Jim's Posts

What is really important?

"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:11 NIV)

In Amos 8, God shows the prophet Amos the basket of ripe fruit because it represents the nation of Israel ready for “harvesting”. That is, Israel is “ripe” for judgment. What exactly was Israel doing wrong? Here is the list of grievances:

1. They were trampling on the needy and “doing away with” the poor, selling them into slavery because they could not repay their debts (v. 4).
2. They would go through the motions of religion, but not think of God, only money (v. 5).
3. They used dishonest means to make money: rigging scales and making profits at the expense of their customers (vv. 5-6).

God promises judgment upon the entire nation for these injustices proclaiming “I will never forget anything they have done (vv. 7-10).” Wouldn’t you want the Lord to forget the evil you have done (Psalm 25:7)? But the most horrible part of this judgment is that God would cause a famine worse than having no food. It is a famine of the absence of the Word of God (vv. 11-12). Why is this so terrible? God is Israel’s reason for being. Without God’s word, God’s interaction among His people, there would be no reason for Israel to exist. I believe that like Israel, as the United States, also founded on godly principles, moves away from God, it ceases to have any reason to exist as well. What is the solution for this situation? The solution can only be personal and national repentance.

Pray: Lord Jesus, we have sinned individually and collectively as a church and a nation. Help us to stop our concerns for trivial things and instead help us care more about what is really important: hearing and obeying You.