Maranatha Grace Church

An Outline

 Judgment on Israel's neighbors (1:1-25)

 Judgment on Israel (2:6-16)

 Israel's guilt (3:1-6:14)

 The five visions (7:1-9:10)

 Israel's restorations (9:11-15)

Hello:

Book of Joel Challenge – Day 16 Amos 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash^[a] was king of Israel.

² He said:

“The Lord roars from Zion
 and thunders from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
 and the top of Carmel withers.”  (Amos 1:1-2)

The more we understand the justice and the holy wrath of God as portrayed in the Old Testament, the more we appreciate the atoning death of Jesus on Calvary. Through his death, the Lord Jesus opens a new paradigm in the relationship between God and man, “upon him [Christ] was the chastisement that brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5). We are forgiven and reconciled with God though Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 17 Amos 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶ Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,
 and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
 and the needy for a pair of sandals—
⁷ those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
 and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
 so that my holy name is profaned;
⁸ they lay themselves down beside every altar
 on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
 the wine of those who have been fined.  (Amos 2:6-8)

God has a special concern for the poor among us. He will judge any nation which treats harshly its poor. Amos’ message is very appropriate for our time. Never in the history of modern time there is so much disparity between the haves and the haves-not. The message of God special concern for the poor needs to be repeated over and again in the ears of the rich and the powerful, “God cares for the poor, and we must care too.”

Jesus said, “To whom much is given, mush is required” (Luke 12:48). We may not be very rich, but that does not mean we cannot help someone who is less fortunate than ourselves. With the money save from skipping a few unnecessary expensive coffees, most Christians in the US could contribute to the well-being of a poor child in a poor country such as Haiti with access to education and healthcare.  We have received in order to give.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 20 Amos 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

^3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand
 if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
 if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
 if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
 if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
 if nothing trips it?
When the alarm goes off in the city,
 aren’t people alarmed?
And when disaster strikes the city,
 doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
 without first telling his prophets the whole story. (Amos 3:3-7)

When two people who were joined together start to go their separate way disaster happens. “Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?” (v.3). Let us suppose that the two people were not only holding hand, they were handcuffed together, but they decided to start pulling away, each in his own direction.  We can imagine that a painful situation, such as joint dislocation would occur.

People who behave antagonistically in a Christian group setting often hurt themselves and others because they never realize that the bond which unites them with others is stronger than a simple handholding. Either it is in the family or in the church, we should never think that we can simply go our separate ways without serious repercussion.  The Bible is clear, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 21 Amos 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“I revisited you with the old Egyptian plagues,
 killed your choice young men and prize horses.
The stink of rot in your camps was so strong
 that you held your noses—
But you didn’t notice me.
 You continued to ignore me.”
 God’s Decree.

¹¹ “I hit you with earthquake and fire,
 left you devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning stick
 snatched from the flames.
But you never looked my way.
 You continued to ignore me.”
 God’s Decree. (Amos 4:10-11)

God wanted the Israelites to repent and to turn back to him. But, in spite of the serious punishments such as earthquake and fire, they never changed their wicked ways, they never repented and turned to him. It grieved his heart, for God never wants to destroy his children. The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:6-7,” Because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 22 Amos 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

²¹ “I hate, I despise your feasts,
 and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
²² Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
 I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
 I will not look upon them.
²³ Take away from me the noise of your songs;
 to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
²⁴ But let justice roll down like waters,
 and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)

In this passage, God uses the word “hate”, one of the most disturbing words that exists in any language to show to his people the awfulness of their religious attitude. While they professed to love God, they nevertheless acted hatefully toward the poor and the weak amongst them. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar (1 John 4:20). By the way, the word “hate”, should never be used by Christians. Only God can righteously hate.

 Even in the Law of the Old Testament, God never commands his people to hate -- nothing, and no one. In the contrary the Law forbid hatred, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him” (Leviticus 19:17). What you hate, you attract to your life. This is the problem of one who tries to please God by an act of the will, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15).

