Punishment to come
Day 454, Saturday, Nov. 8
Amos Chapters 1 – 3
Amos, in spite of being placed later than Joel in the Bible, takes place earlier than Joel, when there are still kings on the thrones of both the northern and southern kingdoms. (Jehoash in Israel and Uzziah in Judah).
In 3:11 we read, “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”
Amos begins the book by prophesying destruction for the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. By chapter 2, though, he moves into a prophesy of destruction for his own people.
In an interesting insight into the role of the prophets, we read in 3:7, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
God reveals his actions to the prophets so that his people can recognize what God is doing and understand its meaning.
We don’t typically call people prophets in the modern day (at least in our particular Christian tradition), but we should look for ways that God is revealing his action and its significance to his people today.
As usual in the prophets, Amos ties the sin of the people to injustice and mistreatment of those in the lowest ranks of society. In 2:6-7 we read, “They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.”

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Saturday meditation

Psalms 22:25-31
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him—may your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Prayer focus
God, show us where you are active in our world today and let us understand both what you are doing and what you want us to do in response.