Amos is coming he ain't happy!

^{6 m}Seek the Lord and live,

^plest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,

and it devour, with none to quench it for ⁿBethel,

⁷ O ^qyou who turn justice to wormwood¹

and cast down righteousness to the earth!

^{10 w}They hate him who reproves ^xin the gate,

and they ^yabhor him who speaks the truth.

¹¹ Therefore because you ^ztrample on² the poor

and you exact taxes of grain from him,

^ayou have built houses of hewn stone,

but you shall not dwell in them;

^ayou have planted pleasant vineyards,

but you shall not drink their wine.

¹² For I know how many are your transgressions

and how great are your sins—

you who afflict the righteous, who ^btake a bribe,

and ^cturn aside the needy ^xin the gate.

¹³ Therefore he who is prudent will ^dkeep silent in such a time,

^efor it is an evil time.

^{14 f}Seek good, and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the Lord, ^gthe God of hosts, will be with you,

as you have said.

^{15 h}Hate evil, and love good,

and establish justice ^xin the gate;

ⁱit may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,

will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

So reads our First Lesson for October 11.

Wow, what a guy! He must have been a fancy prophet with a lot of theological training and fine education. Nope!

Amos who prophesied in the mid eighth century BC to the northern kingdom of Israel was from the Tekoa...which was in the southern kingdom of Judah. He wasn't a professional prophet, but dealt with flocks and trees. I guess you could say he was a busy guy doing some tough work that had to get done, but at least he wasn't a truck driver! (Cough) Oh well, you can't have everything! He was a straight shooter and didn't mince words. God had a message for him to deliver and so he had to drop everything and go. Wow! He just left his job behind and delivered the Lord's message. I wonder if fishermen would do that! Not sure...probably would.

Seek the Lord and live! Simple and to the point. I mean, when you're used to getting things done you just kinda throw your cards out on the table. Amos was ticked about these northerners taking advantage of the poor and withholding justice! God's wrath is against you! Repent! Turn from these things and seek the mercy of God! Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these others things will be added...Law and Gospel!

Amos brought the crushing hammer of the Law down upon the kingdom of Israel, but also the remedy...the Gospel. Seek the Lord and live! Mercy, but not forever. God will not be mocked. Life was good for the northern kingdom when Amos delivered his message. This guys is nuts! I'm sure that's what they thought. Amos was just a trouble maker from the South. He takes care of trees, what could he know? Amos proved it's not what you know, but who you know or better yet...who you are known by! Well 722BC came around and that was that. God's word came true and the northern kingdom found out that mocking God will not last...judgement day does eventually come.

Like it or not!

...over and out

LT