Amos 5:21 says, I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.  Amos warned the people of Israel that during this time of spiritual darkness that God would despise their feast days and would not smell their burnt offerings.  This warning still applies today. We are advised or commanded in Hebrews to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but if we are only assembling out of ritualistic habit and not truly worshipping God, then God is going to despise our assembly.  We cannot gather together to worship God and hate our neighbor and live for material success above all else and still worship God.  Verse twenty-two says, Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.  While the people of Israel lived in spiritual darkness, they may have felt that offering sacrifices to God would buy His favor, but God said it was not so.  A person may faithfully attend church and give their tithe or more, but this alone does not make them right with God.  If we are simply doing these things for self satisfaction, or thinking that we will buy God's favor by doing them, then God will not accept them.  We must first be right with God before we assemble together and give our tithes and offerings.  Verse twenty-three says, Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.  Music might have been a part of their worship, but that did not mean God had to hear it.  We today may sing praises to God, but if the words have no real meaning to us, then they are no more than any other song that someone may sing.  Verse twenty-four states, But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.  God told the people of Israel what He wanted from them instead of empty worship.  God wants righteousness to rain down.  We, as followers of Christ, must be righteous in our relationship to everyone.  This does not apply to just our fellow believers, but to all people that we have dealings with.  Verse twenty-five asks, Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?  God asked if during their wilderness wanderings if the people of Israel had offered Him sacrifices.  The answer was no, and yet God was still with them.  God's presence in the lives of His people was based on a relationship and not a ritual, and it still is today.  Verse twenty-six declares, But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.  Though the people of Israel had not been required to offer sacrifices to God in the wilderness, they now carried the tabernacle of false gods with them.  Anything that we allow to come between God and us becomes a false god to us, because it takes priority over our relationship with God.  Verse twenty-seven states, Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.  God pronounced His  judgment on the people of Israel.  They were to be taken away captive.  If we do not have a personal relationship with God today through faith in Christ, then we will be taken away captive to sin.

Amos 5:10 says, They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.  Amos was speaking to Israel at that time, but we can see where a lot of this applies to the world today.  Of course, Israel was God's chosen people, but we know that there are more people in the world today who ignore God than there are those who obey Him.  We just need to insure that we, as followers of Christ, are not among those who refuse to listen to God's teachings.  If we begin to abhor, or hate, those who speak God's word and walk uprightly, then we are no better than the lost world.  We must remember that morality matters in all things.  Verse eleven says, Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.  God's written word, the Bible, is filled throughout with warnings about mistreating the poor.  The people of Israel were warned about growing rich and building big houses on the backs of, or at the expense of, the poor.  This warning has not changed.  Verse twelve says, For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.  There is a list of the sins of God's people.  We need to remember that it was God's chosen people who were being addressed at this time.  It was those who called themselves God's people.  If we as followers of Christ today are guilty of some of the same actions, then what can we expect from the lost people of the world.  Verse thirteen states, Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.  Since the justice system was corrupt, then there was no reason to appeal for justice.  We hear a lot today that those with money or power can buy justice, so there is no way to win against them.  Still, I believe that God expects His people to cry out for justice.  Of course, if those who call themselves His people are corrupt, then where will we find justice?  Verse fourteen declares, Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.  This is the answer.  We are to seek good and not evil that God will be with us. Then verse fifteen says, Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.  If we are to be successful followers of Christ, this is what God expects from us today.

Amos 5:1 says, Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.  When God speaks, everyone should listen, especially those who are God's people.  When we don't, God may have a lamentation against us.  To lament is to regret the actions of or to be disappointed in.  At the time Amos was prophesying to Israel, God was very upset with them.  Verse two states, The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.  When Israel became unfaithful to God, there was no one who could lift them up.  When we fail in our relationship to God, there will be no one who can lift us up except God Himself.  This can only occur through repentance and a return to following God's will.  Verse three says, For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.  Disobedience to God results in a loss of His protection.  When they were obedient to God, the nation of Israel was powerful, but it was never because of their own strength.  This is still true today.  Verse four declares, For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:  God's people were called on to seek God and live.  If we want to avoid God's lamentation against us, we must seek His will in all that we do.  Verse five states, But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.  Without the presence of God in the places of worship, they were of no value.  We may gather in the church today, but if we are not being obedient to God's will, it does us no good.  There must be a personal relationship with God for worship to have any meaning.  Verse six advises, Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.  Amos gave the people of Israel, and people today also, the advice to seek God first.  We often think of this in terms of when we are in trouble, but if we seek God, or His will for us, first in all things we should never find ourselves in trouble of our own making.  The people of Israel were in trouble because they ceased to follow God's will.  Verse seven states, Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,  This is an indictment against Israel.  They were not righteous and just in their relationship with God and other people.  Verse eight declares, Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:  The people of Israel were advised to seek God once more.  They may have been known as God's people, but they had no real relationship with Him.  We must be more than God's people in name only, but we must follow His guidance in all that we do.  Verse nine states, That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.  When we follow God, He will provide our strength.

Amos 4:6 says, And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  Since God had removed His blessing due to the sins of Israel, they were now going hungry.  This does not mean that all sinners, those who do not acknowledge God, will go hungry in this world, but even if they prosper, they will one day suffer when God's ultimate judgment comes.  Even when God allowed Israel to suffer, they did not return to Him.  Verse seven says, And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.  God's people should recognize that God is in control of the universe.  God can indeed withhold or send the rain when it is needed.  This does not mean that all natural disasters are caused by God though.  God may allow it, as He did with Job, without being the cause.  Verse eight states, So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  God's chosen people, who were His in name only,  instead of returning to Him, went into other cities looking for water, but they were not satisfied.  If we are God's people in name only, we are never going to have our spiritual thirst satisfied, no matter where we look for that satisfaction.  Verse nine declares, I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  The people of Israel should have been able to see what was happening and know that God was not happy with them.  If we do not honestly rely on God, then all the things that we depend on will ultimately fail us.  Even if we die rich in the eyes of the world, and we are not saved by faith in Christ, then we die spiritually destitute.  Verse ten says, I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your notrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  We can read this as God actually doing it, or as His taking away His protection or blessing.  I believe that at times God does indeed send pestilence to attempt to bring His people back to a true relationship with Him, but not all pestilence is a direct result of God's actions.  I believe this was especially true in the Old Testament.  Today, as followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to keep us attuned to God.  Not all natural disasters, which would be a pestilence, are an act of punishment on the part of God.  Verse eleven says, I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  All of these bad things that were happening were done to bring those who professed to be God's people back to Him.  If we as God's people are suffering today because we have allowed sin back into our lives, it is to bring us back to God.  Verse twelve warns, Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.  Israel, the nation known to be God's people, were warned to be ready to meet their God.  One day, when Christ returns, all will meet God.  We, as followers of Christ, God's people today, should not need this warning, because we already know Him.  Verse thirteen states, For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.  There can be no doubt that there is but one God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Who desires a personal relationship with every one.  Still, in all His power, God will never force a person into that personal relationship with Him.

Amos 4:1 says, Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.  Amos brings some of God's specific charges against Israel here.  They were in their nice houses, as stated in the last chapter, while taking advantage of the poor.  I do not believe that God ever expects His people to grow more and more rich in the things of this world and feel that these riches are all for their own benefit.  God's word, the Bible, has a lot to say about taking care of the poor and needy around us.  We cannot, as God's people, look down on the poor as if they deserve to be poor because of their own actions.  Even if we can somehow look down on what we see as their sin, we must still love the sinner.  Verse two declares, The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.  God's people, who were His in name only, were to be taken away captive, and their prosperity taken away with them.  Professing to be a child of God without any real relationship with Him through Christ will only bring an ultimate destruction of all that a person is so proud of.  God's gives us freedom over sin through our faith in Christ, but if we do not have a personal relationship with Christ, all the riches in the world mean nothing.  Verse three states,  And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.  God had provided Israel with a good land, but like cattle in a good pasture, they were not satisfied.  Now, since they had looked to the world for satisfaction, they were going to be removed from that land.  When we are not satisfied with God's blessings and begin to look to the world for satisfaction, then we are in danger of losing God's material blessings.  Verse four states, Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: I believe that this is just a warning against empty, ritualistic worship without a relationship with God.  We may be in church faithfully and give above a tithe, but if there is no relationship with Christ as Savior and Lord, then we are wasting our time and money.  Verse five says, And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.  This is a continuation of the warning against empty worship.  It is done for our benefit, and not for God's glory.

