4 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked.
5 So I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem. 6 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals —7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed. 9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of cedars, and who was as strong as oaks; I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath. 10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets and some of your youths to be nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? says the LORD.
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, "You shall not prophesy." 13 So, I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves. 14 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives; 15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves, nor shall those who ride horses save their lives; 16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked.
(Amos Prophet- the Greek Icon)
Thoughts: Amos 1 has an ever-encircling focus of wrath: Syria, then Philistia, then Tyre, then Edom, Ammon, Moab, and finally Judah and Israel. They are accused of giving into the lies of their ancestors. What were these lies? The lies were that it didn't matter if they rejected God's laws or not. Israel had other problems. They oppressed the poor in order to get more goods (like sandals) for themselves. They were not courteous to the afflicted; They were sexually immoral- even in their holiest of places. God had delivered them from Egypt and allowed them to win the promised land, but they still forgot Him. God raised up prophets to warn the they did not heed the warnings. So today, we are called not to reject the law, not to give into the lies of sexual immorality; or the lie of thinking our behavior and worship really do not matter.
Prayer: Help me to live holy and worship holy too, O Lord. You are holy and deserve to be worshipped in a holy way.
but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked.
5 So I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem. 6 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals —7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed. 9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of cedars, and who was as strong as oaks; I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath. 10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets and some of your youths to be nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? says the LORD.
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, "You shall not prophesy." 13 So, I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves. 14 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives; 15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves, nor shall those who ride horses save their lives; 16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked.
(Amos Prophet- the Greek Icon)Thoughts: Amos 1 has an ever-encircling focus of wrath: Syria, then Philistia, then Tyre, then Edom, Ammon, Moab, and finally Judah and Israel. They are accused of giving into the lies of their ancestors. What were these lies? The lies were that it didn't matter if they rejected God's laws or not. Israel had other problems. They oppressed the poor in order to get more goods (like sandals) for themselves. They were not courteous to the afflicted; They were sexually immoral- even in their holiest of places. God had delivered them from Egypt and allowed them to win the promised land, but they still forgot Him. God raised up prophets to warn the they did not heed the warnings. So today, we are called not to reject the law, not to give into the lies of sexual immorality; or the lie of thinking our behavior and worship really do not matter.
Prayer: Help me to live holy and worship holy too, O Lord. You are holy and deserve to be worshipped in a holy way.
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