Day 65: Hosea 13:7-Amos 9:10 - 90 Day Challenge

So Many Prophets! 


So, today we finished up Hosea and Joel, and began Amos. 

In the end of Hosea, he implores the people to repent, then we move on to Joel. 

Joel is refreshingly short. (Is that bad to say?) And picks up right where Hosea left off, with a call to repentance. In Chapter 2, there is a call to "rend your heart, not your garments." Frequently in the Old Testament, we see people tear their garments in grief, shame, and repentance, but here we see a call to tear their hearts. To rip away the sin and evil from it and return to the Lord. Then, the Lord will answer Israel's plea, if they would only remove themselves from evil, or rather, remove the evil from themselves. 

In Joel 3:16 it says, "But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel." The Lord is our strength and our refuge. He is a gracious and generous God who forgives so long as we accept Him. 

Then, we move on to Amos, another minor prophet. (Don't get too comfortable, we've got a few more minor prophets to go!) 

Amos begins with the condemnation of the surrounding nations, and it's almost as if you can hear the cheers of Israel and Judah just before the Lord condemns them as well, for doing the exact same things. (Come on, guys. You had to know that was coming.) 

But still, Israel hasn't returned to God. And we get this extremely ominous quote following God's observation of this. He reminds them that they still haven't turned back, though all of these terrible things have happened. So He says to them, "Prepare to meet your God, O Israel." (Amos 4:12) Yikes. Israel, you may want to reconsider. It doesn't sound like the Lord wants you around for tea. 

In Amos 5, Amos calls out Israel for taking advantage of the poor. For taking bribes. For unjustly sentencing the poor. The socioeconomic divide that perverts justice is an all too familiar issue--one that is still unbelievably prevalent today. So, if you believe that the Bible is an old, inapplicable book, I'd like to provide you with this verse that society could use a slight refresher on: 


Justice should be just. It should be free. It should be fair. You should not be able to buy your way out of justice (quick shout out to Martin Shkreli, who just days ago was sentenced to 7 years in prison for lying to the rich, rather than for increasing the cost of life saving medication for a disease that overwhelmingly affects low socioeconomic status individuals by 5000%). He then calls out everyone who's just letting this happen, everyone who has the attitude of "well, at least it's not me!" Complacency is the same as injustice. 

Our reading today finishes up with some prophecies, which God himself explains to the people. 

Tomorrow's reading: Amos 9:11-Nahum 3:19
Have a wonderful day!
Jill Jafarace
Director of Student Ministries
New Leaf UMC

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