Tag Archives: Amos

Daily Bible Study

September 24, 2023 Bible Study — Measuring Ourselves Against God’s Plumb Line

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 6-9 and Obadiah.

These two passage do not have much in common.  So, I am going to write first about what I see in the last part of Amos.  Then I will write about Obadiah.

In the first part of this passage Amos condemns the people of Israel for their complacency in the face of threat.  Then he speaks of prophecies which God gave him concerning the destruction of Israel. First, Amos sees a threat of locusts, at least as bad as that which the prophet Joel prophesied about.  Then he sees God implementing justice by fire.  In both cases Amos cries out to God asking that He not unleash such devastation on the Israelites, because they would not survive as a people.  God accedes to Amos’ request and issues a third plan.  In His third plan to bring judgement against His people, the Israelites, God states that He will establish a “plumb line” among them.

I am going to take a moment to describe what a plumb line is because I had trouble understanding this passage before I knew what a plumb line was. So, a plumb line is a string of some sort with a small weight on the end used by builders to determine if a wall, or other upright structure, is straight, or if it leans. The plumb line is held at the top of the wall, or other structure, not touching it. If the string is further from, or closer to, the wall at the bottom than it is at the top, the builder will know that the wall is not “plumb”, that it leans. And He will know where the “lean” begins, how close to the foundation He needs to go to start over in order to build an upright wall.

So, God set a plumb line among those who He has called as His people.  By measuring us by His plumb line,  He knows how far He needs to tear us down in order to rebuild us as straight and upright people.  That plumb line is Jesus Christ.  We can also compare ourselves to God’s plumb line in order to know how badly out of kilter our lives are.

Obadiah prophesies against Edom.  He tells us that Edom was arrogant and believed that their unique geographic position made them secure against attack.  However, that was not what led Obadiah to prophesy against them.  No, Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be destroyed because they stood by and watched while others attacked and brought harm to the Israelites, reveling in the destruction of their fellow man.  They gloated at the destruction of Jerusalem and then took part in looting the ruins.  The people of Edom gloated over the misfortune of the Israelites, sure of their security against such attacks.  God brought judgement upon them for that.  We should not gloat when others suffer misfortune, no matter how deserving we believe them to be.  Further, we should not inflict more suffering on those who experience God’s punishment for their sins.  While this passage does not illuminate this, we should instead seek to relieve their suffering, even though they had brought it on themselves, in order to possibly bring them to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2023 Bible Study — Woe to Those Who Long for the Day of the Lord

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 1-5.

It was 23 years ago today that my beautiful wife married me. I thank God for her every day.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Amos primarily prophesies against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, but before he gets into that he points out that Israel is not alone in its sin.  After warning the surrounding nations that they will face God’s judgement in time, Amos begins his prophecy against Israel.  He tells them that God sent them prophets and those who dedicated themselves to serving God, but they forced those dedicated to God to violate their commitment and made it illegal for prophets to speak God’s word.  Amos tells us that those who store up the wealth they have looted from others do not know how to do right.  It seems to me that he directs this at those who, having acquired wealth through unethical means, seek to lecture others on ethical and moral behavior.  Amos goes on to condemn those who live comfortably while oppressing the poor.  They make sacrifices and offerings which they brag about to show how religious they are, but they refuse to turn to God.  Amos describes how God caused minor economic and ecologic destruction to fall upon the Israelites because of their sin (or, perhaps it would be better to say He allowed), but they did not turn to Him.  Amos warns the people of Israel, and us, to seek God and live, to seek good, not evil.  And he has one final warning for us.  He warns those who long for the day of the Lord that they will not like it when it comes.  I believe Amos directs that at those whose religion is superficial rather than being true worship of God.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 24, 2022 Bible Study — As You Have Done, It Will Be Done To You

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 6-9 and Obadiah.

I chose that line out of Obadiah verse 15 as my title for today because it reflected much about what I wanted to write about out of both the portion of Amos for today and Obadiah.  Amos refers to the plumb line which God measures His people against.  He measures us against the standard He used to measure Christ and finds us wanting.  The determining factor in that measure is what we have done to others, but God does not measure us against those others.  He measures us against Jesus.  Fortunately, He also rebuilds us according to that standard if we will allow Him to do so.  Amos also speaks about those who use their religious observance as cover for their deceitful practices; those who diligently take part in religious activities while eagerly awaiting their return to business activities where they will defraud their customers. Finally in Obadiah the prophet condemns the people of Edom for taking advantage of the misfortune of the people of Judah rather than aiding them in their distress.  In all of these cases we learn that it will be done to us as we have done to others.  But there is a positive side to this as well, when we do good for others, that will be done to us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2022 Bible Study –Seek God Instead Of Evil

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 1-5.

