THE REFUGE
DEVOTIONAL
In the midst of the northern kingdom of Israel, amongst all of its pomp and eloquence, in a time of great wealth and military security, stood a working class herdsman ready to speak forth the judgment of God’s word fearlessly. Amos lived in the small town of Tekoa, a vast wasteland about twelve miles from Jerusalem. He was a man who had great conviction concerning the word of God. He sought each day to honor God in the fields of Tekoa, by the labor of his hands. But, it was during this time The Lord began to unveil his eyes to the gross atrocity that was taking place amongst His people.
The Lord began to break his heart as he would travel through Jerusalem into Samaria seeking to sell or trade his sheep skins for the provisions of his home. O, how wonderful it is when The Infinite God takes the heart of a fleshly being to bring forth His very own purpose. The eyes of Amos’s heart began to see The Lord’s people given over to idolatry. These people who were once governed by God’s perfect law had reduced The Lord to a mere calf, which stood at the altar in Bethel. This was a direct violation against the covenant The Lord made with Abraham, the father of the nation. Amos began to see the poor being trampled upon, the wealthy becoming wealthier through extortion, while the uneducated were being taken advantage of. He saw homes of great stature being built as the orphans and widows were impoverished in the streets. Innocent victims were being sold for silver, and sexual immorality burned in the hearts of the men while they offered sacrifices each morning to this pagan deity.
The Lord began to stir within the soul of Amos a great storm of violence, like a mighty tempest fixing to unleash its fury, ready to break forth with retributive justice. The Prophet could bear it no longer, the sleepless nights of being burdened for the justice of God had to come to an end. So when the fullness of the time came, as the righteous anger in the heart of this herdsman reached its climax, Amos walked out of his house and began the thirty mile journey to Samaria. Consumed with holy prayer as the palpitations of his heart were increasing, he entered into the place where the Lord would have him speak. As he took the position in the place where all the people could hear him, boldness entered into his veins like a mighty warrior. He opened his mouth, and like the blast of a mighty trumpet, he began to preach out against the surrounding cities of the land.
He started calling down judgement upon the enemies of Israel. Then Amos transitioned and began to pronounce judgement upon the kinsman of Israel, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah. When Amos had the attention of all the people, the herdsman lifted up his voice while the eloquent priest of his day listened to him intently, and then he called down judgment upon them and the entire nation. With great boldness, like fire falling from heaven, he said, Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals- those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.” This simple herdsman from Tekoa stood and spoke out against the sins of his culture. Christian, will you stand and speak out against the sins of this culture, or will you keep your mouth silenced allowing the blood of the next generation to be upon your hands?
“Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment”
Amos 2:6 NASBS