Amos Chapter 1 & 2

Amos, a shepherd from Judah, was ministering when Judah – Israel and their neighbours were engaged in Brutuality, Human Trafficking, Sexual Immorality, Rebellion against the Lord, Complacency, Extravagant Living, Pride, Economic Rackets, Social Injustice and Oppression.

Amos writes, “The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem” (1: 2) and warns all the nations: “For three sins of Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah and Israel even for four, I will not turn back my WRATH” (1: 3 – 2: 16)

Scripture makes it clear that SIN sends down deep roots before SINS (evil deeds) are ever committed or even thought of. Thus, HATRED may be the precursor of MURDER; LUST may culminate in ADULTERY and GREED encourages ROBBERY.

🙏 Let us refresh ourselves to note what SIN does in us, in our relation to God and with one another:

📌 When we break our relationship with God, our hearts and minds are more susceptible to evil. We do not just do evil, we become EVIL.

📌 When we rebel against God, we become slaves to Evil Intentions and Actions.

📌 Our alienation from God radically corrupts our ability to communicate in ways that promote God’s peace and justice. We listen to our own cravings instead of to God’s commands.

📌 Sin, expressed as OPPRESSION, proceeds from COVETOUSNESS.

📌 When we sin we ignore the needs of our neighbour; we do not bother the moral values and the concept / teaching of SIN seems so old – fashioned and negative.

📌 Sin fundamentally corrupts our ability to reasoning. We will act as if there is nothing fundamentally wrong with us.

💕 Beloved Church, let us not forget that
✔️ Sin is DANGEROUS (Eternal Death, Ezekiel 18: 20)
✔️ Sin is CONTAGIOUS (Gives birth, James 1:14-15)
✔️ Sin is COSTLY (Jesus’ Death, Rom 5:8)
✔️ Sin is PAINFUL (Eternal Separation, Isaiah 59:2)
✔️ Sin MOTIVATES (Produces its followers, Exodus 23:2a)
✔️ Sin is IDOLATRY – and the Idol is Our Self
📌 Sin is PARDONABLE (Jesus Forgives ,1John 1: 9)

🙏 May this be our prayer , “Lord, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not SIN against you ” Psalm 119:11 🛐

Glory to God 🙌
✍🏽 Mark Boje
Arunachal Pradesh, India 🇮🇳

Lockdown Reflections… 📝
Food from my Host’s Kitchen Table 🍽️🍯🥛🍴
Take a Break with Jesus in the Lockdown 🍞☕
Day 196, 270 Days Bible Reading, Tuesday, 26.1.21.

In this Lockdown let our true worship result in the outflow of generosity and justice… Amos 2:4-7.

🌾 Amos is the first Hebrew prophet to have a Biblical Book named after him. All his prophecies are about how God is faithful and true to His Word. He foretold the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, without mentioning the Assyrian Kingdom who would invade them and take them to captivity. In this Lockdown, let us remind ourselves that God is faithful and He will be true to His Word. The main purpose of the Book is summed up in Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos wanted to awaken Israel’s consciousness to their moral sins.

🌾 Amos was a shepherd and a grower of sycamore figs. He resided in the town of Tekoa, which is part of Judean Southern Israel. He doesn’t claim to be a prophet and neither does he come from a family of prophets. Israel is prospering. After years of turmoil, the Israelites were enjoying a good political atmosphere along with wealth and luxury. They were turning to the gods of the Canaanites. Moral standards are forgotten, and the commandments of God were being ignored. His message to the priesthood didn’t go down well.

🌾 The opposition of the priests toward Amos can be understood in light of what Amos says concerning the solemn assemblies, sacrifices, public prayers, feast days, and other rituals. The function of the priests was to ensure that these activities were maintained with cleanliness, holiness, and sacredness. Amos insisted that these rituals that were conducted in an unholy way were worthless and should be abolished entirely as it doesn’t serve God’s purpose. The Temple was the reflection of the Community’s righteousness.

🌾 Amos was telling the people of Israel what was going to take place if they do not change their ways. Because he was an outsider, they were critical of him. Hosea, his counterpart, was also prophesying at the same time. There were two primary sins Israel had committed — one was the absence of true worship, and the other was absence of justice. God wanted them to correct their ways.

🌾 The message of Amos is just as important today globally as it was when it was spoken to Israel. We are all responsible for how we act toward our fellowmen — materialism and social injustice are sins committed against God. Our true worship in the church should flow out as sharing and caring for our community. Even today we have priests who see the priesthood work as a lucrative means to their luxurious lives through their manipulative, profit-making, motivational messages, making their sheep vulnerable by taking their lunch boxes.

🌾 Child of God, Remember this, we are to embody the character, compassion and generosity of Christ. Nothing is ours and everything comes from God. In this Lockdown, people are experiencing a lack of drinking water, food to eat, and inadequate healthcare. God wants us to extend our wealth to these people to bring glory to God. Christians should never believe that because they have God’s favour, they do not have to help those in need.

Israel had the opportunity to learn from their past that Yahweh’s relationship to them is conditional on their obedience to His moral requirements. They had greater responsibility and accountability to be a role model to the nations around them. But they preferred their gods over Yahweh, Who delivered them, protected them, provided for them, and blessed them. We are the kingdom children who are to reflect God’s character, by worshipping in truth and spirit, surrendering ourselves as a living sacrifice, to become the salt and light for those around us, John 4:24, Romans 12:2, Matthew 5:13-14… Amen. 🙏

anniekoshy@God’s Thirstydeer 🦌 Breaking the Chain with You… ⛓️