Category: Minor prophets
Grudges, pride and destruction!
Scripture reading for September 16: Obadiah
Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. Prophesy was given over them even before they were born that there would be conflict between each other. Esau was the first-born and Jacob came out holding onto his brother’s heel. A spiritual conflict ensued that caused these brothers and their descendants to be in a struggle that lasted for hundreds of years. Jacob got Esau’s birthright for a bowl of soup. (Genesis 25:32-34) Jacob stole his brother’s blessing from their father Isaac with the help of their mother Rebekah. Esau was furious and held a grudge against Jacob, plotting to kill him. (Genesis 27:41) Jacob fled to Paddan Aram, to Laban’s house to find a wife. (Genesis 28:1-3) Esau had upset his parents by marrying Hittite women who were idolaters! (Genesis 27:44) So this conflict between two brothers smoldered like a fire, particularly in the heart of Esau!
Now, over 500 years later, Obadiah the prophet is sent with a message for Esau’s descendants. They had become a nation that was dwelling next to Israel and Judah but still held a grudge! They had pride in their hearts that they in their own power and strength would make their own way. (Obadiah 3-4) They had violence in their hearts against their brother Jacob and stood aloof while Jacob was under attack. (Obadiah 10-12) They had looked down on their brothers when they were being overtaken by foreigners and actually rejoiced over their misfortune rather than helping to defend them. (Obadiah 12-14) God’s message was that as they had done, it would be done to them! Edom would reap what they had sowed and their pride would result in the destruction of the House of Esau! (Obadiah 15-18)
We can all learn from this sad story! A grudge held can infect a family which can eventually destroy a nation of people. Esau’s grudge was never fully dealt with! Esau’s focus on his own needs, appetites, and personal pride caused his family and eventually a nation that came from him to dwell in pride. This pride and despising of their brothers resulted in God’s judgment and their destruction! Unforgiveness is just as dangerous for us today! It will isolate us from our family and open us up to the enemy of our souls. It will cut us off from God’s grace! Jesus Christ died to heal our broken family ties and restore us to God’s family! Take time today to ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness! Humility always wins and defeats pride’s death traps!
Hearing the Word of God Famine?
Scripture reading for September 14: Amos 8-9
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the Word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Amos 8:11-12
We are so blessed in America! According to the latest statistics in 2021, we have nearly 330,000 Christian churches across our land. We have services broadcast on television, cable, internet, and radio each day of the week. Christians should be out in the community sharing their faith and the Word of the Lord each day. We should not have a famine for God’s Word or have to search for it! It is readily available! Access to Bibles is not restricted here either, and, indeed, most households have more than one.
Amos lived and ministered among a people who were religious and went to church each Sabbath day to hear God’s Word! They had prophets like him who spoke to them regularly. To come into the adult world of that day, children had to memorize the Books of Moses before their thirteenth birthday. What happened that they would have this famine in their land? Can a person or people have the Word of the Lord and still have a famine for it?
When we ignore the Lord Himself and disrespect the light that we have from Him, we go into darkness that is deeper than before! These people had the truth and rejected it! They willfully went their own way and neglected to apply what was made known to them. This brought God’s wrath and judgment on them. This should be a strong warning to us today in America! To whom much has been given, much will be required!
God’s mercy is evident even in these dire prophetic writings of the prophet Amos. (Amos 9:8-10) God promises restoration after the shaking of judgment. He promises to restore the nation again and plant them in the land that He gave to them. (Amos 9:11-15) God’s goodness to a stubborn people is amazing! It draws us to repentance and faithful love again! (Romans 2:4) Let His mercy bless you today! Take advantage of the blessing of having God’s Word as your living Bread! Eat and be satisfied!
God’s plumb line of Truth!
Scripture reading for September 13: Amos 6-7
“This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. The the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.“ Amos 7:7-8
Amos had received a series of visions from the Sovereign Lord about the coming judgment on the nation. The first vision concerned a swarm of locusts stripping the land clean. (Amos 7:1-3) Amos interceded for the nation and the Lord relented. The second vision concerned a judgment by fire on the nation and Amos again interceded and the Lord relented. Prayer by one man can make a difference! We must never stop praying and believing in faith even when God warns us of coming disaster!
In the third vision God had a plumb line and was standing by a wall that was built true to plumb. Being plumb simply means perfectly perpendicular. A plumb line is a line of string with a pointed weight on the bottom. It is held up near the wall and shows clearly if the wall is plumb or not. If the wall is not plumb, it is leaning and may topple. The more out of plumb, the more the wall is in danger of collapse.
