HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1177
AM OS 6
page 807
Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s
Armies
will have mercy on the remnant of his
people.*
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God
of Heaven’s Armies, says:
17
“There will be crying in all the public
squares
and mourning in every street.
Call for the farmers to weep with you,
and summon professional mourners
to wail.
There will be wailing in every vineyard,
for I will destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
Warning of Coming Judgment
18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
“If only the day of the Lord were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
19 In that day you will be like a man who runs
from a lion—
only to meet a bear.
Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand
against a wall in his house—
and he’s bitten by a snake.
20 Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and
hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.
21
22
23
24
“I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals
and solemn assemblies.
I will not accept your burnt offerings and
grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace
offerings.
Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your
harps.
Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of
justice,
an endless river of righteous living.
25 “Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices
and offerings during the forty years in the
wilderness, Israel? 26 No, you served your pagan
gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your
star god—the images you made for yourselves.
27 So I will send you into exile, to a land east of
Damascus,*” says the Lord, whose name is the
God of Heaven’s Armies.
6
What sorrow awaits you who lounge in
luxury in Jerusalem,*
and you who feel secure in Samaria!
1
5:15 Hebrew the remnant of Joseph. 5:26-27 Greek version
reads No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech,
the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made for
yourselves. So I will send you into exile, to a land east of
Damascus. Compare Acts 7:43. 6:1 Hebrew in Zion.
2
You are famous and popular in Israel,
and people go to you for help.
But go over to Calneh
and see what happened there.
Then go to the great city of Hamath
and down to the Philistine city of Gath.
You are no better than they were,
• Bitterness
A M OS 5:7
There are times when our actions
produce bitterness in others. In some
cases, we do not even realize that we
have given someone reason to be bitter.
Bitterness develops in people when
they feel that they have been dealt with
unjustly or unfairly. While we cannot
control the growth of bitter feelings in
others, we can determine that our
dealings will be just and fair. God expects
us to deal with others in this way. When
our actions are unjust, deceptive, or
even an “acceptable” form of strong-arm
tactics, we mock the justice of God and
invite his anger upon ourselves. And our
actions become a bitter pill for others to
swallow. Are you committed to fair play
in all areas of your life? Don’t allow your
actions to leave a wake of bitterness
behind them.
• Worship
A M OS 5:21-27
Sacrifices were part of the Hebrew
people’s worship ritual. Ritual gives
human life continuity and stability. It
puts our history, our prayers, and our
commitments in forms that are easy to
remember. But when the ritual becomes
detached from our hearts, the vitality of
the ritual dies, and its meaning ceases
to have an impact on our lives. God had
become angry at his people because
they claimed—by their continued sacrifices—to belong to him, yet their hearts
had wandered off to embrace the philosophies and practices of pagan religions.
What do the rituals of your spiritual life—
whether worship, holiday celebrations, or
personal devotions—add to your life? Do
they still mean anything to you? When the
vitality of our rituals has faded, our true
“sacrifice” is to confess our coldness to
God and commit our hearts to him to be
renewed.