Gross Negligence

Bible Study

Amos 8:1-6 ESV

Hebrews 6:10 CEV

If we had to choose one phrase for the demise of the people of Israel at the time of Amos it would probably be gross negligence.

In Amos 8:1-6 the prophet saw and heard, “This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” declares the Lord God. “So many dead bodies!”   “They are thrown everywhere!”  “Silence!” Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

Have you ever had a teacher that told a story about a specific subject, and then made a chronological list about the same subject, and then did an object lesson about the same subject?

The teacher was smart and knew this was a subject that was very important. It was so important the teacher reiterated it in several ways.

That is what God was saying to Israel through the prophet Amos.

God was saying, “Hear this!”

And God was promising, YOU must understand.

That may seem strange but a promise goes both ways. A promise can be something we give and something we receive.

God wanted to make sure Israel understood this was not negotiable. God was saying through to prophet Amos when that day comes there will be a change. The phrase “I will not pass by you” in today’s language means no prophets will come with the same message. In other words you will not receive these words of the Lord.

Amos was a Minor Prophet who served God (Israel) around 760-750 B.C. and he followed the Prophet  Jonah. We do not know when the Word of the Lord would come to pass.

We do know it will happen.

The basket of summer (ripe) fruit means the time for Israel will end and there will be wailing.

Then the prophet Amos told them there will be dead bodies everywhere and there will be silence. In that day the prophet refers to the promise those who trampled on the poor and needy will have their own special day of judgment.

Their deceitful false practices of the poor and needy will not be forgotten. Time will not make their sin go away. Yet Amos does inadvertently give hope. In Hebrews 6:10  we read, “God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won't forget the love you have shown his people.”

There is hope…God sees every act of love and will remember.

Deborah

acrazyjourney.com