Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to
OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on
Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests
to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian
Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision
he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king
of Judah and Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, was king of Israel.
He said: “The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from
Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel
withers.”
Amos 1:1-2
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we start our study of the Book of Amos and as we look
at the first two verses of Chapter 1, we find the word of God giving us
background on the prophet himself and some historical referencing to get our
bearings as to when the prophesies took place. Finally, we are given early
insight into God’s nature, the God of the Israelites. Look again at these verses
here:
The words of Amos,
one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years
before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam, son of
Jehoash, was king of Israel.
He said: “The Lord
roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry
up, and the top of Carmel withers.” Amos 1:1-2
There are several takeaways from this opening passage so
let’s look at them one at a time.
1. These words in this book come from Amos.
The words of Amos.
This book was named after him for a reason but let’s not
give Amos too much of the credit for like any other prophet, he was simply a
willing spokesperson for God Himself.
Or in other words, Amos was simply relaying on words that
God had given him to speak.
2. Amos was a shepherd but he was also a farmer.
The words of Amos,
one of the shepherds.
This prophet was not some high priest who was spiritually
renowned among the people of God and someone they would have looked to for
spiritual insight and wisdom. Rather, Amos was one of the lowly members of
Israelite society, a mere shepherd who kept his flocks. Later in this book,
Amos discloses that he also tended to the sycamore-fig trees (Amos 7:14).
3. Amos lived in a very small town of Tekoa.
The words of Amos,
one of the shepherds of Tekoa.
Although Tekoa is mentioned in five other books in the Old
Testament, its biggest claim to fame comes here in Amos as the birthplace of
the prophet. Tekoa was a small town in Judah and sat six Roman miles south of
Bethlehem which made it around 11 miles south of Jerusalem. It’s important to
note Amos’ location because as we will see in this book, God will call him to
travel far north of there to deliver prophecy to the northern kingdom of
Israel.
4. Amos delivered his prophesies before God sent His
judgment on Israel’s northern and southern kingdoms.
The words of Amos,
one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years
before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam, son of
Jehoash, was king of Israel.
Uzziah was king of Judah between 792 and 740 B.C. and
Jeroboam ruled over Israel between 793 and 753. Given that the Assyrian
invasion of Israel happened between 722 and 721 B.C., we get an idea of the
proximity of God’s warning of judgment through Amos and when it actually
happened.
So we know that God chose an ordinary shepherd and fruit
farmer from a small town in Judah to be a powerful spokesperson for Him,
delivering his prophecies before God sent His judgment upon the Israelites.
What would be Amos’ first message?
Go back to our passage where we find that Amos said:
“The Lord roars from
Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the
top of Carmel withers.”
It was a very ominous opening message, a declaration that
God was not happy but rather roaring out and thundering against the sins of His
people. The irony can’t be overlooked here.
God chose a shepherd to warn of Him coming as a lion while
the Lord would have much rather been a shepherd for His people instead of a
lion bringing attack, a destruction that would range from low to high, from the
pastures to the mountain tops. In tomorrow’s devotion, the first of an eight part series, we’ll find God using Amos to detail the sins of the Arameans.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment