Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 1-5.

It was 22 years ago today that my beautiful wife married me. I thank God for her every day.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Amos was called to prophesy against Israel, but first he prophesied against the surrounding nations and those prophesies speak to the world today.  Amos condemned the nations around Israel for capturing their neighbors and selling them into slavery, for committing atrocities against them in order to take their wealth and/or their land.  God will bring judgement on those who do such things, whether on a nation-state level or on a smaller scale.  Then using the same format as his prophecies against Israel’s neighbors, Amos begins to call out the people of Israel for their sins.  He condemns them for many of the same sins for which he condemned their neighbors: selling people into slavery, abusing the poor in order to make a profit at their expense, and more.  Amos points out how they use goods obtained in violation of God’s laws in their worship practices.

example: Sleeping before the altar in garments taken in pledge, when the Law of Moses explicitly tells them to return a garment taken in pledge before nightfall

Then Amos goes on to condemn them for forcing the religious to violate their deeply held beliefs and silencing those who sought to speak God’s word.  Amos speaks of the suffering which such sins will bring, but he also offers an alternative: Seek God and live.

Amos goes on to make an interesting point.  Do not seek the Day of the Lord for it will be a day of great suffering.  Sometimes we see the evil in this world, the suffering inflicted on the innocent, and desire that God bring His wrath to bear upon those who commit such injustices.  Amos seems to be saying that instead of praying to God to come and make things right, we should do what is right and seek justice for the innocent.  Seek good, not evil, Maintain justice. Love good and hate evil.  Do these things and God will be with you.  And if God is with us, the evil which inspires us to call for the Day of God’s Judgment will retreat.

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