Be back tomorrow!
The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6: 24 – 26
Love,
Renae
Amos 2:1 – 3 “This is what the Lord says: ‘For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king, I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him.’”
As we learned already, Edom displeased God for rejecting Him and holding onto a grudge which lasted for centuries. But in God’s eyes, sin is sin, and wrong is wrong, even if it’s committed against an enemy of God.
Wait a minute. Is that really true? Is God displeased, even when the bad guys get wronged?
You bet He is. For you see, God cares even about the bad people. He sent His Son to die for them, too. If He didn’t care about bad people . . . well, I guess we’d all be in a fix, now wouldn’t we?
The Ammonites committed crimes against the future, when they sought out pregnant women and killed their children. Moab, on the other hand, committed crimes against the past. And friends, both are wrong. The past should be honored, and the future should be protected.
The nation of Moab descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his older daughter. Not a good way to start a nation. They were bitter and cruel and perverse, and they defiantly rejected God and His ways.
After an overwhelming victory against Edom, Moab took their hatred and cruelty to a new level by desecrating the remains of Edom’s king. The king should have been shown respect, out of basic human decency. They should have left his body for his own people to care for and honor however they saw fit. That was Edom’s past, their heritage. And though they were defeated, they still had a right to some closure. They had a right to give their king a proper burial.
Instead, the Moabites burned the bones of the already dead king, as if to lime. This means they didn’t just set him on fire. They purposefully kept the fire going and going until every last bone was nothing but white ash. Then they probably used the ashes to mix into a paint, to whitewash the walls of Moab’s palace. Perhaps their own king liked surrounding himself with the remains of the kings he’d defeated.
Lovely thought, isn’t it?
Friends, God doesn’t tolerate cruelty. Period.
In each of Amos’ declarations, he states that the cruel offenses have occured more than once. More than twice. Each nation was guilty of cruelty, time and again. Cruelty had become a way of life for them.
But Moab’s story has a sweet side to it, believe it or not. Lest we think certain groups of people are beyond God’s reach, think again. Centuries before any of this happened, a lovely young Moabitess widow followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, to her home in Israel.
Her name was Ruth, and she became the great-great-(many greats) grandmother of the Son of God.
Yes, that’s right. Out of this cruel, God-defying, pagan nation came a grandmother of our Lord. Jesus had Moabite blood in Him.
I’ve written about her story in this blog. If you have time, skim through the “Ruth” posts. It’s a fascinating story — a fairy tale, almost. And her story is really my story, and perhaps yours, too. It’s the story of every person who is not of Jewish descent, not of the chosen race, and yet who God chose anyway. It’s the story of God’s love which reaches across boundaries, across culture and race and gender and embraces any who will seek Him. It’s the story of how He grafts us into His family tree, and makes us His own.
Yes, the Moabites were unnecessarily cruel, and they were punished. But I’m glad God looks at our hearts, not our skin color. Not our background. Not our race. He holds each person accountable for his or her actions. And to any who seek Him, to any who receive Him, He gives the right to be called children of God (John 1:12).
No matter where we came from.
Dear Father, Thank You for reaching out to me. Thank You for reaching across my sin, and finding value in me. I love You.
Amen
Amos 1:13 – 14 “This is what the Lord says: ‘For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day. Her king will go into exile, he and his officials together.’”
If any passage makes me want to throw the towel in and quit this blogging thing altogether, it’s this one. The thought of a group of people cruelly and heartlessly ripping open expectant mothers and killing their babies makes me sick.
Really. I’ve left this post and come back to it three times already.
But in order to get past this passage, we have to get through it, so here goes:
The nation of Ammon descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. Ugh.
Somewhere in one of the legal documents left behind, I guess Abraham made a distant provision for his nephew, Lot. It seems that if there were no descendents in Israel, Lot’s offspring would inherit Gilead, where Israel was located. But in order for the Ammonites to cash in on this will, every last child of Israel had to be gone. The entire race needed to be annihilated.
When Saul was king, his first major battle was against the Ammonites. God told him to kill them all, for He knew of their consuming hatred for the Israelites. But Saul decided to spare their king. Bad decision.
In the book of Esther, Haman was a descendent of the Ammonites. And he came really close to annihilating the Jews. God worked through a little orphan-queen and saved the day, but Saul sure could have saved his descendants a lot of trouble if he’d just obeyed.
