Topic: Israel’s Doom Foretold [Tuesday August 22, 2017]
Text: Amos 8:1-10
Key Verse: “And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more” (Amos 8:2).
Janet is a Christian lady who teaches “Sunday School” in her local assembly. She also heads a sales outfit that sells “rebagged” cement. They carefully open a bagged cement, remove some quantity from it and sew it again. What they get from four bags then becomes a new “bag’. But they still sell the rebagged cement at the same price.
God had such persons in mind when he gave the message in the text to Prophet Amos. The vision of the basket of summer fruits showed that God’s judgement over Israel would no longer tarry. The impending judgement would be so terrible that the songs of the temple shall be howling in that day and there might be dead bodies. Also God “will cause the sun to go down at noon. God’s controversy with Israel stemmed from their lives of fraud, duplicity, cruelty and oppression of the less privileged. They delighted in making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit. They bought “the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes and sold the refuse of the wheat. God’s patience will not last forever. He would visit iniquity with judgement.
Today, there are so-called Christians whose business conduct do not agree with the righteous requirements of the Word. To them, business and religion cannot go together. But the truth is that our Christian profession and conduct must reflect in our daily life whether in the family, church or work place. We are commanded to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. Like Israel, God’s judgement awaits anyone who flagrantly ignores His warnings to abide by the rules. God’s grace is available for anyone who sincerely desires to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Thought for the day: Let your deeds show the light in you.
Bible Reading in one Year: Jeremiah 51-52
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
