Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God and welcome to another episode of our daily study of the Scriptures. We bless the name of the Lord God for the gift of life and for His benefits on us each new day. Praise be to God!
In our today’s episode 607, we shall be examining the book of Amos Chapter 7 titled:
Three Visions In One Message Coupled With Prophetic Intervention
In this chapter, three visions were revealed to Prophet Amos which describes just one subject matter – judgements, that were to be handed down to the people of Israel for their continual disobedience to God’s Word, while choosing other nations’ idols in the place of the only true God. Below were the three visions:
The Vision of Swarm Of Locusts
Here, Prophet Amos saw a swarm of locusts invading the land of Israel just after the king’s share of the hay (grass that has been mown and dried for use as fodder – food for the king’s horses) had been cut and the grass was starting to grow again. Usually, the first category of hays was prepared for the king’s horses.
In that vision, he saw the locust eat up the grass and every green thing in the land. Their entire crops were in deep trouble. Remember, the king had taken his own share; the locusts invaded the rest. Obviously, their hope of harvest had been shattered. Serious famine was inevitable. Read verses 1-3.
Then Prophet Amos intervened and prayed that God should have mercy on his people and should not allow the locusts destroy their means of survival. According to verse 3, the Lord God heard his prayer and stopped the devourers.
Wow! There is power in prayers. Here, we see prophetic intervention playing out.
That is one of the functions of prophets – standing in the gap on behalf of the people. Especially when they see unpleasant visions or predictions, it is their duty to pray to God and to also mobilize people to pray in order to avert such calamities.
The Vision of Fire
Then in verse 4, he saw another vision of fire which erupted and burnt up the great ocean under the earth. Having burnt up the ocean, it descended on the land to destroy it and Prophet Amos intervened again with prayer and God heard him. And the Lord said, this will not take place either. Read verses 5-6. That’s another prophetic intervention.
The Vision Of A Plumbline
And again, for the third time, he saw another warning vision, but this time it was a plumbline.
In that vision, the nation of Israel appeared as a wall that was out of line and the plumbline was needed to put them back in line.
In the process of putting Israel back in the right shape, the places where Isaac’s descendants worship will be destroyed and all the different places that the people of Israel have set aside for worship would be left in ruins and finally, the dynasty of king Jeroboam would be brought to an end.
When Amos was relaying the messages of the three visions to the people, Amaziah, the priest of Bethel sent a report to king Jeroboam of Israel stating that Prophet Amos was plotting against the king.
He also told Amos to stop prophesying to them and that he should leave their city and return to his own city in Judah to prophesy for a pay. It’s clearly obvious the kind of spiritual services they were rendering in Bethel then – monetising religious activities, which can be termed mammon gospel in our dispensation.
However, Amos replied him immediately that he was not the kind of prophet who prophesies for pay.
He went further by narrating the authenticity of his calling into the prophetic office. Read the details in verses 14-15.
Ministry work should not be seen as a money-making venture. Ministry work is a privilege to serve the people and most times in the process of serving the people, you will need to part with some of your resources like money, clothes, foods, shelter, etc. just to put a smile in somebody’s face.
But what do we see today? Many churches and religious centres have been turned into money-making ventures. Nevertheless, we still have many ministers who are still doing ministry works the right way, who have refused to bow to mammon, just like Prophet Amos.
The rest of the chapter contains the pronunciation of heavy judgments against Amaziah, priest of Bethel and his family for the role he played in leading the people astray and for also sending a false accusation to the king against prophet Amos, Amos 7:10-17.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let’s pray:
I join my faith with as many men of God as possible reading this message and probably you have been facing one persecution or the other in the process of doing God’s work, the Lord God will rescue you totally especially from the hands of the wicked.
You will always be found faithful as a steward of the mysteries of God, walking worthy of the vocation wherewith you have been called, in Jesus name.
Your service to God and to humanity will be filled with the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and Power, in Jesus name.
Through you, many souls will embrace Christ and everything you need for a successful ministry shall be abundantly provided to you, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Reflection time on all the chapters you have read from the past six days and covering of missed chapters.
I call you blessed now and always.
Monday November 30, 2020 (DDMI)
