Micah was a prophet from the Southern Kingdom of Judah and a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He singles out Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities of the northern and southern kingdoms, and the unique centers of influence for their nations. These would be Washington, Los Angeles and New York today. He specifically targets the upper crust, the intelligentsia, and the cultural elite of these cities. Micah calls both nations’ religious leaders false prophets. As you would expect,they give Micah the same treatment that Amos and Jeremiah received: “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” The religious leaders were peddling the worst sort of false comforts…

1. Read Hosea 11:1-4 When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. It is difficult to come to grips with all the different images of God in Scripture. Even though people can say it is like a painting or a tapestry that can only be expressed in a thousand different strokes or threads, it…

We talked last week about the context of Hosea. What were his times? They were times of great prosperity for Israel. The kings had taken advantage of the temporary weakness of the nations around them not only to expand their economy but to increase their borders. It was a moment of peace – not through treaties or diplomacy but due to the absence of threats from natural enemies and those who had bothered them for centuries – Assyria, Babylon, the Edomites and Midianites. Those nations were, for the moment, struggling with their own internal disputes and problems. It was an ideal time for Israel. It was a time that people…

1. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” A famine is a terrible thing and they were dreaded by the people. It was not just a shortage but it meant a change of life lasting for years for everyone. A famine forced Jacob and his sons to go to Egypt in the first…

Have you been on trips through areas where every few miles there is a place marked “scenic view” or “historical landmark”? You want to stop but you don’t and always say, “The next time I make this drive I am going to allow some margin for pulling off and seeing what is there.” But we don’t. That is how I feel about these passages. I would love to stop along the way but there is too much to cover. Maybe the next time we do Amos we can take another route. This morning we are driving from Amos 3 all the way to Amos 5 so we need to get…

This morning we begin a four week study in the book of Amos – one of the twelve minor prophets. Why do we call them the minor prophets? Is it because they are less important or seen as the second team supporting Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel? No, they were first called the minor prophets in the 5th century by St. Augustine and the designation has remained. Why did he call them the minor prophets? Because they were shorter in length and had more specific themes than the major prophets. There is nothing minor about them and many of the most famous quotes and illustrations we know today are from…

The last several years of the Northern Kingdom were a chain of disasters. (Remember, it is only after the fall of the Northern Kingdom that we refer to the whole nation as Israel. Up until now, only the Northern Kingdom is called Israel while the Southern Kingdom is called Judah.) Here is the list of kings of Israel in those final days: Zechariah reigned six months and was assassinated. Shallum reigned for six months and was assassinated. Menachem reigned ten years but what is recorded as a summary of his time is that he attacked a city and ripped open all the pregnant women. He is also the first to…

It is 413 years from the death of Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem and our text for today is just around 120 years after Solomon’s death. While many of the kings are direct descendants of previous kings, the history of Judah is filled with assassinations, coups, attempted coups, insurrections and illegitimate rulers. It’s a mess. From Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem there are only a handful of kings about which Scripture says they followed the ways of David instead of the ways of Jeroboam. The story we are in this morning is no exception. It is complicated and tragic. There are two accounts. One is in 2 Kings…

Following the story in 2 King’s 5 of Elisha’s curing Naaman, the commander of the king of Aram’s army, of leprosy is the story of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. I’ve known people who had such discernment and sensitivity they could instantly know when things were not going well or someone was shading the truth or telling a lie. My mother was that way. I don’t know how she knew but she could look at me and instantly know something was not right. Of course, the odds were in her favor.I had another friend who after I told them I was fine would always say, “Yes, but tell me how…

Every prophet lives in a context. Some, like Nathan, are only called on one time to correct a king who is a man after God’s own heart. Others, like Jeremiah, are called to serve when a whole nation is on the brink of disaster and his whole life is given over to conflict, persecution, hatred, obstruction and then an unknown death. Like the book of Hebrews says, “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the…