Amos 3:1

 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,  Next God pronounces the judgment of Israel.  These were the rest of God's chosen people.  Verse two adds, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.  God said that since He knew them alone in a covenant relationship that He would punish them for their iniquities, or sins.  Though our salvation is secure through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not free to sin without being held accountable.  Verse three asks, Can two walk together, except they be agreed? God asked the people of Israel if two people could walk together, I believe peaceable without arguing or fighting, if they did not agree with one another.  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 asked if a lion would roar with no prey.  God had sent His warnings to the people of Isreal because like the roaring lion they had become a prey to Him because of their rebellion against Him.  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?  God said by this question that it was the sins of the people of Israel that had become a snare to them and that they had been caught in the snare.  There are many snares of sin 8n the world today, and as followers of Christ we need to make sure that we don't fall into them.  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?  God asked if the trumpet would sound without the people being afraid, and yet He had sounded the trumpet through the words of the prophets and the people of Israel were not afraid.  If God sends us a warning today that we have allowed sin back into our lives, as Christians, then we should be afraid.  Verse seven declares, Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.  The people of Israel may have felt that God would do nothing to judge or punish them, but the prophets that He sent knew the truth.  People of the world today, those who are not followers of Christ may believe that God will never judge and punish them for their disobedience, but we as followers of Christ must tell them the truth of the gospel.  Verse eight asks, The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?  If a person hears a lion roar near them, will they not be afraid?  Likewise, when God speaks His judgment against people they should be even more afraid.  There are many things in life that may bring fear into our lives, but none should be as great as the fear of facing God in judgment without forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse nine declares, 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 said let the Philistines and the Egyptians know that He was going to punish Israel for her sins.  It was not these nations that Israel needed to fear, but it was God's judgment, and we today do not need to fear other nations but need to fear the judgment of God.  Verse ten adds, For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their places.  God called on these other nations to observe why He was going to punish Israel.  The people of Israel had lost the ability to know what was right and were storing up violence in her cities.  Verse eleven declares, 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 said that Israel was to be defeated, and if we who profess to be Christians do not listen to and obey God's word, then we should not be surprised if He allows us to be defeated in this world.  Verse twelve adds, 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.  God said that a few might escape the initial slaughter, but even if they did there would be no safe place to hide.  Apart from God, there is no place of safety today.   Verse thirteen states, Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,  God called on the people of Israel to hear His warning, just as He calls on the lost and those who have back slidden today to hear His warning.  Verse fourteen continues, 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.  God said that when He sent His judgment that the places of worship in Isreal would be destroyed, since the people had perverted them anyway.  We must be careful that we never pervert houses of worship today.  Verse fifteen concludes,  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.  God said that all the great houses of the people of Israel were to be destroyed as well.  If we build up great wealth today as Christians, but do so outside the will of God, then we need to be ready for its destruction, if not in this lifetime, then in the everlasting life to come.  We cannot allow anything to come between God and us.

Amos 2:1

 Amos 2:1 says, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:  God next sent His judgment on Moab, because they had burned the bones of the king of Edom.  Matthew Henry says that at one point the king of Moab offered his son as a burnt offering to his gods when he was losing a war with Edom, and the king of Edom was burned in revenge when the king of Moab had the upper hand.  Verse two adds, But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:  God said He was going to send fire on Moab for her sins, and that the people would be in great tumult and with a lot of shouting, out of fear I believe.  Those who do not accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will one day experience this same tumult and fearful shouting in the day of God's judgment.  Verse three continues, And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.  God said all the leaders of Moab would be cut off, or destroyed, as will all leaders who stand against God today one day be destroyed.  Verse four states, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:  God now turns His judgment to Judah, some of those who were called His people.  Their specific sin was turning away from God and His commandments, and for also causing others to do the same.  If we call ourselves followers of Christ, we need to follow God's laws and commandments and certainly never cause anyone else to turn away from them.  Verse five adds, But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.  Judah was going to be punished just as her neighboring countrys were.  To be God's in name only will never spare anyone from facing the judgment of God.  Verse six says, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;  God now pronounces His judgment on Israel, the rest of the people called by His name.  The specific sin that He lists is mistreatment of the righteousness and the poor for the sake of material gain.  We as Christians cannot afford to put material wealth ahead of obedience to God and helping the less fortunate around us.  Verse seven adds, That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:  God said the men of Israel were guilty of sexual sins.  There is an abundance of this today.  Verse eight continues, And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.  God added that they used the things dedicated to Him for their own benefit.   We as followers of Christ need to realize that everything we have belongs to God and use in in accordance with His guidance.  Verse nine declares, Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.  God said that He, not the people of Israel, had destroyed the Ammorites who were a very powerful nation.  He was responsible for the victory over the Ammorites, and He is responsible for our victory over sin today.  We cannot take pride in our spiritual victories, but must give the credit to God.  Verse ten adds, Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.   God said He had freed the people of Israel from servitude in Egypt, led them forty years in the wilderness, and then gave them the land of the Amorites.  Whatever success we have in the world today as Christians we must acknowledge that it is because of God's blessings to us.  Verse eleven continues, And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.  God reminded them that He had given them prophets and set aside some to be Nazarites, and then He asked them if this were not so.  If we stray away from God as His people, He will always remind us of what He has done for us, and what He has done can never honestly be denied.  Verse twelve states, But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.  God said the people of Israel corrupted the Nazarites and told the prophets to not prophesy.  Because of their sins, they did not want to hear His word or leave those who were to be dedicated to Him alone.  We must never refuse to hear God's word proclaimed and must abide by it as Christians.  Verse thirteen declares, Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.  God said that the people of Israel had trampled on Him and His word.  God said the sins of the people of Israel, His chosen people, were a great burden to Him.  We need to pray that we as followers of Christ never allow ourselves to be the same way.  Verse fourteen adds, Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:  God said that their strength would fail them.  We cannot be victorious as Christians in the world today without God bringing the victory to us.  Verse fifteen continues, Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.  Then verse sixteen concludes, And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.  God continued to tell the people of Israel that their own strength and power would fail them.  If we go out into the world today as followers of Christ without His power keeping us safe, we are going to fail. 

