Amos 6-9 - A Famine for Hearing the Words of Yahweh

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

Amo 6:8 LSB – [8] Lord Yahweh has sworn by Himself, Yahweh God of hosts has declared: "I abhor the lofty pride of Jacob And hate his citadels; Therefore I will deliver up [the] city as well as its fullness."

Amo 6:14 LSB – [14] "For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel," declares Yahweh God of hosts, "And they will press down on you from Lebo-hamath To the brook of the Arabah."

Yahweh Will Rise Up Against Israel

Amo 7:9 LSB – [9] "The high places of Isaac will be desolated And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

Amos Accused

Amo 7:14-15 LSB – [14] Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. [15] "But Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'

A Famine for Hearing the Words of Yahweh

Amo 8:11-12 LSB – 

[11] "Behold, days are coming," declares Lord Yahweh, 

"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 Yahweh. 

[12] "People will wander from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; 

They will go to and fro to seek the word of Yahweh, 

But they will not find [it].

Sinful Israelites Will Die by the Sword

Amo 9:2 LSB – 

[2] "Though they dig into Sheol, 

From there will My hand take them; 

And though they ascend to heaven, 

From there will I bring them down.

Psa 139:7-10 LSB – 

[7] Where can I go from Your Spirit? 

Or where can I flee from Your presence? 

[8] If I ascend to heaven, You are there; 

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 

[9] If I lift up the wings of the dawn, 

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 

[10] Even there Your hand will lead me, 

And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

 

Yahweh Will Rebuild Israel

Amo 9:11-12 LSB – 

[11] "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David 

And wall up its breaches; 

I will also raise up its ruins 

And rebuild it as in the ancient days, 

[12] That they may possess the remnant of Edom 

And all the nations who are called by My name," 

Declares Yahweh who does this. 

Act 15:14-20 LSB – 

[14] "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 

[15] "And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 

[16] 'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN BOOTH OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, 

[17] SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' 

[18] SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO. 

[19] "Therefore I judge that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

[20] but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from sexual immorality and from what is strangled and from blood. 

Amos 1-5 - Seek Yahweh that you may live

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

Amo 1:1-2 LSB – 

[1] The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he beheld [in visions] concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 

[2] And he said, "Yahweh roars from Zion And from Jerusalem He gives forth His voice; And the shepherds' pasture grounds mourn, And the top of Carmel dries up."

Punishment of Judah and Israel

Amo 2:6 LSB – 

[6] Thus says Yahweh, "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not turn back its [punishment] 

Because they sell the righteous for money 

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

Amo 2:13 LSB – [13] "Behold, I am weighted down beneath you 

As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves.

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Amo 3:7 LSB – [7] Surely Lord Yahweh does nothing 

Unless He reveals His secret counsel 

To His slaves the prophets.

Gen 18:17 LSB – [17] Now Yahweh said, "Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do,

Jhn 15:15 LSB – [15] "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

Yet You Have Not Returned to Me

Amo 4:11 LSB – [11] "I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, 

And you were like a firebrand delivered from a blaze; 

Yet you have not returned to Me," declares Yahweh.

Amo 4:12 LSB – [12] "Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
Prepare to meet your God, O Israel."

Seek Me That You May Live

Amo 5:6 LSB – [6] "Seek Yahweh that you may live, 

Lest He come mightily like a fire, O house of Joseph, 

And it will consume with none to quench [it] for Bethel,

Amo 5:25-27 LSB – 

[25] "Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 

[26] "You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 

[27] "Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus," says Yahweh, whose name is the God of hosts.

Isaiah 64-66 - We are the clay, and You our potter;

Prayer for Mercy and Help

Isa 64:6 LSB – 

[6] For all of us have become like one who is unclean, 

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; 

And all of us wither like a leaf, 

And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.

Isa 64:8 LSB – 

[8] But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father; 

We are the clay, and You our potter; 

And all of us are the work of Your hand.

Jer 18:6 LSB – [6] "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter [does]?" declares Yahweh. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

Rom 9:21 LSB – [21] Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

 

Judgment and Salvation

Isa 65:12 LSB – [12] I will destine you for the sword, 

And all of you will bow down to the slaughter, 

Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. 

And you did what was evil in My eyes 

And chose that in which I was not pleased."

Isa 65:13 LSB – [13] Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, "Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame.

Luk 15:17 LSB – [17] "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!

