December 10
Amos 1:1-3:15; Revelation 2:1-17; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 29:19-20
As God speaks through Amos, presenting His judgments against nations, several familiar “bad guys” show up. We read that the Philistines will be wiped out and the Edomites’ fortresses “consumed.” These judgments for continued wrongdoing seem, at first, only against enemies of God.
And then, suddenly, we see Judah’s name. Following the exact same format as His declarations against His enemies, God pronounces that “He will not relent” (2:4) against His very own. She has “rejected the law of the LORD”, and so her fortresses, too, will be consumed.
Next God gets to Israel. Up until now, when God has said, “For three sins…even four…” He only names two sins. For His dearly loved children, He shares all four. It’s painful to read. God’s grief is evident as He lists their sins, and then the deliverances with which He has provided them—destroying the Amorites, bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, raising up people for their help ( 6-11). But, He says, Israel even took those prophets set apart for His work, and kept them from speaking (12). Enough is enough. So, God says, “I will crush [Israel]…” (13). “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins” (3:2). The judgment is bleak.
Which is why God’s declarations to the churches in Revelation should be a point of critical reflection for us. To the church of Ephesus, God lists wonderful commendations—they’ve “persevered” and “endured” (3). However, they have “forsaken the love [they] had at first” (4). They still do what is right, but is their passion still there? He later acknowledges that the Pergamum church “remain[s] true to [His] name” (13), BUT they have let the ways of the world to creep in. They’ve accepted false teaching that allows for ungodly behavior and thought. Their heresies seem so clear to us today (because Scripture spells it out for us), BUT are we filtering all the subtle, inculcating teachings of our own world through the Bible—so that all that informs our heart and minds is His Truth? “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (17). This is most definitely for us as well.
Father God, Please help me to hear the Spirit’s voice in my life, that I might not continue in sin against You as the Israelites or the others. I want to walk only in Your way.
Question: How am I like the Church of Ephesus or Pergamum? What does the Spirit want me to hear?
As God speaks through Amos, presenting His judgments against nations, several familiar “bad guys” show up. We read that the Philistines will be wiped out and the Edomites’ fortresses “consumed.” These judgments for continued wrongdoing seem, at first, only against enemies of God.
And then, suddenly, we see Judah’s name. Following the exact same format as His declarations against His enemies, God pronounces that “He will not relent” (2:4) against His very own. She has “rejected the law of the LORD”, and so her fortresses, too, will be consumed.
Next God gets to Israel. Up until now, when God has said, “For three sins…even four…” He only names two sins. For His dearly loved children, He shares all four. It’s painful to read. God’s grief is evident as He lists their sins, and then the deliverances with which He has provided them—destroying the Amorites, bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, raising up people for their help ( 6-11). But, He says, Israel even took those prophets set apart for His work, and kept them from speaking (12). Enough is enough. So, God says, “I will crush [Israel]…” (13). “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins” (3:2). The judgment is bleak.
Which is why God’s declarations to the churches in Revelation should be a point of critical reflection for us. To the church of Ephesus, God lists wonderful commendations—they’ve “persevered” and “endured” (3). However, they have “forsaken the love [they] had at first” (4). They still do what is right, but is their passion still there? He later acknowledges that the Pergamum church “remain[s] true to [His] name” (13), BUT they have let the ways of the world to creep in. They’ve accepted false teaching that allows for ungodly behavior and thought. Their heresies seem so clear to us today (because Scripture spells it out for us), BUT are we filtering all the subtle, inculcating teachings of our own world through the Bible—so that all that informs our heart and minds is His Truth? “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (17). This is most definitely for us as well.
Father God, Please help me to hear the Spirit’s voice in my life, that I might not continue in sin against You as the Israelites or the others. I want to walk only in Your way.
Question: How am I like the Church of Ephesus or Pergamum? What does the Spirit want me to hear?
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