The Restoration of David’s Kingdom

On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the Lord who does this. The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:11-15, NRSV)

The kingdom of David may have been laid to ruin.

God may have seemed to be absent, yet the Lord was always with His chosen people.

God will restore the kingdom as was promised.

And never again will they be plucked from the land.

The word of the Lord is a promise that is always assured.

The word of the Lord will always come to fruition.

The word of the Lord is a promise we can count on.

Locusts, Fire, and a Plumb Line

This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings). When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God, forgive, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this; “It shall not be,” said the Lord. This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, “O Lord God, cease, I beg you! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this; “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God. This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (Amos 7:1-9, NRSV)

A plumb line. What is a plumb line?

It is a length of string tied to a plumb bob. Ok, that clears it up…

Merriam-Webster online defines a plumb line as a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (such as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality. So it is a line used to determine verticality? Verticality?

Ok God has set a line so that Israel might have a way to see the relationship with God. A Plumb Line makes things are going straight up and down. Maybe they should have used one for the Tower of Pisa!

God gives us a plumb line so we can know we are on a straight path to Him.

So use God’s plumb line to make you relationship line up verticality!

Complacent Self Indulgent Punished

If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. And if a relative, one who burns the dead, shall take up the body to bring it out of the house, and shall say to someone in the innermost parts of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” the answer will come, “No.” Then the relative shall say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.” See, the Lord commands, and the great house shall be shattered to bits, and the little house to pieces. Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?” Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts, and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi Arabah. (Amos 6:9-14, NRSV)

All who do not follow after the lord will die.

Because by not following after God and loving neighbor as yourself we have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.

All God asks is we look on the world as He looked on us. Accepting us where we were. Love them where they are.

Allow God to be in their lives and give them the love He gave to you and that love will overflow in their lives and yours.

Complacent Self Indulgent Punished

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! Cross over to Calneh, and see; from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is your territory greater than their territory, O you that put far away the evil day, and bring near a reign of violence? Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. The Lord God has sworn by himself (says the Lord, the God of hosts): I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds; and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it. (Amos 6:1-8, NRSV)

Does Amos say you can’t lie on beds of ivory or lounge on couches or eat lamb or calves and sing idle songs?

No, he doesn’t say you can’t do this. But if you do this without being vexed or concerned or worried about everything happening in the world, then you do not have the heart of the Lord.

We need concern for our fellow man, enough that we do not become self-indulgent and forget about everyone else but ourselves.

It is the path to the unholy trinity of me, myself and I…

The Day of the Lord a Dark Day

Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20, NRSV)

What is the day of the Lord?

I did an image search on it and that produced a lot of images about the end of time, or the judgment day of the Lord.

The day God returns to earth and we are all judged by Him.

And Amos has a good question here. Why do we want this?

Do you want to be judged by God for everything you did, for everything you didn’t do that you should have?

That is a dark dark day. When God will tell you everything that you did wrong.

I love the analogy of escaping a lion to run into a bear! Escape one torturous devouring to be taken by another.

But the one thing we know that Amos had not yet discovered is we have the Messiah. So the day of the Lord is light for us who have Jesus as our savior.

So live in the light that the darkness can not over come.

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Do two walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from its den, if it has caught nothing? Does a bird fall into a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster befall a city, unless the Lord has done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:1-8, NRSV)

Nothing happens unless God knows about it.

Traps just don’t spring up when nothing sets them off. And Birds don’t get trapped when there is no trap for them.

Things happen and God knows all of them.

He will always be with us.

Amos: Justice Rolls Down

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.And he said: The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24, NRSV)

Seek good and not evil not just for your self but for everyone.

Hate evil and love good not just for yourself but for everyone.

It’s not about what we do to look good to God, it is truly about how we love our neighbors as ourself and live that in daily life.

When we love others as God loves us, justice will roll down like living waters and righteousness will be an everflowing stream.

Let us love the Lord and live His love!

Jezebel’s Violent Death

When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out of the window. As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” He looked up to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down; some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, which trampled on her. Then he went in and ate and drank; he said, “See to that cursed woman and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.” But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; the corpse of Jezebel shall be like dung on the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’” (2 Kings 9:30-37, NRSV)

Wow. This text seems to come out of the middle of nowhere.

But this is the completion of what God told Elijah to do by anointing Jehu king of Israel. You see Jezebel’s son was “king” but everyone knew that Jezebel was ruling the kingdom. That is why the prophets of Baal were prevalent and why Elijah had to kill them.

So in order for Jehu to become king, Jezebel had to die.

God will always make His word come to fruition.

The word of the Lord is a promise that will be fulfilled.

Elisha Heals Naaman

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.”But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!” He urged him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, “If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord. But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.” He said to him, “Go in peace.” (2 Kings 5:1-19a, NRSV)

If the prophet had told you to do something difficult you would have done it without complaining. But since it is something easy Naaman complains…

And aren’t we the same?

Aren’t the waters of the rivers over here better than here? Why should I wash in the dirty water here?

We make excuses about what God has asked us to do. When it is easy we complain and when it is difficult we probably won’t do it. Even though we know that God will provide for us a rich and wonderful life.

So listen to God and live in His wonderment!

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:1-7, NRSV)

When We ask God for something He will provide abundantly.

Here we see a widow who cannot provide and those whom she owes are coming to take her children to use as slaves to pay off the debt. But she asks of Elisha and God provides for her and her children.

So what will God abundantly provide to you?