RE Verse reading–Amos 4:1-5, 5:1-24 (day two) “You will be taken away with hooks, and the last of you with fishhooks” (4:2) Unacceptable language for polite society! Outrageous! What possible purpose could Amos have had for using such graphically violent words? You mean, except that they were true? Amos didn’t apologize. He knew that sometimes we avoid feeling fear to our own harm. We forget that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proversb 9:10) Following the wisdom of man, we avoid thoughts of a Holy God or His promised judgement and forfeit the corrective strength that it provides. Never entertaining such possibilites, we fail to heed the wisdom to “test yourself, to see if you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Until we know the great danger can we ever appreciate our great salvation? Admitting that “God has not given us a spirit of timidity” (2 Timothy 1:7), Amos still believes that fear is not something that we should be afraid of.
I wonder if Amos knew the words the Spirit would give to Paul….
To me, discussion of this whole book really comes down to whether the audience is a believer or a non-believer. If a non-believer… or not sure they are a believer…is reading this book it should rightly give them a fear of the Lord which hopefully will be the beginning of wisdom for them. There is much to fear in this world… and even more to fear in the next life… without Jesus as your salvation. If a believer is reading it, they should well up inside with gratitude for how amazingly good God is… the very next verse after talking about the “decimation” is “Seek Me and Live”…even under the Old Covenant this was the offer… what an amazing God we have!!
As a believer under the New Covenant, I personally stand on Romans 5: 1-5 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The thing about a true believer is that they are very aware that they are already dead… Gal 2:20 “”I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”… so this world has no “hold” on them. To fear the destruction of things of the world only proves your attachment to them… and your lack of trust in the provision of the Lord. Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” I personally do not see fear as my “portion” in my New Life (I think of all the times Jesus said do not fear)…. but it is not because I am not sooo grateful for everything God has done for us through His marvelous Grace/Mercy. I just think there is Higher Ground here… and that is where I want to live all the days of my life.
I was thinking about Abraham today…how wrestling with Books such as Amos (not him, us) seems to be part of a believer’s journey of faith.
Abraham, when he was asked to sacrifice his innocent, only son, had a choice to make. He KNEW his God and His character…he had a heart sensitive to God’s heart and because of that and his fellowship with Him, he was also absolutely sure he was hearing His voice correctly. On one hand a really good God and friend who had made him specific promises and on the other hand a God who seemed to be/asking him to do something evil. How beautiful (and instructive) a picture it was when he chose to believe in the character of the One he KNEW over the conclusion he could reach only by his intellect….even when others could RIGHTLY argue against what he at least thought he heard/knew. I love the way that to him, it was all Good (at least the ultimate outcome)….He trusted his God…so what other conclusion could he have?
I was in SS class one day and someone announced that they had determined that Abraham was listening to a demon and not to God when he was asked to sacrifice his son. So happens that on a walk the night before the Lord just burst in my heart the “vision” of the beauty of this whole scene. So, obviously I stood up for (at least tried to) what the Word was really saying, but honestly this person was just struggling with trying to “understand” a God that He did not know. As Jesus said, ” “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life ; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” When He is inside you, your eyes will be opened to the Word in a way that is not possible only with the intellect. You can read the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit or without Him… without Him can be dangerous stuff.
Maybe this is just a normal part of the journey….to get to KNOW our God…. even above what is logical. “Lean not on your own understanding”…. get to KNOW your God with something more than your head! He will guide you into all Truth. He loves you…even if you are the worst of sinners… I know that for a fact. Only turn to Him and repent.
Father, this was Your post. I ask that you give us Wisdom. We want to KNOW you!! Amen.