Would the Church put up with Amos in 2013?

Amos 4: 6-13

This thought came to mind; would we put up with an Amos in 2013, a guy who has no theological training, and he seems to be an uneducated farmer who is saying, “Thus says the Lord”?  It’s clear that our culture would not listen, and it’s a given, Hollywood and the late night shows and NBC, CBS, ABC, would make fun of him, but what about the Church?  That’s a good question, how would the Church deal with an Amos in 2013? 

I would hope better than Israel, for after many warnings, they refused to listen not only to God’s prophet Amos, but to a man whom they all held in high esteem, the man God used to lead them from captivity in Egypt; Moses.  Why were their leaders, their priests not confirming Amos, “Thus says the Lord” was the same message that Moses spoke to them as they were about to enter the promised land?  For it is clear in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, that God spoke a warning of what would happen if they lived independently of His commandments and statutes, but the people and the priests were enjoying prosperity, much like many in 2013 who go by the name of Christian.

So God warned them and He began to allow what He warned about to happen, and they repented and came back to God; wrong, they called it bad luck, they refused to acknowledge what the judgment of their sins were bringing on their nation; does that not sound much like 2013?  Amos is now telling them of things that might happen and these incidents are happening, and yet most are not looking to heaven, but to how they can control the outcome, much like today.  Let us look at a sampler from Chapter 4:6-9, “I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.  “I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away.  I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another.  One field had rain; another had none and dried up.  People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.  “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew.  Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 

Both bad luck and good luck are garbage, unless you are looking for a way to live life outside of God’s commandments and His statutes.  Many a Christian will use the words of the deceiver, and tell one another how lucky they are, but that is removing God from the equation, and it is clear that the best response is, “If God wills” or God has blessed me, or God has shown me that I was trying to do His will in my ability.   With God there is only blessing or curses, and it is your choice.  There are no entitlements for a follower of Christ, just blessing or curses.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice