Amos 8:1 says, Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.  Once more, God did not show Amos some astounding sight, but simply something that was very ordinary.  God may speak through extraordinary events, but more often He speaks to us through the ordinary things of life.  Still, even in the ordinary things, we need to listen, to behold, when God speaks to us.  In verse two, God asks, And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.  Once more, God was asking Amos what he saw.  When God is at work in our lives, we must see more than just the material things of life.  Amos answered God saying he saw a basket of summer fruit.  Without listening to what God had to say about this basket of summer fruit, Amos could only see the obvious.  When we rely on our own understanding, instead of listening to God, we will miss much of what God has to say to us.  The herdman Amos saw only a basket of summer fruit, but the prophet Amos was to be told what it signified.  God said this basket of summer fruit depicted the end of His people, Israel.  God was no longer going to protect them.  When those who are called God's people refuse to follow God's leadership, then they will never have His forgiveness and protection.  Verse three declares, And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.  Empty, polluted worship of God will never be acceptable.  We must take the worship of God seriously, especially when we gather together in His name.  We are not there to be entertained, but to worship God.  Verse four states, Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,  God cited some particular sins that His chosen people were guilty of.  Once more, the first focus was on the treatment of the poor and needy.  We, as followers of Christ today, need to ask how we treat the poor and needy of the world, especially if God has blessed us materially. I believe that God expects us to use all that He blesses us with to honor Him. Verse five says, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?  The people of Israel were not content to oppress the poor and needy just six days a week, but wanted the religious holy days and the Sabboth to be over with quickly.  They evidently still went through the motions of observing them, but did not really use these days to honor God.  Today, we just incorporate materialism into the days that should be set aside to honor God.  There was also the charge that they cheated people that they traded with, using false balances, or scales.  Verse six says, That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?  The only concern God's chosen people had for the less fortunate was how they could use them for their own benefit.  The poor may always be taken advantage of, but it should never be by those who are God's people, true followers of Christ.  We cannot look down on or ignore the poor and needy of the world, and we certainly cannot abuse them and follow God's teachings.  Verse seven states, The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.  God declared that He would not forget the way those who were supposed to be His people dealt with dishonesty in the world.  God has not changed since that time.  We, who profess to be followers of Christ will be held to a higher standard than those who aren't.  The fact that through Christ all our sins are forgiven does not give us the freedom to sin.  We must do all for the glory of God.

Amos 7:10 says, Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.  Amos had just prophesied that Israel was going to be taken away captive and Jeroboam was to die by the sword according to God.  Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, told Jeroboam that Amos had conspired against Jeroboam.  When those who are supposed to be God's priests, His spokesman on earth among other things, do not even recognize God's word when it is spoken, no wonder God was ready to allow them to be destroyed.  We, as God's people today, a priesthood of believers, must put God above all else, even the government.  Verse eleven says, For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.  As just discussed, Amos was accused of somehow being against Israel and Jeroboam.  Yet, Amos was only proclaiming what God had revealed to him.  We must speak out against corruption in government, and even more so in the worship of God, when we see it and especially when God leads us to.  Some religious leaders may even disagree with us and accuse us of being subversive, but we must always follow God's teachings and leadership.  God will never lead us away from what His word has always taught.  Verse twelve states, Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:  Amaziah told Amos to go away, to Judah, and prophesy there.  It is a sad commentary when those who are supposedly God's representatives attempt to send away those who are speaking God's word, whether in Amos' day or today.  Verse thirteen declares, But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.  Amaziah told Amos not to prophesy anymore in Bethel, because it was the king's chapel and court.  That was the problem.  Everything that should have been God's had been claimed as belonging to His people, and not to God.  It should have been viewed as God's chapel, not the king's.  We today must never claim the things of God as our own.  Verse fourteen says, Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:  Amos did not defend himself by stating his credentials, but did the opposite.  He said he was a herdman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit.  When God calls someone to speak to people for Him, He qualifies them.  We do not need to look for earthly qualifications, but for a divine calling in God's preachers and teachers today.  Verse fifteen declares, And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.  Amos said God took him as he followed his flock and told him to go prophesy to Israel, God's chosen people.  I believe that if a person is to be successful as a spokesman for God today, they must be taken by, or totally dedicated to, following God's will and go where He directs them.  Verse sixteen states, Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.  Amos then tells Amaziah that he was one of those who needed to hear God's word.  Far from ceasing to prophesy, Amos had a particular prophecy for Amaziah.  We can never allow anyone to stop us from doing what God has called us to do, even religious leaders.  Verse seventeen says, Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.  This was God's sentence on Amaziah and his family in particular and then on Israel in general.  We might think this rather harsh, but I don't believe that God just arbitrarily made this happen, but that He saw the outcome of the actions of these people.  If we refuse to listen to God's word, then the outcome is always going to be bad, even if it is only spiritually.

