“Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,” says the Lord, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

“On the very day I punish Israel for its sins,
    I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy—
    their winter mansions and their summer houses, too—
all their palaces filled with ivory,”
    says the LORD.

Amos 3:13-15

• Amos addressed the over-indulgent and morally corrupt living of Israel, with one of the major themes being that of social justice.
• Kings and rulers were often commanded to care for the poor in the ancient Near East; it was a very inhospitable time historically for the poor, widow, orphan.
• Israel was experiencing a time of prosperity but they did not steward things wisely, and the prosperity didn’t last.

• “The horns of the altar were a last refuge for a condemned individual. To cut off its horns rendered an altar useless for religious purposes.” -Archaeological Study Bible
• Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he rushed to the sacred tent and grabbed on to the horns of the altar. Word soon reached Solomon that Adonijah had seized the horns of the altar in fear, and that he was pleading, “Let King Solomon swear today that he will not kill me!”
  1 Kings 1:50-51
• Whatever we are holding onto will be useless if we are not holding onto the right thing.
• We can steward wisely what we have, but what we have is not what saves us.
• What we truly need may not be evident at first, but we can intently seek Jesus to see what is truly needed.
• Religious ritual will not save us without a right heart.

Seek Jesus intently. Hold on to the right thing.