Amos 8 - Introduction

A Famine Of Hearing God's Word

Amos Eight

In this section of scripture God showed Amos a basket of summer fruit. The fruit was very ripe. When fruit is very ripe like this it is ready to be spoiled. God wanted Israel to understand that the end was near and that they were ready for judgment.

God again described the sins of Israel. They had cheated and destroyed the poor of the land. Worship meant nothing to them. They wanted it to hurry and be over so they could be back about their business. They cheated people in business deals using false weights and measures. They showed contempt for the poor by selling them as a slave for the value of a pair of shoes. They sold the poor the worthless part of the grain as if it had full value.

God promised that He would remember the sins of Israel with severe judgment. The judgment would be horrible. The day that was coming was described as a day of mourning. It would also be a day of famine for the word of God. Those that trusted in idols would fall never to rise up again.