Amos 7:1 says, Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.  Amos saw this in a vision.  God was pronouncing His judgment on Israel by saying He would send grasshoppers to devour all the crops.  These grasshoppers were to be sent especially by God to destroy the latter growth. This would have been a very devastating judgment, though the people may have deserved it because of their actions against God's will.  We can always be certain that if God sends His judgment on us, it is because we have earned it.  Verse two asks, And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.  Amos made an intercession with God on behalf of Israel.  Amos asked God how Jacob, or the nation of Israel, would survive this judgment.  They may have felt big and powerful, but Amos said they were small.  Any person or nation that stands against God is small.  Sometimes, someone we know may need us to intercede with God on their behalf.  Verse three says, The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.  God heard the question that Amos asked, and did not send this judgment on Israel.  It says that God repented, but I believe that this means that He did not carry out His plan and not that He had been guilty of any wrong doing.  We need to be in prayer for the lost of the world today that they might not be destroyed before they come to accept Christ as Savior and Lord.  Verse four says, Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.  Amos saw a second judgment coming to the people of Israel, and this one was a consuming fire.  When God sends His judgment, it will always be a consuming fire for sin.  The only way to avoid this is through faith in Christ.  Verse five asks, Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.  Amos once again intercedes with God for Jacob, or the people of Israel.  We should never give up on praying for the lost of the world.  Verse six states, The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.  Once again, the prayer of Amos was effective, and the people of Israel were spared this judgment.  We need to realize the true power of prayer.  Verse seven declares, Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.  This was a third vision that Amos had, and in it he saw God holding a plumb line, which is used to make sure that a wall or building is straight.  Verse eight says, And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:  God asked Amos a question, "What do you see?"  Sometimes, when God reveals His will to us, He may need to make sure that we really understand what He is saying.  Amos answered, "A plumb line," which was true.  God then told Amos the significance of the plumb line.  God was going to measure how straight the the faith of Israel was, and they were to be head accountable to God's standard.  So will we today.  Verse nine states, And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.  Since Israel had profaned the worship of God, their places of worship were going to be desolate and laid to waste.  God will never accept insincere worship.

Amos 6:8 says, The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.  When we take an oath, it  normally ends with so help me God.  We swear by God's name that we are going to tell the truth.  If a person doesn't really believe in God, then this really has no meaning.  Here, God says that He swears by Himself, and what He says is thereby true.  It doesn't matter if we believe in God or not.  What God says will always be the truth.  God said He abhorred the way those who were His people were living.  They thought it was in excellency, but God hated the way they were living.  We need to ask how God views our worship today as followers of Christ.  Verse nine says, And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.  Those who had escaped the war would find no safety in their homes.  They would die also.  We may think that having survived some great catastrophe that we are safe, but if we do not have Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we will still die spiritually lost.  We cannot escape God's judgment, even if we hide in His sanctuary.  Verse ten says, And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.  Those who came to bury the dead would find none left alive.  The whole family name would be cut off.  They were proud of their heritage, but forgot God Who gave them that heritage.  Those who were there would say that they could not even speak God's name, possibly for fear that God would strike them down as well.  When we find ourselves in trouble, then that is when we most need to call on God.  God will always welcome repentant sinners with open arms.  Verse eleven says, For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.  I believe that this was just a warning that God's judgment would encompass everything.  When God does come in judgment of sin, His judgment is all encompassing.  Verse twelve states, Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:  I believe that this was a warning that the ground would become like rock to them, useless for growing crops.  This was to be a direct result of their poisonous attitude toward justice and righteousness.  When we begin to pervert justice, we should not be surprised if God brings His judgment on us.  Verse thirteen states, Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?  The people of Israel had become vain about their own abilities.  They were no longer giving God the credit for their success.  If we begin to feel, especially we who are followers of Christ, that all our success in the world is due totally to our own ability, then we are setting ourselves up for a fall.  We must always acknowledge that God is the source of all good in life.  Verse fourteen says, But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.  Israel felt that they were secure in their success, but God said, "But behold."  It was time for Israel to look to God again, and they would not like what He was showing them.  There was coming a great defeat.  When we get away from God's guidance in our lives, we can listen for this same warning.  We need to look to God again, and if we have been far from His will, we may not like what He is showing us.  If so, then we must repent and return to following God's leadership.

Amos 6:1 says, Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!  The people of Israel were at ease in Zion, feeling that simply being close to the holy mountain of God would keep them safe.  We today may be at ease thinking that our claim to be God's people will keep us safe, but for us to really be safe in the world today, we need a real relationship with Christ.  I believe that when we begin to proclaim that all we have to do is claim what we want and God will give it to us, we have begun to believe that God wants us to find peace through the things of this world.  We should never feel that the things of this world will bring us peace and security.  Verse two advises, Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?  These were great cities that were now in ruins.  The people there had felt safe, but found that there was no security simply in the things of this world.  God asked if Israel was better than these cities.  Based on their own strength, the answer was that they were not.  When the people of Israel became at ease because of who they were, instead of whom God is, they were just as powerless as these other cities.  If we begin to believe that God has to bless us because of where we were born, or what family we were born into, then we should be ready for a fall.  Verse three declares, Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;  As the nation of Israel was at ease, they did not worry about the coming day of judgment.  I believe that we can say that God's judgment is not just something that will one day occur, but that God judges people every day.  We may escape the penalty of His judgment through faith in Christ, but that does not mean that we can live however we want to until Christ returns.  Verse four states, That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;  The people of Israel had become content with the riches of the world and had forgotten the God Who gave them those riches.  We hear the call for God to bless America again, as though we by right of birth deserve more blessings than people in other countries.  If we want God to bless us, we must first bless God with all that we have.  Verse five states, That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; Then verse six says, That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.  These two verses basically say that the people were going through religious ceremonies without there being any real meaning to them.  They had no real concern for the affliction of those around them.  I believe that as long as we go about living enjoying all that God blesses us with but with no compassion for others, then we are not living as God would have His people live.  Verse seven declares, Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.  Those who were most concerned with themselves and their own pleasure would be some of the first to go into captivity, and all those things that they celebrated for their own pleasure in the name of worshipping God would be removed.  God never takes empty worship lightly.

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.