The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Amos 8:4-7, “Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land,
5 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,
6 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?”
7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.”

If you wish to know something of the background of the prophet Amos, you need not look into Wikipedia for information. Oh, it’s there, to be sure; but the information often comes from those whose lives Amos denounced. Amos was not formerly trained in the Law of Israel, as was the Apostle Paul, who lived centuries later. Amos farmed, as it were, and shows a richness of information with respect to the natural world.

At the same time, he noted well the sins of the people around him. The “up-and-outers” trampled the “down-and-outers,” day after day. They could hardly wait for the “legal time” of buying and selling, so they could get back to making money! And in that process, they gloried in defrauding the poor. Certainly, we have nothing on the crooks of Amos’ day. Dishonesty stretches it’s evil fingers into the distant past. Prices were exorbitant! And the items for purchase seemed smaller and more expensive by the day. Sound like the day in which we live?

What is outstanding beyond the ministry of Amos is the Word of the LORD: “Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds,” the LORD said. In our day, we look for merchants with the best goods at the lowest price. Nothing wrong with that. Yet, when those from whom we buy the necessities of life price them beyond the standard of decency, we can find solace in the fact that the LORD Himself has viewed their process. We will one day be vindicated, if we live and work in truth. Those who live only for themselves, will one day answer to that charge before Almighty God Himself. But, by then, it will be too late. Think about it!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom