_Hear ye this word which I take up against you._ THE END OF CARNAL SECURITY Such words as these must have fallen like a thunderbolt into the midst of the corrupt and careless inhabitants of Samaria and the other cities of Israel among whom Amos prophesied. It is a dirge or lamentation, uttered by... [ Continue Reading ]
_Seek ye Me, and ye shall live. .. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal._ I. The blessings of Israel. Gilgal and Bethel were places in Israel’s history bedewed by showers of blessing. 1. Gilgal was the scene of new life. 2. Bethel was the scene of the manifestation of the Divine presence.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion._ CREATION, AND THE CREATOR’S NAME The text brings the works of God and the name of God into one focus, and makes use of both as an argument with man to raise himself from the low and unworthy pretences of religion, such as are represented by the cal... [ Continue Reading ]
_They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly._ THE HATES OF SIN Amos has here preserved a characteristic of the society of his time which throws much light on the real character of sin--its hatred of justice and truth.” 1. “They hate him that rebuketh in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Seek good and not evil, that ye may live._ RELIGION From these words two things may be inferred concerning religion. I. It implies a specific pursuit. “Seek” good, and not evil. Good and evil are both in the world; they work in all human souls; they explain all history. 1. They imply a standard... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph._ A REMNANT SAVED There is a mystery of mercy in the destruction and salvation; but for the destruction and the salvation meeting together in the fulness of time, the race of mankind would all be lost. There are questions we constantly... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! _ THE DAY OF THE LORD I. AN AWAKENING COMMINATION. 1. What is meant by the “day of the Lord”? The day of death, or personal dissolution. The day of captivity, or national dissolution. The day of judgment, or general account. 2. What is meant by desi... [ Continue Reading ]
_I hate, I despise your feast days._ THE DIVINELY ABHORRENT AND THE DIVINELY DEMANDED I. The Divinely abhorrent. The same aversion from the ceremonial observances of the insincere and rebellious Israelites which Jehovah here expresses He afterwards employed Isaiah to declare to the Jews (Amos 1:10)... [ Continue Reading ]