Year 6, Day 228: Amos 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

What a humbling chapter!  Look at the things that Amos decries in this passage.  Amos decries the people who live in lavish luxury.  He raises a cry against those who do not see an issue with the downfall of the Hebrew people.  He cautions those who spend their time doing idle and unimportant things.

Why is this chapter humbling?  When Amos looks around at his own people, he sees a people who are falling into disrepair and who don’t really seem to care about it.  He sees a people who are falling away from God and who are too interested in the things of their own life to care.  He sees a nation that no longer cares about justice and righteousness and instead cares about their own luxuries.  Nations in positions like these are not going to earn the favor of the Lord.  People who are following these rhythms in life are not going to have the favor of the Lord.

What does Amos say that God abhors in verse 8?  He abhors their pride.  He hates their strongholds because it allows them to rely on their own failing power rather than His infinite power.  God knows what happens when our priorities shift.  We become proud.  We become focus on our own pleasure rather than our fellow man and our community around us.  He knows that as we focus on ourselves, we are less able to be His representatives to the world around us.

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