Reading
Amos 1:1, Amos 7:10-15

1The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.


1The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2He said:

“Yahweh will roar from Zion,

and utter his voice from Jerusalem;

and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn,

and the top of Carmel will wither.”

3Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron;

4but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,

and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.

5I will break the bar of Damascus,

and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,

and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden;

and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir,”

says Yahweh.

6Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they carried away captive the whole community,

to deliver them up to Edom;

7but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,

and it will devour its palaces.

8I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,

and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;

and I will turn my hand against Ekron;

and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,”

says the Lord Yahweh.

9Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment;

because they delivered up the whole community to Edom,

and didn’t remember the brotherly covenant;

10but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,

and it will devour its palaces.”

11Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because he pursued his brother with the sword

and cast off all pity,

and his anger raged continually,

and he kept his wrath forever;

12but I will send a fire on Teman,

and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

13Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,

that they may enlarge their border.

14But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,

and it will devour its palaces,

with shouting in the day of battle,

with a storm in the day of the whirlwind;

15and their king will go into captivity,

he and his princes together,”

says Yahweh.


Devotional

When we hear the words, “He is a man of God” or “She is a woman of God” we often think of some famous Pastor, Missionary or Evangelist – those who preach and teach the Bible as a full time job and have done great things for God. But Amos was unusual among the prophets in that he wasn’t a vocational prophet like most of the others. He wasn’t the son of a prophet or a priest. In Amos 1:1 and Amos 7:14, Amos tells us that he was a normal guy – a herdsman who also looked after sycamore trees. Herding sheep and looking after trees in the Judean countryside, Amos was an ordinary individual. A humble shepherd. He hadn’t gone to Bible College to study theology for a living. He was just an ordinary man trying to faithfully do his job when his spirit became so burdened with what he saw around him that he couldn’t stay silent anymore. He could have stayed in Tekoa doing his job, providing for his family and worshipping his God. But God burdened Amos. He gave this faithful shepherd a vision of the future and told him to take God’s message to the people of Israel. Amos obeyed God, and through his obedience, proved that he was a man of God. What a different picture he was to the people of Israel, as we will see in the days to come. Amos was a man of God, a person whose life was devoted to God and whose lifestyle reflected his devotion. 

 

I want to point out here at the very beginning of our study this week, that some of the greatest contributions in the history of God’s people have come through “ordinary people” like Amos. God doing extraordinary things through ordinary people! Like William Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade. Or like William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, one individual who was instrumental in getting the Church to care for the poor. Or like Amy Carmichael, in taking the good news of Jesus in both word and deed to the needy people of India. Time and time again we see that God loves to use ordinary people for extraordinary purposes! And I say that because one of my greatest desires for our Church is that God will raise up Amos’ in our congregations! That he will raise up Amos’ in Millbrook Church of the Nazarene! Ordinary people loving, serving and obeying an extraordinary God.