The Ammonites carried a cruel hatred in their hearts for the nation of Israel. They wanted to expand their borders to include Gilead, and they were tired of waiting. So they took matters into their own hands, left any sense of human decency behind, and hunted down Israel’s pregnant women. When a woman was caught, she was ripped open and her baby was killed. Then, the woman was killed, along with every other Jewish person around at the time. This was even more heinous than when Herod ordered the execution of all Jewish baby boys, if that’s possible.
Now, I know you’re cringing, grabbing your stomach and turning your eyes from the screen. I don’t blame you. But before you exit this page, please hear me out. Please listen to what I felt God telling me, as I agonized over this passage.
We are a broken people.
Yes, we are, and though we were created in God’s image, sin has deformed and desecrated that image so much that what’s left looks nothing like the original creation. Sin has really made a mess of us, hasn’t it?
Sin has deformed us, but there is hope! For the Master Artist, who created us in the beginning, can re-form us! He can take a broken mess and melt it, mold it, and make something beautiful once again. But here’s the catch: He’s the only one who can.
I have never been guilty of the heinous crimes of the Ammonites. But I have been guilty of doing things that, if you’d asked me beforehand, I would have sworn I’d never do.
I’ve been cruel at times. I’ve yelled at my children simply because I was having a bad day.
I’ve been greedy. I’ve been jealous. I’ve withheld forgiveness, even when the person asked for it.
All of these things are sin, and they have blackened my spirit and made me ugly.
But God . . .
Aren’t those beautiful words, my friend? But God . . .
Even as I speak them, my eyes are tearing up. But God can take what sin has deformed, and re-form it. He is the Creator, and He can re-Create me. And that’s exactly what He wants to do.
When we let Him, He will take the sickening, deformed messes that sin has left in our lives, and make something beautiful.
Wow.
But we must be willing.
The Ammonites weren’t willing to let God do that. They were vengeful and hateful, greedy and cruel, and they liked it that way. They didn’t want Jehovah coming in and changing their hearts. If they’d asked, I know He would have. But they never asked.
And so sin continued its destructive work, marring them and de-facing their souls and deforming their spirits until at long last, this entire race of people didn’t look anything like the One who had formed them in their mother’s wombs. And so, rather than let them continue in their miserable existence, God destroyed them, consuming them in the fire of His holy anger.
As hard as this passage is, I’m glad for the reminder of what sin can do, when left unchecked. And I’m so, so grateful for the One who loves me enough to forgive me, to re-shape me into His image once again, and to make something beautiful of my life.
Dear Father, I’m so sorry for allowing sin to deform Your image in me. Thank You for giving me a fresh start. I willingly accept whatever shaping you need to do in my life, for I know You are creating something lovely. I trust You, Lord.
Amen
Amos 1:11 – 12 “This is what the Lord says: ‘For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked, I will send fire upon Teman that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”
I have an older brother. Shelby is six years older than I am, and we have a long-standing rivalry between us. He thinks he’s the favorite. I know I’m the favorite.
But despite this one tiny disagreement, I know my brother loves me. I know I can call him at any time for any reason, and if it’s in his power, he’ll help me. I hope he knows he can count on me in the same way.
The Edomites were descendants of Abraham, through Esau. The Israelites also descended from Abraham, through Jacob. These twin brothers fought and disagreed and were mean to each other in their lifetimes, and the rivalry continued through the ages. Back in the book of Numbers, when the Israelites sought safe passage through Edom, the king wouldn’t grant it. Wouldn’t even let them pass through!
Though Edom was a small nation, and didn’t have the power to wage an all-out war on Israel, they were always the first to join in when another enemy went against their brothers. They’d file in behind this enemy or that, slaying the already wounded Israelites, gathering plunder and laughing at Israel’s hardship.
Talk about a dysfunctional family.
Friends, God didn’t intend for families to behave that way. Psalm 68:6 tells us, “God sets the lonely in families.” He gave us families so we’d always have people on our team. He gave us families so we’d never be left desperate or destitute. He gave us families so we’d have a soft place to fall.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. Siblings compete against one another. Rivalry and jealousy bury their seeds deep in our hearts. Things get said. People get hurt, wounds are left unhealed, wrongs are left unforgiven.
When we find ourselves in an unhealthy family situation like this, the only thing we can do, the only good and right thing, is to stop.
