Day 193, July 12: Bible reading & prayer
Amos 6-9 (chronological); Psalms 7-9, Acts 17:1-15 (OT/NT)
We are in the era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel, as recounted in 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. We have started the reading the prophetic “vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” Yesterday and today, we are reading the prophetic vision of Amos. There is a lot packed into this very short book, and I highly recommend reading its synopsis here. I found it extremely helpful for reviewing all the enemies of Israel.
Amos was a sheepherder, but shared visions the Lord gave him during the time of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the second Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel (who was a descendant of Jehu, who brought down the house of Ahaz).
Amos opened with pronouncement of judgment against Damascus (Aram), Gaza (Philistines), Tyre, Edom (descendants of Esau), Ammon (descendants of Lot), and Moab (descendants of Lot). I’m sure those in Israel could cheer this judgment on their enemies. But then the judgment turned personal: God pronounced judgment on Judah and then on Israel. We need to be very careful about glorying in judgment on others without examining ourselves.
Amos 3:6b-7 reveals important truth: “If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.” God is sovereign, but He is also gracious to warn.
God warned Israel, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities….on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions, I will also punish the altars of Bethel” [where, also in Dan, the first Jeroboam, the first king of Israel had established worship of golden calves. Now Israel had another king named after him.] God hates idol worship.
He also explained He inflicts suffering that we might return to Him: “‘I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities And lack of bread in all your places, Yet you have not returned to Me….I withheld the rain from you….Yet you have not returned to Me….I smote you…Yet you have not returned to Me,’ declares the LORD….‘Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.’…The LORD God of hosts is His name….‘Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel, For those who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth.”
God offers some advice worthy of heeding: “They hate him who reproves in the gate,
And they abhor him who speaks with integrity….Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.”
Once again, warning Israel, “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you….Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph….let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Here is a synopsis of the chapters we read Amos yesterday (1-5) and what we will read today (6-8):
Amos 1: Prophesies against Damascus (Aram), Gaza (Philistines), Tyre, Edom (Esau), and Ammon (son of Lot).
Amos 2: Prophesy against Moab (son of Lot). Short prophesy against the kingdom of Judah. The beginning of long prophecy against the kingdom of Israel, which takes up the rest of the book.
Amos 3: God promises the kingdom of Israel will be exiled.
Amos 4: God reminds Israel of their idol worship. He recounts how He has punished them, which should have inspired their repentance, without their returning to Him.
Amos 5: God promises a remnant in Israel. He also reminds that there is no solution other than Him. Rituals mean nothing to Him without righteousness. He reveals Israel has been worshiping idols since their exodus from Egypt, even in the desert.
Amos 6: Continued explanation of the sins of Israel resulting in their impending exile as judgment.
Amos 7: Some hope as Amos prays for pardon and the Lord changes His mind about certain punishments, but not all. Amaziah the priest of Bethel (one of the places were Jeroboam, first king of Israel, established worship of golden calves) asks Amos to stop prophesying. Amos says he’s not a prophet but is just sharing visions the Lord gave Him, and then pronounces God’s judgment on Amaziah.
Amos 8: God pronounces the end for His people Israel. He predicts an earthquake, that obviously happened, according to Amos 1:1. He predicts a time of silence, where no prophets speak, which occurred for 400 years before John came as the forerunner to Jesus. He pronounces judgment for those who swear by idols.
The era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel is recounted in 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (I note the kings of Judah in bold and the kings of Israel in bold italics).
I include housekeeping details daily for those who have newly joined this study. I usually try to schedule the timing of each day’s post so there is consistency, but sometimes I fail due to my own schedule. If you are looking for the day’s reading earlier than the post is available, you can always search for the same day’s reading from last year.
An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all edited summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here. My challenge for us to read in wonder, recognizing the Bible is true and has consequence for our lives is here.
I use blueletterBible.org (NASB95) as my Bible study tool.
I do find typos in my writing after the fact. I schedule these posts early, but always re-read and edit them on the morning they’re posted. So, if you notice a lot of typos in an email version, just check back on Substack for an edited version (you can tell the timing of my editing by when I post the day’s reading and prayer on X: @KDMilhoanMD. If you found this study this way, praise God, and…welcome!)
July 12 chronological reading: Amos 6-9
Amos 6
v1-3 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The distinguished men of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
Go over to Calneh and look,
And go from there to Hamath the great,
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their territory greater than yours?
Do you put off the day of calamity,
And would you bring near the seat of violence?
v4-7 “Those who recline on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their couches,
And eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have composed songs for themselves,
Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,
Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.
v8 “The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, the LORD God of hosts has declared:
‘I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And detest his citadels;
Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.’
v9-11 “And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die. Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ And that one will say, ‘No one.’ Then he will answer, ‘Keep quiet. For the name of the LORD is not to be mentioned.’ For behold, the LORD is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.
v12-14 “Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow them with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
You who rejoice in Lodebar,
And say, ‘Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?’
