F O O T H O L D
READING
87 JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
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PRAY Change my life through
the reading of your word, Lord.
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READ Amos 2:6-3:2.
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THINK What does this section
tell us about God? What kinds of things
are on his agenda for his
people?
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FOCUS From beginning to end,
the Bible makes clear that not only
INDIVIDUALS but also NATIONS
must answer to God for their
behaviour.
In the first section (1:3-2:5)
Amos has denounced the sins
committed by the nations
around the northern kingdom of Israel.
By the time he got to the
part of his speech in today's reading,
his listeners would have
been feeling pretty smug. After all,
THEY were civilised human
beings! But Amos had some shocks for
them.
He told them that they had
grown callous and greedy. Honest men
were sold into slavery for
trifling debts (6) and the poor were
down trodden (7). Rich men
kept clothing they had taken as
security, even though the
law specifically stated that such
garments should be returned
before sunset (8; Exodus 22:26). And
added to this they had
allowed the practice of prostitution at
their shrines of worship (7).
But it was note for this that God
had led the people of Israel.
Amos' audience didn't care to hear
the truth (12). They were
guilty as individuals and as a nation.
There is such a thing as
NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, and also
NATIONAL GUILT. And, of
course, every reader of these notes is a
member of some nation or
other. .What is your nation doing? Is it
a model of justice and fair
play in the world? What are you doing
to help your nation steer
the right course?
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PRAY Ask God to help you
review your own attitudes to other people.
Ask him also for his help as
you seek forgiveness, renewed
relationships, healing or
new understanding. Is there some role
in the community God is
calling you to accept as a Christian?
