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Episode 636: In this episode, we dive into the book of Amos, specifically chapter 5. I highlight the serious tone of Amos's message, where God calls the people of Israel to repentance. We discuss the imagery Amos uses, including a funeral song and the stark warning of impending judgment if the people do not return to God. The chapter emphasizes the importance of justice and righteousness, and we reflect on how these themes are still relevant today.
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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey everybody, it's Monday, and we're so excited that you've chosen us. We are humbled, we are thrilled, we're excited for today. And look at I thought, if you're wearing a Hoodie'm gonna wear a hoodie today. Yeah, this is the first time I ever warned hoodie on the Bible Guys. Is it really? Oh yeah, yeah? After what eight hundred episodes or something, this is it right here? This is like it's gonna be a collector's edition. It's a collected edition. Remember that it's a rare It minds a mean condition. My episode is men conditions. Hey, I wear hoodies all the time because when I leave here, I guess you're. A tough guy, because I well, super athlete. I was gonna say blue collar, uh, dressed down guy. No, because you're cool, You're cool. No, I go work out after this. That's I gotta go work out. That's it. That's why I I'm a tough guy. A tough guy. We already covered that that you're working out to beat me up. Remember, yes, yes, although i'd have to work out. I don't know. Yeah, we'll see, and then you have to have any time you're ready bring. It, you'd have to atrophy for a while. I used to tell my sons, you know, they they're big and strong, both my sons and big guys. They're taller than me and strong. And I used to tell them, hey, there's a difference between strong and old man strong. Right, that's true. You know, that's that's true, between strong and old man strong. And so I told him, I said, hey, anytime you feel like you're ready to bring it, you go ahead and bring it, but you better bring it all the first time. Right. I was good ones because I ever was. Only that's right, jes bring it all the first time, because you're not gonna get a second chance. So I don't know why we're talking about beating up our sons. That was kind of goofy. Yeah, well, you know, and sometimes the son just needs to know that it's a tough guy. It's just and that's why you wear hoodies. That's what I'm saying. Tell everybody you're working out. Yeah, I love how you attach intentions to my hoodies. You're just sending a message to your son. When I wake up and I get dressed, I know I feel tough. I'm gonna grab that north face. Okay, well, hey, today's one of our favorite segments. Yes, it's Dad Joe competition. I love these these are so if we find a good one, is Tory home today? Oh? She is? Okay? So we have to call? Yeah, sure, sure, sure, okay, all right, I'll start. Okay, I just got fired. As as severance, my company gave me a bag of used coffee. They said it was grounds for termination. New I liked it. You like? Did you like that one? I mean, it wasn't it wasn't a smile. I didn't smile. I didn't smile, but you liked it? Okay. Why do people in Why do people who live in Greece hate waking up at dawn? Why because down's tough on Greece. That's pretty good. That's really a good one. That is a good one. All right too, that's really good. My wife thinks it's weird that I stare at the window during a heavy rainstorm. It would be a lot less weird if she just let me in. Yeah, I tell my wife all the time. I'm just thankful she lets me live indoors. Yeah, I don't know why. I'm not house broke. You know what I mean. I tell you all the time. I don't know why you let me live in this house. I'm not house broke. Okay. I bought a pair of velcro sneakers. Don't do it though, they're total ripoff. That's good, all right. Number three, I was going to make a joke about retirement. It did not work. That's a good one, good one. What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes? Remorse code code? I knew it was going to be morse code somewhere in there. Okay. I like my ceiling. It's not the best, but it's up there. I invented a new word today. Yeah, plagiarism. Oh that's great. That's a great joke. That's a good one. That made my day right there. That's really good. Okay. I went to the aquarium this weekend, but I didn't stay long. There's something fishy about that place. Okay. A man assaulted me with milk how dairy? Oh no, oh no, I think. I had five winners. I think you did too, Call toy, Oh you're going to call her the plagiarism one wins. Okay, okay, I'm gonna see. By the way, I'm gonna see if she answers. You know, she gets to sleep in. Yeah, we're waking up. We're waking her up. Yes, it's early today. It's a snow day. Today, it's a snow day for teachers. Hello, hey, I got you're on the Bible guys. I got a joke for you. Are you ready, yes, yes, ready, Okay. I invented a new word today, plagiarism. There you go. That's a good one, isn't it clever? That's