Cheaters!!!

Amos 8:1-12

1 This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord God; "the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!" 4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. 11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.

Reflection

"Buford doesn't look so good." My daughter Sarah responded to me when I noticed that Buford was out of his little igloo home in the middle of the day. Normally Buford, the hamster, sleeps all day except for a drink and to go to the potty and he runs all night in his wheel. But Buford is old for a hamster... really old. Later that afternoon Buford died in Sarah's hands as she cuddled him. It was a sad time.

The Scripture above contains two types of passages. First we witness a story in the form of a vision. This is followed by an announcement of judgment from God.

We have summer fruit contrasted with "the end." At first it doesn't seem that these two thoughts go together but in the language of the day "summer fruit" and "the end" sounded very similar. What's the similarity?

It seems to me that all over the Scriptures, God loves to use opposites that link together somehow. When I think of "summer fruit," I think of good things. When I think of "the end," I think of things unknown and scary. Summer fruit, I can visualize. The end, I can't see.

With this in mind, I'm led into the judgment portion of this passage.

The judgment part of this passage seems to be about cheating people. Cheating people, especially the poor and needy out of their money. Sounds familiar thinking of the environment that we live in today. Today, it seems, we see the rich cheating the poor... housing crisis. We also see the poor cheating the rich with fraudulent claims for welfare, social security, disability and such.

And now the judgment... through our deeds... none of us can claim we are an exception to this... we are all guilty of this... God changes our feasting into mourning, our songs into lamentation and terribly the time will come when we won't hear the Word.

Will God bring this on? I'm not sure about that. It seems to me that the judgment is more a result of our own cheating one another and our failure to listen to God. It seems to me that God is telling us the results of staying on the same path of sinfulness. It seems to me that God is warning us to stop it and turn from our sin. It seems to me that God is telling us to listen carefully to the Word.

So, what about Buford?

God placed in our care the animals. However, it seems to me that the animals take better care of us than we do of them. Buford never seemed to want to hurt anyone, unless he felt threatened. He lived his life and gave love to the people around him. Sarah and Kaiya, Bubs, myself and even Bryan would take time to feed Buford and supply water. Buford lived his live and we all watched and loved Buford. And then Buford died. Tears were shed.

I can't see any reason that Buford would bring a judgment of sinfulness on his part. In fact, Buford lived a life that was honest. No cheating... no sin (that I could see)... yet still Buford died. And there is that contrast... Buford lived a good life yet still he died.

Like Buford, we are placed on this world together as Christians for a purpose. All creatures will praise God and all creatures are here to please God. So...

I'm reminded of this passage which seems to address Buford, you, me, Christians and the Church.

2 Timothy 4.1-5
4In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

We are here for a reason. We are here for a purpose that God has given to us. We are here for God. In life and in death we belong to God. What more could we want?

Thanks be to God!

Music

Prayer

Lord, open my eyes to all of your creatures. May I see the service and joy that they bring to you. Fulfill in me your hope of a life lived to bring you glory. Fulfill in me the love I have for you and the love you would have me to give to those you bring to me. You show life through death and light through darkness and forgiveness through my sin. May I always pause and listen to your Word... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen