I will briefly review what I believe are some of the things the book of Amos tells us today.  As always, when we read the Bible, God's written word to us, we need to look for the message for us today.  First, we see that the people of Israel had become God's people in name only, and had no real relationship with Him.  Many today, in America, claim that we are a Christian nation, but our actions are often inconsistent with our words.  I am no longer sure that the majority would even claim this, but those who claim to be followers of Christ often live by the same standards as those who deny God.  The nation of Israel in Amos' day felt that they would be materially blessed simply because they were known as being God's people.  Some who profess to be Christians, God's people today, believe that this means that God will materially bless them.  Another thing we learn from Amos is that God has a great concern for the poor and helpless of the world and expects His people to help meet their needs.  At no point does God ask His people to be the judge of whether someone is worthy of help or not.  We, as followers of Christ, cannot simply ignore at best or look down on at worst those who are less fortunate than us today and claim they don't deserve help.  We never deserved salvation, and it did not come to us because we were worthy, but salvation was a free gift from God.  Just as we did not deserve salvation but God gave it to us freely, we must obey God's direction and help those who are physically in need today.  Helping the poor and needy is a consistent command to God's people throughout the Bible, and I don't believe this has changed today.  Also, Amos said the people would hunger and thirst, not for bread and water, but for the word of God.  We today need that same hunger and thirst. We have become an obese nation in America physically, but we seem to be starving spiritually and are not concerned.  Also, we are reminded that God does not accept empty, ritualistic worship that is not based on a personal interaction with Him.  Worship should always be our praising God, and He should be the focus.  As long as our focus is on God, we can worship Him wherever we gather in His name.

Amos 9:9 says, For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.  God said that He was going to sift the house of Israel to separate those who were really His spiritually from those who were His in name only.  Not the least of the grain, those who were true to God, would be lost in the process.  If we are truly followers of Christ, we may be shaken and sifted as God shakes and sifts the world, but we will never be cast out.  Verse ten says, All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.  All of the sinners of God's chosen people would be destroyed by the sword.  I do not believe that this means those who were occasionally guilty of falling short of God's standards, but those who had totally forgotten God and looked only to the world for guidance.  As followers of Christ, we are still capable of sin, but we will always be called back to God by the Holy Spirit.  Verse eleven states, In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:  We can look at this as the coming of Christ for the people of Amos'day, or now we can look at it as the second coming of Christ.  Jesus Christ did restore the kingdom of David and He Himself became the living tabernacle.  Verse twelve declares, That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.  Those who would become followers of Christ when He came would be victorious over the heathen, not by their power, but by the power of God.  The kingdom of God would be expanded to include all who came to God through faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile.  Verse thirteen declares, Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.  I believe that we must see this as a promise of spiritual blessings, which will know no limit, instead of material blessings.  Though our material needs will be met as long as we are faithful to God, we are never promised the riches of the world.  Verse fourteen says, And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.  God was going to restore His people, but I believe that this is those who are His by faith, and not by fact of birth.  We do not need to check our DNA to see if we can be a part of God's restored kingdom, nor do we need to check what country we were born in.  Through Christ, we who accept Him as Savior and Lord, are all God's people and a part of His kingdom.  Verse fifteen states, And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.  Once more, we can see this as a physical kingdom on earth or a spiritual kingdom in heaven.  I believe that since we are told that this earth will pass away at the return of Christ that this speaks of a spiritual, everlasting kingdom.  Either way, whether this was a physical or a spiritual kingdom, God will one day give His people an everlasting kingdom.  More accurately, God has already made those who follow Christ a part of His everlasting kingdom.