great word. That's good. Okay, that's it. I have a couple more, but that was the best of. The one about Greece. Oh my gosh. Hey, hang on, Jeff read yours on Greece. Hey, why do people in Greece hate to wake up at dawn? Why because Greece is tough on dawn? I mean, don is tough on Greece. But you know what, it's still funny. Yes, okay, anyway, you can tell Christo's your Greek boyfriend. That joke. That's good because. Okay, I love you. Go back to bed. Thank you for including me. Okay, okay, I can't believe I blew that. I'll tell you what. There's there's clutch deliveries. That was not total total fail right there. Michael Jordan on the three points, you just blew it, break all air ball. That's all right, at least at the rim you sure of got it right. Yes, all right, Well, hey that is dad jokes, and I think the desiree did good on that. Betch yes, Well, you know it's not funny. Funny repentance that was as good as that was really good. Yeah, so today is today Amos is calling the people. Oh my goodness, that was so good. If you're new to the show and you can't figure out what's happening, but now we're sorry. It was good the way you say it was just so simple. You know, it's not funny repentance so good. So we always do these goofy transitions or these goofy segments at the beginning dad jokes or whatever, and then we always. Try to transition how do you transition. From that into the devotions for the day, And so we've decided we just want to do the worst possible transition we can think of. And yeah, so we're in the book of Amos. And now which by the way, I love his cookies and famous, yeah, love his cookies. And he is calling God is using him to call the people. Of Israel to repentance. That's right. So we're in Amos chapter five, and he says this, listen, you people of Israel, listen to this funeral song. I'm singing. The Virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on the ground with no one to help her up. The sovereign Lord says, when a city sends a thousand men to battle, only one hundred will return. When a town sends one hundred, only ten will come back alive. Now, this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel. Come back to me and live. Don't worship at the pagan altars at Bethel, don't go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba, for the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing. Come back to the Lord and live. Otherwise he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won't be able to quench the flames. You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed, and you treat the righteous like dirt. It's the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades, and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day and to night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down his. Rain on the land. The Lord is his name. With blinding speed and power, he destroys the strong, the crushing all their defenses. How you hate honest judges, How you despise people who tell the truth. You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them. For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellion. You oppress good people by taking bribes, and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time. Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live. Then the Lord, God of Heaven's armies will be your helper. Just as you have claimed hate evil and love what is good, turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet, the Lord God of Heaven's Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven's Army says. There will be crying in all the public squares, and mourning in every street. Call for the farmers to weep with you, and summoned professional mourners to whale. There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all, says the Lord. Well, and we pointed out last week that. God's warning doesn't come about like this whole like you know, destruction and this you know this? What am I looking? What's what we're looking for? The judgment? The judgment. Yeah, the judgment doesn't happen for over thirty years. It's like thirty eight years, I think, is what we figured out, right, And so here's the here's the warning for this generation. Come back to me and live verse number four and five. Don't worship the pagan altars at Methel, don't go to the shrines of Gilgal or Beersheba, you know, and so come back to me and live again in verse number six, right, otherwise he will war through Israel like a fire, deviring you completely. So once again, it's just it's a little more of the same as last week because we're walking through Amis apparently chapter by chapter. But there's a lot to learn from taking this chapter by chapter because it's a reminder that God is still going to give somebody a last chance, another chance, not a last chance, but another last chance right to come back to him. And by the. Way, the thing that stuck out to me when you were reading this is I love don't you love either worship songs or obviously Bible verses, And then a lot of worship songs come from Bible verses where it just talks about the