Scripture

Reflection

Chapters 7, 8, and the beginning of 9 are about how God is looking to punish the Israelites for not listening to Him and continuing without change. He shows Amos several visions to show what He will do to punish the Israelites. The first two – locusts and fire – Amos pleads with God not to go forward with these two plans, so He doesn’t. Instead of this God talks about judging the people on how they have changed since His warning to the people.

In the final vision, God shows Amos that He will destroy the temple at Bethel, bringing judgement on the people, leaders, and their gods. Just because they are God's chosen people does not make them exempt from punishment.

However, the book ends with hope for the future in which God restores the Israelites to their former glory, bringing a king from the line of David (Jesus), making the harvest so bountiful that they can’t harvest it all by the time it is time to plant again, and bringing back the exiled Israelites to rebuild their homes and live in safety (Amos 9:13-15).

From this, we can see the relationship between justice and mercy. If God is good, then He has to confront and judge the evil in Israel and the nations. But his long-term goal is to rebuild and restore His people. God can see the bigger picture.

Challenge

Take some time to think about how God is continually looking to bless us and how he has continually blessed us, even if it might not seem like a blessing at the time.