As Amos
continued to share with Israel the manner in which the LORD would
“strengthen the spoiled against the strong” and “the
spoiled shall come against the fortress”, he added how the
people “hate him that rebukes in the gate, and they abhor him
that speaks uprightly”. In chapter five and verse eleven of his
prophesy, Amos shares more of the devastating results of not
“seeking” the LORD where we read:
Forasmuch
therefore as your treading is
upon the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat: you have built
houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have
planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them.
The
verse begins, “Forasmuch therefore as
your treading is
upon the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat:” Amos
began with the word, “Forasmuch”
which means “because, therefore and on account of” “therefore
as you treading”
which means “the people of Israel were trampling” “is
upon the poor”
which refers to “the lowly, weak, thin and lean”, “and
you take”
or “fetch, receive, conduct and seize” “from
him burdens”
which means “uprisings, portions, upliftings and tributes”
“of wheat”
or “corn or grain”. The LORD brought attention to the way the
people of Israel mistreated the “poor”
by “trampling” and extracting their “grains” from them.
The
verse goes on to say, “you have built houses of hewn
stone, but you shall not dwell in them;” Amos
continued, “you have built houses”
or “established, continued and made permanent residences”
“of hewn stone” which refers
to “cut, worked or dressed stone”, “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “you
shall not dwell” or “remain,
sit or abide” “in them”
which refers to “in the houses”. The result of the mistreatment
of the “poor”
would be for their oppressors to build houses of “dressed stones”
in which they shall not reside.
Finally
the verse says, “you have planted pleasant vineyards, but
you shall not drink wine of them.” Amos
ended his words with “you have planted”
which means “fashioned, fixed and established” “pleasant”
or “desirable, beautiful and
delightful” “vineyards”
which refers to “vines with plants of nobler quality which have
been cultivated as a garden or orchard”, “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written take precedence over what was just stated, “you
shall not drink” or “the
oppressive people of Israel would not imbibe” “wine”
which means “the banqueting drink so called from bubbling up and
fermenting” “of them”
which refers to “the vineyards”.
Though the people of Israel planted “beautiful and delightful”
“vineyards”, they
would not be able to enjoy the “wine”
they produce.
When
we think through these words of Amos, we see the consequences the
people of Israel were to face for their rebellion against the LORD.
Because they abused the “poor” by
trampling their “grain”, the houses of dressed stones they built
and the “beautiful gardens or vineyards” they planted would not
be enjoyed by them. God Almighty sent His Son Jesus into the world to
keep them from abusing others, and rather than enjoying the LORD's
eternal blessings, many shall forfeit the everlasting and eternal
for the temporal. May all who read take heed.
Next
time Amos tells Israel how God “strengthens
the spoiled against the strong”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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