Amos 1:1

 Amos 1:1 says, The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.  Matthew Henry says that Amos prophesied shortly before Isaiah, but that he was not the father of Isaiah as someone evidently thought.  We are told that Amos, a herdman, saw the word of God,  which to me would imply it came to him in a vision.   He dated it in during the rule of Uzziah 8n Judah and Jeroboam the son of Joash, two years before an earthquake which must have been significant.  Verse two adds, And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.  Amos said that God's word was going to shake the people of Isreal, causing them to mourn.  God's people as was often the case had turned away from Him, and now they were going to face His judgment.  Verse three states, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:  Amos said that God had revealed to him that He was judging Damascus for their multiple sins.  God first begins with the judgment of some of the neighbors of Israel, which is Damascus in this case.  Damascus had been severely mistreating the people of Gilead, and for this God was going to send His punishment.  Those who mistreat God's people will one day be brought to judgment by God.  Verse four adds, But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.  God said He was going to destroy their palaces, or seats of power.  Verse five continues, I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.  God said that He was going to cause the people of Syria to go away into captivity.  Even though another nation may have defeated them, the Syrians were defeated because of God's judgment.  Verse six declares, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:  Amos next revealed God's word concerning Gaza, and states the specific sin they were being judged for out of the many.  These were the Philistines, who had carried the people Edom captive.  Verse seven adds, But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: The judgment sounds the same as that of the Syrians, and God's judgment will be the same for all who refuse to answer His call to salvation.  Verse eight continues, And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.  God said that He was going to destroy all the Philistines, just as He will one day destroy all who stand against Him today.   Verse nine states, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:  The people of Tyre were the next tobe judged.  They had misused the people of Edom, who were supposed to be in a protective relationship with them.  Verse ten adds, But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.  Once more,  God said He would send fire on their palaces as He had said He would on the others.  One day, all those who refuse to accept God's gift of salvation will face the fires of hell.  Verse eleven declares, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:  Though Tyre was judged for their mistreatment of Edom, that did not mean that Edom was going to escape punishment for their sins.  Just because someone else is punished for their sins against someone doesn't mean that they will escape God's punishment themselves if they have not come to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twelve continues, But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.  Fire was also to destroy them.  Verse thirteen says, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:  The Ammonites were the next to be judged, and their specific sin was ripping up the pregnant women of Gilead.  Matthew Henry says it is hard to imagine such a barbaric act, yet we in America today call this a woman's right.  Verse fourteen adds, But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:   Verse fifteen continues, And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.  The cities of Ammonites were to be destroyed and their king taken away captive.  God's judgment is just as certain today.

1 Peter review concluded

Peter tells us that Jesus Christ is our example to follow.  He suffered in the flesh, because He was human like any other person, but He never gave in to sin.  Once we accept Him as our personal Savior, then we must live with Him as Lord of our life.  We are freed from sin, but not freed to sin.  Peter says that the gospel is preached to the dead, but this means those who are spiritually dead and not physically dead.  Though some people who profess to be Christians pray for the dead and some are even baptized for them, it is in this life alone that we can accept the salvation of Christ.  This is why Peter realized the urgency of reaching out to the lost people of the world with the gospel of Christ, and so must we.  Peter also tells us that when we speak that we are to speak God's word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and if we minister to the needs of others that we are to do so willingly and not grudgingly.   If God is in control of our life, then we will rejoice in the opportunities that He gives us to help others, and especially in the opportunities He gives us to share the gospel.  Peter tells us to not be guilty of suffering because we have sinned or broken the law.  If we do, there is no honor to God or to oneself because of this.  Finally, Peter tells the elders, the leaders of the church, to serve in such a way that people will want to follow Christ because of the example that they set and never are they to try to force people to believe.  He also says that the elders are never to lead for the sake of filthy lucre, or money.  The leaders of the church must be in the position of leadership because God has placed them there and are never to simply go where the material rewards are the best. 

