IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Stand by Faith; Not by Special Privilege

Date: Aug. 17, 2014

Passage

Amos 2:1-16 (ESV)

Thus says the LORD:

  “For three transgressions of Moab,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
  because he burned to lime
    the bones of the king of Edom.
  So I will send a fire upon Moab,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
  and Moab shall die amid uproar,
    amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
  I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
    and will kill all its princes with him,”
      says the LORD.

Thus says the LORD:

  “For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
  because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
    and have not kept his statutes,
  but their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
  So I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Thus says the LORD:

  “For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
  because they sell the righteous for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals—
  those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
    and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
  a man and his father go in to the same girl,
    so that my holy name is profaned;
  they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge,
  and in the house of their God they drink
    the wine of those who have been fined.
  “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
    whose height was like the height of the cedars
    and who was as strong as the oaks;
  I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.
10   Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    to possess the land of the Amorite.
11   And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for Nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
      declares the LORD.
12   “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
13   “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14   Flight shall perish from the swift,
    and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    nor shall the mighty save his life;
15   he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,
    nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16   and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
      declares the LORD.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 2:4b

Thus says the LORD:

  “For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
  because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
    and have not kept his statutes,
  but their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.

First, God judged his people by a different standard (1-5). The Gentiles were guilty of their unique set of sins (like atrocities in war) while the sins of God's people took a more religious tone. Judah was God's chosen people, but they did not live by the word of God. Their status did not free them from the consequences of their sins. They too would stand before the throne of judgment and be judged according to their relationship with God, as brought to light through the word of God.

Second, Israel forgot the grace of God (6-16). Israel had received the grace of God. They were also called to be God's people and yet they walked all over that grace. They ignored the prophets' challenge to remember God's grace and return. They ignored their identity and turned their back on God, preferring idols. When they became hardened, injustice and blatant immorality filled their land.

Prayer: Lord, I am called to be one of your people. Help me to remember your grace, to be true to your word and to live as your child and servant.

One Word: Walk humbly in God's grace

Daily Bread

In the Eyes of the Lord

2 Kings 15:17-38

Key Verse: 15:34

And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

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