with iron teeth (v. 3). Gaza, Israel’s Philistine neighbor to the south, was singled out for selling entire communities of Israelites into slavery to Israel’s long-time enemies, the Edomites (v. 6). In each of these cases the predicted penalty would be a similar fate. The Lord promised to destroy their rulers and “send fire” upon their cities and fortifications (vv. 5, 7–8).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If the Lord expected those who did not acknowledge Him as their God to treat their enemies with respect, what must He expect from those of us who know Christ? Jesus gave us the answer when He commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). How have you been treating those you have trouble getting along with? Make a list of these people and use it as a basis for prayer. Pray sincerely for each person listed, and ask God to enable you to treat the difficult people in your life with respect and love.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 1:1
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekos.

God does not hesitate to employ a herdman, if only his heart is pure and devoted to his service. He calls such an one out of the midst of his fellows, designating him for his sacred ministry. And when the fire of God burns within, very common clay becomes luminous and transparent. An ox-goad, a ram’s-horn, a sling of stone, will serve his purpose. It is not what a man has, but what he is, that matters.

As we look through this strong book of ancient prophecy, and notice how it abounds with references and imagery peculiar to a herdsman’s life, we feel that a noble spirit of devotion to God may elevate the meanest employments and dignify the most ordinary subjects. The common incidents of the farm may convey the Divine meaning not less than the sacred scenery of the Temple, which was familiar to Ezekiel. There is nothing which is intrinsically common or unclean. We profane things by a profane spirit. But if we view all things from the Divine standpoint, we shall find that a sacred light will beat through them, like that which transfigured the coarse garments of Christ so as no fuller on earth could whiten them. The glory streamed through from his heart! It is comparatively seldom that God calls one of the upper classes of society to conspicuous usefulness. “Behold your calling, brethren, how that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God chose the weak things,... the base things,... and the things that are despised.” Here and there a noble of great authority, a Zinzendorf, a Shaftesbury: but most often fishermen and publicans; Luther, the miner’s son, Tersteegen the ribbon-weaver, Carey the cobbler.

Amos 1:9-15
TODAY IN THE WORD

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. - Luke 6:27

During one of his military campaigns, Napoleon’s troops mounted an assault on the Russian city of Smolensk. In an effort to deprive the French general of the pleasure of his imminent victory, the inhabitants abandoned the city and set fire to it. When Napoleon asked his aides what they thought of the sight, one of them replied, “Horrible, sire.” Napoleon snorted in disgust and snapped back, “Remember, gentlemen, as one of the Roman emperors remarked: The corpse of an enemy always smells sweet.”

The prophet Amos disagrees. Today’s passage points out that all is not fair in love and war. One of the chief complaints about Israel’s neighbors in this chapter was that they had treated their enemies inhumanely in warfare. Amos 1:9-15 continue the litany of charges leveled against the pagan nations.

Israel’s Phoenician neighbor Tyre is singled out for trafficking in the spoils of war because they had sold captured slaves to Edom. By engaging in this kind of business Tyre was “disregarding a treaty of brotherhood” (Amos 1:9). This may be a reference to Tyre’s previous business relationship with Judah. The King of Tyre had supplied Solomon with lumber for the temple (1 Kings 5:1–12). Now Tyre enriched itself as a result of Israel’s misfortune.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We can sometimes be so intent on achieving our aims that we fail to consider the people that we have used in an effort to attain our goals. Think of a goal that you recently achieved. How did you treat others while you were in pursuit of it? Are there people you should thank or to whom you have not given due credit? Are there some that you owe  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 2:1-5
TODAY IN THE WORD

I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem. - Amos 2:5

Most of us who are parents have seen someone else’s children behaving badly in the grocery store. Perhaps they threw a temper tantrum because mom or dad refused to buy them a toy. They may have pushed the grocery cart into other customers. On occasion we may have looked sternly at the child or even asked them to stop. Most of the time, however, we simply walked by, a little annoyed but grateful that our child was not the one making the fuss. When the disturbance is caused by one of our own children, however, our response is quite different.

This is also true of God. While He was angered by the sinful acts of the pagan nations that surrounded Jerusalem, He was also deeply concerned by the sins of His own people. In Amos 2:4 the prophet moves from Israel’s pagan neighbors to Judah, its sister nation to the south. Employing the same formula used to accuse Moab and the other pagan nations in the preceding verses, the prophet condemned Judah. The formula “For three sins . . . even for four,” indicated that Judah’s sin had grown to full measure.

Judah’s sin, however, had gone one step further than the transgressions of Israel’s pagan neighbors, who had sinned against man--Judah’s sin was primarily against God. Judah had rejected God’s Law and had followed the fake gods that had deceived their ancestors (Amos 2:4). Because of this, they would eventually face the same kind of fate as Israel’s enemies. The Lord promised to send “fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem” (Amos 2:5).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you have a double standard when it comes to sin? Do you want God to hold others accountable for their behavior and ignore your “little mistakes”? Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ do not need to be afraid of being condemned by God (Ro 8:1). We should not conclude from this that God is indifferent about the way we live. Perhaps, like Israel, God may be using the example of others as an object lesson for you. Could He be trying to remind you that although you are forgiven, you are also accountable to Him (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 2:6-16
TODAY IN THE WORD

I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led you forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. - Amos 2:10–11

As philosopher and author Ralph Waldo Emerson aged, his memory declined to the point where he often could not remember the names of friends. At the funeral of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, he said, “That gentleman has a sweet, beautiful soul, but I have entirely forgotten his name.”

Today’s passage reveals that God’s people also suffered from memory loss but of a far more serious kind. They had forgotten God’s redemptive work on their behalf and His Law.

After indicting many of Israel’s enemies, including the nation of Judah, Amos turned his attention to Israel itself. Using the same formula of condemnation that he had employed for Israel’s enemies, he warned that the nation of Israel would not escape punishment for its behavior.

