King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 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.]
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2022
Chapters: AMOS 5-9
Study: Seek The WORD While It May Be Found
Hello My Friend,
This passage came to mind as I was reading the chapters for today, [Isaiah 55:5-7 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.] Then it occurred to me that, Isaiah is the son of Amos, so, it makes sense as to why it sounds so familiar. Isaiah, also said this, well, God actually said it.
[Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.]
We may not understand why Covid refuses to dissipate, baby formula is scarce, and why the ones defending themselves are the ones being persecuted. We may not understand why abortion, drag queens, and the color of ones skin are the only issues that the government and media is concerned about, but God does. I will tell you this, God does not like it one bit, especially when it is one of His nations, but He knows exactly what is going on. And there will truly come a time when people will be looking for Him, and He will be nowhere to be found. As we come to the end of the reading of Amos, God has something to say to the entire house of Israel, not the nation of Israel, which are God’s people, but 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 Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel 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 Bethel.]
[But seek not Bethel,] There is another topic that the government and media are concerned about and that is the planet. They want to eliminate cows, fuel, oil, coal, and anything else that is used to sustain life, but they will never stop the earth from being destroyed because they will never stop doing what they are doing. While God is speaking to Israel about the judgment that was about to take place, the same message is clear for all nations, repent, seek the LORD now and live. And as you continue to read through Amos you discover that things were not that much different than today in regards to the oppression and lack of faithfulness to God.
[Amos 5:10-13 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. 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.]
[the prudent shall keep silence in that time;] While we do still have some time to preach the Gospel to the lost, perhaps the reason we cannot see an end to all these things is because it is the time for us to remain silent about the judgment coming to them. Think about it, a nation that was once strong and has turned from God must be weakened in order to see Jesus, otherwise, they will not see the need for Him. Also, remember what Solomon said, [Proverbs 12:1-3 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. 2 A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.]
So, what are we who are faithful to do while we wait for God to tell us that it is time to speak? Well, God, tells us what to do, [Amos 5:14-18 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. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. 17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. 18 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.]
[Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!] Do you think that God wants to destroy the very world that He created for man to dwell on? He did not create the moon for man, nor Mars, no Jupiter, or any other planet, He created the earth for man. It is no wonder why He is so angry, and that includes worldly Christians. One can blame God or even Satan all they want for the evils in this world, but they are the only ones to blame. And God has something to say to those who are at ease with all that is going on.
[Amos 6:1,3,6-8,13-14 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; 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. 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. 13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.]
[Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,] Women conceiving babies in their lusts, then aborting them, people turning to drugs or alcohol to fix their problems, marrying of the same sex, using drugs and cosmetic surgery to alter their gender. These are all sins of the flesh that the people are so at ease about, they not only destroy the body, but the earth itself because we all suffer through something while they remain in their sin. What do you think will happen to the earth if there were no more babies being born? And I might be criticized for saying this, but God, has done those babies that wee aborted justice by fools like that because at least they are safe and not suffering what would had been had they been born. Remember, God’s ways are not our ways.
[Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.]
These were not people who had no knowledge of God, they down right rejected Him, and after all that He had done for them. The sons of Jacob forgot God, and prided themselves on what they had made out of the nation, including their false gods. God, takes pride in a nation that prospers under Him because He built it from the ground up, but He is a jealous God, and will destroy that nation just as fast as He built it. All that Amos was saying to them was not new news, in fact, God had been trying to bring them back to Him since Jeroboam had those calves made, but they refused to turn to Him, even when they found out about the judgment.
[Amos 7:7-13 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. 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12 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 Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.]
[But prophesy not again any more at Bethel:] This sounds a lot like what they tried to do with Peter and John when they started preaching about Jesus, who had the same response as Amos, [Acts 4:10,12-13,18-19 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.]
When you speak, do the people perceive that you have been with Jesus? Well, they ought to. I remember years ago when I went back to a cashier and handed her back money, realizing that she gave me too much, and the customer standing there saying to me, “I see Jesus in you.” We do not even need to speak the name Jesus, those who truly are saved and walk with Him will see Him inside of us. The world, and quite frankly, many churches ignore the fact that God will judgment us coming. And there will come a time when it will be too late to call on Christ, in fact, no one will hear the Gospel at all. Through Amos, God speaks of a famine not like any other, a time when people will search for His Word, but not be able to find it.
[Amos 8:1-2,7-8,10-11 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. 7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. 8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. 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:]
[The end is come upon my people of Israel;] This is not to say that God has given up on Israel as a nation, He will protect that forever, He is talking about Jacob here. If we deny Him, He will deny us, it does not matter what family we are born into, [2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
[but of hearing the words of the LORD:] 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 9:1-4 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.]
[and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil,] 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 9:7-8,10-12 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. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. 11 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.]
[the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom,] 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. And 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. You are our judge, and the only one we answer to, I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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