majesty of God. Oh God, you're the one that created the planet. Yes, right, you're the one that created And in this case he says Pleiades and Orion. Isn't that cool? How we still know where those are today? Yeah, right in the sky. And he's the one that you're try have been looking at him for thousands of years. Yes, he's the one that turns darkness in the morning and day and to night. He draws up water from the oceans and he pours it down as rain on the land. Well, think about that. I mean, he's describing evaporation for crying out loud, right, it's. So cool before they totally understood it. Yeah, this is one of those I was going to point that out. This is one of those passages that really hints strongly at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because they did not understand where rain came from at that point, right, right, And it's just a yeah, just the inspiration. God knows, right, that's. Right, that's right. So God knows the world that he designed, and he knows exactly how it works. And so yeah, that's exactly right, and it's very cool. And by the way, there's other things. Let's talk about that for a second. You once told me about a passage that I was unaware of about burying waste in the ground. Oh yeah, yeah, and Deuteronomy. Yeah, and so it's such a funny passage. I should read it. I think it's a Deuteronomy twenty five or twenty six. Well, well, good, look it up and you keep going. Yeah, Well, let me just sort of set it up what you're about to read. So here's what's interesting is that you know, some people they question the validity of the Bible, and they think that it's just a collection of old stories and that perhaps it was written by human authors and that maybe, you know, even though the human authors wrote about it, it wasn't directly under divide inspiration. But what's so cool about it is is there there are scientific things in the Bible that couldn't have possibly been been known by mankind. So this one right here, you know, indicates evaporation, but it doesn't exactly explain vaporation, right right. It just mentions it. It just means a matter of fact, yeah, which is how God does with science. Yeah, and it's just really cool. But there's other parts in the Bible where there's wisdom about science where they could not have possibly have. Known about it. And then you look back later after you know, modern science discovers, they're like, wow, how is it possible that the instructions would have been given to people in knowing? You know, that's exactly how the earth works, right right? Well, so the passage you were talking about is Deuteronomy twenty three twelve, and he says, designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment, have something to dig with and when you leave yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. And then the funniest verse in the whole Bible, verse fourteen, says, for the Lord your God moves about in your camp. But it's so funny to me go outside your camp foro. It means because yeah, right, when you need to use the restroom, have a little tool on the end of your sword and dig a hole. Do your business, cover it over. Because the Lord your God walks among you in the camp. It's some way I don't want, so then you can't. Must be holy so that you'll not see among you anything indecent or. Turn away from you. So this idea of burying waste has been distinct to the Israelites and the Jews for millennia. Most of the rest of the world that wasn't an issue. The Romans started figuring out later, and they began to move waste out of their cities and out of their towns. But for the most part, as you go through most societies, the water is polluted and it's because of waste, right, and so so many other diseases happen those kinds of things. But it turns out it wasn't until the twentieth century, early twentieth century. I think it was a I can't remember, the John Mirror Society or the Sierra Club or somebody. They did this research. They discovered that when you're out camping or something, bury your waste. And the reason is in most soil, in the top nine inches of soil, there's a bunch of enzymes that will break down waste in like thirty six hours, right, break it down and neutralize it to where it's not really all that dangerous anymore to the water sources. If you leave it on top of the ground, it can contaminate water sources for weeks, but you bury it and the organisms will will neutralize it. So God didn't explain bacteria. He didn't explain all those things, you know. He didn't get into the signs, and he just said, hey, my people, when you need to use do your business, bury it. And when you're done burying it, you know, then I'll walk among your camp. And he's saying, basically, this is all those laws in that area. Dude, around him, you're all about health or about ceremonial cleanliness, and all the ceremonial cleanliness things were always about being healthy people. So the Israelites tended to be healthier people than the people around them. They avoid things. There's a lot of them. He talks about, don't allow any vermin in your house. Right. And