Amos 4 (6)

Pray Psalm 80.12-15.
Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

Sing Psalm 80.12-15
(St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor)
Now You in wrath have spoken and bruised Your chosen vine.
We languish, LORD, are broken by wrath, deserved, divine.
Once more, LORD, hear our pleading: return and heal this vine!
Look down on us, so needy, and show Your love divine!

Read Amos 4.1-13; meditate on verse 13.

Preparation
1. What does God say about Himself?

2. How does He name Himself?

Meditation
To magnify His greatness, God gave Amos three insights with double meanings.

God identified Himself as Creator. He made the mountains, and He creates the wind. Here’s the first double meaning: That word “wind” can also be translated “spirit” and may thus refer either to the spiritual realm—which God also created—or the soul of every person—ditto. As Calvin pointed out in his commentary, if we take it as wind, it goes well with the mountains; if we take it as spirit, it leads to what follows: God reveals His (or “his”) thoughts to human beings.

God is Creator, and He is sovereign LORD. He also reveals His will to people, making Himself known to every person through His Word and the things He has made (Ps. 147.19, 20; Rom. 1.18-21). Alternately—our second double meaning—He revealed “his” thoughts to Israel, showing them their sinfulness. But Israel chose to silence His prophets and ignore His Word.

Finally, God asserted His majesty and sovereignty: He “makes the morning darkness”, that is, before dawn brings the new day. The phrase “Who treads the high places of the earth”—our third double meaning—can signify that He is lofty, high, exalted, and rules over all people. Just as truly, it indicates that He treads down—puts under His feet—all the high places where people worship their false gods.

He is the LORD. He is God. He is God of every created thing. That’s the Name of Him with Whom we have to do. We dare not diminish His greatness, for He has revealed His Word to us, defeated death, and bound the devil, and He will soon show Himself in glory to judge the world and gather His chosen ones home.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Behold. He Who:
Forms the mountains
Creates the wind
Declares to man what his thought is
Makes the morning darkness
Treads the high places of the earth.
The LORD God of hosts is His Name. (Amos 4.13)

He knows our thoughts. And just to reinforce that idea, Jesus spoke eloquently on how His people should keep the Law. Inwardly and outwardly. Because He knows what we’re up to and what we’re thinking: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…for if you love those who love you, what reward have you?”
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5.21, 22, 27, 28, 43, 44, 46, 48). These are all matters of the heart, that only we, and God, can see. But be assured—He sees. And He, through His Holy Spirit, is more than happy to declare to us those thoughts (Amos 4.13). Good and bad.

The good news is: He declares those thoughts to us so that we will be aware of our sins, repent of them, turn away from them, and get back on the Jesus Path with Him.

“Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil.
Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on…
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4.13-15, 23).

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether” (Ps. 139.1-4).

He knows. He sees. He declares our sinful and repentable thoughts to us.
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And sweetly, too, we know of His tenderness and forgiveness:
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
and when I awake, I am still with You” (Ps. 139.17, 18).

God always declares Good News along with the bad.

“The LORD of hosts is His Name” (Amos 4.13). Omniscient. Omnipresent. Omnipotent.
“And behold, I AM coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22.12, 13).

Reflection
1. When you think of Jesus, exalted in glory, what do you see? How does Paul instruct us on this matter in Colossians 3.1-3?

2. Why is it important to remember that Jesus always knows your thoughts?

3. What can you do to grow in your understanding of God’s thoughts?

But that he might rouse careless men more effectually, he then magnificently extols the power of God; and that he might produce more reverence and fear in men, especially the hardened and the refractory, he adorns his name with many commendations. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 4.13

Pray Psalm 80.1-7.
Pray that God will revive His Church and open the hearts of lost people everywhere to hear the Good News of Jesus.

Sing Psalm 80.1-7
(St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor)
O God of grace, restore us, and shine on us Your face!
O save us, LORD, work for us; renew us by Your grace!
Give ear, O gracious Savior, Who leads us as Your flock:
Stir up Your pow’r and favor, our King and LORD and Rock!

How long will You ignore all Your people’s fervent prayer?
Shall bitter tears fall ever? O LORD, renew Your care!
Our neighbors mock and scorn us, they laugh at our distress.
Renew, O LORD, and turn us, look down on us and bless!

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.