Just stop the cycle. Don’t worry about what your brother or your sister or your cousin or your Great Aunt Martha said or did or didn’t say or didn’t do. We can’t control others’ actions. But we can control our own. Yes we can, with God’s help.
Now, I’m not talking about severe, life-threatening abuse, though rivalry can certainly turn into that. That’s another blog post entirely. I’m talking about the resentment we sometimes allow to grow in our hearts toward family members who have said and done things that hurt us.
Let it go.
Let’s read that sentence again, out loud. Ready? One. Two. Three.
Let it go.
God created us in His image. Since John tells us that God is love, that means we were created to love! We will never, ever fulfill our highest purpose in life unless we are loving each other. And yes, I know family members can often be the most difficult ones to love. It doesn’t matter. They are the ones God gave us to love the most. Perhaps He designed it that way so we’d get more practice.
But one thing I know, my friend. When we hang onto resentment toward our family members, we arouse God’s anger toward us.
God was not pleased with Edom’s continued resentment toward Israel. Yeah, sure. Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright and stole his blessing. Who could blame Esau for being upset? But this had gone on for centuries! Generation after generation, Esau’s descendents refused to just let it go. And if you read Jacob and Esau’s complete story in Genesis 25 – 33, you’ll see that Jacob did apologize. And Esau did forgive.
Jehovah had finally had enough, and He sent fire to destroy Edom. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ignite God’s wrath. The next time I find myself harboring resentment and anger toward a family member, I’ll remember God’s purpose and design for families. I’ll remember His purpose and design for me, and I’ll let it go. Then I’ll look for ways to shower (and shock) that person with the love that comes from being a child of the loving God.
Dear Father, Help me love my family. Help me to really love them, even when they annoy me, or anger me, or test my patience. Teach me to love like You love, Lord.
Amen
Amos 1:9 – 10 “The Lord says, ‘The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation into exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the treaty of friendship they had made. So I will send fire upon the city walls of Tyre and burn down its fortresses.’” GNT
Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend?
Silly question. Of course you have. So have I. We humans have a tendency to mess up, to say things we didn’t mean to say, to accidentally hurt each other. But a little slip of the tongue is quite different from an intentional act, meant to harm.
I’ve experienced the latter, and it left me feeling emotionally stripped and beaten and left out to die. That may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s not. I don’t like to talk about that particular experience, but I will say it took me years to heal from that betrayal. Thanks to my gracious God and the gift of time, I’ve moved on. I’ve even forgiven. But I think there will always be an ugly scar in my spirit that twinges when I’m reminded of that time and place. Good thing God knows how to turn ugly things into beautiful things, yes?
Tyre was guilty of the same thing as Gaza. They captured entire communities of people, who had fled to them for safety, and sold them into slavery. But it was worse for Tyre. After all, years before this happened, Tyre and Israel had vowed to be forever friends.
When King David ruled, he and Tyre’s King Hiram enjoyed a long, solid friendship. They helped each other out whenever they could. When Solomon ruled, building materials used to complete David’s temple were brought in from Tyre. No king of Judah or Israel had ever gone against Tyre, for they had a time-honored covenant of friendship.
When they were in trouble, the people of Israel and Judah fled to Tyre. They knew they’d be safe there. But boy, were they wrong. Perhaps the rulers of Tyre saw how much the folks in Gaza were getting for their slave trade. Or maybe the new generation didn’t see the point in honoring a promise made by a couple of men who were long since dead. Whatever their reason, the people of Tyre ignored their long-standing covenant of friendship with God’s people, all for the sake of making a buck.
God expects us to honor our commitments. And yes, when those who come before us make good and holy commitments that extend into future generations, those of us who come behind are still bound. Whether it’s to a person, a family, or a nation, God keeps His promises. And He expects us to do the same.
Have you been hurt by someone who vowed never to hurt you? I’m so sorry. I know how it feels. I pray you’ll find healing. I pray that person will repent and ask for your forgiveness. But whatever happens, please know that your Heavenly Father, who is awesome and powerful, is always on the side of right.
God will not let the guilty go unpunished. He sent fire on the walls of Tyre and burned down its fortresses. But I must add, my friend, that it’s God’s job to bring justice, not ours. If you’ve been hurt, then crawl up in your Father’s lap and let Him comfort you. If you stay close to Him, healing will come, I promise.
Tell God all about it, and leave it with Him. Let go. Forgive. And let God take care of the rest, while you move on into the abundant life He has waiting for those who trust Him.
Dear Father, Help me to forgive those who have hurt me. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about justice; You’ll take care of that. And Father, please make me aware of my own actions, and stop me before I cause another person to suffer because of my betrayal.
Amen
Amos 1:4 – 6 “The Lord says, ‘The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation and sold them as slaves to the people of Edom. So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses. I will remove the rulers of the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. I will punish the city of Ekron, and all the Philistines who are left will die.’” GNT
Is anybody else getting the idea that God isn’t happy? He sounds pretty angry here, threatening to send down fire on the city of Gaza, punishing all the major cities in Philistia, and declaring that every last one of them will die.
And what, pray tell, were these people guilty of, that had the Holy of Holies so upset?
Commerce. Simple commerce, my friend. They were guilty of trying to make an extra buck. Is that so wrong?
Well, it is when you consider what they were selling. They sold human beings into slavery. The Philistines aren’t accused of actually owning slaves here. Nope. They just sold them.
And they didn’t simply sell Israel’s captured soldiers, the prisoners of war. That would have been an unpleasant, yet common practice at the time. After all, all’s fair in love and war, or so they say.
But no, they didn’t play fair, for they didn’t just sell the POW’s. Instead, they went out and captured entire communities of people. Women, children, infants, grandparents . . . everyone. They gathered and sold the Israelites like a rancher herds his cattle and sells them at auction.
To make matters worse, some of the people they sold had actually fled to Philistia for protection. They were Israel’s neighbors, after all, and shouldn’t a good neighbor provide a temporary shelter, at least, when one’s home is under attack?
The Philistines didn’t do that. They looked at the Israelites with dollar signs in their eyes, herded them up and took them to market. After all, those pesky little Israelites were a nuisance, what with their odd ways and their claims of the One True God. Why not sell them, every last one of them, and be rid of the pests once and for all?
But we should never, ever profit at another human being’s expense.
Ever.
God’s not opposed to making money, or earning an honest living. But when our source of income requires us to turn our heads and ignore human suffering, when we must blatantly disregard our fellow humans in order to profit . . . well, that’s not going to cut it with the Almighty. He will not turn his head and allow oppression of any group of people, just so another group can earn a few extra bucks.
I’m glad slavery is no longer a practice here in the United States. What a blotch on our history, if you ask me, and I’m so grateful we’ve repented of that wrong. And lest you think I’m standing on a high-horse and pointing fingers, my great-great-grandfather owned slaves. Yes, he did, and though I’m very proud of my ancestral heritage, I wish I could erase that particular piece of history from our family records.
But even today, even in our culture, people are taken advantage of. It happens all the time. I’ve known beautiful women who found themselves in difficult financial situations, who were taken advantage of and used for another’s financial gain. Happens all the time.
I’ve known elderly people who were quick to trust a charismatic salesperson, who were used and taken advantage of for financial gain.
I’ve known young couples who were trying to make their place in this world, who perhaps lacked wisdom and discernment. Funny how the money-buzzards of our society circle, then swoop down on these innocents, selling them into slavery to their debt for decades to come.
The Philistines were ready to wipe out the nation of Israel, for their own financial gain. Yet, there was a remnant, and God’s people survived. As punishment, God decided to do to the Philistines what they would have done to the Israelites. He wiped them out.
I wonder what would happen if, as punishment, God decided to allow me to experience the same things I’ve done to others. I hope I’ve lived so that would be a pleasure, not a punishment. I pray I’ve not been guilty of taking advantage of others for my own personal gain. And I hope, when I see another person being used in this way, I’ll have the wisdom and fortitude to try and stop it.
Dear Father, Thank You for being a champion of human rights. Please stop me before I ever take advantage of another person for my own gain. Show me how to help others who are being used this way.
Amen
Amos 1: 3 – 5 “The Lord says, ’The people of Damascus have sinned again and again. So I will punish them. They used threshing sleds with iron teeth to crush Gilead’s people. So I will send fire to destroy the palace of King Hazael. It will burn up the forts of his son Ben-Hadad. I will break down the city gate of Damascus. I will cut off the king who lives in the Valley of Aven. He holds the ruler’s rod in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be taken away to Kir as prisoners,’ says the Lord.”
