Slices
Prepare
As we come to the end of our study of Amos, reflect on what has struck you most from the book.
Bible passage
Israel’s restoration
11 ‘In that day
‘I will restore David’s fallen shelter –
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins –
and will rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name,’
declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the ploughman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.
‘They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,’
says the Lord your God.
Explore
Nine chapters of the Lion roaring. Nine chapters during which Amos has refused to hold back in his condemnation of Israel. The people’s treatment of the poor, their oppression of the needy, their corruption and selfishness have all caused God to ‘roar from Zion’ (1:2; see also 3:8). Understanding God’s repulsion to sin is a clear message from the book of Amos, particularly how we treat those in poverty. If we miss the roar of the Lion of Judah, we probably need to check our hearing.
Dramatically – and wonderfully – God’s roar of judgement is not Amos’ final word. As the book comes to an end, the hints of hope that are dotted throughout (see, for example, 5:15, 9:8) are replaced with an unmistakable promise of restoration: ‘In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter”’ (9:11). The book closes with a joyous picture of God’s people flourishing in rebuilt cities with ‘new wine’ pouring down from the mountains (v 13), once again called ‘my people’ (v 14). When or where have you seen a joyous restoration? God has not forgotten his people; he has simply treated them as justice demands. However, as the apostle James writes several centuries later, with God ‘Mercy triumphs over judgement’ (James 2:13). Truly, the Lion roars, but he also restores.
Respond
Pray for the restorative hand of God over your life and the life of your church.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 23,24; Titus 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray that all the children and young people who heard the message of Jesus at holidays, missions and holiday clubs across the north of England will continue to grow in faith. Pray for the SU staff team in the north as they continue to support the churches where these were held.
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