It was 22 years ago today that my beautiful wife married me. I thank God for her every day.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Amos was called to prophesy against Israel, but first he prophesied against the surrounding nations and those prophesies speak to the world today.  Amos condemned the nations around Israel for capturing their neighbors and selling them into slavery, for committing atrocities against them in order to take their wealth and/or their land.  God will bring judgement on those who do such things, whether on a nation-state level or on a smaller scale.  Then using the same format as his prophecies against Israel’s neighbors, Amos begins to call out the people of Israel for their sins.  He condemns them for many of the same sins for which he condemned their neighbors: selling people into slavery, abusing the poor in order to make a profit at their expense, and more.  Amos points out how they use goods obtained in violation of God’s laws in their worship practices.

example: Sleeping before the altar in garments taken in pledge, when the Law of Moses explicitly tells them to return a garment taken in pledge before nightfall

Then Amos goes on to condemn them for forcing the religious to violate their deeply held beliefs and silencing those who sought to speak God’s word.  Amos speaks of the suffering which such sins will bring, but he also offers an alternative: Seek God and live.

Amos goes on to make an interesting point.  Do not seek the Day of the Lord for it will be a day of great suffering.  Sometimes we see the evil in this world, the suffering inflicted on the innocent, and desire that God bring His wrath to bear upon those who commit such injustices.  Amos seems to be saying that instead of praying to God to come and make things right, we should do what is right and seek justice for the innocent.  Seek good, not evil, Maintain justice. Love good and hate evil.  Do these things and God will be with you.  And if God is with us, the evil which inspires us to call for the Day of God’s Judgment will retreat.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 24, 2021 Bible Study — We Pay A Price When We Profit From The Suffering Of Others

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 6-9 and Obadiah.

Amos continues his prophecy against the Northern Kingdom of Israel in today’s passage.  I was going to start with the prophecy about the plumb line, but as I composed my thoughts I realized I was not sure what I understood it to say reflected what it was intended to say.  So, I decided to speak about Amos goes on to condemn those who joyously sing worship songs while eagerly awaiting the end of the service so that they can get back to cheating others.  Those who live such lives and do not turn to God will bring terrible destruction upon themselves. And yet, for all of the doom and gloom which Amos preached, he ended on a note of hope.  A time of destruction is coming to those who refuse to turn from their sins, but God will bring a time of plenty for those who turn to Him.

Now let us turn our attention to the short book of Obadiah.  I believe that Obadiah is the only Old Testament prophet who prophesied entirely against nations other than Israel or Judah.  He primarily prophesied against Edom, but there is a small bit against the Philistines.  Obadiah condemns the people for two things, pride and epicaricacy (or taking joy in the misfortune of others).  He tells them that they will suffer because they proudly thought that they could take advantage of the people of Israel (or Judah) when they were overrun.  They took joy when their neighbors suffered and they profited from that suffering in ways which increased the suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2021 Bible Study — Seek The Lord And Live

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 1-5.

Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife.  I have been married to a lovely woman for 21 years. I am so grateful that she has been with me all of this time.

Amos prophesied primarily against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, but before getting into the meat of the prophecy which God had given him, he also had warnings for the surrounding nations, including Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  He makes it clear that even though God has given him a message condemning the people of Israel that does not mean that they are worse than their neighbors.

Amos writes that God had sent them prophets to call them back to Him, and those who lived righteous lives to inspire them to return, but that they had told the prophets to be quiet and had compelled the righteous to violate their conscience.  God had caused disasters to happen as a warning to bring them back to Him, yet they refused to return to God.  Do we see the ways in which this applies to us, and to the people around us?  (and if you think it applies to you because you are one of the prophets or one of the righteous you have missed the message of the Bible)  The people of Israel loved to do things which made themselves look righteous without actually making the sacrifices to be righteous.  They turned justice into injustice and hated those who upheld justice in court.  They oppressed the innocent and taxed the poor so as to build mansions.   The prudent kept quiet to avoid becoming targets.  Amos told them that the day of the Lord was coming and it would be a day of darkness.  However, he also told them that if they sought the Lord, they would live.  God would be with those who sought and did good rather than evil.  Let us seek to maintain justice, not the appearance of justice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2020 Bible Study Do Not Wish For the Day of Judgement to Arrive

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Twenty years ago today, my wife gave me the best birthday present I ever wish for; she said “I do.”  We have now been married for 20 wonderful years.

  Happy Anniversary Darling!

Today, I am reading and commenting on Amos 1-5.

