“Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’”— Amos 7:14-15 (ESV) Reflect:The prophet’s defense is beautifully simple: I did not choose this, and I am not for sale. He was a farmhand. He had no credenti...  Read More

“Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said, “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.”’ And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and proph...  Read More

“This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of ...  Read More

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, ‘O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!’ The LORD relented concerning this: ‘This also shall not be,’ said the Lord GOD.”— Amos 7:4-6 (ESV) Reflect:The second vision escalates. Locusts eat the crop; fire consu...  Read More

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, ‘O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!’ The LORD relented concerning this: ‘It shall not be,’ said the LORD.”— Amos 7:1-3 (ESV)...  Read More

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
—Psalm 20:7 (ESV)“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—Romans 5:1 (ESV) Consider:Amos exposes Israel’s false securities: geography, prosperity, luxury, military strength, social position, and human achievement. Every one of them failed beca...  Read More

“And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. And when a man’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there still anyone with you?’ he shall say, ‘No’; and he shall say, ‘Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD.’ For behold, the LORD commands, and the ...  Read More

“Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
 and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
 The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts:
 “I abhor the pride of Jacob
 and hate his strongholds,
 and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”— Amos 6:7-8 (ESV) Consider:Israel’s leaders considered themselves first in pr...  Read More

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
 and stretch themselves out on their couches,
 and eat lambs from the flock
 and calves from the midst of the stall,
 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
 and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
 who drink wine in bowls
 and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
 but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!”— Amos 6:4-6 (ESV) Con...  Read More

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
 and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
 the notable men of the first of the nations, 
to whom the house of Israel comes!
 Pass over to Calneh, and see,
 and from there go to Hamath the great;
 then go down to Gath of the Philistines. 
Are you better than these kingdoms?
 Or is their territory greater than your territory,
 O you who put far ...  Read More

“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god, your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.”— Amos 5:25-27 (ESV) Amos concludes this section by exposing what had been hiding beneath Israel’s r...  Read More

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might ...  Read More