Wednesday, July 20, 2022

 

Wednesday, July 20, 2022


Psalm 48

Amos 7:10-8:3

Romans 2:12-24


Now therefore hear the word of the LORD...


Why do we find it so difficult to do the right thing? Last week, when we were concluding the book of Galatians, Paul spoke about how the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other, so that we don't want to do what we should. Today, we learn of a few more ways in which God shows us what we should do, and also how we try to ignore Him.


God sent the prophet Amos to tell the people what they should do. They told him to go home, to “earn his bread” elsewhere. Amos wasn't in it for the money, like the professional “prophets” of his time. He had the word from God that had to be spoken. These prophesies have been written down for us, praise God, so that we can learn from them too. We should not be so quick to ignore them just because they are old, or that modern literary criticism can poke holes in their veracity. Are these prophesies problematic because of what these critical methods have to say, or are they problematic because they are hard for us to hear?


Paul shows two more ways God speaks to us. He starts with the Law of Moses. God handed these laws down to Moses so the people would know the difference between right and wrong. Then, Paul says, even people who have never heard the Law or the prophets have an innate knowledge of God's idea of good and evil.


We have all these ways God speaks to us: His Law, His prophets, the fact He designed us in His own image. Let us not ignore God's voice; let us also not be disheartened when we find it easier to go our own way. God's final word is the Word incarnate: Jesus Christ, in whom all the Law and the prophets are fulfilled, who by trusting in His redeeming work we are found perfect in the eyes of God.

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