July 13, 2024

Passage Read: Amos 7 - Obadiah 1
Meditation Verses: Amos 7:12-13

Thought

Amaziah the priest tells Amos to go to Judah and prophesy there, because Bethel is a residence and sanctuary of the king. The king shouldn't have to hear bad news, and he certainly doesn't care what the Lord says, nor, evidently, should be be warned if the Lord has made plans against him. Prophets of the Lord should only speak to people who care what the Lord says, according to Amaziah, and they should never deliver bad news to royalty. How like an unbeliever, who thinks only religious people should have to listen to religious messages, as if God has no plans against them and no reason to warn them. As if all unreligious people are somehow protected from gods and spirits because they don't believe in them. But it is especially irreligious people who need to be warned, who need to be called to repentance, or else they will be condemned to hell. Even the king needs to be warned. To refuse to allow the king to hear is the worst kind of hatred, condemning him without a shred of hope to destruction.

Application

The unbelief of the unbeliever is no defense against the judgment of God. Instead, it is the cornerstone of his condemnation. The unbeliever doesn't want to hear that he is liable to judgment and condemnation is hanging over him, but anyone with a heart of compassion will be compelled to warn him. Though he rejects the warning, he still ought to be warned. We're under no obligation to keep warning him, after he has made clear his rejection, but he ought to hear warning at least once clearly. An unbeliever may tell me to go preach somewhere else, then like Amos, I can tell him that he's choosing his own destruction and the destruction of those he loves, and leave him be.