then in Europe, as the Black Plague was moving across or some of the other plagues were moving across Europe and the Dark Ages, oftentimes the little Jewish enclaves would live when. Nobody else would. And it was because there weren't any mice in their homes because they kept cats, right, And so then oh, hey, they must be witches or something. And it was just that the fleas weren't getting on the Jews as much as they were on everybody else, and so there was far less disease. It happens that way in so many areas, where God just says to do a thing, but he doesn't say why, He doesn't take the time to explain, this is how the universe works. And hey, I know you can't see him, but bacteria exists, and you got to He doesn't do it any of those things. He just tells him do this. And if we would get to the point where we trust God that he is four our best, you think about it in the thirty sei thousand verses that God thought was important to tell us. He decided to give us three to say, hey. When you need to use the John bury. It right, right right. Every verse matters. Everything God says matters, and he doesn't always take the time to explain it all. But he does give us the best way to live. And so this is the thing he's telling them here. How many times does he say, listen, come, where's the verse? He says, come back to the Lord and live right when we go our own way. And this is the message of Amos five. You're going your own way. You're doing he Remember, he says, you used to be a virgin, talk about Israel, right, you were my bride. And now remember he said earlier, you're cheating on me with other gods, right, and all these things, and he said, you've totally defiled yourself with other gods. But he said, come back to me and live. So even though you've been cheating on me, come back. You're dying in your sin. You're killing yourself. This judgment that's coming is judgment because of your bad choices. But then also all the other things. You're just dying in your sin. Just come back to me, if you come back, I'll forgive you, I'll bring you back into the family. I'll I'll re establish your health and your strength and your power. Just come back to the Lord and live. And I think that that's a message to us, all of us even today, that we start wandering from Him, start getting far from God. And God's message has always come back and live. And this is like you said thirty something years before, judgment actually does fall, right, So he's being patient with him. Yeah, and it's such a great applicable thing. As you know here it is just this random thought about God, you know, having knowledge that doesn't bother to explain necessarily to us. But in the case of the waste, it's just trust. Me, obey, right, you know, Hey, why God? Why bury it? And God could have you know, explained to them. Here's exactly the scientific reason you know, to bear and such. Such is the case with commands today. When God asks us to do something, there are times where we think to ourselves, why why in the. World would God ask me to do that? Or why why should I tithe and give my money? You know, why should I you know, obey and quit my job and start this ministry or why God are you asking me to talk to this person that I'm uncomfortable talking to, you know, And sometimes God will nudge and speak to us and lead us to do things, and we don't necessarily always know the full reason why, but we have to just say, okay, I trust you because there are reasons that you know of that I don't know of. So the Bible is not a science book, right right. He didn't write the book as a you know, a freshman level college science book. But every time I've read about anything scientific in the Bible, it's consistent with what we know to be true, at least from a human perspective. Every once in a while, somebody will shoot a thing to me and say, you know, after I make a statement like that that the Bible seems to be pretty accurate when it comes to any time it speaks about science. Is accurate, And people get, oh, yeah, well, the Bible says that the sun rises and sets, and. It doesn't the Earth revolves around the sun, right right, whatever, It's okay, yeah, but we still call it literally, scientists call it sunrise and sunset. If you look it up on your weather app right now, Yeah, just go to weather and it will tell you when the sun ri sunset is, Well that seven am today sunset is going to be at six. Years Well, actually, that one comment falls under the blanket of what we just talked about, because God doesn't have to explain the earth revolving around the sun. So he's going to explain it in terms that humanity at that time can understand cores, right, which is sunrise sunset. He's not going to go out of his way and say enzymes, break down, wastes, right, He's not going to say, oh, by the way, I was going to say sunrise, but actually, let me explain to you that you live on a world. That's I know, you think it's flat, but it's round. Like, he's not going to explain. All that there will will probably if she keeps us going chapter by chapter through the prophets. One of