Amos 7 - 9 - "The Incredible Visions of Amos"

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I recently read of a wealthy executive who recklessly drove himself in his work to make millions of dollars. The more he made, the harder he worked, tirelessly driven to succeed in this world. By the time he reached his early fifties, the stress of work had taken a toll on his health. Now he was spending the millions of dollars he worked so hard to make on doctors and treatment plans until it was too late, he died of a heart attack. Sadly, he never really lived. He never really took time to enjoy the moment or spend quality time with his family. Would you call him a success?  The millions he made cost him his life with no room to enjoy it.

This reminds me of the last three chapters in Amos. Sadly, Israel was a lot like this man. They were focused on the things that really weren't the most important things in life. They were so self-absorbed that they had no time for God or anyone else. They were too busy doing their own thing, that they gave total disregard to everything else, including their God! In the end, they lost the Promise Land and were exiled and killed. What benefit was in that?  God gave them a land to enjoy, but they couldn't see Him. All they saw was the land, its crops, its fertile soil, and its beauty. But, they forgot and neglected the one who gave them all of that.

Amos' 5 visions of what God is about to do to Israel:

1) In his first vision, God shows Amos the land of Israel covered in a vast swarm of crop-eating locusts which devoured the entire land. In the vision, Amos prayed that God would withhold His mighty judgment, and He did!

2) Much like the first vision, the second vision was a great fire that was so intense that it consumed ALL of the water in the ocean and began to destroy the land. Again, Amos prayed and asked God not to do it, and God listened to Amos and said He would not send the fire.

3) Unlike the first two visions, the third vision was of a plumb line. A plumb line is a tool used by builders, carpenters, and other tradespeople to ensure that something is perfectly vertical or straight. It consists of a weight, usually made of metal or lead, that is attached to a string or cord. When the weight is suspended from a point, the string will hang vertically due to gravity, allowing the user to determine if a surface is perfectly perpendicular to the ground. Plumblines have been used for centuries, and they remain an important part of construction and other trades today. God used this example to see how the nation of Israel measured up, and it was bad!

4) In chapter 8, we read of the fourth vision - about a basket full of ripe fruit.  This was God's way of showing Amos that the people of Israel were "ripe" for punishment.  God has had enough!  In fact, listen to what God said to Amos in 8:7-10 - "Now the Lord has sworn this oath by his own name, the Pride of Israel, “I will never forget the wicked things you have done! The earth will tremble for your deeds, and everyone will mourn. The ground will rise like the Nile River at flood time; it will heave up, then sink again. “In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth while it is still day. I will turn your celebrations into times of mourning and your singing into weeping. You will wear funeral clothes and shave your heads to show your sorrow—as if your only son had died. How very bitter that day will be!"

5) The fifth vision (chapter 9) found Amos and the Lord at the Temple. God told Amos to strike the columns that held up the Temple so that they would fall down on the people and crush them to death. And, if any survived the crash, He would make sure they would die in battle.

Wow! God is angry. But who wouldn't be? 

Sadly, we're not any different than the people of Israel. We're vulnerable to temptation. We would rather watch TV or play on our smartphones than to read the Bible and pray.  We would rather do other things than to listen to what God says or what He wants us to know. How sad we are!  We're His creation. We live and breath each day by His grace and mercy. If you lived today, have you thanked God yet? If not, when will you do it? Are you spending time listening to His words within the Bible? If not, when will you start doing that?  Do you not find them important?

In 8:11, God says that He will send a famine - but not a food or water famine. It's a famine of hearing His wonderful, life-giving words. He says many will seek Him to hear His words, but He will remain silent.  He knows His creation doesn't crave His words, and He knew Israel had grown tired of hearing His word. So...like any parent...He decided to just shut up!  What would you do?

Actions always speak louder than words. And intentions don't really matter.  Listen, you may be a person with good intentions and would love to start reading God's word, but you never do. You have great intentions, but your actions tell the Lord that He's not really that important. 

Start today!  Become a pleasure to God. Show Him that He's important to you, and remember "actions speak louder than words and intentions don't really matter."

One Last Thing:

Amos was anyone special. He was nothing more than a shepherd and a fig tree farmer who lived in a small town called Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Judah. Amos was an unusual choice to be a prophet. He wasn't a trained priest or a member of a professional prophetic guild. However, the word of the Lord came to Amos, telling him to prophesy against the northern kingdom of Israel and their rulers who were corrupt and oppressive. Amos delivered a series of prophecies, warning the people of Israel of the impending judgments of God for their sins, including their mistreatment of the poor and vulnerable. He also prophesied the destruction of their kingdom by the Assyrians. Despite his unremarkable background, Amos became one of the most important and respected figures in the biblical tradition, and his book continues to be studied and revered by Jews and Christians alike.

You might think you're just a common person without any talent that God could use. Amos could say the same thing of himself. But look at what God did through Amos - a common shepherd and fig tree farmer!  Open your heart to let God lead you to become the person He designed you to be!