Amos 8 (7)

Pray Psalm 138.7, 8.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Sing Psalm 138.7, 8.
(Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Your Right Hand will save and keep me; all I need You will supply.
For Your love is everlasting reaching from beyond the sky.
You will not forsake or leave me; You will save me when I cry.

Read Amos 8.1-14; meditate on verses 1, 2, 14.

Preparation
1. How did God show that He had “closed the book” on the northern Kingdom?

2. What would be the result of this?

Meditation
The apostle Paul explained that not all those who were of the ten tribes of Israel were truly “Israel”, that is, truly the people of God (Rom. 9.6,7). He further clarified, “That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” Being a fleshly descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was never the criterion for knowing the favor of God. Believing God’s promises, trusting in Him, and obeying His Law are the identifying marks of those who truly belong to the Lord. In Amos’ day, only those who heeded the Lord’s prophets and trusted in Him would find safety from His wrath by fleeing to Judah, the southern kingdom.

For the rest, God closed the book on them, withdrawing all His favor and protection and consigning them to utter destruction. They had known His love over and over, yet they spurned Him in wrong belief to seek idols. Oh, they kept up some semblance of worshiping God (vv. 5, 6; cf. 5.21-26), but there was no substance to it. All their works were self-aggrandizing and oppressive, and God would not forget a single one of them (v. 7). He would remove His Word and promises from them (v. 11) and leave them to their vain choices—ruined, mourning, and led away into captivity (vv. 3, 8-10).

God loved and cared for all those who identified as “Israel.” But they were not all truly His. Just so, God loves and cares for every human being, all whom He has made in His image that they might know, love, and serve Him and rejoice in Him. But many of these reject God, choosing to be gods and a law unto themselves. Yet God’s love for them endures (cf. Ps. 52.1; Matt. 5.45).

But a day is coming when, the Book of Life being opened, their names will not appear, for they will have chosen not to appear. And once all the names in that Book are read out and those whose names appear there have entered the joy of the Lord, the Book will be closed, and those who are left will go into eternal darkness, cursing Him Whom they scorned all their lives.

Our calling, like that of Amos, is to remind the lost of God’s lovingkindness and to call them to repentance and faith in God’s Promised One, Jesus.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
God is asking us, just as surely as He asked Amos, “What do you see?” (Amos 7.8, 8.2).

And there is not much difference in what we see and in what Amos saw all those years ago.

God came to Ezekiel after the destruction of Israel to warn him of the pending end of Judah.
“An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you,
and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you
for all your abominations. My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will repay your ways,
and your abominations will be in your midst; then you shall know that I AM the LORD!” (Ezek. 7.4)
“Then you shall know that I AM the LORD Who strikes” (Ezek. 7.9).

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
(The Westminster Shorter Catechism)

That is the point of everything. Every breath we draw, every thought we think, every action we take is to glorify God and to acknowledge Him as The LORD of everything and everyone. Isn’t that what God is saying to Ezekiel and to Amos? “I AM the LORD, seek Me and live. And do it My way.”

Q: What is the other option?
A: We can fall and never rise again.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rom. 12.1-3).

Open God’s book, read it, meditate in it, for it is your life.
“The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations…
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever” (Ps. 111.2-6; 10).

What do you see?

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3.2, 3).

Because this is true, “our calling, like that of Amos, is to remind the lost of God’s lovingkindness and to call them to repentance and faith in God’s Promised One, Jesus”; so the Book will not be closed to them.

Reflection
1. When you look on the people in your Personal Mission Field, what do you see?

2. What opportunities for sharing the Good News of Jesus do you have in your Personal Mission Field?

3. In what ways is your ministry like that of Amos? In what ways is it different?

God indeed, as it is well known, had so treated that people, that He ever spared them even in their greatest calamities. It was with a suspended hand that God ever struck that people, until after many trials they at length seemed so refractory, as not to be benefited by such remedies. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 8.1, 2

Pray Psalm 138.1-6.
Praise the Lord for His great patience and lovingkindness and for all the ways He has answered your prayers in the past. Call on Him to show you His glory and to glorify His Name in all you do today.

Sing Psalm 138.1-6.
(Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
I will give You thanks and praise You, God of gods, with all my heart.
I will bow before Your temple, grateful praise to You impart.
For Your Name and for Your glory, You have magnified Your Word!

On the day I called You answered, made me bold within my soul;
when I walk in troubled places, You revive and make me whole.
For Your hand will gently shield me, and my fearsome foes control.

All the kings of earth will praise You when Your words of truth they hear;
of Your ways, of Your great glory gladly they will shout and cheer.
For the proud shall not approach You, yet You hold the lowly dear.

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.