Our family recently visited the big city on a weekend. While our little town sports little more than a Wal-Mart and a McDonald’s, it does have a small church on nearly every corner. But this big city had everything! Multiple shopping malls. Restaurants galore. Even a variety of super-sized mega-churches complete with their own world-famous tele-pastors.
Pretty cool, huh?
While the kids were more impressed with the hotel swimming pool, Mark and I were pretty excited to visit the church of a world-renown pastor, a man we’d admired for decades. We were not disappointed. He preached a stirring sermon which had me looking to the heavens, expecting to see the clouds open up at any moment and Jesus riding in on a white horse.
The topic of his sermon?
Well, this guy’s pretty big on prophesy. He used God’s Word to point fingers at certain nations in the middle east, showing how they’d ignored God’s commands, shown cruelty to their own people and others, and how God’s judgment was imminent. All around the packed auditorium, heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
But I wonder . . . would we have been so quick with our “Amens” and “Hallelujahs” if he’d preached closer to home? What if he’d chosen that morning to expose the sins taking place within our own borders? Within our own cities? Within our own hearts?
That’s what happened with Amos. He had an unpleasant message from God. The bulk of the message was aimed toward Israel and Judah, but Amos didn’t start with them. He was quite brilliant, in my opinion, by starting with the surrounding nations, nations that had long been thorns in Israel’s existence.
The first nation Amos addressed was Damascus. They had shown cruelty to their fellow humans. Not once, or twice even, but again and again. During war-time, they had used sharp, iron-toothed threshing tools, intended for separating the grain from the chaff, as tools to tear the flesh of the people they captured. And they didn’t just use these torturous weapons on captured soldiers. No, they used them on civilians. Innocent women and children, who happened to be born in a place other than Damascus.
God was angry at their cruel treatment of the people He created, the people He knit together in their mother’s womb. He loves His children – of all races and backgrounds – and He won’t tolerate cruelty. So He told them He would destroy their fair city with fire and send them into captivity with a nation crueler than they were. He would storm right into the lush palace of the king and destroy everything there, because He is God.
And yes, even though they didn’t honor or acknowledge Him as God, it didn’t matter. One way or another, they would answer to Him.
Can’t you just see the people of Israel and Judah, bobbing their heads up and down? Can’t you just hear the “Amens” and the “Hallelujahs”? I can.
But we need to be careful, my friend. When God passes judgment on our enemies, when someone we don’t like gets their due justice, we must be very careful. For while God has the right to pass judgment on the wicked, we don’t. Only He wears that awesome robe. Only He holds the mighty gavel.
And while He may be hard on the people who don’t even acknowledge Him, demanding justice even from people who don’t claim Him, He will be harder on us. Yes He will.
For to whom much is given, much is expected. The people of Damascus may not have known all of God’s laws, but they were still held accountable for basic human decency.
But we do know God’s laws, don’t we? Doesn’t that make us even more accountable?
Amos began his message with Damascus, and worked through all Israel’s neighbors with increasing severity. And all the while, Israel and Judah nodded and agreed, until BAM! Amos turned his harsh message on them. The message to them was longer and more detailed than the messages to their cruel neighbors. And yes, they were held to a higher degree of accountability.
I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll think twice, next time I feel victorious when some foreign tyrant gets his due. I’ll give glory to God, for bringing justice. But at the same time, I need to humbly ask Him to forgive me for cheering at someone else’s demise, when there are so many ways that I don’t honor God in my own life.
I told you Amos’ message was a tough one.
Dear Father, Thank You for holding all people accountable for their actions. And thank You for holding me accountable, for I know You hold me to a high standard only because You love me, and You want what is best for me.
Amen
Amos 1:2 “He said, ‘The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.’”
I don’t know about you, but when I go to a new place, especially if I have some unpleasant business, I try to make a good first impression. I start out by introducing myself, and then make nice small talk before I drop the bomb.
Just the other day, I had to call our city officials to report an unsafe situation concerning the waste department. I began by telling the man how much I appreciate all his workers, that I know the work they do is hard, that I’ve been impressed in the past with the quality of people who represent our city in this line of work.
When I went on to report the situation, he was very attentive and sympathetic. Not only that, but he jumped on the situation right away, and within the hour, called back to report the results of his investigation.
At first glance, it seems Amos skipped those little pleasantries. He just walked into a place that wasn’t even his hometown and said, “The Lord ain’t happy, and He’s gonna getcha!” (Paraphrase my own.)
