I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Amos 6-9 and Obadiah.

    Amos continues to prophesy against Israel and Judah (with the focus on Israel). Here he more directly focuses his condemnation on the elites of both countries, those who thought they were more important and better than the common man. They drink the finest foods and wines; they think themselves the arbiters of the fine arts. Yet, the things they call art is trivial and of no consequence. They do not fear the coming disaster because they think they are above such things. Amos reminds us that it is exactly those people who will suffer first when God’s judgment comes.

    Amos prophesied that part of God’s judgment against the people of Israel would be a famine of hearing God’s word. People would seek spiritual guidance and not be able to find it. I think we are seeing this today. People have rejected Christianity without really knowing what it is. Then they are confused when their search for spiritual fulfillment fails. Recently in a conversation on Facebook a friend of mine used an idiom based on a Biblical passage, one which was common when I was a child. He and I were the only people in the thread who even knew what it meant, let alone where it came from. This is but one example. There are numerous idioms in common use which derive from the Bible which have become distorted because few people know the passage from which they come (my favorite is the transition of “scape goat” to “excape goat”). I hear people describe the characteristics of the spiritual system they are looking for, characteristics which are fulfilled by Christianity. Yet, they summarily reject Christianity. Once, biblical themes and ideas were the bedrock of our culture, even among those who rejected faith in God. Today that is no longer true and people believe about the Bible what people who hate God tell them about it.

    Obadiah is the only Old Testament prophet whose focus is entirely on God’s judgment against foreign nations. Obadiah primarily prophesied against Edom, but he extended his warning to all of the surrounding nations who followed Edom’s example. The people of Edom were confident that their geographic location made them safe, but nothing could protect them from God’s judgment. Nothing can protect us from God’s judgment. Let us look at their sins, and be warned. They gloated when the people of Israel were taken into captivity. They took advantage of the suffering of the people of Israel in order to profit. Actually, it was more than that. When the people of Israel were suffering the people of Edom made that suffering worse for their own profit. They actively prevented the people of Israel from escaping their enemies. That last reminds me of the many nations who prevented European Jews from escaping the Nazis during WWII. However, I do not want to look at the actions of a generation which has died (those who are still alive who were alive during WWII had no role in the decisions made by their governments). Let us be careful not to repeat this sin. Let us not lend our support to those who would turn over those who are fleeing violence to those who are perpetuating the violence.