The specific transgressions that Amos mentioned fell into three main categories. The first was the sin of enriching themselves at the expense of the poor. Amos criticized Israel of selling “the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals” (Amos 2:6). This probably alludes to the practice of selling debtors into slavery when they couldn’t pay off their loans.

The second major area of transgression mentioned by Amos was the sin of sexual immorality (Amos 2:7). Such immoral behavior often occurred in the context of pagan worship, which is the third area of sin mentioned in this passage (Amos 2:8). Interestingly, it is mentioned in combination with oppression of the poor. The custom of taking a poor man’s garment as collateral for a loan was strictly forbidden in God’s Law (Ex. 22:26–27).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What steps have you taken to make sure that you remember what God has done in your life? Consider keeping a journal or recording significant blessings in a “book of remembrance.” It is often a good thing to go back and remind yourself how God has worked in the past when you begin to feel unhappy with the present. Most of all, keep a record of the meaningful lessons you have learned from God’s Word. The psalmist declared, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 2:13
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 2:13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

Behold! This is like the hand which occurs in the margins of old books, to attract the reader’s attention. It is God’s special call to our heed.

Sin is very burdensome to God: especially the sins enumerated in this context. Look at the story of oppression in Amos 2:6; of licentiousness in Amos 2:7; of ingratitude in Amos 2:9; of drunkenness in Amos 2:12. These sins are aggravated when committed by his own people. Just as the groaning wain creaks and cries out under its load, so does the heart of God under our sins. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” Should not we feel more as God does in this respect? Ought not we to bear the burden of sin, as Daniel did for his land and people?

What a fulfillment these words had in the life and death of our blessed Lord! The sheaves of our sins were laid on Him: for the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. As He bore his cross through the streets of Jerusalem; as He lay crushed to the ground in Gethsemane; as He cried, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” — surely He was like a laden wagon, groaning under an almost insupportable load.

The r.v. gives another sense, which is not so true to the Hebrew, but it should be considered: “I will press you, as a cart presseth” and cuts deep ruts in the road. A discovery is announced of a process of turning silver into gold by a pressure of eighty tons on a square inch, and in very low temperature. Yes, pressure and the chilling effects of persecution, difficulty, and disappointment are God’s methods of redeeming us from destruction, and turning our silver into gold. Oh, let us forsake our sins rather than compel Him to employ such an ordeal!

Amos 3:1-8
TODAY IN THE WORD

The lion has roared–who will not fear? - Amos 3:8a

When John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, his two young children Caroline and John would sometimes wander into his office. One famous photograph shows his son John playing beneath the President’s desk. Because they were family members, they had a level of access to the President that others did not.

The nation of Israel also had the privilege of having a unique “family relationship.” Along with the nation of Judah, they had been chosen to be God’s people. In verse 1 the Lord refers to them as “the whole family I brought up out of Egypt.” As such, they enjoyed a distinct privilege that was not shared by other nations. This privilege, however, also brought with it a responsibility. Those chosen by God were also liable to God for their response to Him. They had rejected God’s truth and the warnings of His prophets. As a result, they were subject to His punishment (Amos 3:2).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Christians are often described in the New Testament with the same kind of language used to refer to God’s Old Testament people. They are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9).  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 3:3
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

This is the first of seven searching questions, to each of which there is but one answer—Certainly not.

We are conducted, first, to the forest, to the lion’s lair, where the roaring indicates that he has certainly secured his prey. There is a cause for those low roars of satisfaction. Then to the moorland, where the bird is suddenly entrapped. But there must have been an intention to entrap it on the part of the fowler, else it had not fallen to his hand. Lastly, to the city, where the panic-stricken crowds cower before some giant evil, such as pestilence, and tremble at the bugle-note of alarm. Here also, whether in the sounding of the trumpet, or the presence of the plague, there is an evident reason. Thus sorrow, causeless, does not come; and whenever it presses on the individual or the State, inquiry should be made whether God has any controversy with those who suffer beneath the stroke.

Often, in answer to such inquiry, it will be discovered that the soul is not in agreement with God; but at some almost imperceptible angle its metals have diverged from the main track of God’s wise and holy procedure. And the trouble will remain until the nation or the individual have come back into agreement with God. It is worth our while to make any sacrifices, if only we may get back to God’s side.

Whether in marriage, or business, or journeying together, be very sure that you are in perfect accord with your companion before you start. What sorrow might have been saved in thousands of cases, if only there had been stricter comparison of temperaments and methods before starting forth!

Amos 3:9-15
TODAY IN THE WORD

“They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD, “who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses.” - Amos 3:10

In an address to the House of Commons on December 21, 1937, Winston Churchill declared: “Moral force is, unhappily, no substitute for armed force, but it is a very great reinforcement.” However, when armed force is cut off from moral force, the result is tragic. This is what happened to Israel. They lost their moral bearings and became a nation of people “who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses” (Amos 3:10).

Speaking for God, Amos described an imaginary court scene in which witnesses are called to observe and verify the corrupt behavior of Israel. Ironically, those who were chosen for this task were pagans. Ashdod, the first to be mentioned, was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines. Perhaps Ashdod was chosen because its own city wall had been broken down during the prophet’s lifetime (2 Chron. 26:6). Possibly it was because Ashdod would eventually suffer the same fate as Israel. The other witnesses called to testify against God’s people were Israel’s former masters, the Egyptians. Both Ashdod and Egypt were called to assemble on the mountains of Samaria and witness Israel’s unrest and oppression (v. 9). A minimum of two witnesses was required by Mosaic law for a conviction in a capital crime (Deut. 17:6).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Can you think of a time when you realized that you had overlooked a biblical principle when making a decision or engaging in an action? What were the circumstances that made it easy for you to “forget” to do right? We ought to be concerned about doing the right thing, not merely because of what it says about our view of God, but also because of what it says about us (1 John 3:7). When you encounter those circumstances again, rely on God’s strength to choose what is right. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 4:1-5
TODAY IN THE WORD

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. - John 4:24

In his book Practical Religion, J. C. Ryle warns about what he calls formal religion. “When a man is a Christian in name only, and not in reality--in outward things only, and not in his inward feelings--in profession only, and not in practice--when his Christianity in short is a mere matter of form, or fashion, or custom, without any influence on his heart or life--in such a case as this the man has what I call a 'formal religion.’ He possesses indeed the form, or husk, or skin of religion, but he does not possess its substance or its power.”