Amos 3:8 says, The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?  The roar of the lion was a warning, and if it were ignored, then there was great danger.  When God has spoken His warning through His prophets, there is an even greater danger if we do not listen.  God put His words in the heart of the prophets, and they had no choice but to proclaim it.  God has given people ample warning of the dangers of sin today, and as His followers we must heed the warning.  God has placed His word in our hearts if we believe in Christ, and we can not fail to proclaim it to the world if we are to be obedient servants of Christ.  Verse nine states, Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.  God was pronouncing judgment on those who were called His people for their sins, and if He pronounces His judgement on them, then the world, those who do not even claim to be God's people, had better take notice.  Verse nine says, For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.  We must remember that this was said of those who were called God's people.  Amos said that they did not know to do right.  If we a truly followers of Christ, then we will always know what the right thing to do is if we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us.  Verse eleven states, Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.  God's chosen people were not living under the leadership of God, so they were to lose His protection of them.  When we allow sin back into our lives, as followers of Christ, then we lose God's protection in life.  We are still His children through our faith in Christ, but God will not protect us if we are not following His will.  Even if we do follow Him, we may suffer in this world, but God will always protect us spiritually.  Verse twelve says, Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.  Matthew Henry says this means that a few will escape to other countries, but I believe that it means more so that even though the nation of Israel will be devoured, or destroyed, that a few faithful will remain.  Not all of God's people had turned away from Him.  Verse thirteen says, Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,  Amos asks God's people to listen to Him and testify for Him.  If we are to be effective witnesses for God today, we must first hear what He says to us.  Verse fourteen says, That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.  The people were told that God would visit them for their transgressions, and that their altars would do them no good.  They had profaned the altars of God, so they would be destroyed.  Verse fifteen states, And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.  Those houses that brought God's people such pleasure would be destroyed as well.  All the things that give us great pleasure, if obtained outside the will of God, are ultimately to be destroyed by God.

Amos 3:1 says, Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,  This warning was not just for Israel, but for Judah as well.  They were all God's people, delivered together from Egypt and into the promised land.  This applies to God's people today as well.  We, as followers of Christ, are all equally God's people.  We may separate ourselves by earthly differences, but we are still united in Christ if we are truly following God's word.  What God says to His people applies to all His people.  Verse two says, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.  This does not mean that God chose, or knew, the people of Israel only for their own benefit, but He chose them to spread His word to all the world.  Since God had revealed Himself to them in a personal way, they had more accountability for their sins.  When we enter into a relationship with Christ, it is not just for our deliverance from sin, but also for our service to God.  Salvation is not just a get out of jail free card, but it is an everlasting relationship with God to do His will.  Verse three asks, Can two walk together, except they be agreed?  If we go back to the garden of Eden, we find God walking with Adam and Eve before they allowed sin to rule them.  Where they had been agreed, now they attempted to hide.  We cannot walk with God if we allow sin back into our lives.  Verse four asks, Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?  God was roaring out His warning to His professed people.  They were to be destroyed like a lion destroys its prey, if they did not heed His warning.  When we sin, as followers of Christ, He will roar out His warning to us.  Though we will never lose our salvation if we have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, if we allow sin back into our lives, we cannot walk freely with God.  Verse five asks, Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?  I believe that this is basically saying that like a bird caught in a snare, something has to tempt or entice us into sin.  If the snare hasn't caught anything, it will remain in place.  Sin is a snare that is always ready to entrap anyone who gets too close.  Verse six asks, Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?  The trumpet blowing was a warning of danger.  When the people heard it, they were to react.  The second part, that where there is evil in the city has God not caused it, I believe means that God has allowed it.  Matthew Henry seems to give God credit for the evil, but I do not believe that God is ever the source of evil.  Verse seven declares, Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.  This does not mean that God is not active in the world.  God always makes His will known.  God did this through the prophets then, and I believe that He does it in the life of each individual Christian through the Holy Spirit today.