Amos 7

Amos 7:15

But the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'

Amos wasn't some high-born noble, or person of importance.  He was a shepherd, one of the lowest of the low.  God had a way of using shepherds for things that no one would expect, like kings or heralds.

It is encouraging to know that God doesn't care about bloodlines.  He isn't interested in who your father was, or what he did, or where he came from.  He cares about you being willing to be used when called.

Amos 6

Amos 6:8

The Lord GOD has sword by Himself, the LORD God of hosts has declared:
"I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And detest his citadels;
Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains."

Jacob had become prideful, and confident in their own defenses.  They didn't think they needed God anymore.  They'd built a great city, with strong supports and able to withstand siege.

But they put their confidence in the wrong thing.  God was the one who had let them build those citadels.  He'd kept them safe so they were able to build an army to defend the land, which was a strategic center everyone wanted to control.  Now they were going to see what happened when that protection was removed.

Amos 5

Amos 5:22

"Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.

Put simply, God is ticked at them.  They've really messed up, and God has finally had enough.  He's to the point where they are not redeemable.

He's saying that their sacrifices are no good.  They've polluted themselves so much, their offerings are just motions they're going through, without the right heart behind them to be sincere.  Without that correct heart, the actions mean nothing.

Amos 4

Amos 4:6

"But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities
And lack of bread in all your placed,
Yet you have not returned to Me," declared the LORD.

I'm sure that if/when I read this as a kid, I would have wondered "what's wrong with having clean teeth?  God makes it wound like it's a bad thing."  Today, I know that it was.

This is long before dental hygiene was a thing, so people didn't know about brushing their teeth.  Instead, teeth would only be clean when there wasn't anything to make them dirty.  Clean teeth was a sign of famine, which points to how God is saying in the rest of the verse that He's depriving them to get their attention, but they're not giving in from their own pride.

Amos 3

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.

God doesn't act on a whim.  Existing outside of time, He can choose when and where to act, and know exactly what the consequences are of any action He takes.  He could wipe us from existence should He choose, but His compassion for us keeps us breathing.

But, how often does He act?  Some people talk about miracles like they're a daily occurrence, but that doesn't fit with the meaning of the term.  I've personally always thought that God rarely intervenes directly, and mostly lets circumstances play out as natural law and our decisions direct.  Maybe this verse is partial proof of my theory?

Amos 2

Amos 2:5

"So I will send fire upon Judah
And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem."

God does not exempt His people from punishment.  When they abandon His commands, they are as open to His judgment as anyone else.  In this verse, that judgment is prophesied for Jerusalem

Note that He isn't saying that Judah will be burned.  Instead, it's specific to Jerusalem, His chosen city.  This is the place where His presence was dwelling/had dwelt.  If His own place is not above destruction, nowhere is.

Amos 1

Amos 1:13

Thus says the LORD,
"For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to enlarge their borders.

It appears several of the surrounding nations joined together to attack Gilead, because it's mentioned in several of the condemnations.  I'm not sure if this was a recent event, or something further back that God is now punishing the people for.  But whichever it was, the punishment certainly appears due.

Today, there are few crimes considered more heinous than killing a pregnant woman.  The taking of two lives at once, one of them completely innocent and helpless, holds a special place in loathing today.  I can't imagine how it would be perceived back then, when the infant mortality rate was so high to begin with.

Joel 3

Joel 3:17

Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.

The end times are hopeful, yet confusing.  The good news is that God wins, as the old saying goes.  He will directly rule from Jerusalem, and all people will be in submission to Him.

However, there's a lot of uncertainty about what happens to the rest of the world.  It says here strangers won't pass through Jerusalem anymore.  Is that because there are no strangers left, and everyone is known to them?  Or is it because there's no one left to be a stranger, because they're all destroyed, or barred from entry?

Joel 2

Joel 2:13

And rend your hearts and not your garments."
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.

This verse starts with a wonderful declaration of what the priority should be.  It shouldn't be some kind of outward declaration of our feelings.  It has to start with the right motives, the right heart, without which anything else is just play-acting.

Once our hearts are in the right place, then God will respond.  He does care about us, even if we don't always feel it.  However, just because He takes care of us doesn't mean that He will instantly relieve us of our issues, or resolve them in the way we wanted.

Joel 1

Joel 1:9

The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of the LORD.
The priests mourn,
The ministers of the LORD.

I have to say, I'm surprised God let things go this far.  The offerings were part of the daily rituals at the Temple, and were required to be performed.  By cutting off their supply, God was in effect preventing the people from worshiping Him "properly."

I guess there are two ways to look at this.  First, the people were so far gone that the sacrifices were pointless, so God removed the empty ritual.  Second, God was showing them that the rituals were not the important thing, true worship of Him was.

Hosea 14

Hosea 14:4

I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from them.

I guess this explains, at least in part, some of the contradictions in God's attitude earlier in this book.  He seems to fluctuate between punishing them and forgiving them.  Perhaps this is the reason for the back-and-forth.

There will come a day, the time of which is unclear, when God will straighten out Israel.  He will lead them back from their mistakes, and show them the correct path again.  But this time will be different, because this time it will stuck, and they will continue in the right path from then on.

Hosea 13

Hosea 13:4

Yet I have been the LORD your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me.

 God has been the Israelites' Lord since long before Egypt, technically.  Howver, I can understand why that would be the great defining time in their history.  And given that, why would they need to know of any other god?