Israel practiced formal religion. Amos 4:1–5 criticizes the people of Israel for believing that their religious practices could compensate for their self-indulgent and sinful lifestyle. He begins this section with a caricature of the wealthy women of Samaria, calling them “cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria” (Amos 4:1). Bashan was one of the most prosperous areas of Samaria, known for its rich soil.

This natural fertility, however, was not the only reason for the luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by the women of Bashan. Their wealth and success had been built on the backs of the poor. They are pictured as callous and selfish. Women who oppress the poor and needy and in the same breath call upon their husbands to bring them more drinks. Later on these same women would be carried into captivity with hooks. When the Assyrian army finally invaded, the city defenses would fall and they would be driven into captivity through the breaches in the wall made by their enemies (Amos 4:2–3).

Amos warned that judgment was inevitable and would not be forestalled by Israel’s hypocritical religious practices. With a note of sarcasm, the Lord commanded the people of Samaria to “go to Bethel and sin” and to “go to Gilgal and sin yet more” (Amos 4:4). Both were places where false worship had been carried out for many years. With a note of irony, the Lord challenged the people of Israel saying: “Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings--boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do” (Amos 4:5).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Religious practices can be good, but religious practices alone will not please God. How do we know whether our practices are the kind that God accepts?  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 4:6-13
TODAY IN THE WORD

Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. - Amos 4:12

The English Puritan Thomas Brooks observed that holiness was not a natural condition for human beings. “Ah, sirs, holiness is a flower that grows not in Nature’s garden,” he wrote. “Men are not born with holiness in their hearts, as they are born with tongues in their mouths: holiness is a divine offspring: it is a pearl of great price, that is to be found in no nature but a renewed nature, in no bosom but a sanctified bosom.”

Because of this, repentance is the gateway to true holiness. Since we are sinners by nature, only those who first recognize their need for God’s grace and forgiveness can hope to be made holy. For believers, the first mark of true holiness is not the appearance of sinless perfection but a heart that responds to divine reproof.

The Lord reminded the Israelites of the many methods He had used to prompt them to repent and turn from their sins. He sent widespread drought, so that people “staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink.” When this had no effect He became more selective, withholding rain from one field and sending it upon another. He struck their gardens with blight, mildew, and locusts. He destroyed their young men and animals through pestilence and warfare. He even resorted to more spectacular methods that destroyed some towns entirely. Those who survived were “like a burning stick snatched from the fire” (vv. 6–11).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
“Meeting” God is not a happy experience for everyone. The prophet’s warning to Israel is a sobering reminder that God’s patience is unlimited but His timetable is not. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 4:6
June 29, 2005
Come Back
READ: Amos 4:4-13

"You have not returned to Me," says the Lord. —Amos 4:6

The Old Testament book of Amos has given us some memorable phrases: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (3:3). "Prepare to meet your God" (4:12). "Let justice run down like water" (5:24).

But the most-repeated phrase in Amos occurs five times in chapter 4. Time after time the Lord speaks of all He has done to discipline His wayward, self-indulgent people and draw them back to Himself. In every case the response is the same: "'You have not returned to Me,' says the Lord" (Amos 4:6,8-11).

As we read and marvel at their hardness of heart, we must also ask if the same could be true of us. If we have sensed that the Lord has been trying to get our attention, how have we responded to Him?

The prophecy of Amos contains warnings of judgment, captivity, and destruction. Yet there are calls for repentance and promises of restoration: "Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you" (5:14).

The book of Amos has many memorable phrases, but we should never forget God's invitation to all who have wandered away from Him: Return to Me.

If you haven't returned, do it now. —David C. McCasland

I've strayed, O Lord, and turned aside,
I've disobeyed Your voice;
But now with contrite heart I turn
And make Your will my choice. —D. De Haan

True repentance turns from the wrong and returns to the right.

Amos 4:12
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 4:12 Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

These words might have rung out in Paradise. When the heat of the day was over, the voice of the Lord might have been heard sounding down the leafy avenues: Prepare, O man, to meet thy God! And the summons must have filled him with ecstasy. As a child to its parent, so must those two innocent and happy beings have sped to their Creator.

We, too, hear the summons. Each morning, when we stand ready for the duties of the day, we hear the voice, Prepare to meet Me. Each Lord’s Day we wake with this same summons in our heart, and prepare ourselves to meet our God. Each illness, each fluttering of the canvas of our mortality, each premonition of our end, takes up the same appeal, Prepare to meet God. And as we hear the words, we have no dread, no fear. Clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness, arrayed in his beauty, we know that we are accepted; that the love wherewith the Father loves the Son is waiting to greet us.

But there should be a preparedness of heart. We should not rush heedlessly into his presence. We should stimulate our hearts by thoughts like those suggested in the following verse. Stop and remember how great God is: He formed the mountains. How subtle his power: He made the viewless wind, and the Spirit of which it is the emblem. How omniscient his knowledge: He can declare unto man his inmost thought. How absolute his authority the brightest morning will darken, or the darkest night brighten, as He bids. How vast the circuit of his providence, who steps from Alpine peak to peak. Let me not rush into his presence: He is my Father. But He is the Lord, the God of hosts: I must order my thoughts, and prepare to meet Him.

Amos 4:12
Life's Final Deadline
Our Daily Bread

"Prepare to meet your God" - Amos 4:12

We're all confronted with deadlines! Bills must be paid, licenses renewed, tax returns filed-- the list goes on and on.

One deadline we all face is of supreme importance, however. The Bible says, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

Except for believers who are living when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), everyone will die. And all people from the beginning of history will stand before God in judgment. How foolish to neglect the preparation necessary for this inevitable accounting!