Our religion devotion should be motivated by love. Love of the Lord and love of our neighbor. Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (v.24).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 23 Amos 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
 and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
you notable men of the foremost nation,
 to whom the people of Israel come!
² Go to Kalneh and look at it;
 go from there to great Hamath,
 and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
 Is their land larger than yours?
³ You put off the day of disaster
 and bring near a reign of terror.
⁴ You lie on beds adorned with ivory
 and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs
 and fattened calves.
⁵ You strum away on your harps like David
 and improvise on musical instruments.
⁶ You drink wine by the bowlful
 and use the finest lotions,
 but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
⁷ Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
 your feasting and lounging will end. (Amos 6:1-7)

One of the problems of the Christians in the Western world is the problem of self-sufficiency. Because of the material prosperity of the West, Western Christians consciously or unconsciously tend to adopt an attitude of independence from God. God is compartmentalized to only a small part of our lives. Good job opportunities and good healthcare benefits leave us with a false sense of security.

The Lord always calls his children to humility. “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses” (v.8). Their pride was a result of their material blessings. How does one protects himself from such temptation? The solution is extravagant generosity. A generosity that forces us to depend on God for our continuous prosperity. To know for certain that God prospers us so that we can be great givers.

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 24 Amos 7 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. ² When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

³ So the Lord relented.  “This will not happen,” the Lord said.

⁴ This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. ⁵ Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

⁶ So the Lord relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said. (Amos 7:1-6)

One of the most important Christian activities is prayer. In prayer we work side by side with God to change history and circumstances. Amos, through his intercessory prayer for the people of Israel was able to avert danger twice. God relented twice of sending the punishment of locusts and fire because one man was praying. I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” ³ So the Lord relented.  “This will not happen,” the Lord said (v. 3).

The Lord enjoys our coming to him in prayer, he enjoys it so much that he encourages us to pray without ceasing. Isaiah 62:6-7 says, “Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.  Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work.” It is not lack of faith to engage in a relentless pursuit of the Lord in intercessory prayer. He wants us to give him no rest until he completes his work. This is what we must do. We give ourselves no rest, and we give him nor rest.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 25 Amos 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹¹ “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,
 “when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread or water
 but of hearing the words of the Lord.
¹² People will stagger from sea to sea
 and wander from border to border^[c]
searching for the word of the Lord,
 but they will not find it.
¹³ Beautiful girls and strong young men
 will grow faint in that day,
 thirsting for the Lord’s word. (Amos 8:11-13)

“Not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord (v. 11)”. Does it mean no preachers preaching in our churches, or no Christian radio stations, or worst no Bibles. Not at all, there will always be preachers preaching in our churches, Christian radio stations, and a variety of Bible translations to pick from. But the famine will be of hearing the words of the Lord. It is a famine for people who have “hear but cannot hear; and mouths but cannot breathe” (Psalms 135:17).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

We have reached the end of the Book of Amos Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of Obadiah Challenge.

Book of Amos Challenge – Day 27 Amos 9 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“The time will come,” says the Lord,
“when the grain and grapes will grow faster
 than they can be harvested.
Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel
 will drip with sweet wine!
¹⁴ I will bring my exiled people of Israel
 back from distant lands,
and they will rebuild their ruined cities
 and live in them again.
They will plant vineyards and gardens;
 they will eat their crops and drink their wine.
¹⁵ I will firmly plant them there
 in their own land.
They will never again be uprooted
 from the land I have given them,”
 says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:13-15)

We constantly hear in the news about global warming and the potential negative impact that this problem can have on life on earth. The scientists who study global warming present frightening pictures of flood, drought, famine and a lot of planet altering catastrophes. Those predictions of doom create fear in the heart of mankind, they can also create distrust between nations and eventually they can be catalyst for future big wars. Nevertheless in the midst of all this gloom, the Christian can rest assured of the promises of God. Indeed, “The time will come,” says the Lord, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested” (v. 13).

May the Lord richly bless you!