Amos 7:16 “Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.”

I’m only using the first part of the verse because it is the most important statement in this exchange, maybe in the whole book of Amos. It is the major theme of all the prophets and should be the one thing we consider above all others. Amaziah had his say. Amos listened. Now Amos wants Amaziah to listen. The therefore is a reference to the fact that Amos was sent to prophesy to God’s people, the nation of Israel. Amaziah wrongly thought that the nation was his and Jeroboam’s to rule. Amos sets the record straight. I listened Amaziah, now you pay attention to God and not me.

That was at the heart of Israel’s problem as demonstrated by king and priest. The people listened to the wrong voice; they heard the wrong word. This sad story has been duplicated over and over and usually with the same results. Judah didn’t learn from Israel, and the Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t learn from either. Look around you and see if anything similar is happening in your world. Boy, we need the prophet, Amos today. All the stuff going on in Israel and Judah are still going on in our world today. Those two nations, among many others were punished for not listening to the word of the Lord. Is it still a possibility today? Maybe, the world thinks, God is different now and will let us do what we please and ignore His word.

Task for Today: Today do not believe that lie. God is not mocked; not then and not now. What we sow is what we reap. The way to change the world begins in our own hearts, doesn’t it? Today we change things by hearing the word of the Lord. Jesus emphasized it. “He that has ears, let him hear.” Do you have ears?