In Luke 12, Jesus told a parable of a rich man who planned to build bigger barns to store all his earthly goods so that he could live out his days in pleasure and ease. But God unexpectedly announced, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you" (Luke 12:20). His ultimate deadline had arrived.

Are you ready to meet God? If you've never received Christ, as your personal Savior, do so without delay! Believe that He shed His blood on the cross to forgive your sins, and that He conquered death by rising from the grave. Ask Him to save you. Then you can face life's final deadline with confidence! - Richard W. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Life is uncertain,
Death is sure;
Sin the cause,
Christ the cure.- Anon

Don't wait till the 11th hour to repent --you may die at 10:30!

Amos 5:1-17
TODAY IN THE WORD

You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. - Amos 5:12

Martin Luther King Jr. once observed that a great nation is a compassionate nation. He also noted that we have become comfortable with the presence of the poor because we overlook their existence. “The poor have been shut out of our minds and driven from the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become invisible,” he explained. This is the same complaint that was leveled against the people of Israel in the book of Amos.

On the heels of the sober invitation of Amos 4:12 to “prepare to meet your God,” the Lord appealed to Israel to turn to Him. In Amos 5:4 the Lord urged the house of Israel to “seek me and live.” God’s people were warned not to go to Bethel, Gilgal or Beersheba--all locations associated with idolatrous worship--in an effort to escape the coming judgment.

Those who attempted to protect Israel from doom that awaited them would themselves be decimated regardless of their might (Amos 5:3). When the time came for “Virgin Israel” to fall, no one but God would be able to provide refuge. The invitation to seek God, although gracious, was also coupled with a grave threat. “Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it” (Amos 5: 6).

In Amos 5:7-12 Israel’s crimes are listed. They are said to have poisoned justice (Amos 5:7). They also had contempt for the truth. Motivated by greed, they had perverted the justice system so that it favored those who could afford to pay a bribe (Amos 5:10, 12). Consequently, they had produced a society that was biased against the poor. They forced the poor to earn a living as sharecroppers and then charged them exorbitant prices in rent. They used the legal system to keep the poor from getting the justice. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The Bible often reminds us that one of the marks of holiness is to have a concern for the poor. Is there a practical way for you to reflect God’s interest in the poor by your actions? Perhaps you could volunteer to help at a homeless shelter or you could include a Christian relief organization in your giving. Find out if there’s a program of helping the poor at your church that you could join. Proverbs 19:17 promises

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Amos 5:8
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 5:8 Seek Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion. (r.v.)

This chapter resounds with invitations to seek God. He makes the Pleiades, which usher in the spring: seek Him when life is full of radiant hope and promise, in days of love and joy. But He also makes Orion, the precursor of tempests; be sure, therefore, to seek Him when the sky is overcast and lowering, and when He presses you to enter the boat and face the storm.

He turns the shadow of death into the morning. Thank God for this. There is a turning of death-shadow into morning, when despair gives place to hope; when the dear one begins to revive from sore sickness; when circumstances begin to brighten; and when the perplexity and darkness of this mortal life, with its separations and misunderstandings, shall brighten with the eternal day. Weave thoughts of God into all these glad experiences; but not less so, when He makes the day dark with night. It may be that you will come closest to Him then; as the little child will sit on the far side of the railway carriage from her mother till they enter a tunnel, and then there will be a little startled cry and a rush to the mother’s knee.

Sometimes the waters of the sea pour in on the land, engulfing the works of men, and devastating their toils. But amid all such scenes of desolation, the righteous have a secure hiding-place, suggested by the reference to the name Jehovah, with which this verse closes. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth unto it, and is safe.”

“Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure; What entered into thee, That was, is, and shall be; Time’s wheel runs back or stops—Potter and clay endure.”

Amos 5:18-27
TODAY IN THE WORD

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! - Amos 5:24

Catherine Booth, along with her husband William Booth, co-founded the Christian Revival Association, a precursor to the Salvation Army. She pioneered the women’s work for that movement, and she was so well-loved that when she died, 36,000 people attended her funeral. A tireless worker, she once observed that revival ministry could often be discouraging. “What a deal there is of going to meetings and getting blessed,” she complained, “and then going away and living just the same, until sometimes we, who are constantly engaged in trying to bring people nearer the heart of God, go away so discouraged that our hearts are almost broken.”

Perhaps Amos felt the same way as he preached to the people of Israel. On the surface there seemed to be considerable religious interest. Many people claimed to long for the Day of the Lord, perhaps interpreted by them as a day when God would give them a decisive victory over their enemies. Amos corrected their thinking by pointing out that the Day of the Lord would be a day of judgment. He warned that for the unprepared, it would be an unremitting series of calamities. He compared the people of Israel to a fugitive who runs away from one threat only to find another (Amos 5:18-19).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Popular religion says, “It doesn’t matter who you believe in, as long as you are sincere.” Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Popular religion says that God accepts everyone, regardless of faith and practice. Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 5:21-27
WASTED WORSHIP

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart." -- Psalm 51:17

If you are able to go to church on Sunday, you probably will. For most Christians, it's almost automatic -- and rightly so.

But is it possible that our efforts to go to church for worship might be wasted? Could it all be in vain?

Yes. Before we even enter the church, the worth of our worship can be reduced to nothing because of the way we've lived during the week.

In Amos 5, the Lord had some harsh words for those who attempted to worship Him while bringing with them the guilt of an ungodly lifestyle. His  people were constantly angering Him by following false gods (v. 26). When they assembled to worship the Lord through sacrifices and songs,
God despised their hypocrisy.

In Isaiah 1, God instructed His people that before they could worship Him, they were to "cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice" (vv. 16-17).

What a challenge to us! Before we worship God, we are to put things in order by confessing our sins, seeking His forgiveness, and then serving Him. Our daily walk with God and our obedience to His commands are the elements that prepare us for church. Anything less will lead to wasted worship. -- J. David Branon

O holy God, undone by guilt depressing We come to Thee our every sin confessing; Grant us, we pray, Thy cleansing and Thy blessing; We worship Thee, O God! -- Frost

Worship that pleases God comes from an obedient heart.

Amos 6:1-7
TODAY IN THE WORD

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria! - Amos 6:1

In his book Seize the Day: Seven Steps to Achieving the Extraordinary in an Ordinary World, author Danny Cox writes about a problem that arose when fighter jets were first invented. When some pilots ejected, they had a tendency to grip the seat instead of letting go, keeping their parachutes from opening. In order to solve this problem, engineers had to find a way to force the pilot out of his seat. Cox writes: “The new design called for a two-inch webbed strap. One end attached to the front edge of the seat, under the pilot. The other end attached to an electronic take-up reel behind the headrest. Two seconds after ejection, the electronic take-up reel would immediately take up the slack, and force the pilot forward out of his seat, thus freeing the parachute.”

God was on a similar quest with His people, seeking a way to force them “out of their seats.” One of the main reasons Israel’s spiritual life had declined was because God’s people had grown complacent (Amos 6:1). They had grown smug and self-confident, deriving a sense of false security from the prosperity they had enjoyed over the years. This had led them to believe that they were exempt from divine judgment. This was true of both the southern kingdom of Judah (Zion) and the northern kingdom of Israel (Mount Samaria). The leaders of Judah and Samaria seemed to have believed that, since they had a special place in God’s plan, they would enjoy prosperity and escape the judgment of their neighbors (Amos 6:2).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
According to Roberta Hestenes, “Maturity is pressing toward the mark; immaturity is complacency and self-satisfaction.” (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 6:1
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion!

A picture is given in the following chapters of the luxury and self-indulgence of the people. Stretched on couches inlaid with ivory, choosing the rarest dainties, accompanying their voices on the lute, and drinking wine from flowing bowls, they were indifferent to the wounds from which the national life-blood was pouring. “They were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

The same behavior is only too common amongst ourselves. Indeed, this temptation besets us all. If only we are well supplied with the comforts and luxuries of life, we are apt to become thoughtless of the miseries of poverty and misfortune. If our own heaven is secure, we are apt to enwrap ourselves with an atmosphere of satisfaction and composure, without taking sufficiently to heart the needs of the great world of sin and sorrow around.

“The affliction of Joseph” reminds us of the scene at the pit’s mouth: how Joseph’s brethren sat down to eat bread, whilst their brother was in the pit without water, and then sold him to the travelling merchantmen, to rid their sight of him. But human nature is prone to act thus in every age.

Are we at ease in Zion? Are we using for our own luxurious enjoyment gifts which God entrusted to our care for the world? Are we too indifferent to the fate of those who live in our homes, or pour in great streams of activity along our streets? Are we sleeping in the garden, whilst our Master sweats the bloody sweat? We have but one life to spend; let it be a life in earnest. Let us bethink ourselves of any whom we can help—any who are in affliction, the poor widow, the young wife with the sick husband, the student who is so eager to become a minister.

Amos 6:8-14
TODAY IN THE WORD

I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it. -

At one point in his ministry, noted preacher Harry Ironside worried that he was not as humble as he ought to be. When he asked a friend for advice, his friend suggested that Ironside make a large sandwich board sign with the plan of salvation in Scripture written on it and walk through the busy shopping district of downtown Chicago for an entire day. Ironside did as his friend suggested. When he had finally returned to his apartment, he thought about how humbling the experience had been. But as he removed the sign, Ironside caught himself thinking, “There’s not another person in Chicago that would be willing to do a thing like that.”

Pride is something that even the most godly Christians sometimes struggle with. One of the best remedies for pride is to see it through God’s eyes. According to Amos 6:8, God abhors pride. The Hebrew term used in this verse refers to the same kind of loathing that God has for idolatry. It means to regard something as an abomination. Indeed, the kind of pride condemned in these verses really was a form of idolatry, because it was rooted in the worship of self.

Israel’s pride had grown to such a proportion that extreme measures were required. Recent military successes led Israel to believe that it was invincible (Amos 6:13). God’s people would soon learn from bitter experience that their strongest fortresses were not strong enough to protect them from divine chastening.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
To what do you attribute your successes and achievements? Certainly, a measure of human effort is required in most endeavors. Ultimately, however, we must trace all our successes to God’s enabling power. It is a good thing to be confident in the Christian life, if it is the kind of confidence that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” Are you confident in yourself or in God as you engage in ministry? (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 7:1-9
TODAY IN THE WORD

Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. - Amos 7:8b

Writer Calvin Miller once noted, “Great communication is based on liking our audience rather than fearing them.” One of the secrets to being an effective evangelist is to empathize with those you hope to reach. We may not like everything that they do but we must care about them.

This was true of Amos. The compassion he felt for those to whom he had been sent infuses today’s passage. When the Lord showed him a series of visions foretelling the destruction of Israel, Amos pleaded with God on Israel’s behalf.

In the first vision he saw a swarm of locusts ready to destroy the harvest. This was after the first harvest had been gathered and just as the second crop was starting to come up (Amos 7:1).

In our culture today we may miss the significance of this timing. The second crop was planted late in the season in order to benefit from the spring rains. A swarm of locusts then would mean that there would be no time left to plant another crop. Anything planted would die, since there was no rain to sustain it. Since the first crop was “the king’s share,” people depended upon the second crop for their survival.

In Amos’s vision, the locusts “stripped the land clean.” Instead of rejoicing because God’s sinful people were getting what they deserved, Amos cried out in anguish and begged God to forgive (Amos 7:2). The Lord granted the prophet’s request and relented.

Sometime after this Amos saw another vision. This time the Lord called for “judgment by fire” to destroy the crops and dry up the underground water supply (Amos 7:4). Many Bible scholars believe this referred to a possible drought. Once again, Amos pleaded with God to relent and judgment was delayed (Amos 7:5–6).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Amos felt compassion that compelled him to pray as well as preach. The people of Israel did not appreciate his ministry, but they were spared because he cared enough to pray.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 7:1
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 7:1 The latter growth after the king’s mowings.

