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Amos 6-9
Final Visions
Psalm 109:1-31 Prayer of the Persecuted
1.“God of my praise, don’t remain silent,2.for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.3.They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.4.In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.5.They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.6.Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.7.When he is judged, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin.8.Let his days be few. Let another take his office.9.Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.10.Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.11.Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.12.Let there be no one to extend hesed/covenantal loyalty to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.13.Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.14.Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.15.Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth;16.because he didn’t remember to show hesed/covenantal loyalty, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them.17.Yes, as he loved cursing, let it come to him. As he didn’t delight in blessing, and let it be far from him.18.He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones.19.Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him.20.This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, of those who speak evil against my soul.
21.But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for Your name’s sake, because Your hesed/loyal covenantal love is good, deliver me;22.for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.23.I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.24.My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.25.I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.26.Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to Your hesed/loyal covenantal love;27.that they may know that this is Your hand; that You, Yahweh, have done it.28.They may curse, but You bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but Your servant shall rejoice.29.Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.30.I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.31.For He will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.“
Observations
109:1-3.Good King David “complains” to the God who answers his prayers, for which he praises Him, hence: “God of my praise.” The cause of his complaint is the demonically energized enemies who are spreading unjust lies about him. Whenever you hear about injustice and lies, the anti-god, the father of lies, is at work. David is totally innocent, there is no sin to be confessed, and has been doing what is right and true. The minions of the evil one are slandering him, and returning evil for good. This is an occupational hazard of the servants of God.
109:6-20.
David must have been really distressed by his evil opposition, for he calls down over two dozen curses on them as divine payback. Normally lying fools don't distress truth-seekers, but David was physically and emotionally weakened (109:23-24).
109:21-31.
David appeals to God's hesed and goodness, as well as the justice of his cause, and the glory God will receive when He blesses. God always pays back; good for good, and evil for evil.
Application
When afflicted by evil people, commit your case to God, who can pay them back far better than you can.
Prayer
God of justice and faithfulness, You see and know what I'm going through, and the justness of my cause; blast the evil speakers, and bless me, so the truth may be clearly seen, and You may be glorified. Thanks. Amen.
Proverbs 25:4-7 Refining Leadership
4.“Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the silversmith;5.Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.6.Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;7.for it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.”Observations
25:4-6.Refining to remove impurities is a prerequisite for the metalworker and those who lead organizations, be it a kingdom, corporation, church, or a family. Silver is malleable and useful when pure. Same with people. Those that have impure motives, like their own glory at the expense of the organization, wind up pursuing their own agenda, and impede organizational objectives, as well as disrupting co-laborers. It is the responsibility of leadership to take the initiative to remove the “wicked” or become like them.
25:7.
On the flip side. Leadership has the responsibility to recognize and promote meritorious people. By retaining rather than removing or re-training the obstreperous or marginal or incompetent “performers,” one does them and the real performers, and the organization a disservice.
Col 3: 22 “Servants, obey your human masters in everything; don't work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord—you serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.” (HCSB)
Application
Good leaders remove the unprofitable and unrighteous, and reward the performers; work on being profitable, and you'll be recognized.
Prayer
God who sees and rewards, help me do my work heartily as Your employee, knowing that it's You I serve, and my righteous labor is never in vain. Amen.
Amos 6-9 Final Visions
In this last section of the book, Amos announces the inevitability of the “Overdue Judgment,” and ends with God's promise to “save a segment” of the nation and to permanently plant them in the land (as in never get plucked out again). God particularly denounces those who live in self-gratification, insensitive to His will and the needs of others, whom they oppress. Amos bargains with God to relent from judgment, but eventually loses. The book ends with a great passage of how God will regather and bless His people in the land.Amos 6 Lounging in the Lap of Luxury
1.Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!2.Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?3.Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;4.Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;5.who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;6.who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.7.Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.9.It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.10."When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No’; then he will say, ‘ Hush! Indeed we must not mention the name of Yahweh.’11."For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.12.Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;13.you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’14.For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says Yahweh, the God of Hosts; "and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah."
Observation
6:1-14.Amos lambasts the luxuriant living of the leaders of Israel and Judah. They are not nearly as large and mighty as the kingdoms mentioned in verse 2 which had been destroyed; so what makes them think they are exempt from judgment? They built their worth and value on the consumption of valuable things, rather than doing what was right and just in God's sight. Their pride was offensive to God, and they would be among the first taken into captivity. It was common practice for a conquering empire to take the intellectual capital captive to serve in the administration of the empire, and the elite usually educated their young. Only the ignorant beast-like hordes destroyed what they didn't understand. When Rome conquered Greece, Greek tutors Hellenized the Roman world, enriching the empire.
Lamb chops and veal were indulgent luxuries, because it slaughtered the young tender animals at the expense of a greater yield of a more mature animal. Those who lounged, sprawled in a stupor on couches, strumming their guitars after their massage, drinking their vintage wines by the case/bowl (vs cup), were totally unconcerned about the sin undermining the foundation of their prosperity. They would suffer the wrath of God for using the legal system to unjustly enrich themselves and overturned righteousness. God would deliver them to another nation to be destroyed to such an extent that people would be afraid to mention Yahweh's name for fear that He would notice them and kill them.
Application
Living for indulging your own pleasures without regard for God nor others, is a quick way to incur God's wrath.
Prayer
God, may I not be deceived into thinking that this world is all there is, and thus devote all my energies to self-indulgence and temporal gratification, but instead, may I care about what You care about, righteousness and justice. Amen.