When Amos began to prophesy, he started with condemnations and warnings against the nations surrounding Israel and Judah.  He warned them that they would pay a price for the sins they had committed, that God would judge them for the crimes they had committed against God’s people.  Part of me thinks that Amos first spoke out against these other nations because he was angered by the things they had done to his people and foresaw that they would pay for their sins.  Another part of me thinks that perhaps he started with them to make sure that the people of Israel knew that God’s judgement was not just on them for their sins.  In either case, Amos’ prophecies against the neighboring nations, and his prophecy against Judah, were sincere, but relatively perfunctory.  His prophecies against Israel (the Northern Kingdom) were much more detailed.

Amos reports that God had called some of the people of Israel to be prophets and others to dedicate their lives to serving Him, but the people of Israel had told the prophets to shut up and forced those dedicated to God to break their vows.  They trampled on the poor and bullied the oppressed.  God sent warnings, droughts, plagues, etc., but they did not listen.  They hated honest judges and despised those who told the truth.  People keep their mouth shut because to speak against evil is to invite attack.  All of this sounds familiar to me.  And Amos’ warning does as well: hate evil and do what is good, turn to God and seek justice.  And perhaps the most important part of his warning: do not wish for the day of judgement to arrive.  This reminds me of those who are today calling for a violent revolution, but it also applies to those who seek a strong crackdown, wishing violence against those we perceive to be the enemy may come back to bite us.

Daily Bible Study

September 24, 2019 Bible Study — Having Been a Victim Does Not Give Me the Right to Oppress Others, Not Even Those Who Had Oppressed Me

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  

Today, I am reading and commenting on Amos 6-9 and Obadiah

Amos warns those who lounge in luxury and sing trivial songs that they imagine make them great musicians similar to King David.  This tells me that Amos’ warnings were not, and are not, directed at those who proclaim themselves pagans.  No, Amos’ warnings are directed at those who imagine themselves to be worshiping but who also worship idols.  Amos goes on to remind the people of Israel, and us today, that all people are important to God.  The Israelites were not, are not more important to God, than other peoples.  God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt, but He had brought other peoples out of other lands.  The people of the United States are not more important to God than the people of other lands.  Those who have accepted Christ as their Savior are not more important to God than other people.  If we begin to believe that because we are Americans, or Canadians, or any other nationality, or because we are Christians that we are special to God over others, we will suffer for our arrogance.

I wrote above on the end of the Book of Amos, now a few comments on the Book of Obadiah.  The people of Edom took advantage of the suffering of the people of Israel and therefore they were subject to God’s judgement.  Fur much of the history of Israel and Judah, Edom had been under control from Jerusalem.  This led them to resent the people of Israel, and Judah.  This resentment led the people of Edom to feel entitled to take advantage of the misfortune of those who were almost their countrymen.  Let us be warned not to seek profit by increasing the suffering of those already experiencing misfortune.  The people of Edom imagined that the people of Israel deserved to suffer and that they deserved to profit from that suffering, even if that meant increasing the suffering.  Obadiah tells us that we never deserve to profit from causing others to suffer.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2019 Bible Study — The People Have Sinned Again and Again. We Have Sinned Again and Again.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife

Today, I am reading and commenting on Amos 1-5.

Amos starts out by giving his credentials.  He is a shepherd who had a vision.  He notes that he had this vision two years before a significant earthquake.  The beginning of his message is that the people have sinned again and again and God will not let them go unpunished.   While Amos goes on to address more specific prophesies against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, I take his long list of nations whose people have sinned to indicate that his warning applies to all people every where.  In particular Amos’ warning is directed at those who claim to worship God.

So, what is Amos’ warning?  He warns those of us who live lives of leisure on the backs of the poor and needy.  Through Amos God tells His people that they have forgotten how to do right.  They live with wealth that was taken by theft and violence.  They oppress the poor and crush the needy.  All the while bragging about the sacrifices and offerings they make.  They despise people who tell the truth and they twist justice to serve their own ends.  Anyone who attempts to stand up for what is right and just becomes a target, so people remain silent.  Except Amos tells us that it is not enough to not do evil.  We must do what is right and good.  We must stand let ourselves become a target.  

I know there is a fine line to be walked here.  I have friends who call all that I believe hateful and evil.  Friends who are doing terrible things to themselves and others because society has told them there is no harm in it and that those who say otherwise are hateful.  Yet those same friends tell me that they want the peace and love they see in my life.  I strive to find the way to show them God’s love while warning them of the danger they flirt with.  I know that I do not do a good enough job of preaching the Gospel to them, but I also know that it would be so easy to lose the opportunity to preach it to them at all.  I seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to do a better job without closing the door completely.