Our King has often to mow the grass of the inner life—the daisies and buttercups of experience of which we are so proud, the tall stalks, the flowering grasses. Were He to leave them, the entire growth would become altogether too coarse and rank for use. The lawn on which He loves to walk, with its velvet pile of grass, would become coarse and rough.

Mowing implies death. All the pretty flowers and myriads of blades lie in long swathes of death, presently to be carried away to the rubbish-heap. From myriads of dying flowers the last expiring sigh is being breathed out on the soft spring breeze. We must be prepared to die to our complacent self-content; to our blissful frames and feelings; to our complaints and consolations—if any of them come between us and our King.

But after the King’s mowings there is the aftermath. It is said that the tenderest, juiciest shoots appear on lawns which are repeatedly mown. This is what the young lambs love, if they may taste it. And surely there is no such piety as that which follows on the repeated application of God’s scythe. When repeated strokes have robbed us of health, friends, money, and favorable circumstances; then we put forth our tenderest shoots of love, and prayer, and consecration. Oh, do not be afraid of the scythe! The King loves thee too well to hurt thee. Be of good heart; thou shalt yet bear an aftermath!

“What do you think of your God now?” asked a well-known skeptic of Silwood of Keswick, who for twenty years suffered agonies. “Since He is able to keep me in perfect peace,” was the reply, “amid sufferings like mine, I think of Him more than ever.” Here was aftermath indeed!

Amos 7:8
December 17, 2002
A Straight Wall
READ: Amos 7:1-9

Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. —Amos 7:8

When I was a young boy, the kids in my neighborhood built a clubhouse. We were able to get the floor level, but we were having trouble making the sideboards fit because we didn't use a plumb line. The finished product looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Carpenters often use a plumb line to make sure walls are square with the floor. It is a string with a weight on it that hangs straight down to guide the builder when he puts up a wall.

In Amos 7, we read about another kind of plumb line. The Lord first told Amos about a swarm of locusts and a great fire, which were pictures foretelling the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. After the prophet prayed and the Lord agreed to delay His judgment, Amos was given a vision of a straight wall. The Lord was standing by it with a plumb line. Because Israel's conduct didn't "square" with God's laws, they experienced God's wrath (vv.8-9).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a plumb line by which we can evaluate our lives. It is the Word of God with its principles and commands. When faced with moral choices, we must see what the Scriptures teach. When we follow the Lord's directives, we need not fear what His plumb line will reveal in our lives.—David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

For Further Study
Why did God give the Bible to us? (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Read the online version of Right & Wrong: A Case For Moral Absolutes.

You can measure your love for God by your obedience to His Word

Amos 7:10-17
TODAY IN THE WORD

The LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” - Amos 7:15

Radio humorist Garrison Keillor once complained that the preaching he heard was too soft. “I’ve heard a lot of sermons in the past 10 years or so that make me want to get up and walk out,” he said. “They’re secular, psychological, self-help sermons. Friendly, but of no use. They didn’t make you straighten up. They didn’t give you anything hard.” Keillor seems to agree with the person who observed that the true task of the preacher is to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable.

Amaziah, the priest who officiated at Bethel, subscribed to the view of tickling the ears of the powerful. In an effort to sabotage Amos’s ministry, Amaziah sent word to Jeroboam II accusing Amos of attempting to overthrow him. He warned Jeroboam that the things Amos prophesied threatened the king personally and placed the political stability of the northern kingdom at risk (Amos 7:10).

What Amaziah said was half true. Amos had spoken against the king and the sanctuary at Bethel. Amos, however, was not driven by a political agenda but by his calling as a prophet of God and his commitment to the truth. His preaching had not caused the calamities he foretold--they were the result of Israel’s sin.

Amaziah’s own values became clear when he told Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there” (Amos 7:12). Amaziah was familiar with priests and prophets who sold their services to the highest bidder. Like Balaam, these “prophets” were motivated primarily by personal gain (cf. Num. 22–24).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Money or power may not be the factors that affect us when we share the gospel with others–it may be the approval or disapproval of others. Whatever the circumstance, it is important to “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 7:15
November 16, 2003
Handling Criticism
READ: Amos 7:7-15

The Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, "Go, prophesy to My people Israel." —Amos 7:15

As we grow older, we sometimes become set in our ways and unwilling to admit when we are wrong. Worse yet, if we don't see eye-to-eye with others, we become critical of them and try to discredit their views.

Some people, for example, when they disagree with a pastor, seem to be quick to judge motives. They may even suggest that the preacher is only looking for a paycheck.

This type of criticism happened to Amos about 750 BC. The prophet had been preaching a tough message about God's judgment of Israel. Understandably, his message was unpopular. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, was irritated and told Amos to go back to Judah. Amaziah accused Amos of being a prophet-for-hire, preaching just to make a living (7:12). Amos responded by saying that he was prophesying only because God had told him to speak (v.15).

If we are preaching or leading, we must faithfully serve the Lord as Amos did, even if the task is unpleasant, unpopular, or rejected by our audience. And if we're in the congregation, we need to be sure that when we hear something we don't agree with, we're not actually resisting what the Lord wants us to hear and do.

That's how to handle criticism. —Albert Lee (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Lord, we can't see each wrong we do,
So send us help from Christians who
Will notice faults we do not see
And tell us of them tactfully. —Branon

Never fear criticism when you're right; never ignore it when you're wrong.

Amos 8:1-10
TODAY IN THE WORD

The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done.” - Amos 8:7

Two days ago we looked at three visions that Amos received. In today’s reading, Amos was shown another vision. This time it consisted of a basket of ripe fruit--the Lord explained that, like this fruit, Israel was ripe for judgment (Amos 8:2). This moment had come after many years of patient waiting and pleading. God had acted according to His own timetable and was now declaring through Amos that Israel’s time had run out. Yet even in this ominous pronouncement, God’s grace was still evident. The actual fall of Samaria would not come for approximately another ten years.

The Bible often speaks of God’s patience toward the sinner, noting that He does not take any pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23; 33:11). He is a gracious and compassionate God who is slow to anger and abounding in love (Ex. 34:6). Yet He is also a God who is not afraid to judge. He had appointed a day of judgment for Samaria--and when that day finally came, the sounds of worship in the temple would turn to wailing and bodies would be flung everywhere (Amos 8:3).

The reason for this devastation was given in Amos 8:4-6. It had been prompted by Israel’s disregard for the needy. They had “trampled” on the needy by using unfair business practices, including giving less than their poor customers had paid for, price fixing, and using dishonest scales. They treated others as property to be bought and sold and were so greedy that they collected the dirty sweepings of wheat that fell on the threshing floor and sold them (Amos 8:6).

Even worse, they did all this while appearing to obey God’s Law. Although they refrained from doing business during the Sabbath as the Law had commanded, their heart was not in it. Instead, they were eager for the day to end so that they could get back to maximizing their profits (Amos 8:5).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We can misread God’s patience and conclude that He does not care about our sin. But God’s kindness is meant to lead us toward repentance (Ro 2:4). (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 8:11-14
TODAY IN THE WORD

Not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. - Amos 8:11

Not long ago, an article in Newsweek magazine described the tragic journey of Badia Omar, an Ethiopian woman who watched two of her five children die due to famine-related causes. She and her husband had once owned 200 sheep, 25 cows, and one goat. But when a deadly combination of drought and famine claimed their possessions, her husband abandoned the family. In desperation, Badia left the lowland region that had been their home and made an 18-day journey in order to find food.
Although her story may seem strange to those of us who live in a more prosperous country, it would have been very familiar to the people of Amos’s day. Drought and famine often caused entire populations to uproot and migrate from one place to another. God’s own people had initially gone down to Egypt because of such a famine. Few calamities in the ancient world were as devastating.

In today’s passage, however, Amos warns of an even worse disaster. Because God’s people had not listened to the warnings of the prophets, the Lord promised to send “a famine of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). In a sense, God permitted the people of Israel to have their own way. They had not wanted to listen to the message of the prophets, and so God said that He would silence them. Only then would God’s people develop a “hunger” for His Word. Like Badia, they would wander throughout the land in a futile search, not for food, but for someone who would proclaim the Word of the Lord (Amos 8:12).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Some experience a “famine” of the Word of God because they live in countries closed to God’s Word. How much more tragic is the case of those who have easy access to the Scriptures and suffer a spiritual famine out of neglect. The very availability of the Bible causes them to take it for granted. Write out or memorize Job 23:12 and place it near your Bible to remind you of its importance: “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 8:11
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 8:11 I will send a famine in the land,… of hearing the words of the Lord.

Israel will not listen to God’s prophets, and their voices would be silenced. This was a just retribution. As they were not willing to have the word of God, so there should be a famine of that word. The word of God was precious in the days of Samuel, because there was no open vision; so should it be again. And perhaps this privation will one day be meted out to our beloved country. There is a much larger proportion of our population outside than inside our churches; and men proudly eschew God’s Word. It may be that the message of the Gospel will almost cease from among them, and be replaced—as in so many instances is now the case—by the dry husks of morality and ceremonialism. Then they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

We may question ourselves, whether we feed enough on God’s Word. If we would grow strong, we must feed, not on condiments and sweetmeats, not on tit-bits and scraps, not on versicles and pious sentences; but on the strong meat of the Word, on the doctrines, histories, types of Scripture. Oh for more hunger and thirst for these! Would you have it so? No child will enjoy its meals who is constantly being surfeited with sweets between times. Beware lest you cloy your appetite with the painted sweetmeats of the world.

It is worth notice, that if men have not God, they will find some substitute. They will swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy God, O Dan; thy manner, O Beersheba. This is why palmistry, spiritualism, so-called Christian science, are just now so much in vogue. Man’s nature is made for God, and hungers for a substitute.

Amos 8:11
January 21, 2007
Spiritual Famine
READ: 1 Peter 2:1-10

I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. —Amos 8:11

In the novel No Blade of Grass, a destructive virus attacks the grasses of the world. Not just the grass in lawns but all grasses, including wheat, barley, rye, oats, and rice. In a matter of months, the world is plunged into famine and its brutal companion, violence. People begin by fighting, then killing, for food.

The novel depicts a scene that has been lived out in the real world in recent famines and is terrifying when seen on TV news networks. Yet I can only imagine what it’s like.

The prophet Amos spoke of a different kind of famine. He called it a famine of “hearing the words of the Lord” (8:11). While a lack of food can lead to disease and death, a famine of the Word can produce eternal consequences. Without access to God’s Word, we lack wisdom for life and the message of eternal life in Christ. As Christians, we need “the pure milk of the Word, that [we] may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). We can identify with the prophet when he said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer. 15:16).

The world is starving for the knowledge of the God who can satisfy the needs of the human heart. Let’s help fill their hearts by sharing His Word. —Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Give us, O Lord, a strong desire
To look in Your Word each day;
Help us to hide its truths in our heart,
Lest from His path our feet would stray. —Bosch

Without a heart for God, we cannot hear His Word

Amos 9:1-10
TODAY IN THE WORD

“Yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the LORD. - Amos 9:8b

The Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonar once told of two men who were discussing their religious experience. One had attended church for many years but did not trust Jesus Christ for eternal life. The other man had spent many years living an immoral life and had only recently come to trust in Christ.

“So you say you have found Christ, and have peace with God?” the churchgoing man asked. “I have indeed,” the other replied. “I have found him, I have peace, and I know it.” “Know it!” the churchgoer snapped. “Do you think that God would give a sinner like you peace, and not give it to me, who have been doing all I can to get it for so many years?” The new Christian answered, “You are such a respectable man that you can get on without peace and pardon, but a wretch like me cannot.”

The churchgoer’s mistake, of course, was to attempt to find peace with God by “doing” all he could. He believed that his religious efforts would shield him from the consequences of sin.

