AMOS LESSON 8
We will begin this lesson in Amos 8:1 "Thus hath the Lord GOD
shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit."
This basket of summer fruit is speaking of the fact that the
people are ripe and ready to be condemned of God. Again, this is like
a vision that God has given Amos. Their sins are like this ripe fruit.
Amos 8:2 "And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A
basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come
upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more."
There is a time, when God will not go any further and that is
what He is saying to Amos, here, and to Noah in the next Scripture.
Genesis 6:13 "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come
before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Notice, God still calls
them His people. His indignation is full.
Amos 8:3 "And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that
day, saith the Lord GOD: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every
place; they shall cast [them] forth with silence."
In this time of the end for the house of Israel, there will be
great sorrow and crying. Dead bodies will be everywhere. We studied
earlier, how the near kinsman burned the bodies, because there were
too many to bury. There will be no more singing and laughter in the
temple. There will be a silence that accompanies death. God will not
hear their cries anymore.
Amos 8:4 "Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to
make the poor of the land to fail,"
This is just one of the sins they committed, that brought them to
this judgement. This sin was a direct disobedience of God's Word,
which taught to help the poor.
Amos 8:5 "Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may
sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the
ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by
deceit?"
They ritualistically kept the sabbath and the new moon, but their
hearts were not in it. They were wishing for them to be over, so they
could get back to the things of commerce they were really interested
in. To keep the sabbath, or new moon, out of obligation, was
unacceptable of God. He wanted them to love these times . He wanted
them to keep these days for love of Him, not for obligation. They even
had dishonest weights, which were strictly forbidden.
Amos 8:6 "That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for
a pair of shoes; [yea], and sell the refuse of the wheat?"
They had no regard for others at all. They only liked the wealth
they acquired from others. They took advantage of the poor, and bought
them for silver and a pair of shoes. They sold the extra wheat,
instead of feeding the hungry.
Amos 8:7 "The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely
I will never forget any of their works."
Such total disregard for the covenant God had made with Jacob,
will ruin the structure of their relationship with God. God had never
overlooked any of their work.
Amos 8:8 "Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one
mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood;
and it shall be cast out and drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt."
God had promised to bless them, if they kept His commandments.
He, also, told them He would curse them, if they did not keep His
commandments. The whole land should tremble in fear of the curse of
God. They know they have not kept God's commandments. There will be an
earthquake, when the Lord comes against them in judgement, and the
land will truly tremble. The whole land will be covered with the
judgement, as the sea rises in a flood.
Amos 8:9 "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord
GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken
the earth in the clear day:"
This speaks of the time, when the sun will not give its light.
This, also, speaks of a time of great calamity coming upon the people.
It is a time, when they will no longer have the Light of God. This
very thing happened at the crucifixion of Jesus. It was dark for three
hours in the middle of the day. This removing of the light, here, is a
judgement against these people.
Amos 8:10 "And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all
your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all
loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the
mourning of an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day."
A "lamentation" is like the mourning that goes on at a funeral.
This will be the death of Israel. This will be the saddest day of
their lives, because they have no God to call upon. He has removed
Himself from them. "Sackcloth and baldness" had to do with great
mourning. Baldness on a woman indicated she was a harlot. The whole
country, who had been the wife of God, are now harlots. They had
committed spiritual adultery by worshipping false gods. The bitterness
of this day of judgement will live on.
Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I
will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst
for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:"
There will be no more prophets bringing them Words from God. They
would long to hear from God, but He will not send them His Word. In
our nation today, there is a famine of the True Word of God. The Word
that we get is watered down and compromised, to the extent that it is
hardly recognizable. As many prophecies, this is for their day and our
day, as well. There must be people of God who are willing to speak the
Word of God at any cost, if our land is to be saved.
Amos 8:12 "And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the
north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of
the LORD, and shall not find [it]."
The following Scripture reminds me of this. II Timothy 3:7 "Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." This
is spoken of as the last days. The only truth is found in God's Word
and is understood by the Holy Spirit of God teaching us the meaning of
that Word. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He cautioned us not to go
looking for Him. He will appear in the eastern sky. Read His Word
{Bible} every day, and pray the Holy Spirit will reveal its meaning to
you. Hide His Word away in your heart, then nothing can take it away
from you.
Amos 8:13 "In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint
for thirst."
This is a physical and a spiritual thirst. Matthew 5:6 "Blessed
[are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they
shall be filled." Look, with me, at what Jesus said about this. John
4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a
well of water springing up into everlasting life."
Amos 8:14 "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy
god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they
shall fall, and never rise up again."
This is speaking of those false gods they worshipped. Those who
persist in following false gods, will die in their sins. This is
primarily speaking of that golden calf at Samaria they worshipped.
There was another false god erected at Dan, and it is included in this
damnation. The road from Dan to Beersheba was a 140 miles long. It
seemed, the way to this false god was evil. God has judged them
guilty, and will not allow them to rise again.
Amos 8 Questions
1. What did the Lord show Amos in verse 1?
2. What is this speaking of?
3. Quote Genesis chapter 6 verse 13.
4. The songs of the temple shall be ____________.
5. Why had the near kinsman burned the bodies, instead of burying
them?
6. What was their sin in verse 4?
7. The _________________ kept the new moon and the sabbath.
8. Why were they wishing for them to be over?
9. God wanted them to keep these days for love of Him, not from
______________.
10. They even had ____________ weights.
11. They bought the poor for _________.
12. What did they do with the extra wheat?
13. The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of ________.
14. What was meant by the land trembling?
15. What is compared to the sea, that rises over the land?
16. The sun will go down at ________.
17. What two things is this speaking of?
18. I will turn your feasts into ____________.
19. What is a "lamentation"?
20. "Sackcloth and baldness" symbolize what?
21. Baldness on a woman indicated what?
22. How had they committed spiritual adultery?
23. What was the famine in verse 11?
24. There is a famine of the ________ _______ of God in our land
today.
25. What must happen, if our land is to be saved?
26. Quote 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 7.
27. Where is the only Truth found?
28. How can you avoid having the Word of God taken away from you?
29. What type of thirst is verse 13 speaking of?
30. Quote John chapter 4 verse 14.
31. What is verse 14 primarily speaking of?
32. Where was another false god erected?
33. How long was the road from Dan to Beersheba?
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