Study Desk

God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Moab —make that four—I'm not putting up with her any longer. She violated the corpse of Edom's king, burning it to cinders. For that, I'm burning down Moab, burning down the forts of Kerioth. Moab will die in the shouting, go out in the blare of war trumpets. I'll remove the king from the center and kill all his princes with him." God 's Decree.

God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Judah —make that four—I'm not putting up with them any longer. They rejected God 's revelation, refused to keep my commands. But they swallowed the same old lies that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads. For that, I'm burning down Judah, burning down all the forts of Jerusalem."

God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Israel —make that four—I'm not putting up with them any longer. They buy and sell upstanding people. People for them are only things—ways of making money. They'd sell a poor man for a pair of shoes. They'd sell their own grandmother! They grind the penniless into the dirt, shove the luckless into the ditch. Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore'— a sacrilege against my Holy Name. Stuff they've extorted from the poor is piled up at the shrine of their god, While they sit around drinking wine they've conned from their victims.

"In contrast, I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I'm the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. Isn't this so, Israel?" God 's Decree.

"But you made the youth-in-training break training, and you told the young prophets, ‘Don't prophesy!' You're too much for me. I'm hard-pressed—to the breaking point. I'm like a wagon piled high and overloaded, creaking and groaning.

"When I go into action, what will you do? There's no place to run no matter how fast you run. The strength of the strong won't count. Fighters won't make it. Skilled archers won't make it. Fast runners won't make it. Chariot drivers won't make it. Even the bravest of all your warriors Won't make it. He'll run off for dear life, stripped naked." God 's Decree.

God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Moab —make that four—I'm not putting up with her any longer. She violated the corpse of Edom's king, burning it to cinders. For that, I'm burning down Moab, burning down the forts of Kerioth. Moab will die in the shouting, go out in the blare of war trumpets. I'll remove the king from the center and kill all his princes with him." God 's Decree. God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Judah —make that four—I'm not putting up with them any longer. They rejected God 's revelation, refused to keep my commands. But they swallowed the same old lies that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads. For that, I'm burning down Judah, burning down all the forts of Jerusalem." God 's Message: "Because of the three great sins of Israel —make that four—I'm not putting up with them any longer. They buy and sell upstanding people. People for them are only things—ways of making money. They'd sell a poor man for a pair of shoes. They'd sell their own grandmother! They grind the penniless into the dirt, shove the luckless into the ditch. Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore'— a sacrilege against my Holy Name. Stuff they've extorted from the poor is piled up at the shrine of their god, While they sit around drinking wine they've conned from their victims. "In contrast, I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I'm the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. Isn't this so, Israel?" God 's Decree. "But you made the youth-in-training break training, and you told the young prophets, ‘Don't prophesy!' You're too much for me. I'm hard-pressed—to the breaking point. I'm like a wagon piled high and overloaded, creaking and groaning. "When I go into action, what will you do? There's no place to run no matter how fast you run. The strength of the strong won't count. Fighters won't make it. Skilled archers won't make it. Fast runners won't make it. Chariot drivers won't make it. Even the bravest of all your warriors Won't make it. He'll run off for dear life, stripped naked." God 's Decree.

"Out of all the families on earth, I picked you. Therefore, because of your special calling, I'm holding you responsible for all your sins."

"Listen and bring witness against Jacob's family"— this is God's Word, God -of-the-Angel-Armies! "Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins, pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel, The horned altars will all be dehorned and scattered around. I'll tear down the winter palace, smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings. The luxury homes will be demolished, all those pretentious houses." God 's Decree.

"Come along to Bethel and sin! And then to Gilgal and sin some more! Bring your sacrifices for morning worship. Every third day bring your tithe. Burn pure sacrifices—thank offerings. Speak up—announce freewill offerings! That's the sort of religious show you Israelites just love." God 's Decree.

"You know, don't you, that I'm the One who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards, Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines? But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me." God 's Decree.

"Yes, and I'm the One who stopped the rains three months short of harvest. I'd make it rain on one village but not on another. I'd make it rain on one field but not on another—and that one would dry up. People would stagger from village to village crazed for water and never quenching their thirst. But you never got thirsty for me. You ignored me." God 's Decree.

So seek God and live! You don't want to end up with nothing to show for your life But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground. For God will send just such a fire, and the firefighters will show up too late.

"Didn't you, dear family of Israel, worship me faithfully for forty years in the wilderness, bringing the sacrifices and offerings I commanded? How is it you've stooped to dragging gimcrack statues of your so-called rulers around, hauling the cheap images of all your star-gods here and there? Since you like them so much, you can take them with you when I drive you into exile beyond Damascus." God 's Message, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster! Catastrophe is just around the corner! Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them! Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others! Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them! Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain! those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin.

But here's what's really coming: a forced march into exile. They'll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.

God , the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "I hate the arrogance of Jacob. I have nothing but contempt for his forts. I'm about to hand over the city and everyone in it."

Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, "Are there any more?" The answer: "Not a soul. But hush! God must not be mentioned in this desecrated place."

God said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" I said, "A plumb line." Then my Master said, "Look what I've done. I've hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I've spared them for the last time. This is it! "Isaac's sex-and-religion shrines will be smashed, Israel's unholy shrines will be knocked to pieces. I'm raising my sword against the royal family of Jeroboam."

‘Jeroboam will be killed. Israel is headed for exile.'