You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. – Amos 6:3

Today's Scripture Reading (April 1, 2026): Amos 6

His name was Joseph. The boy was just one of Jacob's twelve sons, the same Jacob who would be renamed Israel. Joseph was a spoiled child. He was the son of his father's favorite wife and was treated as such. Until the day that dad gave him a beautiful multicolored coat, and his brothers decided that they had had enough. A plan was developed by the brothers to kill Joseph, but they instead decided to sell him into slavery. For the next portion of his life, that was Joseph's reality. He was sold and resold. He eventually became the property of an Egyptian official. Then Joseph was accused of raping his boss's wife, and spent the next few years in jail.

One of Joseph's talents was interpreting dreams with God's help. He had interpreted dreams when he was back home with his brothers, and he did so while in prison. Eventually, the Pharaoh had a dream, and Joseph was brought from prison to interpret it. The Pharaoh might have been Amenemhat III (1860 – 1814 B.C.E.). What makes Amenemhat III a good candidate for Joseph's unnamed Pharaoh is that improvements in agricultural practices and administration occurred during this time, changes that correspond well with the story of Joseph.

Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams and warned of a time of surplus and a time of famine that was in Egypt's near future. Joseph's advice to the Pharaoh was to save grain during the time of plenty so that there would be food for the people during the coming famine. It was good advice then, and it is good advice now.

Amos prophesies during a time of economic plenty in Israel. But the prophet sees a time of famine approaching, much as Joseph did in his day. Maybe that is not much of a surprise. The ancient world experienced predictable periods of plenty and famine. And, much like Joseph taught in Egypt centuries earlier, the expectation was that people would save during times of plenty so they could survive times of famine.

However, that wasn't what Amos's Israel was doing. Instead, they were spending in the time of plenty as if the time of famine would never come. Amos felt he needed to remind them of the principle of plenty and famine so they would be prepared for the approaching time of scarcity. And it is advice that I think we all need to take seriously. The wise person puts away for times of famine and is prepared for sickness, job loss, and even retirement. I know, it is hard, but life comes with the good and the bad, and if we understand this principle, we will be ready when the day of scarcity arrives in our lives. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Amos 7

He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out over the face of the land—the LORD is his name. – Amos 5:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 31, 2026): Amos 5

We have watched the heavens from almost the very beginning of time. We noticed that when the sun, the greater light, was in the sky, our world was illuminated. When the moon shone, the lesser light, it was darker. If both great lights were absent from the sky, it would be even darker, though the stars would still give us some light. While there was one greater light and one lesser light, there were many stars. And so we looked and began to see patterns in the sky: the constellations. The stars began to tell us stories.

Ever since my early morning paper deliveries, Orion the Hunter has been one of my favorites. As I began my route, I loved looking up at the sky and seeing Orion above my head, imagining that the sword hanging from his belt could be drawn in times of danger.

Pleiades was another ancient group of stars, though it went by different names at different times around the world. In Japan, the star cluster is historically known as “Mutsuraboshi,” which means “six stars.” Today, it is known as “subaru” which means “to cluster together.” A quick look at the Japanese automotive company’s logo reveals the origin of the name with its familiar six stars clustering together.

Outside of Japan, most onlookers have noticed seven stars in the cluster instead of six. Therefore, the cluster has been known as the Seven Mothers, the Seven Sisters, or simply the seven.

Biblical interpreters have helped us understand what the author is talking about. I am unsure of what Amos would have called these stars, but he uses the word “keseel,” which means any constellation, but especially the burly one we call “Orion,” and “Keemaw,” which simply means “the seven stars.” By pointing to the Pleiades, the translators have helped us distinguish it from the other seven-star clusters that shine above.

Amos’s point is that it is God who has placed these lights in the sky, and so he is the God on whom we can still depend.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 6

“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD. – Amos 4:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 30, 2026): Amos 4

Have you ever been hungry? I know that after a long day, we often say we are starving, but the truth is, we are not really even hungry, let alone starving. We could go much longer without food; in fact, many do in various parts of the world. But I have been hungry, especially during my college days. There were times when I simply couldn’t afford food, and so I didn’t eat.

I remember a conflict I had with a roommate. In this case, I had been busy and hadn’t gone shopping. My roommate, who had borrowed and even destroyed many of my belongings, had left for a month-long work trip out of town. He left, and I felt I could use some food, so I went to the cupboard to see if there was anything left. I didn’t have anything, at least not anything I felt like eating, but my roommate had left a few tins of canned spaghetti. Not the best meal, but it was easy to make, and my roommate was gone for a month, so I had plenty of time to replace the can. I made myself some lunch, intending to do some grocery shopping that afternoon. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t go shopping, but that my roommate changed his mind and didn’t go away for work. He came home while I was eating his spaghetti, and he was none too pleased with his roommate. I did go shopping that afternoon and bought him a tin of spaghetti.

