Will We Speak God's Message?

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Will We Speak God's Message?

Date: Aug. 24, 2019

Passage

Amos 7:10-17 (ESV)

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,

  “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
    and Israel must go into exile
    away from his land.’”

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.

“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says the LORD:

  “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
    and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
  you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

For information on how the ESV can be quoted, please visit our permission site.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 7:15

But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

1. Amos was told to go home (10-13)

Amos' ministry in Bethel upset Amaziah, a local priest. Bethel was a center of Israel's idolatry (1 Ki 12:29). Amos preached a message of judgment against King Jeroboam II. He also warned that Israel would go into exile. Amaziah reported to Jeroboam that Amos was raising a conspiracy. Amaziah confronted Amos to stop his preaching and to make his money in Judah.

2. Go, prophecy to my people (14-17)

Amos rebuffed Amaziah by telling him that he did not prophecy for money. Amos was a shepherd and a fig tree farmer. He did not come from a family of prophets. But the LORD took him and told him to prophecy to Israel. Israel would go into exile because of her sins and Amaziah's family would suffer. God can use anyone to speak his word, regardless of vocation or family history. Will we pray for courage and faith to speak God's word?

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, help me to be faithful to your word and share it with others. Please give me courage to do so.

One Word: Hear and speak the word of the LORD

The Consequences of Deception

Genesis 27:30-46

Key Verse: 27:33

Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

Today's Question

What does the eighth commandment forbid?

See answer and references