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Sunday, October 16, 2022

Bible Reading Reflection from Amos 1-4

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (JAC) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

π”Έπ•„π•†π•Š πŸ™:πŸ™

"The words of Amos, who was among the 𝕀𝕙𝕖𝕑𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕕𝕀 of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake”

π™°πš–πš˜πš—πš πšπš‘πšŽ πš‹πš’πš‹πš•πš’πšŒπšŠπš• πšŠπšžπšπš‘πš˜πš›πšœ:

There are literary giants like Isaiah the prophet; the Psalmist the poet; Solomon, the philosopher; Daniel, the prime minister; etc.

There is also a room for ordinary people like Amos the shepherd. This guy is a farmer (Amos 7:14).

Shepherds are the lowest job in biblical times. They are considered sinners because of their lack of 'church attendance' (Temple), tending their sheep. [However, I am sure Amos was a committed and faithful 'church member'.]

The point is God chose a man from such a profession to be His mouthpiece! Indeed, God has the habit of choosing the lowest things of this world to show the greatness of His mercy and grace, and to shame the vainglory of the world. He even chose a prostitute Rahab to be the ancestress of Jesus. No matter where we are, God can work wonders in our life.

BTW, it does not mean that all professions are pleasing to God: clearly, prostitution is not; skipping the temple is not; it just means God's grace is vast. It reaches even the lowest hell. It reaches even the greatest sinner (Saul the persecutor). It reaches even the greatest sin!

As we read the book of Amos, may Amos the farmer, Amos the animal-man gives us hope even in his proclamation of judgment!

 

π”Έπ•„π•†π•Š 𝟚:𝟜

"Thus says the LORD: ‘For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.’"

In chapter 1, we see God's judgment about to come to the neighboring nations of Judah and Israel. In chapter 2, Judah and Israel were not spared either.

In fact, the indictment against Judah was not about wickedness as described against other nations. The problem with Judah was that they had forsaken the law of God and had walked away.

Sin is not only doing "bad things,” but it's also not cherishing God. In fact, all sins can trace back to not cherishing God. We love our sins more than God. For example, we love to sleep more in the morning than to study God's word. 😬

 

π”Έπ•„π•†π•Š πŸ›:𝟚

"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

Wow! What a contrast!

If God loves only the Israelites, it will be very appropriate to say, "I will forgive all your sins and punish others." However, because of love, God will punish His love. True love corrects people, disciplines people, and exhorts people. It's because of this love, God punishes! And of course, His punishment is not to damn us, but to save us.

 

π”Έπ•„π•†π•Š 𝟜:πŸ™

"Hear this word, you 𝕔𝕠𝕨𝕀 of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, ‘Bring now, that we may drink!’"

I have a friend who had a grudge against his pastor because one day the pastor visited his hostel and rebuked them for unhygienic and disorderly living. Hmm! Boys' Hostel!! He compared their hostel to a pigsty and their living to pigs. My friend thought the pastor should not use such words or make such comparisons.

This world is interesting. Even Christians are interesting. They know exactly what the pastors should do and shouldn't do, but they don't know even how to make their beds properly.

Two-thirds of my life I've lived so far has been as a church member. I have heard and seen all kinds of criticisms, accusations, and slander against pastors. Evidently, they haven't read their Bible.

Amos is calling these women, cows. Hmm! Feminists won't be happy! Paul called those Christian who insisted on circumcision, dogs. John the Baptist called those who seek to know his theology, Vipers. Jesus went further and called those religious leaders, snakes, brood of Vipers, children of Satan, Blind, etc. Maybe, I should also start enriching my vocabulary! Just kidding. πŸ˜‚

Another anecdote:

A few years ago, while I happened to be in my village going to church for the Sunday Evening service, we heard the news that 2 ZUF cadres (underground) had molested 2 girls from a distant village. My village pastor was furious and said that such people should be apprehended and chopped into pieces.

Wow! Such a violent word. I thought it was very unbecoming of a pastor. I was offended. I don't even remember what he preached that evening. Then a few years later, I read from 1 Samuel 15, that the prophet Samuel chopped Agag into pieces. Hmm! My pastor was definitely biblical in his thought. Definitely, he wasn't saying they should be butchered into pieces.  I am sure he was connecting the banality of sin and evil to that of Agag. Was he wrong to say that? I thought so. I was very offended. But now, I think he wasn't wrong. Actually, he was being biblical.

What about a person like me who got offended and didn't remember the rest of his sermon? Well, that's not his fault. Even Jesus had offended a lot of people. In fact, sometimes, Jesus refused to simplify His teachings. In John 6, He was telling them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Many (not some) went away from Jesus. Jesus didn't back down. He even offered to His 12 chosen people to go away if they wanted.

But the 12 did the right thing. They asked what Jesus meant. I should have gone to my village pastor and asked him what he meant instead of getting offended and walking away like those many disciples of John 6.

In this world, we can't live to please everyone. We won't be pleased with everyone either.