“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD’” (Amos 8:11). What would your life be like under this judgment? Of course, we would physically survive without God’s Word. But… Read More ›
“From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth” (Psalm 76:8-9). There are 3 of 4 Gs in this psalm. Looking at the psalms through the lens of the 4 Gs is more exciting than I thought it would be. First,… Read More ›
“I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs” (Amos 7:14). Again, we see the backwoods credentials of the prophet Amos. He’s been prophesying against Israel, but one of Israel’s religious officials, the priest of Bethel, Amaziah, doesn’t like it one bit. He goes to… Read More ›
One of the most helpful tools I’ve come across in the past few years for applying the truth of the gospel to daily life is the “Four Gs.” They come from a book by Tim Chester called You Can Change, and are radical in both their simplicity and profundity. (You can find out more about… Read More ›
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs” (Psalm 75:8). This cup that the psalmist writes about is the cup of God’s wrath. He is rejoicing in the fact that the… Read More ›
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches… who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!” (Amos 6:4, 6). This passage doesn’t prove that you aren’t allowed to have nice things (ivory beds, wine by the bowlful). Amos… Read More ›
“Yours is the day, yours also the night” (Psalm 74:16). Whatever the circumstance or situation, however badly our hopes have been dashed upon the rocks of this-worldly futility, God is there. He is over all, both night and day. Nothing evil takes place in the darkness that he does not see. Nothing beautiful emerges at… Read More ›
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). All our hearts desire it. Long for it. Crave that things be set right in our world. Amos’s image is perfect. In the midst of a brown, dusty, dry, desert wilderness of sin and wrongdoing, justice is like a deep blue… Read More ›
“…their tongue struts through the earth” (Psalm 73:9). This is my favorite psalm. How can you go wrong with images of wagging tongues walking peacock-like through Israel to embody the wicked of this world? It deserves a book-length treatment. I only get to give it a couple paragraphs. The writer is in despair. The wicked… Read More ›
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’” (Amos 4:1). The time for social niceties in Israel has passed. Now it’s time for judgment. When Amos calls out against the “cows of Bashan,” he’s talking to a… Read More ›