Amos 9:1 says, I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.  The people of Israel had profaned God's altar, but now God was standing on His altar.  We may profane the things of God today and look everywhere for Him, but I believe that God will always be present if we look for Him.  The people of Israel were still not really looking for God spiritually.  Those who had turned their backs on God were to be destroyed.  If we are looking for God today, we must first come to Him through the cross of Christ.  God calls us there, and we can only respond to that call.  If we do not, then eternal separation from God is our destination.  Verse two declares, Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:  No matter where those under God's judgment attempted to escape, from digging deep in the earth or fleeing to the highest mountain, they would not escape the judgment of God.  There is still no place we can go today where God isn't already there.  Verse three states, And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:  Basically this tells us that there is no place to escape God.  The people of Israel had been searching for God's word everywhere except by looking to God, now they were attempting to hide from God.  When we do not accept God's word, then we ultimately will be attempting to hide from Him, but He will always find us.  Verse four states, And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.  Even if the people of Israel were to be in captivity, they would no be escape God's judgment.  We may think that if we align ourselves with powerful people, even in a subservient manner, that we will be protected from God, but that is not the case.  God is in control of His universe.  Verse five says, And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.  God can indeed melt the land or send floods upon it.  Still, not all of these things are a result of God's direct action.  I believe that God sends a warning when He is going to punish someone or some group of people and does not just take credit for it afterwards. Verse six says, It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.  Amos was making sure that the people of Israel knew or remembered Who God was.  God was the all powerful God, the only true God.  We today need to remember Who God is.  We serve a mighty God, the only true God that there is.  Verse seven asks, Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?  Those who were supposed to be the people of God, His children, had become just like the children of the rest of the world.  When there is no difference between God's people and the world, we can be certain that God's judgment will come on them.  We are called to be a peculiar people, set aside from the world.  I know we don't like the word peculiar today, but it simply means that we are different from the world, those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Verse eight says, Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.  God's chosen people were called a sinful kingdom and were going to be destroyed, except for that remnant that remained faithful.  We cannot think that God has to always deliver us simply because we call ourselves His people.  We must be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in order to effectively follow God.  We must live by the standards of God and not the standards of the world.

Amos 8:8 says, Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.  God said that even the earth would tremble when His judgment came.  When God's judgment did come on Israel, then everyone that dwelt there would mourn.  God does not treat sin, especially those committed by His people, to go unpunished.  This warning from Amos of the coming judgment should have caused Israel to repent, but it didn't.  Israel had lost their willingness to acknowledge that God was indeed the reason for their greatness.  We today, as followers of Christ, have the warning of the coming judgment of God, but does it really have meaning to us in our everyday life?  Instead of being simply a way to avoid the penalty for our sins, salvation through Christ calls us to live by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse nine says, And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:  God said that not only would the earth shake, but even the heavens would be affected.  Matthew Henry says that when the people of Israel thought they had all afternoon to continue life as usual, that God would cause the sun to set at noon.  I believe that this is a warning to us today that we never know how much time we have left to make things right between God and us, whether as individuals or as a nation.  Verse ten declares, And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.  The people of Israel may have been going through the motions of worshipping God, enjoying their feasts for their own benefit, but God said these feasts were about to become times of mourning.  God is never going to bless empty worship.  We cannot claim to worship God on Sunday and cheat our neighbors the rest of the week.  Following Christ is more than just a church commitment.  We are to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit every minute of every hour.  Verse eleven states, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:  We usually think of famine and thirst in material ways, but God told Israel that there was coming a day when people would hunger and thirst to hear God's word.  We, as God's people, need that hunger and thirst for God's word today.  We cannot effectively represent God in the world if we do not know His word.  Verse twelve states, And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.  The people of Israel would look everywhere for the word of God, but they would not find it.  I believe that this is because they were looking everywhere but to God.  They had followed religious practices and not a relationship with God for too long.  When we seek God's word, we must look to God for that word.  I believe that when we earnestly seek God that He will speak to us.  Verse thirteen says, In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.  Even the young people would not have enough strength to stand in that day.  Verse fourteen declares, They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.  Those who had followed false gods would fall forever.  The only way that we can stand forever with God is by putting our faith in Christ while we are still living.  If we follow false gods or no god at all, we will be eternally separated from God.

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.