Philip Dampier's Blog

Jonah Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the…

Obadiah Obadiah 1:3, 4 “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar aloft like the eagle, thought your nest is set…

Amos 9:2 “If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven from there I will bring them down.” This verse comes in the middle of God’s declaration of the destruction of Israel. The prophet has been predicting a day of bitter…

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…

Amos 7:14, 15 “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD said to me,’ ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” If Amaziah thought Amos took this job of prophesying…

Amos 7:12, 13 “And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’” Amaziah was the priest of…

Amos 7:8 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;’” This exchange follows two instances where…

Amos 5:24 “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” One of my favorite passages from the prophets speaks to all generations. It begins with that powerful word, ‘but.’ What precedes the ‘but?’ God comments on all the outward attempts His people have made to…

Amos 4:13 “For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name.” This statement of who God is follows the…

Amos 3:10 “’They do not know how to do right,’ declares the LORD, ‘those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.’” Reminds us of Genesis 6:5, doesn’t it. “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts…