Verse of the Day: V17 “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
1. A Great City (V1-3)
V2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”
Nineveh was a great city. The people of Nineveh were prosperous and wealthy, and they had all the material possessions, except they rejected God and His righteousness. Thus the righteous God found them guilty of wickedness, and commanded Prophet Jonah to preach to them to repent of their wickedness. However, Jonah disobeyed God, and bought a ticket to go to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. Jonah rationalised that God should punish the people of Nineveh instead of giving them the chance to repent of their wickedness.
V3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”
2. A Great Wind (V4-16)
V4 “But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.”
Jonah fled from the presence of the LORD, but he could never hide from His presence. As soon as Jonah boarded the ship, the LORD sent a great wind that nearly destroyed the ship. The mariners on board the ship were so fearful for their lives that they prayed and cried to the LORD to deliver them out of this great tempest. Finally, out of desperation, they acceded Jonah’s request, and threw him into the raging sea: and the sea became calm.
V12 “And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”
3. A Great Fish (V17)
V17 “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
Prophet Jonah could have been drown in the deep blue sea, but God prepared a great fish to swallow him up. Jonah survived in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. The LORD is a great God, a God of second chance. Even though Jonah did not deserve God’s grace, God still forgave his sin, and saved him through the belly of the great fish.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that You are great, the one and only great God.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:43 pm
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Verse of the Day: V17 “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
1. The Heart (V1-5)
V1 “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.”
God gave Prophet Obadiah a vision that He would humble Edom, because Edom had hardened his heart against God. Edom had refused to believe in the true God. Edom thought that he was god, and that God could never bring him down from his throne and power. Subsequently God humbled Edom, and brought him down. It is sad and tragic when man thinks that he is a self-made man, and refuses to acknowledge and believe his Creator, His God, His Maker, who makes him in His image, and gives him breath and life.
V3 “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?”
2. The Hidden (V6-16)
V6 “How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up!”
Esau thought that he could hide his pride from God. However, God not only saw his pride but his deceit and wickedness. We can never hide from the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God. God knows everything, and there is nothing hidden that He cannot see.
“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)
3. The Holiness (V17-21)
V17 “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
Though Edom (Esau) and Jacob were twin brothers, yet their lives were entirely different from each other. Edom’s life was one of pride and wickedness, while Jacob’s life was one of humility and holiness. This was why the holy God had to judge and punish Edom for his sin of pride, while He blessed Jacob with great possessions because of his holiness.
V21 “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to be holy as You are holy.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:18 am
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Verse of the Day: V8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.”
1. The Lord Stands (V1-2)
V1 “I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.”
Amos saw God standing before the altar of the people of Israel pronouncing judgment on them. Instead of worshipping the true God, they worshipped false gods. The people were so proud and sinful that they even built structures to climb up to heaven to be gods only to find God bringing them down. No one can ever reach heaven except God saves them.
V2 “Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:”
2. The Lord Searches (V3-7)
V3 “And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:”
The people of Israel thought they could run away, and hide themselves, from God, but they failed or refused to know that the Lord is omnipresent. Indeed, God is everywhere, and His eyes are searching and judging the people for their evil deeds and wickedness.
V4 “And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.”
3. The Lord Saves (V8-15)
V8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.”
Though the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom or people, yet He shall save those who trust and obey Him, and bless them with abundant land and everlasting life.
V15 “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You for saving me from the pits of hell to the portals of heaven.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 09:22 am
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Verse of the Day: V11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”
1. The Fruit (V1-10)
V2 “And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.”
God pronounced judgment on the people of Israel because of their sins and rebellion. God showed to Amos a basket of summer fruit to illustrate to him that like the basket of summer fruit which were the remaining fruits of the harvest, the people of Israel would also be spending their remaining days before the Lord send their enemies to destroy them.
V3 “And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.”
2. The Famine (V11-13)
V11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”
God told Amos that He would send a famine of the hearing of His words, in other words, He no longer send His prophets to plead with the people to repent of their sins. It was a severe punishment when God withdrew His prophets and words from the land of Israel.
V12 “And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”
3. The Fall (V14)
V14 “They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.”
Finally God completely destroyed the people of Israel. Instead of repenting their sins and calling upon the true God, they called their self made gods to help them. Indeed, let us desire and pant after God and His Word, the Bible, just like the deer pants after the water brooks, as only God and His Word can fulfil the deepest desire and need of our souls.
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
Psalms 42:1.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to desire You and Your precious Word.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:02 pm
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Verse of the Day: V15 “And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”
1. The Punishment (V1-6)
V1 “Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.”
The Almighty God through Amos warned the people of Israel to repent of their sins otherwise He would send the grasshoppers to eat their harvest and fire to burn their land.
V4 “Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.”
2. The Plumbline (V7-9)
V8 “And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:”
The Lord told Amos that He had set a plumbline to measure the uprightness of the people of Israel, just like the plumbline is to measure whether the wall is exactly upright. God’s verdict from the plumbline was that the people of Israel were found guilty of their sins.
V9 “And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
3. The Prophesy (V10-17)
V10 “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.”
Amaziah, the Priest, had lied and wrongly accused Amos of conspiring against King Jeroboam. At the same time the people of Israel were also wearied and tired of Amos’ prophesy of God’s Word telling them to repent of their sins. Amaziah ordered Amos to leave Israel and to stop prophesying God’s Word. However Amos refused and told Amaziah that he was faithfully following God just like he was faithfully following the flock until God called him to prophesy His Word. Eventually the Almighty God fulfilled His Word when He sent the mighty Babylonians to attack and destroy the people of Israel.
V15 “And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to faithfully follow You as You are my LORD.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:13 am
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Verse of the Day: V1 “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!”
1. Mountain Of Samaria (V1-2)
V1 “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!”
God through Prophet Amos pronounced woe or trouble upon the people of Israel who chose to be at ease in Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria than the true and living God. The people of Israel chose to trust in the mountain or city of Samaria, which was at that time the chief or leading city of the world, surpassing great cities like Calneh, Hamath and Gath. Samaria was indeed an excellent place of commerce and trade, music and the arts, and fun and pleasure. Hence, the people of Israel thought they could put all their trust in it, but little did they know that the Lord was about to judge and destroy it.
V2 “Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?”
2. Mountain of Sins (V3-6)
V3 “Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;”
God revealed the mountains of sins or the many sins of the people of Israel. They were indulging in excess of food and wine, and committing evil, violence and immorality.
V4 “That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;”
3. Mountain of Suffering (V7-14)
V7 “Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.”
God sent the mighty Babylonians, another chief and great nation of the world, to attack and defeat the mountain of Samaria, resulting in many deaths, and many taken as captives and prisoners of war. It was sad and tragic that the mountain of Samaria which was once the mountain the people of Israel trusted, became the mountain of sins and suffering. Indeed, let us trust in God and not the mountain of Samaria as only God alone is our trust.
V14 “But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to trust in You, and You alone.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 09:27 am
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Verse of the Day: V4 “For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:”
1. Survive (V1-3)
V2 “The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.”
Only a handful or ten of the thousands of people of the nation of Israel survived when God severely judged and punished them for their sins and wickedness. The nation of Israel was once a virgin separated for the glory of God, but subsequently she became a harlot as she strayed from the Lord, and worshipped their own handmade idols and gods.
V3 “For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.”
2. Seek (V4-20)
V4 “For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:”
The holy God through Prophet Amos warned the people of Israel that they must seek God, and seek to do good if they desired to live on this earth, and forever with God in heaven. However, the people of Israel failed to seek God and to seek good, instead they sought to do evil and committed many evil deeds, and worshipped many kinds of idols and gods.
V14 “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.”
3. Suffer (V21-27)
V22 “Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.”
God rejected the burnt offerings, meat offerings as well as peace offerings of the people of Israel because outwardly they worshipped God, but inwardly their hearts were far away from Him. Subsequently, God allowed the Babylonians to attack and defeat them. The people of Israel suffered great losses as their cities were destroyed, their possessions were taken away from them, many of the people were killed, and the survivors were forced to be prisoners brought beyond Damascus to Babylon as slaves of the Babylonians.
