S10E04: Living in a Bitter Day (Prophet Margins pt. 3)

Sermon #507

As we continue our exposition of Amos' prophecy, we come to the fourth of his visions - a basket of Summer fruit.  The word for Summer fruit in the Hebrew sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "the end," and so God through Amos is using a pun to declare that the end is here.  The judgment of God will fall upon Israel, and yet, through it all God is using his judgment to draw the faithful to himself.  What we see in God's judgment is that there is no loss of control in his emotions.  God is not overtly angry or seeking revenge against his people.  Instead, he uses the judgment as a way to turn the hearts of the people back to himself - and we see that God desires repentance rather than atonement.  

Amos 8:1-12

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 17, 2022

S.D.G.