Warning
Amos 4-7
By Kailey Sanford

In the world we live in today, injustice lives everywhere. Not everyone may see it or hear about, but it still happens. Amos was a shepherd in Judah. He wrote this to warn the people of Judah and Israel of what God was planning as a punishment. This was Amos’ last “get out of jail card” for the people. He was pretty much saying that the people needed to stop or they were going to meet their true God but, not in a pretty way.

Amos uses this book to kind of be an example to the others. He goes through all the sins that the Israelites were committing on a daily basis and shows how God puts them through trials. But even though God put them through many tests, the people still wouldn’t come to God. In Amos 4:4-7, Amos talks how Jeroboam had set up a golden calf in the city of Bethel. This became the place with the highest rate of idolatry. He also talks about Gilgal, another huge golden calf worship center. Amos was trying to invite the people to turn back to God and repent. With everything Amos said the people still didn’t turn back to God. And in today’s culture we see something similar. With all the technology that has been placed in our hands, it can almost as if we are worshiping these technological advances. Though it doesn’t seem like it, we become so wrapped up in these things that we turn away from God. He finds a way to warn us and we will sometimes turn down that offer.

The Israelites turned down God’s repentance offer many times. Amos had given them their one last chance before God took it in his own hands. To make the people realize what they were doing God punished them. The people experienced famine, drought, mildew and insects, plague, war, and some divine intervention. Now when we became wrapped up in our things we don’t have any of these things happening, but we could have something life shattering turn us back to God. God uses tactics just like a lot of parents do. They warn their children and if the children don’t listen the intervene and often the children are punished. That’s what God does to us.
Think about this.. Is there something in your life that is taking a higher rank than God?

What would you do if you were warned that you were about to meet your God?
Pray and think about ways you can make God number one in your life!