Amos 8:1-14
Q.1. What did the bowl of summer fruit signify? How great will Israel’s reversals be? What attitude of His people was God about to judge? – (Am.8:1-10)
Fruit is at its best in its seasonal time. It goes rotten quicker in other times – He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will spare them no longer (Am.8:2). Israel’s festivals would turn from celebration to mourning, and there would be endless destruction. Israel had crushed the helpless, poor and needy, while keeping up her religious show. So – The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds (Am.8:7).
Q.2. What judgment would bring even greater disillusionment? Why is this the most severe of judgments on any person? – (Am.8:10-14)
A more bitter drought would come – 11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. 12 “People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it (Am.8:11-12). The worst part of any trial is not understanding why it is happening. Israel had silenced its prophets. Therefore, the voice of God giving an explanation would no longer be heard (Am.5:10-13).