01/30/2020 – Day 258 – Amos 1 – 4 – Do not let yourself get discouraged in the midst of the spiritual battles against evil!
On this day the 31st, 48 years ago, I was arriving at Ft. Leonard Wood depot on a bus with other clueless young “wet behind the ears” recruits, in the cold rain about to be introduced to our drill sergeant. Life is indeed just a breath. Therefore: focus: “Seek the Lord:” and don’t sweat the small stuff, basically anthing that cannot extend beyond this world….
For this post, I will use the following texts with the following references for my direct quote; both can be found of course in the book of Amos section for each book.
*a: Haley’s Bible Handbook – another note to myself that I should add on a near-term post: Nancy’s grandfather, Harvey glued in a biography of Dr. Henry H. Halley, the author that was ordained to the ministry in 1898. His is an amazing life story. I need to copy it down in a post near-term. The queue never will lack for “to dos”.
*b: And the other key stand-by this past year: Matthew Henry’s commentary.
Let’s begin!:
Amos’ ministry was from 765 -755 b.c. He was a prophet from Judah in the Southern Kingdom, with a mission to the Northern Kingdom, in the reign of Uzziah king of Judah (787-735 b.c.) and Jeroboan II king of Israel ( 790- 749 b.c.). “Tekoa (1:1), the home of Amos, was 10 miles south of Jerusalem, 5 miles from Bethlehem , on an elevation of 2700 feet, in the bleak pasture lands overlooking the wilderness of Judea, in the same region where, it is thought, John the Baptist, 8 centuries later, grew to manhood.” (*a)
I seem to recall that Amos is the 3rd of the twelve minor prophets, preceded in our Bibles by the four major prophets: Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel and Daniel, all of which we have been through in our reading now. But bear in mind, the major prophets preceded the Babylonian captivity and the fall of Judah in 586 B.C. but much after the fall of the southern kingdom of “Israel”, whereas Amos preceded the fall of Israel in 722 b.c. to the Assyrians. Isaiah would soon follow after Amos.
Halley notes that Amos was a co-worker and close collaborator with the prophet Hosea. But he probably rubbed shoulders with Jonah and Elisha as well just before he completed his mission to the Lord.
“The earthquake (1:1), must have been very severe, for it was remembered for 200 years (Zechariah 14:5), and likened ominously unto Judgment Day.” (*a) In chapter 1 and into chapter 2, we are told of the judgments against neighboring nations: Damascus; Edom; Tyre; Ammon; and Moab. It is important to point out when we see “for three or four transgressions” – translated not literally but as “many” sins opposed to “one or two transgressions”.
With our one year read through program, I cannot even approach articulating at length the striking parallels in these prophetic books between both the period before the fall of both Israel and then Judah to our own times today. But, let’s look at 1:13 with respect to the judgment against Ammon: “For three three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.”
This horrific genocide against the Jewish people is forced abortion and a eugenics program directed by the Ammonites against whom they perceive as the “unfit”, that would be the competing Jewish people. I recall trying to encourage a younger black christian female colleague to go see the recent movie: “Unplanned”. She just immediately pushed aside any such notion, noting what crucial womens “health services” planned parenthood provided to the community.
To draw the parallel then to the present day, take a look at some key quotes over her career from Margaret Sanger, the founder of planned parenthood. Her eugenics advocacy writing was picked up by the Nazis preceding WW2. I had to pick up her autobiography since it was so beyond belief. In it, she touted her speaking engagements in front of the KKK. So, do we have a connection here that explains why there has been a continuing disproportionate share of planned parenthood “clinics” in inner city predominately black communities in this country ?
And did you know that Martin Luther King even touted Margaret Sanger’s work? I am not denigrating Dr. King here, we all know from our Bible readings that all “great” men fall short. There is a long line of fools that sang praises Margaret’s way, with much more exposure to her than MLK. And Margaret, to be true as a minion for the Devil, was a great deceiver. Where is “BLM” on this? (btw: recently nominated for the Nobel peace prize. Cultural Marxists are in vogue globally.) Is targeted eugenics over multiple generations with millions of black babies killed over the past 50 years not rascism? And you don’t call it out, even in your pagan cultural marxist worldview frame of mindset?
https://tfpstudentaction.org/blog/margaret-sanger-quotes
There were the atrocities of the neighboring nations and then there was the atrocities committed by God’s chosen people. They had a history of actually first hand observing God’s delivering miracles from the hands of their enemies. If we had been taking notes, our notebooks are full by now.
Ok, on the Judgment on Israel section – Ch 4: 6 – 12 (“Israel Did Not Accept Correction” section) , I turn to our brother Matthew Henry to bring us up to speed, indeed!, the “devil is in the details”:
“III. The words which Amos saw concerning Israel. He begins with them as the rest: For these transgressions of Israel , and for four. I will not turn away and punishment thereof. Their sins were, 1. Perverting justice. They made nothing of selling a righteous man for a piece of silver; the bribe always turned the scale. Those who will wrong their consciences for anything will come at length to sell justice for a pair of old shoes. 2. Oppressing the poor: They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor; they make a prey of those that are in sorrow with dust on their heads, poor orphans in mourning for their parents; to get their estates. 3. Abominable uncleanness, even incest itself. 4. Regaling themselves, and yet pretending to honour their God with that which they had got by oppression and extortion, v. 8. ‘They lay themselves down at ease upon clothes laid to pledge, which they ought to have restored the same night, according to the law, Deut. xxiv, 12, 13. And they drank the wine of the condemned, of such as they have fined, spending that in sensuality which they have got by injustice. They think to make atonement for this by drinking this wine in the house of their God, in the temples where they worshipped their calves. (Jimmy note – my bible text : god as opposed to God, referring to “Baal” who was worshipped even in the temple under the noses of the priests.)”
I have a close brother recently who confided to me that he received a call at their ministry from a young teen girl asking: “If I abort my baby, will he/she go to heaven?” She was raped by her uncle.
I recall an incident that many of you have already heard from our Houston church home between 10 and 15 years ago. It was in a Sunday school couples class , the Sunday after I had got up in the conclusion of a men’s bible study church study and proclaimed: “We must as spiritual leaders in our families, stand up to this evil! For we have a weak kneed leader in D.C. who is a mouthpiece of the pagan Marxist worldview!” (referring to Obama) The head pastor jerked the mic from my hand in the back just as I finished my short remarks. I thought to myself: Did he really think I needed the mic to convey God’s message that I was asked to deliver? So, the Sunday school leader gives me a glance the following Sunday in couples class and proclaims: “Some in our midst somehow think that the U.S.A. is the covenant nation of Israel.” The Holy Spirit just whispered to me: “Be silent on this one.”
As Voddie noted in the presentation I posted recently: We are engaged in combat against the forces of evil. And we have powerful tools to wage spiritual warfare in His name! (paraphrase) So let’s engage evil until our last breath! And remember too what he said that this is not against people for some of these lost souls will be found, future brothers and sisters in Christ! That is our continuous prayer!
Soli Deo Gloria! Always connected by His grace….