No “How do you do?”
No “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”
Nope. Amos jumps right into the warning God issued to His people.
Now, from my Texas-bred, Southern-hospitality style upbringing, this seems a little harsh. Why not get to know the people a little? Why not share a cup of coffee and a muffin first, before painting such a disturbing picture?
As I pondered this, while sitting on my back porch listening to the birds sing and drinking my second cup of coffee, a different point of view seeped into my spirit.
God’s roar is actually evidence of His mercy. It’s a warning. Trouble’s coming, and you better watch out!
After all, if my house is on fire, I don’t want someone coming in and making small talk, sharing tea and scones while my home goes up in flames. I want them to burst in my front door and yell, “Fire!”
That’s exactly what Amos did. He saw impending danger, and he issued a warning.
Let’s think for a moment about why a lion roars. Now, I’m no expert in all things lion, but I’m pretty sure that big ol’ cat doesn’t roar unless something isn’t right. Either the lion is hungry, or feels threatened, or something is annoying it. But when that lion is well-fed, and all is right with his or her world, there’s no roaring. Napping, maybe.
Just as a lion only roars when something isn’t quite right, God, who is loving and kind and merciful, is also fierce and frightening when it comes to justice. When He sees that the people He loves so much are being mistreated and oppressed, you better believe He’s gonna roar. That roar is a warning signal that the oppressors better make things right, or He’s gonna devour somebody.
One of the main points of Amos’ message, as we’ll see, was that the poor in that region were being mistreated and oppressed, and the wealthier people – God’s own people – had grown complacent. They were fat and happy, and they didn’t really care about the plight of their less wealthy brothers and sisters.
Friends, God cares about all people. He cares about issues like poverty and slavery and abuse and violence and oppression. Those aren’t pretty issues, and it’s easy for those of us who don’t have to endure such circumstances to pull the covers over our heads and pretend those things don’t exist. But remember the working man from yesterday? Remember that God calls ordinary people like you and me?
He calls us to get our hands dirty.
He calls us to shine His light into the darkest places.
He calls us to seek out those who have no hope, and give them some.
And when we grow complacent, when we bury our heads in the sand and ignore those around us who are hurting, He roars.
If we ignore His warning, well . . . He’ll tear into us if He has to. But that’s not really what He wants. He wants us to heed the warning and get busy, doing what’s right.
Has God roared in your world lately? If I’m honest with myself, I’ve heard Him roar a time or two. There are hurting people in my realm of influence, and He wants me to help them. Whether it’s by helping them financially, offering a smile and a hand of friendship, standing up for them when they’ve been wrongly attacked, or standing by them when they’ve found themselves in a desperate situation, God wants me to do something. He’s called me to deliver His light, His love, and His hope to the darkest places.
And it’s comforting to know, if and when I find myself in a dark place, God will roar just as loudly for me.
Dear Father, I hear Your roar. Thank You for the wake-up call. Show me ways I can deliver Your hope to those who are hurting.
Amen
Amos 1:1 “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
When I first read through this verse yesterday morning, I hadn’t had my second cup of coffee. Plus, I wasn’t wearing my little drugstore +1.25 turquoise glasses. Yes, they are turquoise. Anyway, when I first read this verse, I had to do a double take, for what I read was, “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Texas . . .”
What? Texas??? Wow. I like this guy already. And with the number of first cousins and second cousins and so forth I have around these parts, chances are I’m related to him. And after all, if he’s a herdsman, he’ll fit right in with all the cattlemen and ranchers in our great state.
But wait a minute. Texas wasn’t founded until 1839 . . .
All this took place in my mind within a matter of milliseconds, before I knew I needed to re-read the verse. Tekoa. Not Texas. Okay. Makes more sense now.
But the fact remains, Amos would have felt right at home with my Texas relatives. We’re not of the wealthy-cattle-ranchers variety. We don’t own thousands of acres. As far as I know, none of us lives in a mansion with servants and an Olympic-size pool. None of us has struck oil on our property, either.
Nope. We’re more the middle-class variety. Honest, hard workers who pay our bills and usually have what we need. And when we scrimp and save, we have some fun little extras from time to time, like an occasional trip to Seaworld.
We’re ordinary folks, and so was Amos. We know he was a shepherd. We’re also told later that he tended fig trees, which may indicate he was working a little side job, to help bring in extra money.
