amos

Amos is a small book of the Bible, in the second half of the old testament. its a book of prophecy, spoken from the Lord to Amos, a sheppard of lowly status. Amos is from Judah, and is speaking the judgements of a just God against Judah, the surrounding nations, and ultimately against ISRAEL ... Israel, God's chosen race and nation, is the focus of God's just wrath ... for the sin at this time was great ....

I know, I know, whats new? well, the answer is Not Much! Israel had given themselves over to corruption and idolatry, seeking wealth and comfort by extortion of the weak, needy, and poor. They sold these weaker persons for as little a thing as a pair of sandals! ... Really Israel?

Yea, really! 

So, God brought Amos around to prophecy to Israel the coming judgment of God upon them for their injustice and sin! From the get go, in chapter 1, Amos is declaring the Lord's message of recompense for the injustices that were flourishing in Israel (as well as in the surrounding nations and Judah) ... but for the first 8 chapters and most of 9, the Lord is declaring, through Amos, how he will punish Israel, and in detail! He recalls all that He had done in the life and heart of His chosen nation, and how they never returned to the Lord ... And so, he withdrew his voice. He ended the physical judgements of drought, plagues, hunger, & thirst, and withdraw his spoken voice to them ... the sentence of judgement reaches climax in chapter 9 ....

But, hope is also born in the end of this same chapter ... below are the great promises of redemption, which God speaks, concerning the coming of a Savior, though unknown to Israel in what form the redemption would be ... it is God's remembrance and great covenant keeping ways that he promises redemption ... He returns to his covenant, remembering his promise and keeping the covenant for his name sake, and proclaims that Israel be established forever, check it out ...  (the phrases preceeding the green text is the climatic judgements of God on Israel, and green is the ending of the book with the great hope of promises of a coming redemption that foretells of the coming of Christ!)

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground (climax of God's judgement), except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD. "For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.' "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:8-15)