Amos 1 (6)

Pray Psalm 52.3-5.
You love evil more than good,
Lying rather than speaking righteousness.
Selah
You love all devouring words,
You deceitful tongue.
God shall likewise destroy you forever;
He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,
And uproot you from the land of the living.
Selah

Sing Psalm 52.3-5
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Men more than good in evil delight, and lies prefer to what is right.
They utter words both harsh and strong with their devouring, deceitful tongue.

God will forever break them down, uproot, and cast them to the ground!
He from their safety tears them away, no more to know the light of day.

Read Amos 1.1-15; meditate on verses 13-15.

Preparation
1. Why was God judging Ammon?

2. How would He judge them?

Meditation
The sin of Ammon is almost unspeakable: “they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory.” God hates murder, and he hates the murder of children in the womb. Ammon would pay the price. Their capital burned, the palaces of their rulers “devoured”, their king and princes dragged off to captivity amid the tempestuous fury of the living God.

This country has been ripping children from the wombs of their mothers, with the consent and cooperation of those mothers and the blessing of law, for two generations now. Millions of children have been murdered in the womb, not just in one region of the country but all over the nation. So familiar have we become with the practice of abortion that politicians, activists, scholars, physicians, and everyday folk see nothing wrong with it whatsoever. Indeed, they seem to regard it as some great good.

Remember Ammon. God does. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of people who, in brazen ingratitude, refuse to acknowledge His many gifts or to seek His favor. His judgment is upon us—all manner of uncleanness and lustfulness, sexual immorality and abuse, debased minds, unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil thinking, violence, disobedience to parents, undiscerning and unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful (Rom. 1.26-32). We are Ammon. And if we do not repent, the end of this downward spiral of ungodliness is death—death of the wicked, death of their culture, death of their freedoms, death of their nation. Just ask Ammon.

Let repentance and renewal begin with each of us daily, and let us not fail to pray for mercy for our nation.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162|
Abhorrent. Sin. In all its shapes and sizes.
Ammon was guilty. America is guilty. We are guilty.
And lest we focus too heavily on abortion, adultery for example, rips the heart right out of the offended spouse. Brutal speech and bullying rip self-esteem right out of the recipient. Physical and emotional abuse tears the spirit out of the attacked.  Life itself is torn out of those who are mistreated. Even a whisper of gossip can be witheringly destructive.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16.25).

There is a better way. As Solomon wrote, “In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil” (Prov. 16.6).

But there is the catch. We need first to realize that we are guilty of evil. Then we need to bear in mind what happened to Ammon, and believe it so wholeheartedly, that we understand the truth of the fact that “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Ps. 7.11). Then we need to stop pointing the finger at Ammon and query Jesus, as the disciples did, “Lord, is it I?” (Matt. 26.22).

“For He brings down those who dwell on high, the lofty city; He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground. He brings it down to the dust” (Is. 26.5).

God’s anger should bring us to repentance. And when we acknowledge our sin and turn from it, blessings abound, we are pleasing the Lord, and back on track with doing our ordained work (Eph. 2.10).

“The way of the just is uprightness;
O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just.
Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You;
the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.
With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
for when Your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Is. 26.7-9).

The sin of Ammon runs rampant throughout the world.
But it best never run through us—in any way, shape, or form—
as the outcome is ripping and dire for all involved.

Reflection
1. Has anyone ever “ripped” you in any way? How did that make you feel?

2. Do you agree that our nation has come under the wrath of God? Explain.

3. What is the Christian’s role in such a time?

God, by his Prophet, enumerates not all the sins for which he had purposed to punish them, and only points out distinctly, as in passing, but one sin, and generally declares, that such people were utterly past hope, for they had hardened themselves in their wickedness. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 1.13-15

Pray Psalm 52.1, 2, 6-9.
Pray for the lost people of the world, that God would convict them of their sin and set them on a course of seeking Him. Pray for yourself, that God would use you today to bear witness to the Good News of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Sing Psalm 52.1, 2, 6-9
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Why do the mighty boast in sin? God’s love endures, it knows no end!
They with their tongues vain boasts repeat, and like a razor, work deceit.

The righteous see and laugh and fear, and say, “Behold, what have we here?
Such are all who at God conspire, and wealth and evil ways desire.”

But as for me may I be seen in God an olive ever green!
Ever in God, most kind and just, shall I with joy and gladness trust!

Thanks evermore to our Savior be raised! His faithfulness be ever praised!
Here with Your people, loving God, I wait upon Your Name, so good!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.