![]() We thank Thee for the faithfulness of the prophet who in the ordinary life of a businessman found himself taken up with the word of God and with the ministry of the truths of Holy Scripture. Father, we are grateful to Thee and thankful for the prophecy of Amos because the principles that are found within it are principles that are relevant to our society and our lives today. May the Lord bless this reading of his word, and let’s bow together in a moment of prayer. You recognize this is Mount Carmel at one of the heads of one of the promontories in northwestern part of the land. “He said, “The LORD roars from Zion And from Jerusalem He utters His voice And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn, And the summit of Carmel dries up.”” We just know there was an earthquake and Amos refers to it. And unfortunately, therefore, we cannot say anything in explanation of this earthquake. ![]() We do not know anything about this earthquake of which Amos prophesied here or of which he mentions here. Let me just say this about the earthquake because that will not come up in the message this morning. “The words of Amos who was among the sheep herders from Tekoa which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah King of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son Joash King of Israel two years before the earthquake.” So we’re reading now the first two verses of the book of Amos, and I’m reading from the New American Standard Bible edition. So that will explain why in some points if you have the Authorized Version you will see that I’m saying something slightly different and I hope that that will enable me to say less about the changes that one must make in the text in order to get at the precise point that Amos is seeking to say or make. I’ll be referring to both of these versions. It’s not as stylistically pure English as the Authorized Version, which is a beautiful version, but it’s more accurate. The reason for it is the translation of the text of Amos is a bit more accurate in the New American Standard Bible edition. I’m going to be using the New American Standard Bible, and the reason for it is not simply that. But if not as the word of God says, the eyes are becoming dim with age. Well, as a matter of fact, I wore glasses from the time I was twenty-five years of age in the insurance business when I was studying insurance theory and practice, but I am able to read fairly well without using the glasses providing I’m at a certain distance from the page and providing the print is large enough and providing we have sufficient light that is Christian light, bright light. A lot of people come up and say to me, as old as you are, you are not wearing your glasses. I don’t have the big print that I have in my Authorized Version. You will be able to tell that I’m expounding it from the New American Standard Bible version because of the using the glasses more. I know that requires a little bit of explanation. I am going to be expounding the word of God from the New American Standard Bible edition. So we’ll check you up a couple of weeks from now and ask you to let us know whether you have read the book of Amos. Now, you could sit down and read the book of Amos in about thirty or forty minutes if you are an average reader, but if you will read the book of Amos once every couple of weeks, I’ll read it in the original text at the same time, and we’ll check on you from time to time to be sure that you’re keeping up with your reading of Amos because I’m sure that if you do read this book and read it regularly you will profit a great deal more from the things that I have to say by way of explanation of it. And so I’d like to challenge you if you read the book of Amos every two weeks. I’ve always been convinced that - and I’ve said this, I know, a number of times that the reading of the word of God is one of the greatest spiritual exercises that you could ever engage in. The Scripture reading for today is the first two verses from the Book of Amos which forms something of an introduction and in one sense a summary of the teaching of this book as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |