King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025
Chapters: Amos 5-9
Message: Amos: Seek The LORD and Live
Hello My Friend,
As we continue and come to the end of the reading of Amos we learn that God is a jealous God and it angers Him to see Israel and any other nation that He calls His worshiping false gods then expecting Him to work miracles for them. It reminds me of what He said to the Israelites when they sought Him after decades of back and forth with their faithfulness to, [Judges 10:13-14 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.]
Even we as saved, born again Christians are guilty of doing the same things as the Jews, and if there is any indication that God is showing the same anger now as He did with Israel back in the day it is the wars that are forming all over the world, not to mention the catastrophic events. Jesus, said it this way, [Matthew 24:42-43 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.]
God, has something to say to the entire house of Israel, not the nation of Israel, which are God’s people, but to the children of Jacob, the ones He had set aside from the rest of the world and gave the land of Israel.
[Amos 5:1-6 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. 4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5 But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought. 6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.]
There are so many people trying to find God in worship centers, religions, or inheritance, but fail to understand that God can only be found through Christ. It is the people whom have Christ in them already that lead those seeking God through their example. This is why it is important for every saved born again Christian to live their lives of Christ and not of the world, if we are living like they are then they will not see the need for Christ in their own, [Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.]
God, is addressing the house of Joseph due to the fact that Jeroboam who led Israel into idolatry and away from God came from the descendants of Ephraim who was Joseph’s son. God, does not want anyone to end up in hell, which is why He works so much on the ones whom have some faith in Him, but have not quite figured out that they need to come to Him through Christ. God, actually tells the house of Joseph that He will have mercy on them if they return to Him.
[Amos 5:7-9,12-14 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: 9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. 14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.]
Think about it, there are millions of people in worship services singing praises to God, giving tithes and offerings, helping the poor and needy, and doing all these things to feel good about their conscience. They are even anticipating Christ’s return and yet all of them are headed straight for hell. Now, this is Satan’s biggest work of deception, he does not care if they believe in Christ as long as they are not believing the truth, [Matthew 24:23-24 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.]
Well, since we are all sinners we have our own crosses to bear, but what is important is that we know that we have sinned and only Jesus can save us, regardless of our sin. Believe it or not, God does not want to see the world end and to those long for the day, He has something to say about that, along with some rebuke as well.
[Amos 5:18-22,26-27 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? 21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.]
What good does it do to praise and worship God when there is no desire to live as He wants us to live. God, is not at all pleased with the singing, praise, or any other works with His name attached to it for that matter unless some true repentance comes into play. Do I always understand God’s plan? No. Nevertheless, I do need to trust Him as that is the only option sometimes, [Psalms 56:3-4 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.]
So, we have the ones who cannot wait for Christ to return to see the destruction of the world and then you have the ones who are lax about is as though it will never happen in their lifetime. The judgments that God placed on Israel were to show us that He is not messing around, what He allowed to happen then He will allow to happen to any nation that refuses to heed His warnings. Through Amos, God continues to warn Israel of the judgment coming to them, He also stresses His anger toward those who are not concerned at all about the judgment that was coming.
[Amos 6:1,3-6,8 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! 3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.]
The more I have to work out in the world the more I see how lax people are about sin. They are content to live their lives as though there is no consequence, trusting in their helps from the government and those who want to feel good in their conscience to feed their lusts without any thought to the judgments that are here already and yet to come. Most of Israel prided themselves on what they had made out of the kingdom, including their false gods.
[Amos 7:1-3,7-9 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. 3 The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. 7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. 8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: 9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.]
A plumb line, which is used for getting a precise measurement is a symbol of judgment according to righteousness. God, was about to pass by them one last time to see if they will choose Him over the false gods, once He drew the line there will be no crossing over. In other words, those who choose the LORD will cross over into the heavenly promise land when they die while those who reject Him will be cast into hell and the lake of fire and there is no crossing over. Jesus, said it this way when describing what hell looked like when a rich man ended up there when he died.
[Luke 16:23-26 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.]
What is a crueler punishment to the wicked one who was cast into hell for rejecting God? Watching the ones they treated so badly up in heaven while they are in torment. No one ends up in hell without the opportunity to be saved from ending up there, but once they the opportunity is gone. Most of Israel prided themselves on what they had made out of the kingdom, including their false gods, and they were not about to change their ways no matter how many times they heard the warning. Even a priest went to Amos and tried to stop him from talking.
[Amos 7:12-15 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.]
The world, and quite frankly, many churches try to ignore the fact that God will judge any nation that turns His back on Him. The wicked do not want to hear they are sinners and will die and end up in hell for their sin. The saved do not want to hear that God is going to judge them for their living in sin well before Jesus gets here. There will come a time though when it will be too late, and no one will hear the Gospel at all, which is why we cannot stop preaching about it now. Through Amos, God speaks of a famine like not other, a time when people will wander the world in search of His Word, but not be able to find it.
[Amos 8:1-2,4,11-13 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 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. 4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.]
This actually did happen once already, Malachi, was the last prophet to speak the words of God until John the Baptist, which was about four hundred years later. How sad it must have been during that time, a time where they had no communication with God whatsoever. Let me tell you, that day is coming again, in many countries we are not even allowed to have a Bible in our possession, and it is against the law to preach Jesus. Count it a great blessing that we are in the midst of a nation that still has that opportunity, there will come a time when people are going to be so desperate that they will seek His Word, but it will not be found, [Revelation 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.]
Yes, there will come a time when people will be in so much pain and oppression that they will seek death and not even receive that. And this is not something that they never knew about before Christ came here in the flesh. Through Amos, God speaks of this very day.
[Amos 9:6-10 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. 7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD. 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.]
This is where Satan comes in, God, will allow him to let wicked evil loose like we have never seen before. Sometimes when I read about the prophesies concerning God’s judgment upon Israel I tear up because the people were so consumed in their sin that they not only refused to listen, they down right attacked anyone who attempted to tell them what was about to happen. Imagine a time so dark that they wish to die? Well, we are not far from that right now and that makes me grieve over my own nation. God, does not even recognize Israel, at this point.
[Amos 9:11-15 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.]
Can you imagine the thousands of souls who are in hell right not that actually walked the earth and saw Jesus face to face, even fought with Him? I bet they would be the first to tell us to believe? The Jews have this mentality to think that they can do whatever they please, and get away with it because they are God’s chosen. A lot of people misread God’s Word when He says that all of Israel will be restored. What God means by this is that the nation of Israel itself will be restored, and that means all believers, of Christ, including a remnant of the house of Jacob.
[Romans 9:6-8,26-27 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You, for making a way for our soul to be saved from hell. It was Your sinless sacrifice on the cross that saved me, and I will forever proclaim that I have trusted You as my Saviour and are the one who saved me. There will come a time, and You even warned us of this, that we will not be able to preach the Gospel, and may even lose our lives for doing so. While the world remains silent on Your judging them soon, we cannot remain silent to the lost who are seeking You right now. Lord, Give us Your mercy, grace, Holy Spirit power, and the boldness to preach the Gospel, even if they try to stop us. Put Your hedge of protection around us and shield us from Satan, who is constantly seeking to hinder us and destroy our faith in You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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