The people of Israel made the same mistake. Their confidence was based upon the outward trappings of religion. The Lord, however, called for the destruction of the very things in which they had placed their trust. He promised to pursue them in judgment, no matter what measures they might take to avoid His wrath (Amos 9:2–4).

This underscores the chief danger of sin--it alienates us from God. Sin is not a small matter. It estranges us from God and makes us His enemies (Col. 1:21). God’s treatment of Israel in these verses may seem harsh, but it accurately reflected sin’s penalty (Rom. 6:23).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The good news of the gospel is that the God who judges sin has also provided the only sure remedy for it: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). How should we approach Him? Horatius Bonar tells us in his hymn entitled “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”: “I came to Jesus as I was,/ Weary and worn and sad;/ I found in Him a resting place,/ And He has made me glad.” (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 9:9
Deliverance from Dust and Chaff
Faith's Checkbook
C H Spurgeon

“For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”—Amos 9:9

THE sifting process is going on still. Wherever we go, we are still being winnowed and sifted. In all countries God’s people are being tried “like as corn is sifted in a sieve.” Sometimes the devil holds the sieve and tosses us up and down at a great rate, with the earnest desire to get rid of us forever. Unbelief is not slow to agitate our hearts and minds with its restless fears. The world lends a willing hand at the same process and shakes us to the right and to the left with great vigor. Worst of all, the church, so largely apostate as it is, comes in to give a more furious force to the sifting process.

Well, well! let it go on. Thus is the chaff severed from the wheat. Thus is the wheat delivered from dust and chaff. And how great is the mercy which comes to us in the text, “yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” All shall be preserved that is good, true, gracious. Not one of the least of believers shall be lost; neither shall any believer lose anything worth calling a loss. We shall be so kept in the sifting that it shall be a real gain to us through Christ Jesus.

Amos 9:9
Morning and Evening
C H Spurgeon

“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” — Amos 9:9

Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, “I will sift the house of Israel.” Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord’s floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to his own glory, and to thine eternal profit.

The Lord Jesus will surely use the fan which is in his hand, and will divide the precious from the vile. All are not Israel that are of Israel; the heap on the barn floor is not clean provender, and hence the winnowing process must be performed. In the sieve true weight alone has power. Husks and chaff being devoid of substance must fly before the wind, and only solid corn will remain.

Observe the complete safety of the Lord’s wheat; even the least grain has a promise of preservation. God himself sifts, and therefore it is stern and terrible work; he sifts them in all places, “among all nations”; he sifts them in the most effectual manner, “like as corn is sifted in a sieve”; and yet for all this, not the smallest, lightest, or most shrivelled grain, is permitted to fall to the ground. Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord, a shepherd would not lose one sheep, nor a jeweller one diamond, nor a mother one child, nor a man one limb of his body, nor will the Lord lose one of his redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord’s, we may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus.

Amos 9:11-15
TODAY IN THE WORD

“I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God. - Amos 9:15

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it covered the surrounding area with a layer of ash that was several hundred feet deep. The hot ash and lava that spewed from the mountain destroyed all plant and animal life, leaving behind a landscape that resembled the moon. Yet nineteen years later an amazing transformation had begun to take place. Birds, grass, elk, and even frogs had all begun to flourish there again. The mountainside, once dead, had come back to life.

The prophet Amos closes his book on a note of hope, describing a similar rebirth for the nation of Israel. God had promised to judge His people, but He did not intend to destroy them. In the future He would “restore David’s fallen tent,” “repair its broken places,” “restore its ruins,” and “build it as it used to be” (Amos 9:11).

The mention of “David’s fallen tent” in this verse has been interpreted in a number of ways. Some think that it refers to the future restoration of the city of Jerusalem after its destruction by the Babylonians. Others regard it as a prediction of the reestablishment of the Davidic dynasty (see discussion of Millennium).

Acts cites this prophecy as support for the inclusion of Gentile believers in the church (Acts 15:16–17). The spread of the gospel to the Gentiles began God’s fulfillment of His promise that the Gentiles would bear His name (v. 12).

In addition to this, Amos predicted a time of unparalleled prosperity for Israel in their own land. He foresaw a harvest so abundant that “the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes” (Amos 9:13). Normally the plowman worked during the months of October and November. The reaper harvested the crop in March or April. In the future, however, the harvest will be so abundant that the reaper will not be able to finish before the plowman begins.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The promises Amos describes in these verses will one day be completely fulfilled when Christ establishes His kingdom (see discussion of Millennium). But those who know Christ as Savior already experience a foretaste of what that fulfillment will be like, as they experience the richness of new life in Christ. Think of the changes Jesus Christ has brought into your life. In what areas that were once barren has Christ brought you new life? As you think through each one, pray and thank God for His transforming work in your life.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Amos 9:11-12
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Amos 9:11-12 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.

These verses were quoted by the grave, white-vestured James in that memorable gathering of the Church to consider the admission of the Gentiles on equal terms with Jews (Acts 15). It is well worth noticing the special turn which the Lord’s brother gave to the closing words of the quotation. He reads into it the deeper meaning of the Holy Spirit. The quickening and blessing of the chosen people has always meant the blessing of the world.

It was so, as James says, at Pentecost. The blessing which descended on the hill of Zion passed to all lands. They went everywhere preaching the Gospel, until some began to utter it also to the men of Antioch, and great numbers streamed into the Church (Acts 11); and thence the widening circles broadened out, until Ephesus, Athens, Rome, and distant Spain and Britain were included.

So will it be when the end of the present age has been reached. We, the Church, shall sit with Christ in the heavenlies, occupying the place now held by the devil and his demons, who will no longer be the prince of the power of the air; but the Jews, using that term in its strict sense, having been brought to God, shall be the evangelists and apostles of the world. Then the residue of the Gentiles shall seek unto the Lord. Ponder, specially, the promises of Amos 9:13-15; and compare them with Romans 11:15, 24, 28.