Isa 65:15-16 LSB –
[15] "You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
And Lord Yahweh will put you to death.
But My slaves will be called by another name,
[16] Because he who is blessed in the earth
Will be blessed by the God of truth,
And he who swears in the earth
Will swear by the God of truth;
Because the former distresses are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

Isa 65:17 LSB – 

[17] "For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth; 

And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.

Isa 65:24 LSB – [24] "And it will be that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Isa 65:25 LSB – [25] "The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain," says Yahweh.

Heaven Is Yahweh’s Throne

Isa 66:1-2 LSB – 

[1] Thus says Yahweh, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet. 

Where then is a house you could build for Me? 

And where is a place that I may rest? 

[2] "For My hand made all these things, 

Thus all these things came into being," declares Yahweh. 

"But to this one I will look, 

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

Isa 66:22-24 LSB – 

[22] "For just as the new heavens and the new earth 

Which I make will endure before Me," declares Yahweh, 

"So your seed and your name will endure. 

[23] "And it shall be from new moon to new moon 

And from sabbath to sabbath, 

All mankind will come to worship before Me," says Yahweh. 

[24] "Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men 

Who have transgressed against Me. 

For their worm will not die 

And their fire will not be quenched; 

And they will be an [object of] contempt to all mankind."

Isaiah 61-63 - You are our Father

Exaltation of the Afflicted

Isa 61:1 LSB – 

[1] The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me 

Because Yahweh has anointed me 

To bring good news to the afflicted; 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

To proclaim release to captives 

And freedom to prisoners,

Isa 61:10 LSB – 

[10] I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; 

My soul will rejoice in my God, 

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, 

He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, 

As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress, 

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isa 61:11 LSB – 

[11] For as the earth brings forth its branches, 

And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out, 

So Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise 

To branch out before all the nations.

Zion’s Glory and New Name

Isa 62:11-12 LSB – 

[11] Behold, Yahweh has announced to the end of the earth, 

Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; 

Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him." 

[12] And they will call them, 

"The holy people, 

The redeemed of Yahweh"; 

And you will be called, 

"Sought out, a city not forsaken."

Vengeance of Yahweh

Remember the Lovingkindness of Yahweh

Isa 63:7 LSB – 

[7] I shall bring to remembrance the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh, 

According to all [the ways] that Yahweh has dealt bountifully with us, 

And the abundant goodness toward the house of Israel, 

Which He has dealt bountifully to them according to His compassion 

And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.

Isa 63:13-14 LSB – 

[13] Who led them through the depths? 

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; 

[14] As the cattle which go down into the valley, 

The Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest. 

So You led Your people, 

To make for Yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy and Help

Isa 63:16 LSB – 

[16] For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us 

And Israel does not recognize us. 

You, O Yahweh, are our Father, 

Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.

Isaiah 58-60 - Yahweh for an everlasting light

True and False Fasting

Isa 58:6-7 LSB – 

[6] "Is this not the fast which I choose, 

To loosen the bonds of wickedness, 

To release the bands of the yoke, 

And to let the oppressed go free 

And break every yoke? 

[7] "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry 

And bring the afflicted homeless into the house; 

When you see the naked, you cover him; 

And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Keeping the Sabbath

Separation from Yahweh

Isa 59:1-2 LSB – 

[1] Behold, the hand of Yahweh is not so short 

That it cannot save; 

Nor is His ear so dull 

That it cannot hear. 

[2] But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, 

And your sins have hidden [His] face from you so that He does not hear.

Transgressing and Denying Yahweh

Isa 59:20-21 LSB – 

[20] "A Redeemer will come to Zion, 

And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares Yahweh. 

[21] "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says Yahweh: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed," says Yahweh, "from now and forever."

A Glorified Zion

Isa 60:1-2 LSB – 

[1] "Arise, shine, for your light has come, 

And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. 

[2] "For behold, darkness will cover the earth 

And dense gloom the peoples; 

But Yahweh will rise upon you, 

And His glory will appear upon you.

Isa 60:19-20 LSB – 

[19] "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, 

Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; 

But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, 

And your God for your glory. 

[20] "Your sun will no longer set, 

Nor will your moon wane; 

For you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, 

And the days of your mourning will be finished.

Rev 21:23 LSB – [23] And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp [is] the Lamb.

