God Speaks
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
2 “From among all the families on the earth,
I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
for all your sins.”
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
4 Does a lion ever roar in a thicket
without first finding a victim?
Does a young lion growl in its den
without first catching its prey?
5 Does a bird ever get caught in a trap
that has no bait?
Does a trap spring shut
when there’s nothing to catch?
6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning,
shouldn’t the people be alarmed?
Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has planned it?
7 Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything
until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
so who isn’t frightened?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
so who can refuse to proclaim his message?
9 Announce this to the leaders of Philistia
and to the great ones of Egypt:
“Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria,
and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.”
10 “My people have forgotten how to do right,”
says the Lord.
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth
taken by theft and violence.
11 Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“an enemy is coming!
He will surround them and shatter their defenses.
Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth
will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear.
So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds,
and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.
13 “Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,” says the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
14 “On the very day I punish Israel for its sins,
I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy—
their winter mansions and their summer houses, too—
all their palaces filled with ivory,”
says the Lord.
4 Listen to me, you fat cows
living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your husbands,
“Bring us another drink!”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness:
“The time will come when you will be led away
with hooks in your noses.
Every last one of you will be dragged away
like a fish on a hook!
3 You will be led out through the ruins of the wall;
you will be thrown from your fortresses,”
says the Lord.
4 “Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel.
Keep on disobeying at Gilgal.
Offer sacrifices each morning,
and bring your tithes every three days.
5 Present your bread made with yeast
as an offering of thanksgiving.
Then give your extra voluntary offerings
so you can brag about it everywhere!
This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
6 “I brought hunger to every city
and famine to every town.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
7 “I kept the rain from falling
when your crops needed it the most.
I sent rain on one town
but withheld it from another.
Rain fell on one field,
while another field withered away.
8 People staggered from town to town looking for water,
but there was never enough.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
9 “I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues on you
like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago.
I killed your young men in war
and led all your horses away.
The stench of death filled the air!
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
11 “I destroyed some of your cities,
as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Those of you who survived
were like charred sticks pulled from a fire.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.
Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”
13 For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,
stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.
He turns the light of dawn into darkness
and treads on the heights of the earth.
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Amos chapter three verses 1, 7, 10, and 14 are keys to God’s message to His people in the book of Amos. In verse one, God tells His people to “Listen up!” He has every right to discipline them because He was the one who brought them out of (slavery in) Egypt. Verse seven tells us that God never acts until He has informed His prophets of His plans. Verse ten explains why God’s discipline is necessary. God’s people have forgotten how to do right. Their leaders have amassed wealth through theft and violence, and God is about to punish Israel by destroying their false temple as well as their fancy homes. No matter how specific or serious the warning, the people of Israel did not return to the LORD. In fact, the phrase “‘. . . yet you have not returned to Me,’ declares the LORD,” or its equivalent occurs five times in Amos chapter four. The people of Israel (who should have known God and His ways better) in that day failed to acknowledge the power and majesty of Almighty God (see verse 13).
Prayer: Dear LORD God, we, Your people, and our nation have turned away from You and the Godly principles on which this nation (USA) was founded. [Ironically, this blog is being written on Constitution Day, September 17, 2022.] Even Your people have abandoned the freedom (both political and spiritual) won for us by the blood of our ancestors and the Lord Jesus Himself. We have forgotten how to live righteous lives. We have amassed wealth through theft, lies, and violence. You have sent various calamities to spur us to repent and turn back to depending on You, but, like the Israelites of old, we have stubbornly refused. Please, Holy Spirit, help us to humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways. Then You, Almighty God, will hear the prayers of Your faithful remnant, forgive our sins, and heal our land. All for the glory of Your grace, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will research and read the Constitution of the United States of America to see how it lines up with the values proclaimed in the Bible.
- I will think through my personal values and see how they align with biblical values.
- I will submit to the discipline God is using to draw me to be more dependent on Him instead of myself or anything else.
- I will pray for myself and other believers to humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s face (His smile of approval), and turn from our wicked ways so that God will hear, forgive our sins, and heal our nation.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.