In this vision, the wall that was built true to plumb was the nation of Israel. God had “squared” them away and put His law as a plumb line in their midst to keep them straight. The people, however, refused to love God and obey His law. He was their Builder and Maker and lived in their midst. He sent prophets to drop the plumb line into the lives of His people and show them that their wall was out of whack! Amos had been sent to warn them of their complacency and materialism. (Amos 6:1, 4-6) They were living lives of luxury but had forgotten the God who had formed them and blessed them to be His holy people!
Amos got the left foot of fellowship by King Amaziah. He was told not to speak any more in Israel but to go back to Judah where he came from. (Amos 7:12-13) (Plumb lines were not welcome!) God used prophets to bring a revival and repentance that would bring restoration. If the message was rejected, the wall would fall. (Amos 7:16-17)
How is the wall of your life? Is the plumb line of God’s truth being dropped regularly alongside of it? Are you listening, reading, and heeding the plumb line of God’s Word? Today is a good day to straighten up and make the necessary changes!
Prepare to meet your God!
Scripture reading for September 12: Amos 3-5
Amos, a country preacher, used plain language that cuts to the chase! This is a good trait, but sometimes lacks tact in the eyes of those who are more refined! I imagine that Amos offended many among God’s people! For instance, in Amos 4:1 he called the women of Samaria “cows”. These women were likened to the well-fed cattle of Bashan, a farming area east of the Sea of Galilee. These women were demanding drinks from their husbands and were oppressing the poor and needy while they enjoyed an abundance. Amos promised them that God’s punishment was on the way.
Amos told the people to go up to Bethel and sin. God had tried to correct them and get their attention, but to no avail! They would not return to God with humble and contrite hearts! (Amos 4:6, 9, 11) God had sent famines, plagues, war and trouble to wake them up but they failed to respond. The final call was for them to prepare to meet their God! (Amos 4:12) Amos then took up a funeral lament for Israel as if she had died and met God! (Amos 5:1-3)
Amos told them to seek the Lord and live! They needed to honor God Who made the stars, Who speaks to the waters of the sea and pours them out on the land! (Amos 5:8-9) They were to seek good and not evil and they would live. Standing for what the Lord is for prepares us to meet God. (Amos 5:14-15)
Amos reproved God’s people again for saying that they longed for the day of the Lord! He told them that it would be a day of darkness, not light for them! (Amos 5:18) It would be like a man fleeing from a lion, only to meet a bear. These people were going through the motions and God hated their songs, festivals, feasts and offerings! Their hearts were not right! He wanted justice and righteousness that resulted from His people living by faith in the fear of the Lord! (Amos 5:24)
As we listen to this farmer/preacher, we hear truth spoken in plain language. The times he lived in were a lot like ours. Are we seeking the Lord with our hearts, and not just words and ritual? Do we hate evil and love good! Are we working in our day and time for justice and help for the poor. The day of the Lord is near! We must be prepared to meet our God!
“. . . prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” Amos 4:12b
“Fire in the house!”
Scripture reading for September 11: Amos 1-2
Fire is a devastating force when not properly controlled and utilized. It has the capacity for great good and also for brutal destruction. I was helping an uncle shell corn at his farm about 6 miles south of our farm in Iowa. I was a young farmer and had started farming with a small hog herd and had about 25 sows (mother hogs) with their babies in a building. It was winter time and we were using heat lamps and furnaces to keep the hog building warm. One of the lamps must have fallen onto the straw, and a blaze erupted that swept through the building. I remember hearing the call to come home from my distraught aunt. “There’s a fire in the hog house!” I arrived home to find a charred building and some charred animals! It was devastating and caused great anguish to me and loss of my precious animals!
Amos was a fig (not pig!) farmer and shepherd who was called to be a prophet. (Amos 7:14-15) The reading today contains several warnings of “fire in the house!” These warning were to nations and peoples surrounding Israel and I imagine God’s people were probably cheering as their wicked neighbors were warned by God. (Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 14; Amos 2:2) God, however, is no respecter of persons and we as people all have the same malady at our core: sin. Amos also warned Judah and Israel that they also had fire coming to their houses as well! (Amos 2:4-16)
Sin brings God’s wrath and fiery judgment. God hates sin because it is totally foreign to His nature of love. But our God is very merciful! He always warns His people of their sins and even provides a way of escape for them. (1 Corinthians 10:13) He wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance and deliverance. (Amos 3:7) This is why He sends the prophet, preachers and saints to testify of His mercy and grace and warn of coming judgment!