Amos speaks to the women of Samaria, the Capital City of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And Amos speaks with a theme. The prophet recognizes the trouble the Northern Kingdom has experienced and assures them that the trouble they have gone through had a purpose. Every struggle had been intended to bring the nation back to God. From the moment the divided kingdoms emerged, the north chose to step away from the faith of the people centered on the Temple in Jerusalem.

And so, God had allowed their choice to go it alone without him. He allowed the struggle because he loved them and wanted to bring them back to him. But the people had refused to return to the God who had brought them out of Egypt, and continued to follow the idols that their kings and priests had placed before them. They experienced hunger, but did not recognize it as an invitation to return to the faith of their fathers.

God still invites us back into faith. But we have to hear the invitation, and often we don’t.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 5

When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? – Amos 3:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 29, 2026): Amos 3

Why does God allow evil to happen? It is an important question, one that we seem to dance around when people ask it. Usually, I admit, even my answer is that God didn’t choose evil; we did. In every war, someone fires the first shot, and there are reasons why we go to war, some of which those in power seldom want to admit. There is a feeling in World War I that Europe was waiting for a reason to go to war. However, the framers of the conflict couldn’t imagine the devastating trench conflict that terrorized the territory for four years. But God didn’t do that. Kings and political leaders chose that path. I recently read a conversation between two soldiers, one from each side of the First World War, and according to the interview, conducted in the early days of the war, both soldiers felt that their side was on the right side of history, fighting for peace and freedom. That doesn’t surprise me. Defending the (fill in the blank with your country’s demonym here) way of life is the reason we are given whenever we go to war. I was recently reminded of a quote from former American President Jimmy Carter. “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children” (Jimmy Carter).

So, we need to return to our question: why does God allow evil? Right now, several wars are being waged on our blue marble, and according to Carter, wars are always evil. The keyword here is “allow.” I am not saying evil originates with God; it doesn’t, it finds its genesis in us. But God still allows it. The understanding in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is that God could have prevented it, so if he allows it, he caused it by not preventing it.

I am not sure that I know the answer to the question. Sometimes, going through times dominated by evil has caused me to rethink and reaffirm my faith. Sometimes these moments have strengthened me. Often, it has driven me to my knees in prayer for those who are affected. I would prefer to live in a world without an Adolf Hitler or even a Jeffrey Epstein. I dream of a world where we fight wars by exchanging flags and a bottle of liquor on a remote Island, as Canada and Denmark did in their most recent conflict over a piece of land. But I trust that there is a reason, even if it is just a reminder that this world is not my home, and there is something more for me in a place that God has prepared for you and for me.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 4

They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. – Amos 2:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 28, 2026): Amos 2

Jeffrey Epstein’s sins are still coloring our world almost a decade after his death. In Europe, heads are finally beginning to roll. Everyone seems to be doing their best to distance themselves from the sexual predator. It is too bad that more of them hadn’t fled in the days when Epstein was alive, rich, and powerful.

I have no idea how these men, and a few women, couldn’t have known that associating with Epstein would become problematic at some point, except that they were lured into the false comfort that the rules could not touch those who had both money and power. Epstein was a snake in the grass, but he was a rich snake in the grass. Sexual laws might “apply to thee but not to me.” It is an age-old double standard.

In Europe, the double standard seems to be cracking, but in North America, and especially in the United States, this false belief seems to be holding. The warning I have for my North American friends is that, as the wealth gap widens in our society, this hypocrisy will likely spark a revolution at some point. As President Trump attacked Iran and invited the people of Iran to rise up and take control of their government, one commentator asked an important question in this age of hypocrisy. President Trump, would you allow your son, Barron Trump, to be one of those who would rise up if you were in Iran, or is that just the job of people with low incomes? It is an important question. Wars tend to be fought by people experiencing poverty and other visible minorities. It is one of the few paths that young men and women might see as a way out of their economic situations. The rich tend to run wars, but those experiencing poverty are the ones carrying their guns into battle.

Amos’s prophecy against Israel is that they are not a just society. They trample over the poor as a hiker walks on the dust of the earth. There is an active hypocrisy alive and well in their culture, where the rules that apply to the wealthy don’t apply to those without money or power. And apparently, Jeffrey Epstein was alive and well in the ancient world, and as a result, fathers and sons were having sexual relations with the same girl. It was an intolerable situation that went against God’s expectations for the nation, and a behavior that had to stop.