Columbus and a couple of others believe that the world was round because of what they read in the Book of Isaiah. Oh really, yeah yeah, oh well. Yeah, so so it's it's interesting the Bible does reference a lot of those things, but it's it's just in passing, right, Like this one he draws up water from the oceans and pours it down his rain on the land. That's just a passing statement. It's not the point of the passage. It's just talking about his power and goes on. So it's not a science book, but it seems to always be accurate whenever it references science. Thing. But then I do want to point out before we run. Away or leave this passage, it seems like in this area he's most upset about two things. You're worshiping pagan idols right in Bethel and in Beersheba and Gilgal, and there's going to be judgment for that. The other thing he's angry about, you have false gods, and you're corrupt. You're abusing the poor, you're taking bribes, he says, you're taxing the poor and stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rents, you know, all those things. And so one thing, we treat the righteous like dirt, Yeah, he says. Yeah. So he's saying, here, watch out what you what you worship. And I would say that's relevant today. You know, we don't all worship idols, but we do set up all kinds of false gods in our life that become more important than God. That's one. Then the other is. Today, as you're dealing with your employees, maybe if you own a business whatever, treat people the right way, right, because it really those are the two reasons he's bringing judgment on Israel. Yeah. Right, By the way, my wife has a phrase that I want to throw in there too. So I joined a billiard league where I play pool, right, my son and I, and we've always wanted to do it. We've been playing pool together his whole life, and so we've been doing it. And so I was playing pool with against this team. And this lady that I was playing was better than me. She was ranked too higher than me, two levels higher than me. So I only have to win two games. She has to win five games, right, So I win the first game, right, I was smoking, I was playing out of my mind. Right. Well, she wins the next four games, and now it comes down to the last game, right, and she's so upset that I am, you know, right her right, and she's treating me like absolute garbage. She's mean, she's spiteful, she is rude, and it's just incredible. Head Oh no, no, no, just being so rude. She just can't stand. Me, like, you know, I'm I'm a novice. I'm not I'm not a part of this league. Right, So, like I'm standing in front of her where she's making the shot. And I guess, even though I was way back, you know, you're not supposed to stand apparently right in front, I didn't know that. So she just goes off right, just so rude, and I said, and I looked at her, I go, you do know, I'm new, right, Like nobody's ever told me that before, right, And then I moved over and then and anyway, so so but I was just kind. I was just kind and kind and kind. And so a couple of people from my team came over and said, oh, you need to just destroy her, like like like shut her up, put her down, and I said, no, no, no, I'll just leave her alone, you know. And so we didn't say anything to her. And so finally I looked at her and I said, you know, and this is bold, and this was bold, but I said, this is my wife saying. I said, it doesn't take that much effort to be kind. I said that to her, and she just looked at me, didn't say a single word. By the way, she didn't say a word at anything. I said, I said, good job, she just ignored me. Hey, good job, she just ignored me. So I looked at her and I said that comment. Well, then we played a whole other game. I beat her. Oh okay, I win, and she walks over to me and she gives me a high five, and she goes, man, great playing. And so I think I'd like to think that she would not have. Done that had I not said that, you know, and she saw that I was kind the whole time. But just abusing, abusing a weak, poor person. Well yeah, I was just sort of looking at that, you know, like she says, oh, how you hate honest judges? Oh how you despise people who tell the truth. And I was thinking to myself, you know it, just love honest people, right, Like there's value in people who are kind. It just reminded me of that, because it's like, that is a pretty bad accusation to, you know, be so corrupt that you don't even want to be around good people. That's what it reminded me of. So I love the description of God, you know, so you'd read it sometimes the Lord of hosts in the Bible, Yeah, but here it's the Lord, God of Heaven's armies the phrase. So the summary is do what is good and run. From evil so that you may live. And then the Lord God of Heaven's Armies will be your helper. Be your helper. That's not too bad. That's not too bad. As you live your day to day, the Lord God of Heaven's Army is willing to be your helper if you do what is good and run from evil. That's great. All right. Well, hey, that is our time, so hopefully we will see you tomorrow. As we pick it up on the Bible gush