God Speaks
1 This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel.
2 This is what he saw and heard:
“The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem!
The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up;
the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.”
3 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They beat down my people in Gilead
as grain is threshed with iron sledges.
4 So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace,
and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed.
5 I will break down the gates of Damascus
and slaughter the people in the valley of Aven.
I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden,
and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,”
says the Lord.
6 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sent whole villages into exile,
selling them as slaves to Edom.
7 So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
8 I will slaughter the people of Ashdod
and destroy the king of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn to attack Ekron,
and the few Philistines still left will be killed,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
9 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel,
selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.
10 So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Edom have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords,
showing them no mercy.
In their rage, they slashed them continually
and were unrelenting in their anger.
12 So I will send down fire on Teman,
and the fortresses of Bozrah will be destroyed.”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders,
they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.
14 So I will send down fire on the walls of Rabbah,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
The battle will come upon them with shouts,
like a whirlwind in a mighty storm.
15 And their king and his princes will go into exile together,”
says the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Moab have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king,
burning them to ashes.
2 So I will send down fire on the land of Moab,
and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed.
The people will fall in the noise of battle,
as the warriors shout and the ram’s horn sounds.
3 And I will destroy their king
and slaughter all their princes,”
says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
that deceived their ancestors.
5 So I will send down fire on Judah,
and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”
6 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
and poor people for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample helpless people in the dust
and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
corrupting my holy name.
8 At their religious festivals,
they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,
they drink wine bought with unjust fines.
9 “But as my people watched,
I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
and dug out their roots.
10 It was I who rescued you from Egypt
and led you through the desert for forty years,
so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets
and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
asks the Lord.
12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’
13 “So I will make you groan
like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
14 Your fastest runners will not get away.
The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
15 The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
16 On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
says the Lord.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Amos 1:1-2 is an introduction which tells the reader who, where, and when the book of Amos was written. The rest of Amos chapter 1 through Amos 2:3 concerns God’s judgment on Israel’s (the northern kingdom’s) enemies. Some of their sins include the following: 1) Damascus (Syria) crushed the people of Gilead as if they were using heavy iron weapons. 2) Gaza sent whole villages into exile as forced laborers. 3) Tyre continually broke their treaties regarding mutual defense. 4) Edom pursued the Israelites in battle, showing no compassion. 5) The Ammonites ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead. 6) The Moabites disrespected the Edomites by burning their honored king’s corpse. Some of the judgments (or natural consequences of these crimes or sins are as follows: 1) Fire will consume their palaces. 2) Their rulers will be deposed or killed. 3) Their people will be taken into captivity. 3) Innocent people will be killed. 4) Protective walls will be breached. 5) Their protective fortresses will be broken into. 6) Violent winds will destroy their property. 7) Justice will be abandoned, and lawlessness will be rampant. Next, Amos 2:4-5 tells of God’s judgment for Judah’s (the southern kingdom’s) transgressions. The people of Judah had rejected the LORD and His laws and decrees and had put other “gods” ahead of Him. In Amos 2:6 through the rest of Amos, the LORD deals with Israel itself. The main sins listed in the rest of chapter two are ingratitude for all that God had done for them in the past and their terrible treatment of other people especially those who were trying to follow Him.
Use this link to watch a video overview of the book of Amos.
Prayer: Dear LORD God, You are both sovereign and judge over the nations of the world. Thank You that You are aware of all the sin and corruption of individuals, groups, cultures, and nations. You dealt with all our sins by having Jesus come and die, taking the punishment for it all. Thank You that judgment can be avoided by turning to You in faith. Holy Spirit, draw us all to faith in God. In particular, cover our sins with the cleansing blood of the LORD Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, please replace our sin with Christ’s righteousness. Specifically, I confess the sins of my nation: bullying, human trafficking, breaking solemn promises and treaties, abortion, lack of compassion, disrespect for ancestors or authorities, mistreatment of children or the poor, rejection of You and Your laws and principles, ingratitude toward people or You, LORD God, giving our devotion to anyone or anything other than You. Please forgive me and my nation and draw us back to Yourself. For the glory of Your name. 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 ask the LORD to help me minister to someone who has been crushed in spirit.
- I will send what money I can to an organization that helps rescue people caught in human trafficking.
- I will volunteer to work at a pregnancy care center [preventing pregnant women being ripped open with scalpels].
- I will not just complain whenever I see any of these sins taking place. Instead, I will take a moment to ask God to cover these sins with Christ’s blood and replace them with His own righteousness.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.