Our Daily Bread Devotional For August 29, 2024 : Topic – God of Justice
Read previous Our Daily Bread Devotionals here
Bible in a Year :
Seek good, not evil, that you may live : Amos 5:14
Today’s Scripture : Amos 2:6-16
Insight
Amos was a prophet from Judah sent by God to warn Israel of her sins and impending judgment (Amos 7:12). In chapters 1-2, the prophet proclaims God’s judgment on seven neighboring nations (Judah included) and upon Israel itself to show His sovereignty and impartiality. God would punish Damascus (capital of Aram), Gaza (Philistia), Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab for their cruelty toward His people (1:3-2:3). Judah would be judged for her idolatry (2:4-5). Israel was condemned for her covenantal unfaithfulness: lack of social economic justice (v. 6), perversion of the law and sexual immorality (v. 7), and oppression of the poor and idolatry (v. 8).
Message : As a teenager, Ryan lost his mom to cancer. He found himself homeless and soon dropped out of school. He felt hopeless and often went hungry. Years later, Ryan founded a nonprofit that empowers others, especially young children, to plant, harvest, and prepare their own garden-grown food. The organization is built on the belief that nobody should go without food and that those who have something should care for those who don’t. Ryan’s concern for others resonates with the heart of God for justice and mercy.
God cares deeply about the pain and suffering we face. When He observed terrible injustice in Israel, He sent the prophet Amos to call out their hypocrisy. The people God once rescued from oppression in Egypt were now selling their neighbors into slavery over a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6). They betrayed innocent people, denied justice to the oppressed, and trampled “on the heads” of the poor (vv. 6-7), all while pretending to worship God with offerings and holy days (4:4-5).
“Seek good, not evil, that you may live,” Amos pleaded with the people. “Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is” (5:14). Like Ryan, each of us has experienced enough pain and injustice in life to be able to relate to others and to be of help. The time is ripe to “seek good” and join Him in planting every kind of justice.
Reflect & Pray
What injustice do you see others enduring that resonates with your own experience? How might God use you to help them?
God of justice, thank You for not turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering in our world.
For further study, read Did Jesus Care about Justice?.