Our nation is saturated with the gospel! We have more churches, preachers, and radio and television preaching than anywhere else in the world. To whom much has been given, much will be required! The Gospel warns people that there is ‘fire in their house’ and provides a Savior who took the fiery wrath of God against our sin. The Gospel offers us a new form of fire in our house, the precious Holy Spirit! This ‘fire’ is redemptive and empowering to the humble and teachable. It gives us power to live free from sin and to take the Gospel to those who have the wrong kind of fire in their house. Take time today to thank the Lord for His mercy and ask Him to refill you with holy Fire to share God’s love for the lost!
Multitudes in the valley of decision!
Scripture reading for September 10: Joel 1-3
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; The earth and sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people; a stronghold for the people of Israel.” Joel 3:14-16
This book of Joel is an appropriate reading for our day! Joel was a prophet of God who spoke to God’s people during a terrible plague of locusts. (Joel 1:4) God used this locust plague to speak of their coming judgment if they failed to repent and turn to Him. (Joel 1:13-14) Joel called God’s people to fast and prayer for God’s mercy. A trumpet was to be blown calling all to God’s temple for serious intercession. Joel spoke to them about the ‘day of the Lord’ being near and their need to be ready.
The preparation for this coming ‘day of the Lord’ was preparation of the heart. The custom for fasting was to put on sackcloth and sprinkle ashes on their heads. They would cry out in weeping before God, symbolically in mourning for their sins. But God was after something else. He desired a broken and contrite heart! (Psalm 51:17) (Joel 2:13) God through Joel called all the people together to rend their hearts. They were to say, “Spare Your people, O Lord.” (Joel 2:17) God’s grace and compassion was the motivation for the fast. The goodness of God always leads His people to repentance! (Romans 2:4)
The answer from God to this fast was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the whole land! (Joel 2:28-32) (Acts 2:14-21) As they came to fast, all would be anointed with God’s Spirit! There would be signs and wonders among God’s people, young and old, men and women! This would happen right before the ‘day of the Lord’! Everyone who would call on God would be saved! (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13)
Joel ends with a vision of the coming ‘day of the Lord’. Joel sees multitudes of people gathered in the valley of Jehoshaphat. There God enters into judgment against the nations that have rejected Him and His people. There are multitudes who will be judged and eternally lost! (Joel 3:1-2) This will be a terrible day for the unsaved when the lights of heaven grow dim and eternal darkness covers their souls. But God will be a refuge for His people! Whose side will you be on? Maybe it’s time for another fast!
Your sins have been your downfall!
Scripture reading for September 9: Hosea 12-14
“But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me. Hosea 13:4-5
For people who have been saved from sin and delivered by God from bondage, God’s love initially is so good and following Him is their heart’s delight. It would appear that such a people would love and follow God forever, enjoying the abundant life and celebrating their deliverance. (John 10:10) In Hosea, God tells how His once faithful and thankful people became proud and satisfied and forgot Him. (Hosea 13:6)
Pride is the sin that caused Satan’s downfall from the highest heavens. Satan desired to be like the Most High and to sit on the throne of God. God’s abundant blessing on his life in making him beautiful and giving him a place of honor brought out iniquity hidden there. (Ezekiel 28:1, 14-17) He was cast down from heaven’s glory to earth. Satan’s sin of pride was his downfall and now he tempts man made in God’s image with forgetting God and His grace!
“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously; that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” ” Hosea 14:1-2
God’s mercy reaches toward those whose sins have taken them down! Hosea gave a wonderful altar call of repentance. Repentance is an act of faith in the patience, kindness, love and mercy of our Lord. We can offer Him nothing but ourselves and our words. Life and death are in the power of our tongue and confession brings life! (1st John 1:9) God desires to heal us and repentance restores the flow of His love. Check your heart and attitude today and ask God to expose any pride that could be your downfall.
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely; for my anger has turned away from them.” Hosea 14:4 “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” Hosea 14:9
Breaking unplowed ground!
Scripture reading for September 7: Hosea 9-11
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you. But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception.” Hosea 10:12-13a
Hosea loved farming illustrations and so do I! I loved to plow when I was younger. We would often plow under red clover that was sowed along with the oats crop. Red clover would produce nitrogen that would make the corn grow better the next year. The dirt turning over and the smell of that fresh soil was special. Usually a flock of seagulls would follow the plow to pick up worms and a chicken hawk would scout out scampering mice as they ran down the furrow. At night, coyotes and foxes would also come out and find rodents running in the furrows. You could see them in the tractor lights as you plowed.
