Tuesday 30 January Amos 8.1-14 Qn.5,6

 “…A basket of summer fruit” (2): The Lord compares the Israelites with the fruits of the summer time. The summer fruits last for a very short time and then they are discarded since they are no longer of any value to the users. The Israelites had no reason at all to take the treasure of the poor people and the needy to the extent that they ended up into robbery by cheating the weight balances while buying produces of the poor (4-5). God does not accept any injustice and is always ready to save the vulnerable people (Job 36.15). …I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water …(11). Many people think that the worst famine is when you lack food or drinks, yet the Israelites were reminded that the worst famine is the one that goes with lack of God’s message. Sometimes people go very far from God, to the extent that they no longer feel thirsty for God’s message, not because they don’t need it but because their hearts have become complacent (Rom.1.28). Consider: The ability to understand God’s message is a gift from God and not to be despised. Song 290 (Praises)