Other gods are false, creations of man or demons.  To know them is like knowing a counterfeit bill:  you only know it to easily identify the imperfections.  Also, in order to know what's false, you first have to know what's true, which means knowing God better and better.

Hosea 12

Hosea 12:14

Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
And bring back his reproach to him.

OK, I'm confused.  In the last chapter, God was saying that He wouldn't punish Ephraim as they deserve.  But now He's saying He will leave bloodguilt on them.  So, which is true?

Is somehow the bloodguilt not a death sentence?  It normally is, so I don't know why it wouldn't be here.  Is somehow reproach going to mean that is the entire sentence, and no other punishment?

Hosea 11

Hosea 11:9

I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath.

I'm trying to remember, when did God previously destroy Ephraim?  Is this referring to the terrible closing of Judges, where almost the entire tribe was killed in retribution by the rest of Israel?  Does that mean that God directed that slaughter, using their brothers as his weapon?

It's important to note that, no matter what's happened or how far they've strayed, God still loves His people, and will not destroy them.  He knows that if He were to vent His anger against them, there would be no survivors.  Therefore, He chooses actively to hold back, and not give them the judgment they deserve.

Hosea 10

Hosea 10:4

They speak mere words,
With worthless oaths they make covenants;
And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

As the old saying goes, "talk is cheap."  Anyone can make promises, but fewer are those who will fulfill them.  And when those promises are broken, there will be consequences.

In this case, it appears the Israelites had made some kind of promises they didn't keep to the nations around them.  I assume those oaths were to some kind of mutual defense, and they didn't come when called.  Therefore, all their neighbors now know that they cannot be trusted, and will be happy to see them fall.

Hosea 9

Hosea 9:7

The days of punishment have come,
The days of retribution have come;
Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a fool,
The inspired man is demented,
Because of the grossness of your iniquity,
And because your hostility is so great.

So, the result of everything that's happened in Israel is that they have basically lost their minds.  The people who are supposed to speak directly from God are saying nonsense, or at least making it up rather than listening for the truth.  They should know better than to do these things, but are either ignoring or ignorant.

Therefore, God has decided that they have sinned enough, and it's time for the punishment to begin.  No longer will he hold back, and let them get away with their mistakes.  They've done the crime, and now judgment will be enacted.

Hosea 8

Hosea 8:6

For from Israel is even this!
A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

This seems to follow a very straightforward chain of logic.  The calf (or whatever is being referred to) is made by a craftsman.  God was not made, He has always existed.  Therefore, this thing can't be God.

However, it appears that logic has broken down.  Apparently they have rejected the premise of an eternal God, who created all.  Therefore, they are ignoring the fact that, sooner or later, their false god will be destroyed, either by natural process or by other people.

Hosea 7

Hosea 7:10

Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God,
Nor have they sought Him, for all this.

It may be because I already know how the story goes, but this result doesn't surprise me.  This people's pride is leading them down a bad path, but they refuse to see it.  That is one definition of pride, after all:  refusing to believe what's right in front of you, because you know better.

However, the people should truly know better, because this is not an unfamiliar story.  Time after time their ancestors took more of less the same path, only for it to lead to ruin.  But like most new generations, they think they know how to avoid the cliff, and therefore need not fear walking near the edge.

Hosea 6

Hosea 6:6

For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,
And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

This is a recurring theme through the minor prophets.  God is not interested in our acts of devotion.  Anyone can make a sacrifice or say certain words.

Instead, He cares less about what we do, than why we do it.  He cares about us doing our utmost for Him, because we love Him. I know far too often I do things because I know I'm supposed to, not because I want to because I care about Him.

Hosea 5

Hosea 5:6

They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.

I find this verse somewhat disturbing.  Today, we're taught that anyone can come to God at any time.  All they have to do is turn away from their sins and seek Him earnestly, and accept Jesus as their savior.

However, this verse suggests that for some, there is no way back.  It may be possible for someone to be so far gone that either they can't connect with Him, or they are so clueless on how they fail in the attempt.  Either way, I worry this could mean that some may want to find God and Christ, but are so messed up they don't do it, and that always makes me worry that I might be on that path unknowingly.

Hosea 4

Hosea 4:10

They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have stopped giving heed to the LORD.

This reminds me of Ecclesiastes.  Without God, whatever we try to do will end in vain.  We can seek pleasure, or wealth, or domination, or whatever we desire, but it will all be empty without Him.

Maybe it's because it's the start of a new year, but this seems to have a bit of extra impact right now.  I'm trying to do away with some bad habits, and need to figure out how to yield those areas to God.  Unfortunately, I'm still stuck on figuring out how to do that.

Hosea 3

Hosea 3:2

So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.

I'm not quite certain if this was a dowry for the woman's hand, or a direct payment to her to retain her services.  Given she was another prostitute, if I'm reading things correctly, I could easily see it being either.  But either way, it's interesting to pay for her, when she was probably not very desirable as a wife.

However, one could argue that she got a bargain.  I did a quick check, and that amount of silver and barley today would be worth about $120 altogether.  For that price, a lot of men would probably not be so choosy.

Hosea 2

Hosea 2:18

"In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land,
And will make them lie down in safety.

Obviously, this day has not yet come.  There is still strife and conflict in the Jews' land, with no sign of it abating soon.  So this is part of the prophecy that is yet unfulfilled.

However, what a day it will be when this comes true.  For men to be at total peace with each other, instead of trying to turn each other into pieces, would be amazing in that part of the world.  To additionally be at peace with animals is something only God Himself will ever be able to do.