Day 193 – Amos 6-9

Talking Points

• God is a supernatural God who sometimes does things that seem completely illogical and unreal, showcasing His power. He’s also a completely practical and logical God. We see that as we see Him send specific prophets to both the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). Amos speaks primarily to Israel. God’s intricate plan and infinite wisdom are shown in the details.
• God’s coming judgment is further described in frightening detail. He tells of drought, famine, death, destruction, and great affliction.
• In Amos, God talks about the placing of a plumb line — a standard or reference point revealing what is exactly upright. It does not fluctuate, but is always exactly true. God’s Word is our plumb line. It is our reference point. It doesn’t shift with the times, nor does it adjust for our preferences. Rather, it is always exactly true. The standard that we measure everything else against is God’s Word. In His grace, it is always trustworthy.

Thoughts

God speaks through Amos. His Word is perfect for those in that time, and speaks to us in ours, as well.

Amos declares God’s description of the attitudes of the day. The people were at ease in their sinful state. It had become comfortable to them. Honestly, they liked it. They felt secure, even while trespassing against God. To them, everything seemed okay; there was no need to worry. The people are described as reclining on ivory (expensive) beds and sprawling on their couches. They ate abundantly of the choicest foods, wore the finest clothes, and perfumed with extravagant oils. They enjoyed entertainers and listened to skilled harpists, all while numbly intoxicated on the world’s best wines. As they talked, they bragged of their own accomplishments, celebrating the works of their hands. And, sitting in their perceived luxury, they were “not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6). The truth is, their satisfaction was found in the world, they’d placed their hope in the fleeting pleasures of this life, and they had forgotten the LORD their God. Exactly Satan’s plan.

Today, don’t we walk those same paths? We fall prey to those same empty desires. Our hearts are lured in by those same temptations. We eat, and we drink, and we live in comfort, refusing to see the error of our ways. Still Satan’s plan.

Today, may we be convinced, may we be convicted — any hope fixed in anything other than Christ alone will not endure. Let us fix our hope in Him. Let us thank God for the Hope that does endure!