Jhn 8:12 LSB – [12] Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

 

Isaiah 55-57 - Seek Yahweh While He May Be Found

Seek Yahweh While He May Be Found

Isa 55:1 LSB – 

[1] "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; 

And you who have no money come, buy and eat. 

Come, buy wine and milk 

Without money and without cost.

Jhn 7:37 LSB – 

[37] Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

Isa 55:6 LSB – 

[6] Seek Yahweh while He may be found; 

Call upon Him while He is near.

Psa 32:6 LSB – 

[6] Therefore, let every holy one pray to You at a time when [You] may be found; 

Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

Isa 55:8-9 LSB – 

[8] "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

Nor are your ways My ways," declares Yahweh. 

[9] "For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, 

So are My ways higher than your ways 

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isa 55:10-11 LSB – 

[10] "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, 

And do not return there without watering the earth 

And making it bear and sprout, 

And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 

[11] So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; 

It will not return to Me empty, 

Without accomplishing what pleases Me, 

And without succeeding [in the matter] for which I sent it.

Salvation for the Foreigner

Isa 56:3 LSB – [3] Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, "Yahweh will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."

Isa 56:6-8 LSB – 

[6] "Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, 

To minister to Him, and to love the name of Yahweh, 

To be His slaves, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath 

And takes hold of My covenant, 

[7] Even those I will bring to My holy mountain 

And make them glad in My house of prayer. 

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; 

For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." 

[8] Lord Yahweh, who gathers the banished of Israel, declares, 

"Yet [others] I will gather to them, to those [already] gathered."

Jhn 10:16 LSB – [16] "And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock [with] one shepherd.

 

Israel’s Futile Idolatry

Isa 57:1-2 LSB – 

[1] The righteous man perishes, and no man puts it upon his heart; 

And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands. 

For the righteous man is gathered away from evil, 

[2] He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, 

[Each one] who walked in his upright way.

Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly

Isa 57:15 LSB – 

[15] For thus says the One high and lifted up 

Who dwells forever, whose name is Holy, 

"I dwell [on] a high and holy place, 

And [also] with the crushed and lowly of spirit 

In order to revive the spirit of the lowly 

And to revive the heart of the crushed.

Isaiah 52-54 - He was pierced through for our transgressions

Hope for Captive Zion

Isa 52:7 LSB - 

[7] How lovely on the mountains 

Are the feet of him who proclaims good news, 

Who announces peace 

And proclaims good news of good things, 

Who announces salvation, 

[And] says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

The Exalted Servant

Isa 52:13-14 ESV - 

[13] Behold, my servant shall act wisely; 

he shall be high and lifted up, 

and shall be exalted. 

[14] As many were astonished at you-- 

his appearance was so marred, 

beyond human semblance, 

and his form beyond that of the children of mankind--

The Suffering Servant

Isa 53:2-3 LSB - 

[2] For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, 

And like a root out of parched ground; 

He has no [stately] form or majesty 

That we should look upon Him, 

Nor appearance that we should desire Him. 

[3] He was despised and forsaken of men, 

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; 

And like one from whom men hide their face 

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isa 53:4-5 LSB - 

[4] Surely our griefs He Himself bore, 

And our sorrows He carried; 

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, 

Smitten of God, and afflicted. 

[5] But He was pierced through for our transgressions, 

He was crushed for our iniquities; 

The chastening for our peace [fell] upon Him, 

And by His wounds we are healed.

Isa 53:6 LSB - 

[6] All of us like sheep have gone astray, 

Each of us has turned to his own way; 

But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all 

To fall on Him.

Isa 53:10-11 LSB - 

[10] But Yahweh was pleased 

To crush Him, putting [Him] to grief; 

If You would place His soul [as] a guilt offering, 

He will see [His] seed, 

He will prolong [His] days, 

And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand. 

[11] As a result of the anguish of His soul, 

He will see [it and] be satisfied; 

By His knowledge the Righteous One, 

My Servant, will justify the many, 

As He will bear their iniquities.

Isa 53:12 LSB - 

[12] Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, 

And He will divide the spoil with the strong; 

Because He poured out His soul to death, 

And was numbered with the transgressors; 

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, 

And interceded for the transgressors.

The Inheritance of the Slaves of Yahweh

Isa 54:5 LSB - 

[5] "For your husband is your Maker, 

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts; 

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, 

Who is called the God of all the earth.