Amos 7 Crooked Priest, Straight Prophet
1.Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest.2.It happened that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, "Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small."3.Yahweh relented concerning this. "It shall not be," says Yahweh.4.Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.5.Then I said, "Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small."6.Yahweh relented concerning this. "This also shall not be," says the Lord Yahweh.7.Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.8.Yahweh said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.9.The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."11.For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’"12.Amaziah also said to Amos, "You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:13.but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!"14.Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs;15.and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘ Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’16.Now therefore listen to the word of Yahweh: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’17.Therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’"
Observation
7:1-17.God shows Amos upcoming judgment and Amos begs God to be merciful so that Jacob (a reminder of God's covenantal promise to bless his descendents) wouldn't be wiped out. God relents a couple of times, but shows Amos a plumb line, which was used for measuring the uprightness of walls; the leaning, crooked ones would be torn down. God would measure them, and those that didn't show themselves to be straight and narrow, would be destroyed (no more Mr. Nice God). While Amos is bargaining with the Lord to save Israel, the religious establishment is distorting his words and bad-mouthing him for proclaiming the truth that could spare them judgment (typical). The rejoinder of Amos is harsh, as befits the crime of suppressing the truth for self-interest.
Application
Those who seek to turn people to righteousness will be surprised to find their biggest hindrance is not the Devil, but the religious establishment distorting truth to do Satan's will.
Prayer
God, You are so gracious in not punishing those who rebel against You as their sins deserve, but long suffering; may I demonstrate a similar patience in proclaiming Your truth, and trust You to deal with the opposition. Amen.
Amos 8 Overdue Judgment
1.Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, a basket of ripe fruit.2.He said, "Amos, what do you see?" I said, "A basket of ripe fruit." Then Yahweh said to me, "The time is ripe/end has come on my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.3.The songs of the temple will be wailings in that day," says the Lord Yahweh. "The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.5.Saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;6.that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’"7.Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, "Surely I will never forget any of their works.8.Won’t the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River; and it will be stirred up and sink again, like the River of Egypt.9.It will happen in that day," says the Lord Yahweh, "that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.10.I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.
12.They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the word of Yahweh, and will not find it.13.In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst.
14.Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god, Dan, lives’; and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives’; they will fall, and never rise up again."
Observation
8:1-14.Amos sees a basket of ripe fruit that symbolizes Israel's ripeness for judgment. God will no longer forebear, but will give people their earned consequences. Thinking only of themselves at the expense of others, and disdaining God's Sabbath and other laws which delay their unjust gain, will result in deserved destruction and lamentation. The imagery of the sun going down at noon was particularly apropos, since Jeroboam's ruled over Israel in it's glory days. There would also be a new kind of famine, no more hearing God's words. God wouldn't be speaking to them. No words of encouragement, exhortation, comfort, guidance, nor hope. Those who sought and swore by the false gods worshiped in Samaria and Dan would fall, and stay down, permanently.
Application
Why would we ever think that an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and just God doesn't see our sins, and won't respond negatively to our rebellion against Him, and harm of others?
Prayer
God, I want to be always sensitive to Your words and ways, so I might do what is pleasing to You and beneficial to others, and always be on speaking terms with You. Amen.
Amos 9 Segment Saved
1.I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.2.Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.3.Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.4.Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.5.For the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.6.It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth; Yahweh is his name.7."Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?" says Yahweh. "Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?"8.Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," says Yahweh.9."For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth."10.All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’12.that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name," says Yahweh who does this.13."Behold, the days come," says Yahweh, "that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the one treading grapes him who sows seed; and sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and flow from the hills."14."I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, and eat their fruit."15."I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them," says Yahweh your God.
Observations
9:1-10.The omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God is watching sinful kingdoms to destroy them. There is no escape, despite all the positive self-talk in the world. God won't utterly destroy Israel (9:8), but will scatter them among the nations. “All the sinners of my people will die” (9:10). Those who respond righteously will live to return.
9:11-15.
God's graciousness is not only seen in warning Israel, and sparing some, but in restoring the nation and Davidic house (per His covenant with David -2Sam 7). He will raise up the ruins, repair and build as in the days of old. He will call for blessings, so that it takes so long to harvest the abundance, that before they finish, it will be time to plant again. God will bring His people back from captivity and permanently plant them in the land. In light of the dispersion of Israel from AD 70, when the temple was destroyed, to AD 1948, when Israel was regathered, the promise to permanently plant the nation can't apply to the time after the Babylonian captivity, but must be yet future. God always keeps all His promises.
Application
God is faithful to all His promises, both to bless or curse; we experience one or the other based upon our faithfulness.
Prayer
God, thanks for being totally trustworthy, and faithful to fulfill all You've promised; may I be faithful to do all You demand and desire of me, so that I may both delight You and reap Your blessings. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God faithfully blesses and curses according to His promises. His justice demands that He punish those who oppress others unjustly and unrighteously for the sake of dishonest gain used for gratifying their own desires. God might relent and forbear, but will eventually discipline without turning back. He particularly opposes the proud and indulgent who engage in bogus religion.Us in a nutshell: We will be paid back for all we've done by the infinitely just God, who knows, sees, and remembers everything we've done. Those who don't seek God will experience a famine of God's word, and starve. Those who do seek and obey God will be opposed by the religious institution which cares only for self interest/preservation rather than responding to what God has revealed. As God said: “All the sinners of my people will die” (9:10).