‘For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,’ declares the LORD God of hosts,
'And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath
To the brook of the Arabah.’”
Amos 7
v1-2 “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,
‘Lord GOD, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand,
For he is small?’
v3 “The LORD changed His mind about this.
‘It shall not be,’ said the LORD.
v4-5 “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. Then I said,
‘Lord GOD, please stop!
How can Jacob stand, for he is small?’
v6 “The LORD changed His mind about this.
‘This too shall not be,’ said the Lord GOD.
v7-9 “Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. The LORD said to me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said,
‘Behold I am about to put a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will spare them no longer.
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.’
v10-13 “Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. For thus Amos says, “Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.”’ Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.’
v14-17 “Then Amos replied 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. But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, “Go prophesy to My people Israel.” Now hear the word of the LORD: you are saying, “You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.” Therefore, thus says the LORD, “Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.”’”
Amos 8
v1-3 “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 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. The songs of the palace will turn to wailing in that day,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence.’
v4-6 “Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, saying,
‘When will the new moon be over,
So that we may sell grain,
And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,
To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with dishonest scales,
So as to buy the helpless for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?’
v7-10 “The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob,
‘Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.
Because of this will not the land quake
And everyone who dwells in it mourn?
Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
It will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord GOD,
‘That I will make the sun go down at noon
And make the earth dark in broad daylight.
Then I will turn your festivals into mourning
And all your songs into lamentation;
And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
v11-14 ‘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.
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.
In that day the beautiful virgins
And the young men will faint from thirst.
As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria,
Who say, “As your god lives, O Dan,”
And, “As the way of Beersheba lives,”
They will fall and not rise again.’”
July 12 OT/NT readings: Psalms 7-9, Acts 17:1-15
We are reading Psalms in the Old Testament reading plan. In this document, I list the Psalms in order of appearance, followed by author (if known), context of the Psalm’s writing (description of context that appear in the Biblical text before some Psalms are quoted), and the Old Testament reading it appears after. Here is that information for today’s Psalms:
Psalm 7, appears as 5th/150 Psalms, authored by David, “concerning Cush, a Benjamite” (1 Samuel 21-24), Day 105
Psalm 8, appears as 28th/150 Psalms, authored by David, during the war between the house of David and the house of Saul (2 Samuel 1-4), Day 112
Psalm 9, appears as 29th/150 Psalms, authored by David, during the war between the house of David and the house of Saul (2 Samuel 1-4), Day 112
I’m editing this document as we go along, noting excerpts for each of the Psalms in numerical order in the second half of the document. Yesterday we read Psalms 4-6:
the Lord gives peace and safety, appears 89th, David, during his flight from Jerusalem because of the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 13-15), Day 136
“For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David”: “You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him. Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD. Many are saying, ‘Who will show us any good?’ Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!…In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”
prayer for protection from the wicked, appears 100th, David, after David was restored as king over Israel after the death of Absalom (2 Samuel 19-21), Day 140
“For the choir director; for flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David”: “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch….You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood….But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes….let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.”
prayer for protection from enemies, appears 27th, David, during the war between the house of David and the house of Saul (2 Samuel 1-4), Day 112
“For the choir director; with stringed instruments, upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David”: “the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.”
We are reading the book of Acts in the New Testament plan. This account by Luke began after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension into heaven. Luke summarized about his Gospel account, “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” Remember Luke wrote about that first account to Theophilus, “having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, [I wrote] it out for you in consecutive order…so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”
Paul is on his second missionary journey in our reading, with Silas, Timothy, and Luke with him. He was in Troas and had a vision of a man in Macedonia calling for help. They arrived in Philippi and shared about the Lord at a place of prayer by a riverside on the Sabbath. A woman named Lydia came to faith, and asked them to stay with her. Yesterday we read about Paul casting a spirit out of a slave girl. When her masters saw they could no longer profit from her spirit of divination (fortune telling), “they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities.” They were placed in prison, where they prayed and sang hymns to God. An earthquake freed them and all the prisoners. The jailer was about to kill himself when Paul called out, “‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!’…trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” He and his whole household came to faith and were baptized.
When the chief magistrates who had thrown them in prison heard that they were Romans, they “were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and appealed to them, and…kept begging them to leave the city. They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.”
A summary of the book of Acts, which is really a summary of the rest of the New Testament, including when all the letters of the apostles were written, is here.
Acts 17
v1-9 “Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.’ They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.
v10-15 “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.”
Dear Lord,
these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so
When we are challenged by what we hear, may we examine Your Scriptures for truth.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.