Explore the profound teachings of Amos Chapter 3 as we delve into the warnings and messages that resonate through time. This episode guides us through the words of God spoken through Amos, highlighting the dire consequences of ignoring divine warnings. Discover how these ancient words still impact our lives today and what they mean for contemporary society.
Welcome to ADDBIBLE an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today brings us to Amos chapter 3. We’ll listen to a familiar radio voice here in Denver, Roy Hanske, our guest reader, from KPOF 910 AM, The Point of Faith, as he reads the 15 verses of Amos chapter 3.
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Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you, against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt. You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins. Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing? Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything? When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets.” The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The sovereign Lord has spoken. Who can but prophesy? Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt. Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria. See the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people. They do not know how to do right, declares the Lord, who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says, An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds, and plunder your fortresses. This is what the Lord says. As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch. Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob, declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty. On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house. The houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished, declares the Lord.
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To help us through the book of Amos, I’m using three of my personal Bible reading journals, one from 1997, 2004, and 2011, seven years apart. I shared my journal entries when we covered Amos chapter 1. I did not use them on Amos chapter 2, so I’m going to go back and review those again on Amos chapter 3. I do so because in most of those years, I read multiple chapters on the same day. Like in 1997, I read Amos 1 through 3 on the same day. And I wrote in my journal, A shepherd, a working man, not a priest or a prophet, is used by God to deliver a message to the nations. God uses whom he pleases to get done what he wants done. Maybe he will use me. God always warns before he judges. Israel and Judah had been warned about idol worship, disobedience, immorality by many other prophets. Finally, God must act or his word is no good. He is now warning our nation through many Christian leaders. We are dull of hearing, immoral, idol worshipers. Warning after warning is being brushed aside. God’s judgment will be next. In 2004, I was reading the Bible chronologically through the year, so I read Amos 1 through 4 on the same day, with selected chapters from Kings and Chronicles. I wrote in my journal, Amos warns Israel, like most prophets, to come back to the Lord. And seven more years later, I read Amos chapters 1 through 3 on the same day because I was reading the whole Bible that year. So I read a portion of the Old Testament and a portion of the New Testament each day that year. So on this day, I wrote about Amos 1 through 3. God did and does judge various nations, including Judah and Israel. Judah rejected the law of the Lord and did not keep his statutes. We do the same by not knowing and keeping God’s word. Israel rejected the poor, committed sexual immorality, idolatry. Again, today the church is guilty of the same. God warns of coming judgment. He always does. For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secrets to his servants, the prophets. And I was quoting chapter 3, verse 7. It’s important to realize that all these prophets say they’re speaking on behalf of God. Amos is no different. Let’s look at chapter 1, verse 2. The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem. Verse 3, Thus says the Lord. And that phrase, Thus says the Lord, is repeated five more times in chapter 1 of Amos. It’s repeated again three more times in chapter 2 of Amos. Thus says the Lord. Chapter 3 begins with, Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you. Chapter 3, verse 11 says, Therefore, thus says the Lord. And verse 12 of chapter 3 says, Thus says the Lord. And the chapter ends with the phrase, Declares the Lord. I say all that in reference to chapter 3 verse 7. For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. Amos, like all other prophets in the Old Testament, does not speak on his own accord. He is speaking what he’s hearing from the Lord, the things that God himself reveals to Amos and the other prophets. And words like chapter 3, verse 1, I never want to hear said against me. Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, against the whole family. I hope God never has to speak against me or my family. the way to ensure that that will never happen is to heed the warnings of the prophets though amos was written in bc before christ it is relevant to us today god warned israel over and over that judgment was on its way because they continued to disobey him and his word through those prophets we get the same warnings today and we may be just as guilty of disobedience But the grace of God is revealed once again in chapter 3, verse 7. By listening to AdBible, you are being warned as we go through the prophetic books of the Old Testament. In verse 11, God describes what’s going to happen to Israel. He says an adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered. But then, let’s focus in on verse 12. It is a graphic, picturesque description of God’s grace. Thus says the Lord, As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued with the corner of a couch and a part of a bed. First of all, realize this is something the Lord is saying. Look at this picture. The mouth of the lion has a lamb in it, and the shepherd is going to rescue it, and all he’s going to get out of it is two legs and maybe a piece of an ear. That’s the devastating destruction facing the tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. But God always preserves a remnant. Though this may not appear to be much, it’s enough for God to continue to build back the nation of Israel. It is a gracious picture of God’s grace on the nation of Israel. The application from Amos chapter 3 in our lives might be, yes, judgment is pending. We would get what we deserve. the mouth of a lion, and yet because of the Lamb of God, we will be spared. No matter how bad you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, you can be forgiven. Maybe you feel like all that’s left in your life is a piece of an ear, but God can rescue that and he can preserve it and build from there. So though you may be in the mouth of a lion, cry out to God and he will rescue two legs, a piece of an ear, something he can work with to bring you back into His favor and His presence. Almighty God, we thank you for your mercy, your grace, your love that tells us that we may be in the clutches of the enemy at the moment, but you will rescue us from the mouth of the enemy, from the mouth of the lion. Hallelujah. Thank you for always giving us a chance to come back to you. We thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. We started on radio on October 1st, 2024. I hope you noticed some differences in AdBible from other programs. For example, we are fully committed to the Word of God. That’s why we play full chapters on the air, not sound bites. It takes a lot of our program time, but it’s my belief it’s more important for you to hear the Word of God than me. You may also have figured out by now I’m not a pastor, just a layman like most of you. So these recordings are not based on sermons. They’re based on my personal walk through the Bible over several decades of my life. Therefore, AdBible is a unique perspective of how the Bible impacts life, not a teaching series you get at your church. I share personal Bible reading journal entries from my life, from my journals, I’ve never thought would ever be shared with anybody. What I share are raw, authentic notes from Bible intersections of my own life. My life is no different from yours, so I hope the stories and applications I share are relevant to your life as well. I hope you are enjoying this unique radio program and therefore will help us stay on the air. We have so much more to share. Visit EzraProject.net and donate today. Or send a check to the Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. That’s Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. When you do, I will send you your first copy of A Day by Day Through the Bible book. There are 11 books in the series, so I will surprise you with one of my choosing. Or, after you donate at EzraProject.net, look at our resource page, pick a book you want, and let me know your choice at the contact section on our website. We are happy to send you the book of your choice. I know you’re going to enjoy it. And want to share it with others. I was sitting outside an ice cream store with my wife and a pastor and his wife and children in our hometown. A couple walked by and overheard our conversation and asked if I was a pastor. I said no. But the pastor I was with asked them what church they attended. They named their church, and he said, I know he speaks there every first Sunday of the year. They looked me over, and the woman said to her husband, he’s the Bible guy. She turned to me and said, because of your message, he started reading his Bible this year. So to pastors listening, that’s what will happen if you invite us to come and share in your church. More of your people will read the Bible. If you want that, contact us at EzraProject.net. We know only about 10% of your people are daily Bible readers. After an Ezra Project message, about two-thirds commit to daily Bible reading. Reach out to us at EzraProject.net and let’s talk about increasing Bible reading in your church.
