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Wednesday 7/14/21
Answers in the Bible

1Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
 2And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
 3And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
 4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
 5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
 6That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
 7The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
 8Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
 9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
 10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
 11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
 13In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
 14They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
Today's Scripture Meaning 

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Amos
Date Penned: BC 760-750
Overview: Everyone Answers to God (c 1-9)
Theme: Visions of Judgement (c 7-9)
Message: Amos Sees a Basket of Fruit (v 1-14)

Amos: Chapter 8 Commentary
   
(8:1-5) These merchants kept the religious holidays, but not the spirit. They couldn't wait for the holidays and Sabbaths to be over so they could go back to making money. Their real interest was in enriching themselves, even if that meant cheating (short changing the quantity while boosting the price) Do you take a day to rest and worship God at least once a week, or is making money more important to you than anything else? When you give time to God, is your heart in your worship, or is your religion only a front for unethical practices?

(8:6-10) The rich were oppressing the poor for their personal gain and the sabbath was just a day of lost sales instead of a day of worship. Today businesses are open 7 days a week to not miss a sale at the expense of making others work on this day of worship oppressing their employees to misguided ambitions. Chic-fil-a is a great Christian Business model following scripture and experiencing the blessings of the Lord while setting an example for their employees for a day of Worship.  

(8:11-14) The people had no appetite for God's Word when prophets like Amos brought it. Because of their apathy, God said he would take away even the opportunity to hear his Word. We have God's Word, The Bible, But many still look everywhere for answers to life's problems except in Scripture. You can help them by directing them to the Bible, showing them the parts that speak to their special needs and questions. God's Word is available to us. Let us help people know it before a time comes when they cannot find answers to their questions
Today's Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue with the book of Amos with Chapter 8. In our text today we see Amos bringing the Word of God but the people had no appetite for it because of their apathy. In making application we see that we have the Word of God in our hands today, the Bible, yet we look for answers everywhere else except in its pages which contain all the answers to our lives. How about you? Do you see the Word of God for the answers in your life. Let us learn from our text today and the direction of Amos to see that the Bible holds all the answers to the questions we have in how to live our lives.
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ο»ΏSincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.
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