This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #455, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.
Today we are reading Amos 5:10-13.
10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
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That was Amos 5:10-13. Now here is the sense of it.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:
Verses 10–13 continue the denunciation begun in verse 7. Within the larger chiasmus of verses 1–17, verses 10–13 form their own internal chiasmus:
a. Intimidation of the righteous
b. Abuse of the poor
c. Judgment of covenant sin
Because of their zeal to profit illegally through the courts, they hated any righteous judge who reproved their injustice, and despised any righteous witness who told the truth in defense of the innocent. Their venom and intimidation were so severe that many felt the prudent thing to do was to keep quiet in such times. The abusers, thus freed of any rebuke or opposition, found corrupt judges to take bribes and deprive the poor of justice. Rich landowners successfully manipulated legal proceedings to trample on the poor, gain ownership of his fields, and force him to give a large fee of grain to remain a tenant on the land. But God knew how many were their offenses. He knew how great were their sins. Therefore, though they had built stone mansions fit for kings and had planted lush vineyards in the fields that once belonged to small farmers, they would neither live in the houses nor drink the wine. Their suzerain Lord would invoke the treaty punishments against covenant disobedience. Their greed would be met with poetic justice: as they had stripped the poor, so God would strip them.
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Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.
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