Teachers, as always, you will need to really read and study
     the Bible Book of the Month.  You can't expect to do a
     good job just coming to class to read the lesson sheet
     without previous study.

                Looking For God In all the Wrong Places

OPEN:  Some time ago there was a hit song entitled "Looking for
love in all the wrong places."  Someone might even remember who
sang it and what year, I don't recall, but the title kind of comes from
that.

The Setting:  Note that this is depicted as a funeral sermon by
Amos, a Lamenting!  We're preparing our funeral sermon now!

Vss. 1-3.  Just as Jerusalem is referred to as the Virgin of Judah, so
Samaria, the capital of the north is referred to under the metaphor
of a maiden.

     Q-1.  Bethel and Dan.  They also apparently had shrines at
many other locations also were Baal was worshipped.
     Q-2.  Jeroboam (the first, remember Amos lives in the time of
the second king by the name of Jeroboam) had said that Jerusalem
was too far to go to worship.  He wanted to introduce a
"convenient" religion.  So he built the altar and golden calf at
Bethel and one at Dan in the northern part of the country.
     Teacher, stress this lesson for us today!

     Q-3.  Pleiades and Orion are heavenly constellations.
     Q-4.  The Message of the Stars is that there is a God who is
the Creator of the magnificent universe!

     Try to read as much of the scripture in class as possible.  The
"Scripture" is powerful!  I suggest you read it in sections rather
than the entire chapter at one time.

     I.   Seek God -- 1-13
     II.  Seek Good --  14-17

In  Vss. 16 point out the "funeral" sermon idea used by Amos.
Again, stress the lesson.

     III. Something The Lord Hates -- 18-25

     Emphasize that the term "the Day of the Lord" is used by
many of the prophets and refers to a day of "visitation" by the
Lord, a coming in history, to bring retribution on a nation or the
enemies of God's people. (You could let some students look up
other passages where the phrase is used.)

     Verse 19 is very picturesque.  Imagine a man running away
from one calamity and meeting another headlong!
     Or running into the house, slamming the door shut, puffing and
huffing, thinking he is now safe, and leaning against the wall, a
snake in the crack of the rocks bits him!  (It would probably bring
humorous chuckle in Amos' day.)

     Vss. 21-27 is POWERFUL.  It has so much significance for us
today and the way God will accept or refuse our worship.

     READ in class vss 21-24 for sure!  Dwell on this.  The lessons
ought to be self-evident.

     Make the applications today as you think pertinent.

[TEACHER: Help your class to see how vital it is to study the Old
Testament today.  We will repeat history if we don't learn from it.]

 

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