Read: Amos 7-8
These
chapters contain five visions of disasters that were seen by Amos the
prophet. The first was a plague of
locusts (7:1-9) which would devastate the crops. Amos cried out to God, who heard and relented
so that the locus plague would not happen.
The second vision was that of fire devouring the deep (7:4-6). Once again Amos cried out on behalf of Israel
and once again the Lord heard and relented from bringing this disaster upon
them. Whatever this judgment represented
it is clearly averted by the prayer of Amos.
The third vision was that of a plumb line (7:7-9) - the Lord is standing
on a wall with a plumb line in hand and He is setting the plumb line in the
midst of Israel and will bring destruction upon the places of idolatrous
worship and the house of Jeroboam (ruling king of Israel). In construction, a plumb line is used to
measure the correctness of a building. God
has measured Israel and can no longer overlook her sinfulness. The next verses provide a brief interlude
from the visions of Amos. Amaziah,
priest of Bethel (the centre of idolatrous worship) accuses Amos of conspiracy
against king Jeroboam of Israel. He
tells Amos to leave Bethel and go back to Judah. Amos defended his prophetic mission (7:14-15)
and prophesies against Amaziah and Israel telling of what would become of his family:
his children will be killed and his wife will be sold into prostitution, his
land will be taken and he will die far from home in a foreign land (7:17). Chapter eight continues the visions of
Amos. The fourth vision is of a basket
of ripe fruit (8:1-3). The Lord revealed
that Israel’s end is near and is ripe for judgement. Israel’s sin is described as oppressing the poor
and needy (8:4) as well as contempt for religious observances because they
hinder economic enterprise (8:5) and dishonest economic practices which further
abuse the poor and needy (8:6). The
nature of Israel’s judgment is described in the following verses (8:7-14) as a
fifth vision. A day of mourning is
coming (8:10), a day when the Lord will be silent (8:11-12) and those who trust
in idolatry will fall and never rise again (8:13-14). The silence of the Lord is a terrible
punishment. In the past when Israel
faced times of great distress they turned to God for a prophetic word of hope
or guidance but in the coming judgement the Lord will answer all such appeals
with silence.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Amos was not just a prophet but a man of
prayer. When God showed him the visions
of the locust and the fire he cried out to God and pleaded with Him not to do
it and God drew back from what He had said He would do. It is remarkable that prayer can affect God
in this way. God is personal, He listens
and He is willing to be persuaded. What
does this teach you about prayer? How is
this a motivation to be faithful in prayer?
2. A basket of ripe fruit was normally associated
with the joys of summer harvest but in this case it was a divine picture of
judgment. When we listen in prayer we
can often receive a correct word, picture or thought from the Lord but sometime
we can apply it incorrectly. It is God
who gives prophetic words/thoughts/pictures and their interpretations also
belong to God (Gen. 40:8). Have you ever
been disappointed by a prophetic word that did not come true according to what
you thought was spoken? Dialogue with
God about this. What does He want to say
to you today about these things?
3. In Amos 8:11-12 we read of a famine of the Word
of the Lord. We must make sure that we don’t
experience a self-imposed famine of the Word by neglecting to study the Scriptures
and listen in prayer. Pray for believers
to grow in desiring and obeying God by spending time in the Word and in
prayer. Ask God to grow the church in
seeking Him and in prayer/intercession.