Hosea’s illustration was not about plowing dirt, but about the soil of hearts that had grown hard and had not produced a crop in a long time. The ground had to be broken up to receive the Seed of God’s Word in hope of a crop. The sowing had to change, too. Instead of wickedness, false promises, lawsuits and idolatry growing and making bad seed, the people needed to sow a crop of righteousness so they could reap a crop of unfailing love. (Hosea 10:4-5, 12)
God often takes the weeds of our lives and uses those bad seeds to become fertilizer for a good crop. For instance, if we were delivered from a life of drugs and drunkenness, we are able to minister to those who are bound by those habits. Someone else might have struggled with sexual temptations and upon breaking up their fallow ground, the old habits enable that person to minister to others who have similar strongholds. The plow has to be put to the hardened ground to prepare it for the crop of righteousness.
Waiting for the harvest requires patience. Hosea encouraged the people to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on them. We must ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking and knock and keep on knocking until the answer and crop comes. Prayer keeps an open line with the Lord and softens the ground of our heart. As we sow righteous living, we will reap the fruit of His eternal and unfailing love. A broken and contrite heart, He will not despise! (Psalm 51:17)
Reaping the whirlwind!
Scripture reading for September 6: Hosea 7-8
“Woe to them, because they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against Me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against Me. They do not cry to Me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from Me.” Hosea 7:13-14 “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7
God so longed to redeem His people but they continually rebelled against Him. There were thieves breaking into houses and bandits robbing on the streets. The land was full of adulterers and the princes were drunk on wine. They were speaking evil of their rulers and then when they fell, they did not call on the Lord. They were arrogant and unresponsive, going about their business of sinning. Consequences of a nation turning from God is an increase in violence, lawbreaking, and trouble with those ruling.
On top of all the usual sins, they chose their leaders without the consent of the Lord or His approval. They made idols of silver and gold. They cried out to the Lord as if they wanted to know Him, but their hearts were far from Him! Hosea stated that Ephraim had built many altars for sin offerings but they became altars for sinning! (Hosea 8:11) God wrote them His law, but it was rejected and foreign to them by choice. God had no choice but to send fire of judgment on their cities. (Hosea 8:14)
As we read these sad words about religion without heart or loving obedience, we think about the church in America. Many who name the name of Christ are involved in adultery with those who are not their married partners. They watch on television and movies every sort of perversion and go to church on Sunday without ever asking God for mercy. They choose their rulers without ever consulting God or His holy Word to find out if He would approve. With their lips they acknowledge God, but their hearts are far from Him! Some claim to love God and yet get drunk or high on drugs regularly. Others lie and cheat and do violence with their gossip.
God, however, loves us. Just as Hosea was told to take back the adulterous wife, God will take us back if we repent and turn to Him with all our heart. We must not just cry on our beds, but honestly take responsibility for what we have done and turn to Him for mercy. He will abundantly pardon! If we want to avoid the whirlwind, we must stop sowing the wind!
Peril in a rejection of knowledge!
Scripture reading for September 5: Hosea 4-6
“Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying, and murder, stealing and adultery. . .” Hosea 4:1-2a
“You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother–My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of Your God, I will also ignore your children.” Hosea 4:5-6
Hosea’s message to God’s adulterous people told them that they were unfaithful and unloving to Him. They knew what He required of them. Keeping His commandments was a sign of love in the Old Testament and the New! (John 15:9-10) The job of the priests was to live and teach the Word of God. Hosea told the priests that they had rejected the knowledge of God’s Word. It was a willful omission and so they would be willfully rejected by God–and He would also reject their children! When we reject or ignore God’s clear commandments, there are terrible consequences for us and our family as well!
God’s people are no different today! We are all called to be priests and kings before Him! (1st Peter 2:9-11) We are to show forth His praises by being a royal priesthood and a holy nation. When we curse, lie, steal, and commit adultery and murder, we show our lack of faithfulness and love. We are rejecting and ignoring our wonderful lover and faithful Father! These sins cut off our fellowship with God and also put stumbling blocks in front of our children who are watching our bad examples. (Hosea 4:5) There is great peril for our souls and for the souls of our children!
Our nation is stumbling today because of the failure of God’s people to live what they say they believe. Whole denominations of Christians are calling homosexuality practiced by their clergy acceptable before men and God! Many who call themselves Christians vote to put those in office who will keep on murdering our children through abortion. We are allowing politicians to steal our money from us to use for all kinds of projects that are against the Word and will of our God! We have been unfaithful and are in peril, not because we lack knowledge, but because we have rejected knowledge and ignored the laws of our God!
Repentance and faith are the only routes back from the perils we are discussing. If you have not lived your life according to God’s word, repent and ask Him to cleanse you. He is loving, faithful, and merciful! He can restore you! Pray for our nation and ask God for mercy! Only repentance can keep us from stumbling into destruction!