conversation is an engine

The power was in the message not the prophet.

For several weeks a few of us have been talking our way through an ancient text written by a shepherd named Amos. He came to the task of writing with no credentials and claimed only to be articulating stuff the Almighty had been roaring.

Like a finger circling a map before punching hard on the destination city, Amos’ started with a talking tour that included cities and regions where residents had stepped away from honoring God. But eventually Israel was the focus of this roar. And by the middle of chapter two, it’s clear the relationship between God and people was broken. The prophet prompted the people to remember how the Almighty had acted in their lives: destroying enemies as they made their way from slavery through a wilderness to a place of promise. The Almighty even equipped them with people specially tuned to hear more of what He was saying: Nazirites and prophets. But the actions of the crowd drowned God’s voice. The nation happily trampled the poor if it meant more money for them. They damaged their marriages and invented their own gods. Whatever worked.

That the people thought this was no big deal was key to what happened next.

Stuff happens for a reason, the shepherd/prophet said (Amos 3.3-8) and present sufferings will give way to something much worse, so now is the time to return. The predictions only get more violent as the book progresses and Amos does not spare the detail. That the nation collapsed within the generation puts even more muscle behind Amos’ words.

By the end of chapter four, the people had refused to hear and continued to invent their own terms of engagement.

What I learned:

1. If I want to hear something bigger then myself, I need to listen beyond my own desire. It’s a matter of pulling out of the evil I’m participating in (a prophet worth his or her salt would say “Repent!”) and “returning” (which occurs five times in Amos 4) to God before being forced to meet Him on much less ideal terms (compare Amos 4.6-11 with 4.12-13).
2. It’s good to remember the milestones and turning points God creates in your life. In our family, we’ve got dozens of places where we’ve sensed a divine hand reaching down and turning the course of our lives. Those times make for good stories—plus they actually inform present dark times with hope and light.
3. God does stuff to get our attention. It’s better to develop a listening spirit than not.

Start listening at 5:15

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