Lesson 35 – Amos 3;
7-9; Joel 2-3
“When I was a young wife and mother, my husband spent two years in
the air force. We lived in military housing on Long Island, New York. While
tending our young children, I often visited with neighbors who had come from
all over the country. One day as a neighbor and I were talking about our
beliefs, she became curious about what was different about The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. I told her
briefly about the Restoration, and I explained that the restored Church of
Jesus Christ has a living prophet today. This really seemed to pique her
interest, and she wanted to know what the prophet had said. As I started to
tell her about the Doctrine and Covenants and modern revelation, she said, ‘But
what has he said lately?’ I told her about general conference and that the
Church had a monthly publication with a message from the prophet. Then she got
really interested. I was so embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read the current
message. She concluded our conversation by saying, ‘You mean you have a living
prophet and you don’t know what he said?’ ” (Ensign,
May 1996, 84). If
someone asked you what the living prophet has recently said, would you be able
to answer the question?
Background: Amos
was a shepherd from Tekoa, a small town south of Jerusalem. He ministered to
the people of the kingdom of Israel from about 800 to 750 B.C. Most of these people
were in apostasy. They loved riches, oppressed the poor, and were so hardened
that not even famine or pestilence humbled them. As Amos confronted the people
with their sins, he prophesied even more dire penalties. Nevertheless, he
emphasized that God was eager to cleanse anyone who would repent, exhorting,
“Seek the Lord, and ye shall live”
(Amos 5:6). Amos also prophesied about the latter days.
The prophet Joel ministered to the people
of the kingdom of Judah. We do not know exactly when he lived, but his
prophecies are of particular importance to us because many of them concern the
latter days. Joel used the powerful image of a devouring host of locusts to
symbolize the devastation that armies and God’s judgments would bring in the
latter days. Joel also prophesied great blessings in the latter days,
foreseeing that the Lord would “pour out [his] spirit upon all flesh”
(Joel 2:28).
Amos taught that the Lord reveals his
secrets to his servants the prophets.
We hear the word of the Lord in our day through his anointed servants—the prophets.
Amos 3:7 - The prophet Amos taught
how important prophets are in this verse.
Amos 3:6-7 - Two words were
changed in the Joseph Smith Translation. Footnotes 6b and 7a; in
verse 6 the word known is used instead of done, and in verse 7
the word until is used instead of but. These changes clarify the meaning of the passage. The Joseph Smith Translation itself
is an example of the Lord’s secrets being made known to a prophet for our
benefit.
D&C 1:37-38
– The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that we should respect the messages of the
prophets as if they were the Lord’s own message to us—and they are!
D&C 21:4 - 5
- As recorded in Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gave counsel and commandment
to the Saints on the day the Church was organized to heed the words of his
prophet.
D&C 21:6 - If the
Saints would do this, he promised blessings: the gates of hell would not
prevail against them, the powers of darkness would be dispersed, and the
heavens would shake for their good.
Each of us has seen this promise fulfilled in our lives as we have obeyed the counsel of the prophets.
Amos prophesied of ancient
and latter-day Israel.
Amos 7:10-17 - Amaziah, a
priest in the kingdom of Israel, asked Amos to leave the land because Amos had
prophesied that evil would come to the people and their king. Amaziah and his
people did not want to hear the truth about their evil doings.
Verses 14 - 17 teach us that the prophet
Amos had integrity and courage. He would not change what the Lord told him to
say but continued to prophesy that evil would come to the people if they did
not repent.
In all ages of time, many people rejected or
ignored prophets’ messages—and had to deal with the consequences of their
choices.
Amos 8:11-13 - Amos
prophesied that spiritual famine, or apostasy, would be the result if Israel rejected
the counsel of the prophets.
Those same results await anyone in our time if
we reject the counsel of the prophets.
Amos’s prophecy of a spiritual famine was
fulfilled among the children of Israel after the time of Malachi, the last Old
Testament prophet. This period ended approximately 400 years later when John
the Baptist was called to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Amos’s prophecy
also applies to the Great Apostasy, the centuries of spiritual darkness that
followed the death of the Savior’s Apostles and ended with the restoration of
the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The absence of the word of the Lord can be
compared to a famine because it indicates a spiritual famine. People today are wandering “from sea to sea”
seeking for the word of the Lord but many of them do not know where to find
it. Because we have the blessings of
the restored gospel, our situation can be compared to a feast.
Amos 9:8-15 – The
message of hope that concludes the book of Amos promises that the children of
Israel would not be completely destroyed, they would be scattered among all the
nations, and in the last days they would be reestablished as a great and
prosperous people. Note that at the end of verse 9, the Lord makes clear that
he is concerned about each member of the house of Israel.
Becoming at ease in Zion
Amos 6:1 - Amos warned
the people about becoming “at ease in Zion”.
2 Nephi 28:19-24, 27, 29-30
– Consider what it means to become at ease in Zion.
Joel said God would bless his people in the latter days and pour out his Spirit on them.
The prophet Joel described some of the events of
the latter days that would precede the Second Coming. Joel 2:1-11 - He
described the march of a great army that would cause great destruction because
of the wickedness of the people.
Joel 2:12-32 - He called on
Israel to repent and turn to the Lord, promised that God would be in their
midst, and described the eventual triumph and redemption of Israel.
Reviewing Joel 2:12-32 and Joel 3:16-17 reveals
what invitations the Lord has given to those living in the latter days: Invitations:
·
Joel 2:12
- “Turn ye even to me with all your heaart”.
·
Joel 2:13
- “Rend your heart” (meaning to break yyour heart or be humble).
·
Joel 2:13
- “Turn unto the Lord your God”.
·
Joel 2:16
- “Sanctify the congregation”.
·
Joel 2:21
- “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoicce”.
These invitations suggest that we must turn to
the Lord with all our hearts. In doing that, we need to sanctify ourselves so
we are worthy of the Lord’s promised blessings.
Reviewing Joel 2:12-32 and Joel 3:16-17 reveals
what blessings the Lord promised to those who follow him in the latter
days. Blessings:
·
Joel 2:12
“He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and he will
turn away the evil from you” (Joseph Smith Translation, Joel 2:13; see footnote 13b).
·
Joel 2:18 - The
Lord will “pity his people”.
·
Joel 2:20 - The
Lord will drive the northern army (described in verses 1-11) into a barren
place.
·
Joel 2:26
-“Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisffied”.
·
Joel 2:27 -
“I am in the midst of Israel, … and my people shall never be ashamed”.
·
Joel 2:28
- “I will pour out my spirit upon all fflesh” (see also verse 29).
·
Joel 2:28 - Young
and old will prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions.
·
Joel 2:32 - “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be delivered”.
·
Joel 3:16
- “The Lord also shall roar out of Zionn, and utter his voice from Jerusalem”.
·
Joel 3:16
- “The Lord will be the hope of his peoople”.
·
Joel 3:16
- “The Lord will be the … strength of tthe children of Israel”.
·
Joel 3:17
- “So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion”.
These blessings demonstrate the Lord’s
commitment to his covenant people. He promises to be merciful, loving,
protective, compassionate, attentive, and provide us with many choice
opportunities in our days.
Joel 2:28-29 - Joel’s
declaration that the Lord would pour out his Spirit on all people in the latter
days is a stark contrast to the famine that Amos described in Amos
8:11-12. The angel Moroni quoted Joel’s
prophecy to Joseph Smith and told him that it was not yet fulfilled but was
soon to be.
It is a great blessing to live in the latter
days, when many prophecies are being fulfilled and when we have the guidance of
a living prophet. We should prayerfully study the words of the living prophet
and apply his counsel in our lives.
These
lesson are posted on the Internet at http://www.geocities.comn/jeninstitute/