And that makes perfect sense, considering God likes to use ordinary people. Though He does use the rich, beautiful, important people of the world, it’s more His style to use regular folks. 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 tells us, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.”
Wow. Not worldly-wise. Not powerful. Not wealthy. Uhm, that would be me. That would be most of the people driving to work every day, uttering little sentence-prayers as they go about their business, trying the best they can to make a difference in their little piece of the world.
We are the people God calls.
We are the people God uses.
I don’t know about you, but I’m perfectly content being used by God as long as He doesn’t take me out of my comfort zone. Sing a solo? Sure. I like to sing. Write an article? Yeah, I enjoy that. I’ll even put a little extra money in the offering plate for the poor, starving people on the other side of the world.
But God, please don’t ask me to tell the people in my city they are headed down the wrong path. They’re my neighbors. And they might not like me, if I do that.
I’ll be glad to tell them how much You love them. Really, I will. But don’t make me point out the consequences of their actions if they rebel against You. They’ll get mad at me.
What’s that You say? Somebody needs to tell them, or how will they know?
Hmmm . . .
I’m not saying God has called all of us to do what He asked Amos to do. He hasn’t. But what if He did? What if He told me to do something I didn’t want to do? Something that would make me unpopular? What if He asks me to stand up for the scapegoat at school or at work? What if he asks me to bring to light some wrongdoing in our community? Would I do it?
Well, that’s what He asked of Amos. God chose an ordinary guy, and told him to deliver an unpleasant message.
Amos obeyed God. He was willing to put himself out there, because He loved God that much. So I guess what I need to ask myself as I enter into Amos’ story is, How far am I willing to go for God?
I hope I’m willing to go as far as He asks.
Dear Father, Thank You for Amos’ story. I’m glad You choose ordinary people, for that means You’ve chosen me. Make me willing to do whatever You ask of me.
Amen
Hello, again. My name is Renae, and I am a blog deserter. Well, sort of. As you can see by the dates on my previous blog posts, I’ve taken a loooooong break. And, well . . . honestly, I’ve missed you guys. But since I’ve been gone so long, and I’ve gone through several hairstyles and transformations since I last posted regularly here, I thought I might need to re-introduce myself.
I’ve also missed the discipline required to post nearly every day, for it kept me faithfully digging nuggets of truth from God’s word, even when my sweet mother and first cousin were the only ones reading it. (Hi Mom! Hugs, Mary Frances!) So here I am, starting again.
As I flipped through the Bible looking for a nice, short book to blog through (yes, I’m just that un-spiritual that I looked for the shortest book. Yes I did) I happened upon Amos. And my mind immediately went to images of wonderful chocolate-chippy deliciousness.
Now, I didn’t mean for my mind to go there. But being that I’m, well, me, that’s just where my mind went. But no, this isn’t the same guy. Though they do have at least one thing in common.
The Amos of the Bible and the Amos of chocolate-chip fame are both lay-people. Neither of them made their living as full-time prophets or preachers or ministers of the gospel. While Wally Amos is a cookie maker, the biblical Amos was a shepherd.
So, how did a simple sheep-herder get a book of the Bible named for him? Well, it wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. He had to be obedient to God, when God asked him to deliver a message to His people. And the message was no party invitation. No, sir-ree.
No, God asked Amos to set the Israelites straight on a few important issues. Poor Amos had to be the bearer of bad news. I can just imagine the thoughts that went through his head as he sat in the fields, tending his flocks.
Are you sure you want me, God? I think you may have me mixed up with someone else.
I’m not anybody important.
No one will listen to me.
They’ll probably laugh at me!
If I were Amos, I’d have strongly considered playing dumb, and pretending I hadn’t really heard God’s call. I might have even run the other way. But we all know where Jonah ended up, so maybe that’s not such a good idea either.
But no. Amos heard God. He listened. And he obeyed, even when obedience was hard.
And that, my friends, is why Amos has a Biblical book named after him, and I don’t. Well, one of the reasons, anyway.
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never really paid much attention to this little book. But as I skim my Life Application Bible commentaries on Amos, I’m finding some pretty interesting stuff. Things that sound eerily familiar, and that apply to the here and now every bit as much as they applied to the there and then.
So here we go, friends. Be patient with me as I try to get back in the blogging groove. Pray for me, and I’ll pray for you as we listen to Amos’ message, God’s message to His people. God’s message to you and me.
–Renae