Bad behavior tends to catch up with us. It is something we who live in the Jeffrey Epstein era need to remember. And even if it doesn’t, God knows, and that should be enough to ensure that we stand up for right and oppose anything immoral or unjust, because God’s expectations of us haven’t changed. And our money and power will not save us in His Courts of Justice.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 3

I will send fire on the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses. – Amos 1:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 27, 2026): Amos 1

The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land forty kilometers long and eight to twelve kilometers wide on Israel’s Mediterranean Coast, and it is rich in history. The name first appears in the military records of Pharaoh Thutmose III, who reigned in Egypt from April 28, 1479, until March 11, 1425 B.C.E. Then, the city of Gaza was indicated in the area. Today, it is a province whose capital city remains Gaza City.

Politically, it has been ruled by the Palestinian group known as Hamas since 2007. Hamas’s leadership has been problematic because they refuse to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. Hamas supports a policy where they want Israel to be evicted from the area. This eviction from the area is the meaning of the phrase “from the river (Jordan) to the Sea (Mediterranean).”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack on its enemy, Israel. In the process, it killed indiscriminately, including youth who were attending a music festival. It was a horrible provocation. The killing of innocents is something that is universally condemned in our contemporary age. Hamas’s attack and the kidnapping of innocents were soundly denounced by world powers, as was Israel’s subsequent killing of innocents in its counterattacks.

As Israel rained missiles down on the Gaza Strip, it was hard not to think of this passage in Amos. Was Israel’s response a fulfillment of Amos’s prophecy? I don’t think so, although the sins in both cases might have had some similarities. In Amos’s case, the Prophet was speaking about the city. He accuses the Gaza leadership of taking “captive whole communities and [selling] them to Edom.” Bible teacher James Boice (1938-2000) explains it this way.

“The condemnation here is not against slavery in and of itself … The crime is not that soldiers were enslaved after being taken in battle, which was the standard practice, but that the Philistines used their temporary supremacy to enslave whole populations – soldiers and civilians, men and women, adults and children, young and old – for commercial profit. Gaza did not even need the slaves. She merely sold them to Edom for more money.” (James Boice)

Selling slaves was an even deeper stain than just the normal practice of taking slaves. However, we should note that wherever there is sin, there is a counter-response. In every act of war, there is a response, and someone will pay. It was true in Gaza, and it was true in Israel. Two wrongs never make a right. And maybe we should seek to live our lives in a way such that fire doesn’t have to fall from the sky to stop us from what we are doing. As we learned in the Gaza-Israeli conflict, fire from the sky rains down on everyone. Fire from the sky is not restricted to the most sinful, whoever that might be. In fact, those who bring the fire are often protected from the fire that falls on ordinary people.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 2

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. – 2 Chronicles 26:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 26, 2026): 2 Chronicles 26

Names. We all have them, and reasons for why we like or don't like our names. Personally, I am okay with my name, though at times I would have preferred to be called David. I tried using my middle name during my teens, but I never got used to answering to it. I have a friend who is known by two different names, depending on the group of people he is with. One name is his given name, but the second name is made up of his initials. I am not sure how he decides which name to use in each group.

Royal people often choose their regnal name or the name under which they decide to rule. Charles III surprised some watchers when he decided to use Charles as his regnal name; after all, the reigns of Charles I and II didn't end well. His mother, Elizabeth II, also chose to reign under her given name. Her full name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. (Personally, I think she made the right choice.)

Elizabeth's father chose to use another of his names as his regnal name. King George VI was born Albert Frederick Arthur George. He had used Prince Albert throughout his life before becoming King. His decision to use the name King George VI was a way for the King to tell his people that he wanted to reflect the stability of his father, King George V, after the short, tumultuous reign of his brother, King Edward VIII. Edward VIII used his given name as his regnal name, although he probably wins the prize for having been given the most names at his birth; Edward VIII was born Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. I wonder how old he was before he could even recite his name in the proper order.

King Uzziah became king at the age of sixteen. Uzziah had a personal name and a regnal name, so it can be confusing, especially when the biblical writers aren't consistent with which name they use when speaking about him. It seems likely that Uzziah is his regnal name, while his personal or given name is Azariah. Second Kings uses both names, but is more consistent in using his personal name, Azariah. Second Chronicles uses his regnal name, Uzziah, exclusively. With Uzziah, there might be a reason why his biographers used different names to refer to him. And here it is: during the reign of Azariah/Uzziah, there was a High Priest with the same name. Officially, he was Azariah II to differentiate him from Azariah I, who was the High Priest during the reign of King Solomon. Second Kings doesn't mention this priest, but Chronicles includes his role in the story of Uzziah's sin at the Temple and the king's resulting leprosy. So, for the Chronicler, using the King's regnal name, Uzziah, allows the reader to distinguish between the King and the High Priest.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Amos 1