April 13, 2011 (Amos 1-5)

Amos was a prophet that received a message from God in visions, two years before 'the earthquake'.  He says this same sentence, but inserts different peoples -

This is what the Lord says: "The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not let them go unpunished any longer."

The people of Gaza....
The people of Tyre...
The people of Edom...
The people of Ammon....
The people of Moab...
The people of Judah....
The people of Israel...

When He was talking about the people other than Judah and Israel, He was talking about all the cruel crimes they committed. But when He was talking about Judah and Israel, He was talking about the sin of rejecting His laws and refusing to obey Him.

Here is the message He gives to Judah and Israel:

^3:1 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel and Judah—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:

 ² “From among all the families on the earth,
      I have been intimate with you alone.
   That is why I must punish you
      for all your sins.”

And He also reminds us that He always warns us before He brings judgement:

 ^3:7 Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything
      until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.

Does this seem to apply to us today?  "My people have forgotten what it means to do right," says the Lord. And then He goes on to tell of all the different ways He tried to get their attention, always ending with the phrase, "But still you would not return to me,”
      says the Lord.
And as I read this next section, I had to think, "Is God truly my helper as I claim He is, or am I living in a  'fantasy world' blinded by my own sin?"

^5:14 Do what is good and run from evil
      so that you may live!
   Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,
      just as you have claimed.
 ¹⁵ Hate evil and love what is good;
      turn your courts into true halls of justice.
   Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies
      will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

We say, if only Jesus would come back soon, but do we really know what we are asking for? He is being patient in His return because when that day comes, all who don't have a relationship with Him will be judged. He is patient because He wants us to be about sharing His love with others so that they might come to know Him as well. God forgive us for our blindness to Your truth.

^5:18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
      “If only the day of the Lord were here!”
   You have no idea what you are wishing for.
      That day will bring darkness, not light.
 ¹⁹ In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—
      only to meet a bear.
   Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—
      and he’s bitten by a snake.
 ²⁰ Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
      without a ray of joy or hope.

 ²¹ “I hate all your show and pretense—
      the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
 ²² I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
      I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
 ²³ Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
      I will not listen to the music of your harps.
 ²⁴ Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
      an endless river of righteous living.