V27 “Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to seek You, seek good and do good.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:03 am
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Verse of the Day: V12 “Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.”
1. Repent (V1-3)
V1 “Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.”
The holy God through Prophet Amos time and again warned the people of Israel, especially, the wealthy leaders, to repent of their sins of drinking, and oppressing and crushing the poor and the needy, otherwise God’s severe judgment shall be upon them.
V2 “The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.”
2. Return (V4-11)
V6 “And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.”
God shall judge and punish the people of Israel with great famine, such that they had no food, and hence, their teeth were cleaned, as they ate nothing. However, the people still continued to sin, and God subsequently sent the mighty Babylonians to attack and overthrew all their cities, and killed many of them, and forced the rest of them as prisoners of war in the land of Babylon, because they refused to repent and return to Him.
V11 “I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.”
3. Ready (V12-13)
V12 “Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.”
Are you ready or prepared to meet God? Is God truly your God, Lord and Saviour? One day, we shall all meet the LORD, the God of hosts, and either He shall say to us, “Come to me, and enter into the pearly gates of heaven, as you have fully trusted me”, or “Depart from me, and be cast into the fiery pits of hell, as you have never fully trusted me”.
V13 “For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to be prepared to meet You by fully trusting in You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 09:54 am
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Verse of the Day: V3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
1. God’s Word (V1-2)
V1 “Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,”
Prophet Amos told the people of Israel to hear God’s Word as he pleaded with them to repent of their sins and return to the Lord who had chosen them to be His people, His children, and the family of God. The Lord had miraculously and graciously brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they were treated cruelly as slaves, into the Promised Land, where they experienced God’s abundant blessings. However, instead of being thankful and grateful to God, and obeying His commandments, they sinned against Him.
V2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
2. God’s Warning (V3-8)
V3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
Prophet Amos warned the people of Israel that unless they agreed to walk with God, and obeyed His Word, they shall be severely judged and punished for their rebellion and disobedience. Like the majestic lion, the majestic Lord shall roar and warn His people, the people of Israel, to fear Him, repent of their sins and wickedness, and return to Him.
V8 “The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?”
3. God’s Wrath (V9-15)
V14 “That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth-el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.”
God’s wrath was upon the people of Israel because they refused to take heed of God’s Word and warning. They continued to build altars and worshipped false idols, instead of worshipping the true and living God. Hence, God judged and punished them by sending the Babylonians to attack and completely destroy all their altars and idols, their ivory and beautiful houses, some built for winter, and some built for summer, and killed many of the people, and brought the rest of them as prisoners of war to the land of Babylon.
V15 “And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to walk close to You and obey Your Word.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 09:15 am
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Verse of the Day: V16 “And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.”
1. The Lime (V1-3)
V1 “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:”
The holy God shall punish the people of Moab for their great evil as they not only killed the king of Edom but burnt his bones to lime. How evil can man become!
2. The Lies (V4-8)
V4 “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:”
Sadly, Prophet Amos also proclaimed God’s punishment on the people of Judah and Israel, the people of God. Indeed, God’s punishment of His people was much greater than the punishment of the other nations because God’s people had been taught God’s commandments. Instead of obeying God’s commandments, they despised and broke the commandments, and continued in their lies, and refused to help the poor and the needy.
V6 “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;”
3. The LORD (V9-16)
V12 “But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.”
In spite of their lies and rebellion, the Lord reminded the people of Judah and Israel of His great deliverance of them out of the land of Egypt into the land of the Amorite. However, instead of being grateful to the Lord, they continued in their lies and rebellion, and even forced the Nazarites to break their vows by drinking wine, and commanded the prophets not to prophesy God’s Word. Sadly, they knew God, but they refused to accept God as the Lord of their lives. Hence, the Lord severely judged and punished the people of Judah and Israel by sending their enemies to attack and destroy them completely.
V16 “And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, You are my God, my Lord and my Saviour.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:32 pm
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