Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-4 NET

Podcast Introduction

It’s Prophecy Friday, and we’ll read Amos 1-4. I’m calling this episode “The Farmer Prophet.“

Summary

Amos, a simple farmer, carried God’s burden and confronted the people’s sins. He warned of impending judgment, urging them to remember God’s authority. Despite past cycles of disobedience, repentance, and blessings, they needed to listen when God spoke.

Listen to the episode for more!

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The Team

Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting 2.0 Chapters
Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
Guys, I’m not saying this. God is.

Steve Webb 0:10
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California (almost), and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. It’s Prophecy Friday. Our reading today is Amos 1 through 4. Well, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, and I will be flying back from Florida tonight, so that means there’s only one more pre-recorded show and that’ll be tomorrow since there’ll be no time to do a show when I get home from the airport tonight. Before we read, let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for our time together here. We thank you for your Word. And we ask you to bless us as we read today. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. All right, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:53
This introduction to Amos is from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. When the nation of Israel was divided, Israel became the northern kingdom. Judah was the southern kingdom. Israel had become very powerful under the long rule of King Jeroboam II, and that was about 800 years before Jesus was born. Israel had put its trust in its own military strength and wealth. Everything was going well for them. They acted like they loved God when they worshiped, but they didn’t really love him in their hearts. They thought that since God was with them in the past, he had to be with them now. They expected the Day of the Lord would come, and they thought it would bring them blessings. They thought God would make Israel the ruler of all the nations around it. The prophet Amos came into the situation. He was a farmer and a shepherd. He lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, but God called Amos to be a prophet, and Amos was to speak to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos announced that God is preparing a nation to conquer Israel. Amos told Israel that the day of the Lord will be darkness, not light.

Steve Webb 2:04
Amos, chapter 1. The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash in Israel, two years before the earthquake. Amos said: “The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.” This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses. I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The Lord has spoken! This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom. So I will set Gaza’s city wall on fire; fire will consume her fortresses. I will remove the ruler from Ashdod, the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. I will strike Ekron with my hand; the rest of the Philistines will also die.” The sovereign Lord has spoken! This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood. So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses.” This is what the Lord says: “Because Edom has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah’s fortresses.” This is what the Lord says: “Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women so they could expand their territory. So I will set fire to Rabbah’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. Ammon’s king will be deported and his officials will be carried off together.” The Lord has spoken!

Steve Webb 4:46
Amos, chapter 2. This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn. I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken! This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray. So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity. They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine brought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God! For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground. I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own. I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking! “But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’ Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives. Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The Lord is speaking!

Steve Webb 7:17
Amos, chapter 3. Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt: “I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” Do two walk together without having met? Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something? Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something? If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible? Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: “Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it.” “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.) “They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses. Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted.” This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch.” Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking! “Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away.” The Lord is speaking!

Steve Webb 9:23
Amos, chapter 4. Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink!” The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: “Certainly the time is approaching when you will be carried away in baskets, every last one of you in fishermen’s pots. Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; you will be thrown out toward Harmon.” The Lord is speaking! “Go to Bethel and rebel! At Gilgal rebel some more! Bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes on the third day! Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! For you love to do this, you Israelites.” The sovereign Lord is speaking! “But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up. People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! “I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! “I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! “I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel! For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!”

Steve Webb 11:40
Well, Amos was what we might call today a good old boy. He was a plain-speaking simple country farmer. Amos means “burden bearer,” and he certainly did bear the burden of carrying God’s message. Amos challenged Bethel’s priest Amaziah. And he bore God’s message reproving the sin of the people and calling them to repentance. And his first message was against nearby enemies of Israel. And then he spoke to Israel about their idolatry and stubbornness toward God. And after telling them about the judgments God would bring against them, the book ends with the promise of the coming Messiah. Over and over again in chapter 4, we hear the phrase, “The Lord is speaking.” Throughout their history, God has repeatedly told them what he expects from them in terms of their behavior and the condition of their hearts. But repeatedly, they forsook God to go their own way, only to come under his judgment. After a time they repent and God blesses them again and this cycle repeats over and over. Now, at this point in their history, they’re being told again of impending judgment, and now Amos reminds them with each statement “The Lord is speaking” as if to say, “Guys, I’m not saying this. God is. Remember who he is. Think of what happened in the past. Do you want that again? This is God telling you this.” You know, there used to be a TV commercial many years ago. If you’re as old as I am, you might remember it. It was for a stock brokerage firm by the name of E.F. Hutton. The tagline was “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” If only we would listen when God talks.

Steve Webb 13:22
What are your thoughts? You have comments or questions? Contact information will be in just a couple of minutes. Tomorrow will be Gospel Saturday and our reading will be John 16 through 18

Jingle 13:36
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Steve Webb 13:45
Thanks to Scott Snider, who did today’s show art, and thanks to Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittaney. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Announcer 14:00
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai