Amos 3 (6)
Pray Psalm 28.3-5.
Do not take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.
Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
Give them according to the work of their hands;
Render to them what they deserve.
Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
Nor the operation of His hands,
He shall destroy them
And not build them up.
Sing Psalm 28.3-5
(Angel’s Story: Oh Jesus, I Have Promised)
LORD, count me not among those who walk in sinful ways.
With words of peace their tongue glows while evil fills their days.
Your works they disregard, LORD, while evil fills their hands.
Destroy them by Your Word, LORD, and let them no more stand.
Read Amos 3.1-15; meditate on verse 15.
Preparation
1. What is the focus of God’s judgment here?
2. What will happen to them?
Meditation
The idols and false gods of ancient Israel continue to be idols and false gods for many people in our society: wealth and ease. In Israel’s case, a certain segment of the population had managed to accumulate sufficient wealth to own both summer and winter homes, or to have their houses trimmed with ivory, or just to build “great houses” which doubtless stood tall above those of the ordinary people.
It’s not clear how this great wealth was accumulated. But we can imagine. Taxes, manipulating markets, rents, war, and theft were the most likely sources. The gods of wealth and ease are, after all, subordinate deities. They serve a larger master and the ultimate god of all wrong believers: the self.
People who worship themselves—what they want, what matters to them, the level of comfort they seek, how best to maintain and advance their stature, and so forth—seek wealth and ease that they may satisfy the demands of self. There is no sense that their wealth should be used for loving their neighbors or for any other use besides ensuring and enlarging their ease.
God hates this. He swore to take away the false gods of wealth and ease from those who pursued them, and to leave the god of self stripped of all satisfaction and captive to the whims of foreigners. A feeble, feckless, foolish deity bereft of every prop.
Everything in our society is aimed at convincing you that you are your own god and wealth and ease are what your self needs above all. Education, government, advertising, even, alas, some elements of the Christian community insist that your greatest happiness is in satisfying yourself with stuff.
A day of judgment awaits all such folly. Make sure you’re not standing in that crowd when God’s wrath begins to fall.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
From the Old Testament to the New, and then to us, some things, sadly, never seem to change.
Solomon had some words of wisdom on topic to start our conversation: “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Prov. 23.4, 5). A real false god.
God spoke directly to this issue through the psalmist, by rehearsing all He had done for His children, how He had cared for all their needs; and then the psalmist spoke to their response. And God’s. At first “they believed His words; they sang His praise.” But then, “they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Ps. 106.12-15).
That is a horrible place to be—they had all their stuff, but their relationship with God was spare and sparse.
Jesus covered this same topic with His followers—then and now. He explained how God knows what we all need, and that those things will be supplied. Our job? “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6.33).
Then Jesus told a parable about obedience: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matt. 7.24-27). Better to base one’s values and life on a stable rock than on shifting sand.
After Jesus finished speaking, “the people were astonished at His teaching” (Matt. 7.28).
That’s a good first step. Are we also astonished? Astonished enough to believe Him and do what He commands? Have God’s words through Amos astonished us?
As Jesus said to a greedy questioner in the audience: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Lk. 12.15). Abundant life is found in Jesus—following and serving Him. As He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10.10). Stuff comes and goes, but we who do the will of our Father, will be participants in the Kingdom now and later—forever (Matt. 7.21).
(As an aside, some folks are blessed with all the stuff and really full souls; and that is a joy to behold, as well. For their thoughts are of the Kingdom first and then of others, and caring for them. They are not greedy nor covetous, and their ten per cent tithe blesses many other lives.)
Whatever our financial situation, the fact is, our hearts can either be set on a Jesus Path or not. And as Paul once wrote about experiencing both financial situations: “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4.11-13).
A lean soul is never to be desired. So, regardless of our circumstances at any given time, we never want to be judged for serving a false god.
Reflection
1. How do you guard yourself against desiring too many things?
2. How does God want you to use the things and wealth He has allowed you to have?
3. How would you know when things are beginning to be an idol in your soul?
Amos shows again that in vain the great people trusted in their wealth and fortified places; for these could not hinder God from drawing them forth to punishment. As then abundance blinds men, and as they imagine themselves to be as it were inaccessible, especially when dwelling in great palaces, the Prophet here declares, that these houses would be no impediment to prevent God's vengeance to break through. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 3.15
Pray Psalm 28.1, 2, 6-9.
Pray that God will stop the lies of those in places of influence in our society, and that He will revive His people to seek Him and His Kingdom in all things.
Sing Psalm 28.1, 2, 6-9
(Angel’s Story: Oh Jesus, I Have Promised)
I cry to You, our Savior, O, be not deaf to me!
LORD, speak to me with favor, lest I should dying be.
Hear now my supplications when for Your help I cry.
Receive these, my oblations, before Your throne on high.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus, for He will hear our prayer.
His strength protects and shields us with mercy and with care.
In You our heart rejoices; You help us by Your Word.
To You we raise our voices to praise and thank You, LORD.
Our strength are You, O Savior, our strong defense and sure.
Anointed with Your favor, we rest in You secure.
Save us, and bless us, Jesus, upon us turn Your face.
With shepherd’s care, LORD, keep us forever in Your grace.
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.
