May 16, 2021: Day 71 – Amos 2

Just when you thought that you were safe the prophet speaks directly to your problems and to your issues which you were hoping would be overlooked as God denounces your neighbors.  So here we find Amos speaking to Moab first, great, we think, we are safe, he is continuing the rants against the neighboring countries and all the things that they have done wrong.  But then he pivots to Judah and it starts to get a bit uncomfortable.  Judah is much closer to us, and they are basically our kindred.  But at least they haven’t gone to Israel our home state, to denounce anything.  Maybe we will skate clear.  Then we get to vs.6 and everything changes.

This is where we find ourselves as Amos begins his words against Israel.  The list of complaints against Israel are legion and they are of a most heinous degree.  Look at vs.7 and shudder.  Can you think of anything worse than the immorality of turning your back on the poor and devolving into sexual debauchery?  God speaks strongly against the Israelites and tells them that they are going to lose their position as God’s people as a result of what they have done.  What a horrid message, but it is prophetic.  I’m currently attending the Festival of Homiletics and here is what one speaker said about prophetic speaking:  Speaking prophetically is not telling the future, it is telling the truth.