Day 196

Amos 1, Amos 2

Amos 1:1-15

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

He said:

“The Lord roars from Zion

and thunders from Jerusalem;

the pastures of the shepherds dry up,

and the top of Carmel withers.”

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because she threshed Gilead

with sledges having iron teeth,

I will send fire on the house of Hazael

that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.

I will break down the gate of Damascus;

I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven

and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.

The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,”

says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because she took captive whole communities

and sold them to Edom,

I will send fire on the walls of Gaza

that will consume her fortresses.

I will destroy the king of Ashdod

and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.

I will turn my hand against Ekron,

till the last of the Philistines are dead,”

says the Sovereign Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,

disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,

I will send fire on the walls of Tyre

that will consume her fortresses.”

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because he pursued his brother with a sword

and slaughtered the women of the land,

because his anger raged continually

and his fury flamed unchecked,

I will send fire on Teman

that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead

in order to extend his borders,

I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah

that will consume her fortresses

amid war cries on the day of battle,

amid violent winds on a stormy day.

Her king will go into exile,

he and his officials together,”

says the Lord.

Read More of Amos 1

Amos 2:1-16

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because he burned to ashes

the bones of Edom’s king,

I will send fire on Moab

that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.

Moab will go down in great tumult

amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.

I will destroy her ruler

and kill all her officials with him,”

says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because they have rejected the law of the Lord

and have not kept his decrees,

because they have been led astray by false gods,

the gods their ancestors followed,

I will send fire on Judah

that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,

even for four, I will not relent.

They sell the innocent for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals.

They trample on the heads of the poor

as on the dust of the ground

and deny justice to the oppressed.

Father and son use the same girl

and so profane my holy name.

They lie down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge.

In the house of their god

they drink wine taken as fines.

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,

though they were tall as the cedars

and strong as the oaks.

I destroyed their fruit above

and their roots below.

I brought you up out of Egypt

and led you forty years in the wilderness

to give you the land of the Amorites.

“I also raised up prophets from among your children

and Nazirites from among your youths.

Is this not true, people of Israel?”

declares the Lord.

“But you made the Nazirites drink wine

and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

“Now then, I will crush you

as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

The swift will not escape,

the strong will not muster their strength,

and the warrior will not save his life.

The archer will not stand his ground,

the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,

and the horseman will not save his life.

Even the bravest warriors

will flee naked on that day,”

declares the Lord.

Romans 2:17-29

The Jews and the Law

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

Day 196

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