The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5

 

Book of Small Prophets

Amos 

Chapter  

5

 

 

¹ Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel; ² Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land with no one to raise her up.

(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father Your instructions are clear. They are for us to hear and listen attentively. We no longer can take You and Your Word for granted. It is a must that we pay attention, for as a world we have already went donw the scale from sons and daughters of God to maidens as in the case of Israel. We have also fallen due to the weight of our sins. We would like to wake up and be responsible and carry our weight on our two feet, but we are happy living in an alienated life of virtual reality with the mouse in our hand and the impression that we are in control of our lives. Wake up! Brothers and Sisters! This is an ilusion! the opium of the people that Karl Marx had predicted so long ago. Somebody forgot the valve of the opium flowing and today we are still under its drowsy effect. We think that we are seeing reality but we are not help us oh Jesus, for we need Your help urgently!


³ For thus says the Lord God: The city that marched out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which marched out a hundred shall have ten left."


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 3)



Oh God my beloved Father, had we paid heed to Your prophecies life on earth would have been much better, however we all made plans of our own and put aside the plans that You had made for us ever since the beginning of time. However I still believe that You are in control and that Your will be done. Amen.


⁴ For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel Seek me and live; ⁵ but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 4 to 5)


Oh God my Father, the choice has always been the same and will always will remain so, this is You. All life finds its meaning in You, and in You only can I  find true and everlasting life. I pray that I will not be tempted to seek the corrupted ways of the world, but only the paths that lead to You Amen.


⁶ Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 6)



Oh God my Father I am trying to seek You but I  am dying instead of living, Your hand has rested on me in a way that my life is not even worth living. My life is being devoured by Your fire and the fire of my sins. It is not worth living any more all is becoming ashes. Amen.



⁷ Ah you that turn justice to wormwood and bring righteousness to the ground!


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 7)



Oh God my Father this is a word or message or admonition for all of us for we are all sinners, who in a way are selfish in our ways and if given the opportunity we turn a situation into our favour. I pray oh God my Father, that You free me and the rest of humanity from this circle of selfishness Amen.


⁸ The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning;, and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name, ⁹ who makes destruction flash out against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 8 to 9)



Jesus, Jesus that is his name, If I could oh God my Father, I would personally go throughout the world and spread the wonders of Your name Amen love You Jesus my God and Father.



¹⁰ They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 10)



Oh God my Father, those who do not like the truth abhor it from the bottom of their hearts, I thank You for giving me such love, that thirsts for You even though at times I feel sad and discouraged, however, every time You lift me up and empower me. Amen.


¹¹ Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 11)


Oh God, my blessed Father, I pray that You give me the wisdom, love, and strength to cater to the needs of vulnerable people and even help to preserve their rights. I pray that You help me in assisting a person who is really and truly vulnerable, I pray that You help me in advocating for him Amen.


¹² For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins- you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 12)


Oh God my beloved Father, You know me even more than I know myself. You know my strengths and You know my weaknesses. You know how much I try to do my best and how much I try to overcome myself and place my trust in You. Amen.


¹³ Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 13)


Oh God my beloved Father, You have taught me that there is a time to speak and a time to hold my silence. I pray that You help me in achieving this state of control over myself so that I will discern more when to keep silent Amen.


¹⁴ Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts will be with you, just as you have said.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 14)


Oh God my Father, this is the best of instructions that if we remain on Your side You will always be with us. However, we can only do this by means of the grace of Your Holy Spirit for as humans we are we are prone and subject to sin.

I would like all to join me in the following song and prayer called 'Standing on the Lord's Side' credit to allun2him


Leaning on the Lord's side

¹⁵ Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 15)


Oh God my Father, I pray that today You will enable be to be just as in other days of my life and seek the balance between what is right and what the emotions dictate as to be the truth. I pray that You make me have an objective attitude that leads me to arrive at the truth Amen.


¹⁶ Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord; In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say "Alas! alas!" They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing; ¹⁷ in all the vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the LORD.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 16 to 17)


Oh God my beloved Father, what a heartbreak it would be if You were to pass among us and we would not be aware of Your Holy and mighty presence. I pray that I am always ready to welcome You in my heart and that I am always receptive to You my God and Father Amen.


¹⁸ Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light; ¹⁹ as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 18 to 19) 



Oh God my Father, for those who do not have Your fear, the day of the LORD is going to be great trauma, for they will realize that the God that they did not believe in really exists. When one realizes the illusion that one was living, there will be more than gnashing of teeth. God my Father have mercy on us Amen. 


²⁰ Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 20) 


Oh God my blessed Father, if one is deep in mortal sin and has vowed to never live according to Your ways, the day of God, will be a terror, however I still believe that in that darkness You my God and Father will manifest Your light and give us the opportunity to repent Amen. 


²¹ I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verse 21) 


Oh God my Father, I understand the reason for hating our festivals, because many times certain festivals are not focused  on giving You praise and worship but a good opportunity for meeting friends and maybe having a drink.


²² Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. ²³ Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. ²⁴ But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 22 to 24)  



Oh God my blessed Father, I pray that You purify the Roman Catholic Church and even other churches. May we fully convinced in our faith, especially when we take part in celebrations such as that of the Holy Eucharist. Amen


²⁵  Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? ²⁶ You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and kaiwan your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves; ²⁷ therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD whose name is the God of hosts.



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 5 verses 25 to 27)  



Oh God my Father, I totally agree with You. When the going is good we refer to our own idols and even ourselves however when the going gets tough we offer You our prayers. This is use and abuse of Your love, mercy and justice Amen

Oh God my beloved Father, I wish to end this meditation on the fifth chapter of the book of the small prophet Amos with the following prayer:


May we remain faithful to You my God and Father. May You always be the most important person in our lives. Forgive us when we used You and even abused You by referring to worldly idols and practices. Amen.




 


 

 

  




 

 

The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4

Book of Small Prophets

Amos 

Chapter  

4

¹  Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, "Bring something to drink!"



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 1)




Oh God my Father if the prophet had to look upon our world in 2017 I would wonder what he would call us, maybe murderers, persecutors, abortionists, unfaithful, paedophiles among others. I pray for my own constant healing and even that of the whole world, from our sins and from the form of culture that we are living today that is becoming more secular and atheistic than ever before Amen. May the flame of faith keep on burning in our hearts Amen.




² The Lord God has sworn by his holiness; The time is surely coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.




(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 2)


Oh God, my Father whenever we wander away from You, we become the dead meat in the presence of our greatest enemy who takes pleasure in seeing us suffer. Right now I feel as if I am a swimmer who is pursued by a colony of deadly sharks. Although I am seeking shelter in You my God and Father, the forces of evil are blocking all my escape routes. I pray that You continue to help me because I feel alone and afraid even though I have made the right decision.



³ Through breaches in the wall you shall leave, each one straight ahead; and you shall be flung out into Harmon, says the LORD.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 3)


Oh God, my Father, I pray that we face the consequences of our actions because in this way we experience growth on many levels. Amen



⁴ Come to Bethel - and transgress; to Gilgal - and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; ⁵ bring a thank offering of leavened bread, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel! says the Lord God.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verses 4 to 5)



Oh God, my Father Your call is one and always the same, that is the call for us to repent of our sins and start again in our relationship with You. Even though we may be hardened sinners and stubborn in our ways and deeds You are calling us to repent. You have paid the bill or account of our transgressions Amen. Thank You, God my Father.


⁶ I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 6)



Oh God, my Father I thank You for Your divine providence and Your infinite love, I thank You for catering for all my needs and wants in abundance. I thank You for Your timing and even for those moments when You said 'No' instead of 'Yes' even though at the time I could not understand or accept Your reasons Amen.


⁷And I also witheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would be rained upon, and the field on which it did not rain withered; ⁸ so two or three towns wandered to one town to drink water, and were not satisfied yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.
 

(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verses 7 to 8)



 Oh God my Father You have given us many signs in order to enable our understanding and raise our awareness but we are interpreting the signs from a purely scientific perspective and are not getting the message that from a spiritual perspective something needs to be done, before our time is up especially on a global level.


⁹ I struck you with blight and mildew; I laid waste your gardens and your vineyards; the locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees; yet you did not return to me says the LORD.

 
(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 9)


Oh God what are we waiting for in order to change our lifestyles and our sinful ways, You have given us many signs of the consequences of our unhealthy and sinful ways of life, however, we are still living the same reality. I pray oh God my Father, that You do not give up on us but keep on trying Amen.


¹⁰ I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword; I carried away your horses; and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 10)



Oh God my beloved Father, You make use of many different situations in order to get our attention, even a car accident, or unemployment, may be a means of getting us out of a situation, or even a person that we fail to make contact with. However, even though You do Your best from Your side, You still give us the free rein in the decisions that we make Amen. 




¹¹ I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a brand snatched from the fire; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 11) 




Oh God my Father, You perform many acts on our behalf, without our being aware of them, You try to save us from ourselves using many means, however, we still do not always respond positively to You my God and Father. I pray for forgiveness in the name of all. Amen. 



¹² Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!


(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 12) 



Oh God my beloved Father, may it be that I consider each day of my life as being the last day and that before I do an action I question if I would really do that act in light of this being my last day and that a couple of minutes or hours after I would appear before You. This scenario helps to keep me in check my God and Father Amen.



¹³ For lo, the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, reveals his thoughts to mortals, makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth-the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!



(The Book of Small Prophets Amos Chapter 4 verse 13)




Oh God my beloved Father, blessed be Your Name, may Your will always be done on earth as it is in heaven. May we learn to trust in You during the good times and even during the not so good times Amen. Blessed be Your Holy Name. I invite you to join me in this song and prayer Amen.



Blessed be Your Name (Credit to Tracy J001) 




Oh God my beloved Father, I would like to end this fourth chapter of the book of Amos, the small prophet with the following prayer:-



Oh God, my beloved Father, as in the Old Testament You gave us many warnings and even made us aware of the outcomes and consequences of our actions if we continue not to live according to Your ways. May we all accept responsibility the consequences and not blame You for what is to happen in the future Amen.