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Amos & Obadiah Check Yourself
Week 22 Day 1
Reading: Amos 2:6-8 "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-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; 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."" ESV
Thought: In the first chapter Amos poetically names the sins of the major Gentile nations, and early in the second names Judah's. Up to this point the northern nation of Israel would be gloating that they had not been named by Amos. But he doesn't stop, Amos goes on inexplicably to detail the sins of Israel in lengthy and unrelenting prose; being far more heinous, far more repulsive, and far more numerous than all of the Gentile nations together. Israel had erected a golden calf as its god, killed the prophets of God, and had rejected every command of the Lord God. Israel rebelled against all that God had said before they became a divided kingdom; as soon as they left the company of Judah they began worshipping idols. The message to Israel in the first chapters of Amos is: check yourselves first. Jesus' comment was thus, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3). So what about us? Are we criticizing the sins of others whilst driving the nail further into ourselves? Self-reflection, that is the allowing of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, is the most fundamental necessity of seeking to live a Godly life.
Prayer: Lord, convict I pray, reveal I pray, forgive I pray. The Character of God Reading: Amos 4:2
Day 2
"The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks." ESV
Thought: From this is we can take by what God promises, His holiness, an aspect of His character. We get a glimpse into the way God makes decisions; talking in a human way, God places His own morals above Himself so that He abides by them. From a Godly perspective it would be better to define God by those aspects of His character. Thus God is defined by His character. From this we gain some insight to what it means for Him to be God, revealing the necessity for each of the aspects of His character to be present or else He would not be God. An allpowerful being without love is a tyrant, without a will has no purpose for its actions,
without the ability to judge does not reign, but if it were not all powerful it would not be capable of creation of the Universe. In this way each of the characteristics of God is necessary to produce a self-sustaining system about which everything can flow and has purpose. In much this same way God could not exist without being in a Trinitarian union, since this union provides Him with everything He needs, and missing any of the persons within the Trinity would cause Him to have need and fall from the position of God. Therefore we should be thankful; glorifying God that He is God, that although He has no needs still chooses to create man, save man, and use man; and that we might be able to have a relationship with Him.
Prayer: Lord, You are glorious, wonderfully mysterious yet perfect in every aspect, fulfilling all purpose, and revealing of Yourself. For You had no need to, but You chose to create man so we could be with You. Lord, give me revelation of Your character that I would understand more of who You are, how You interact with me and Your purposes for my life; let it be all to Your glory Lord. But never let me think that I fully understand You, let there always be something mysterious about You that my wonder of You would never cease.
The Worship of Idols
Day 3
Reading: Amos 5:2 "Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up." ESV
Thought: Israel was intended to be the virgin nation, free from sin, but they gave themselves up to other gods; playing the whore and abandoning the Lord. Even now the Lord depicts Israel like a bride, but this bride has fallen, she has given herself into the hands of other gods and has stumbled on her own soil. Only God has ever risen Israel up, but now in regret He has begun to turn away from her due to her failures. This Israel is the northern kingdom separated from Judah, led by Jeroboam who set up golden calves the Israelites worshipped for 400 years. A few years before Judah's exile; the Syrian army, captured Israel and took into exile many people, in accordance with the judgement upon them. John Calvin once wrote, "The heart is an idol factory." An idol can be anything or anyone except God; it can be a celebrity, a car, sex, drugs, our family, or even ourselves. Idol worship is the love of that thing above love for God; and in making something into an idol the commandments and guidance of God become less important. Self-worship is the common form, and reflects a degree of Original Sin. We must guard our hearts, submitting to God as our first love, placing Him above all others, including ourselves. Consider then what makes us happiest, if God is not primarily involved in this, then it has become an idol.
Prayer: Lord, guard our hearts. Never let us submit to the ways of the world, never let us worship anything but You. Be the first in our hearts Lord, our one true love. Prepare us to stand in Your presence.
A Famine of Speech
Day 4
Reading: Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land-- not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it." ESV
Thought: This prophecy and judgement was far more grievous than all the others before it,
a famine; but not an earthly famine, a famine of the word of God. The prophecy of Malachi was the final recorded words of God before the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah, 400 years later. During those years, the Greeks conquered Judah, erected an idol of worship to Zeus in the Temple, was retaken by the Maccabees, and rededicated to worship of the Lord. During this time a society of teachers of the Law grew, the Pharisees. The Pharisees were very beneficial to the nation, their teaching held much of Israel to the Lord during this period. But eventually the Pharisees became infected, heavily modernist believing only in that which was gained from human wisdom. Eventually they too turned from the Lord, and into this situation Jesus was born, taught in the Pharisitical tradition. Everyone who studies the Bible must thus heed the warning the Pharisees, never relying on the wisdom of man, but seeking the revelation of Christ which leads to understanding. Take the teachings of man with a pinch of salt considering them to the overall message of the Bible, even mine. The only perfect teacher is God, and he to whom He has chosen to reveal the entirety of His Word.
Prayer: Lord, Your revelation is wonderful, purifying the soul, refreshing the spirit, and renewing the mind, bringing to salvation all the saints. You chose to reveal Yourself to those You delight in and call to Your purpose. Let revelation be given to me now I pray, open my eyes to the deepest wonders of Your Word and let me receive them with an open heart and mind into which they might come. Guard me against the false teachers of this world, that I wouldn't be influenced by their lies but able to correct and convince.
The Day of the Lord
Day 5
Reading: Obadiah 1:15 "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head." ESV
Thought: Whereas before it seemed good to me to inform you of the Great Day of the Lord, now it also pleases me to tell you of the day to which all the nations receive. Stand ready for every nation and every person will experience the day of the Lord, they will be called to give account of the Lord in that day and their decision will have eternal consequences. For in the day of the Lord many will be saved, but many more will be lost. Be blessed that you have bowed the knee during that day and now stand in His presence. Be blessed that you did not reject the Lord, the Lord has not rejected you. But many when the day of the Lord came to them have rejected Him, and so He has rejected them, their deeds have been returned on their own heads. We who stand in His presence and called to speak with those who have yet to receive the Lord, therefore stand strong and affirmed, bearing witness to the Lord, never giving up hope even when our message is rejected, striving to love those who Christ loved first. At every opportunity seek to be a witness of Christ, pursuing the salvation of another until the day of the Lord comes upon them and they should bow the knee.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You humbled me for Your day, reach out to others sending me to them. Send me to share Your love with them, humble them and may they receive You with joy. Call them to Your purpose, seek them Lord I pray.
The House of Israel
Day 6
Reading: Obadiah 1:17 "But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions." ESV
Thought: There is a great mystery which runs through the Old Testament. Genesis 21:12 contains this word from God, "through Isaac shall your offspring be named." Paul comments on this in Romans 9, declaring, "For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring" (v6-7). The implications of this are the mystery which was unravelled throughout the Old Testament and especially during the exile, for all not of Israel were received to Israel. So what does this mean? "This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring" (v8). What this does this mean for us? Although we were not born children of the flesh of Abraham we have been adopted to him as spiritual children, children of the promise, children of faith. We then have been counted as the offspring of Abraham, the man of faith. We then are the true Israel to whom the Lord brings all His promises of righteousness to fruition for the benefit of all the saints.
Prayer: Lord, give us faith, may it rise up in us to be a strong shield, a dedication of our lives, let it be counted to us as righteousness as it was so with Your friend Abraham. Help us to be strong, revived in the knowledge of the depths of Your promises laid out from before the creation.
Love People, Hate Sin
Day 7
Reading: Amos 5:14-15 "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." ESV
Thought: "God loves good, and hates sin." A major mission for every Christian is to have this same mind-set and let it become a foundation for what we do. Though we can have problems understanding just what "good" is, we see this far too commonly in the world when people hold up signs like, "God hates [people group]", these people do not understand what good is, and in fact what they are doing is evil. With regard people I would ask you to remember this phrase, "Love the person, hate the sin." People are not evil, they are loved by the Lord; sin is not, which is why He sent His Son to forgive it. In His forgiveness all is wiped away, but we still must strive to put off all sin. This can be difficult, for Paul writes, "For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:1819). In order to be aware then of what is good, what is evil, and how we are to act we must keenly be listening to the Spirit. Man alone is only capable of evil, but with God all things are possible. If we wish to do good we first must have God, for in good works He must be glorified. Therefore bring others to God that they to would do good and glorify Him also. Let us be a nation of those who do good, glorifying God and so, "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24).
Prayer: Lord, to Your holiness there can be no comparison, and apart from You there can be no righteousness. Renew our minds Lord to understand Your love, Your justice, Your jealousy and Your wrath, that we would understand Your love for us, but Your hate of the evil we do. Reforge us Lord to do good works joined with You, bringing forth praise for Your name in every circumstance.