1 Peter review continued

Peter tells us to obey the law, as long as it does not conflict with God's law.  We cannot pick and choose which laws to obey and still glorify God.  Peter also told servants to subject themselves to their masters.  We today may not have a master, but most of us have a boss, and we should subject ourselves to their authority, even if we don't like them.   We are to do this to bring glory to God.  Peter tells us that it is noteworthy if we suffer for our faith.  Peter tells us that Jesus Christ set the example for us.  He was innocent of any sin but subjected Himself to the authorities to be put to death.  Peter tells wives that they are to be subjected to their husbands, even if the husband is not a Christian.  I don't believe that this means that they are to allow themselves to be physically abused, but that they are not to be constantly going against everything their husband says.  They are to show a Christ like love so that the husband might be saved.  Of course, ideally the husband will be a follower of Christ, and as such his decisions will be made under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and will be what is best for the family.  Peter then tells us that we are to be happy if we suffer for righteousness's sake.  There is no place for self-pity in our Christian life.  Peter then says it is better to suffer for well doing than for evil doing.  If we suffer in the world today, we need to be sure that it because of our obedience to God and not simply because we broke the law.  

1 Peter review

We will look at some things we learned from Peter.  First, we learn that past failure does not keep a person from being a very effective witness for Jesus Christ.   Peter had denied Jesus at His arrest, but after Jesus' resurrection, Peter accepted Him as his Savior and Lord, and he called on everyone to do the same.   Peter said this should bring us peace in life, no matter what is going on in the world around us.  Peter tells us that our salvation is incorruptible, kept by the power of God.  Nothing can steal our salvation once we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.   Peter also tells us that the trial of our faith is much more precious than silver or gold.  If we are following Jesus for material riches, then we are following Him for the wrong reason.  Peter also tells us that salvation through Christ was always the only way to salvation.  The prophets of old pointed to Him, and the people since His coming have pointed back to Christ.  God gave people free will, even knowing what it would cost Him to redeem them.  Peter calls on us to get ready to work for God, and not to be ruled by our former lusts of the flesh.  As Christians, we are to live by a different standard than the standard that the world lives by, and that standard is faith in Jesus Christ.  We are to be born again spiritually, and this should lead us to a real love for our fellow believers, but even more than that, for the lost people of the world as well.  We cannot effectively witness for Christ if we hate the people that we are witnessing to.   Peter also tells us that we are to lay aside malice, guile and hypocrisies and to live on the spiritual milk of the word of God.  The more we grow in Christ, the less we should see of these attitudes in our life.  Peter said that though the world rejected Him as such that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of salvation upon whom we must build our life.  We are not to follow the values of the world but the values of God through faith in an obedience to Jesus Christ.  Peter tells us that as Christians we are a royal priesthood.  This does not mean that we were to act superior to other people, because he then tells us that we are to be subjected to the laws of the world, as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God.  Peter tells us that this world is not our home but that we are simply passing through, but that does not make us free from the law of the land.  We are to live in our freedom through Christ in such a way as to bring shame to the lost people of the world.   

1 Peter 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 says, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Peter gave them and gives us a very specific warning that we are to be sober and vigilant, because the Devil is our adversary. Peter tells us that the Devil is a roaring lion seeking those that he can devour.  We never really have to fear the Devil as long as we are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, but if we begin to feel that we no longer are open to his temptations, then we need to really be alert.  Verse nine adds, Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  Peter calls on us to remain steadfast in our faith and tells us also that we are not immune to trouble in the world.  I don't believe that once you become a Christian that all your troubles are going to disappear, nor do I believe that the Bible teaches this.  The troubles in life may increase.  As a matter of fact, in Peter's day, and in many countries today, this was and is a fact.  Verse ten continues, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  The reason we do not have to fear the Devil is because of the God of all grace.  The grace of God is always sufficient to overcome any evil or temptation for now and for all time.  Even if we lose our life because of our faith in God, we are still secure in His loving grace. Verse eleven states, To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.  We are to acknowledge that honor and dominion belong to God forever.   No matter how bad things may get here in the world, we are to honor God and acknowledge that He alone is God.  Verse twelve adds, By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.  Peter said that he had written this letter by Silvanus, who he knew to be a faithful brother to the others that he was writing to.  We need to acknowledge the fact that there are many other faithful Christians in the world today and uplift them in our thoughts, and prayers and give them recognition when we can.  Verse thirteen continues, The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.  When we hear the name Babylon, we usually think of a bad place, but Peter said that there was a church there.  He also said that the Christians there were equal to all others.  Peter also called Marcus, or Mark, his beloved son.  Verse fourteen concludes, Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.   Peter told these Christians to greet one another with a holy kiss.  We used to handshake or give a hug more today than a kiss, or at least we did before the pandemic, but the real statement is that we should have a genuine affection for one another through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Peter also called for peace to be with all who were in Christ, and I believe that this was a call to spiritual peace no matter what is going on around us in the world.