Worship. In Amos’ time, Israel’s religious practices did not equate to godly behaviour.

People
went through the motions, such as making sacrifices and tithing, but their sinful hearts corrupted
their worship. It included idolatry (Amos 5:26) and blatant disobedience (Amos 4:4). In chapter four,
Amos mentions Bethel and Gi lgal, which were locations of false worship and sacrifice.

In Deuteronomy, God gave clear instruction to the people to bring their sacrifices to the place of
God’s choosing (Deuteronomy 12:5-6, 13-14). The Lord established the Temple as the sole location
to worship Him. King Jeroboam erected other places of worship and sacrifice so the people of Israel
could avoid traveling to Jerusalem in Judah (1 Kings 12:26-30).

God cares about how we worship and the quality of worship we offer to Him. Showing up to service
every Sunday does not garner automatic acceptance from the Lord. Our entire life is to be a
continuous act of genuine worship to the Lord which conforms to His Word (Romans 12:1).

Wealth and comfort. There is nothing inherently wrong with these things, but when they distract
from and supersede God, they become an idol in our life which causes major issues. Amos displays
how material wealth and comfort can become a curse that leads to spiritual erosion. The inevitable
result is immoral living (Amos 2:4, 6-7). We enjoy an abundance of material wealth in our society,
and even many of those we consider poor enjoy things the kings of old could have only imagined,
such as electricity, ready access to clean water, and indoor plumbing. If we aren’t careful, we may
find ourselves self-absorbed, like the people of Israel, and neglect the needs of others and conform
our worship around our selfish desires (Amos 8:4-6).

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Bible on Iran
How the Prophet Amos Warns Us against Fake Worship
Stephen Baker
Contributing Writer
2021
4 Jun