Daily Devotions
Amos
"A hundred left"
Text: Amos 5:3
A VERY BLEAK PICTURE
A very bleak scenario was described by the prophet Amos concerning the future of Israel.
“For thus says the Lord GOD:
‘The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.'”
Amos 5:3
1. “Thus says the Lord GOD”
a) The Source of this prophecy was the Lord God Himself.
b) Amos was only His servant, His mouthpiece.
c) These words were:
i) Authoritative
ii) Prophetic
iii) Certain
iv) Powerful… for they will be fulfilled
2. “The city that goes out by a thousand”
a) Some cities were well-populated.
b) Some were moderately populated.
c) A city of a thousand people is not a very large city.
3. “Shall have a hundred left”
a) This was a sobering word.
b) Ninety per cent of the people would die because of war.
c) One cannot keep a city going with just a hundred people.
d) The situation was lamentable indeed!
4. “And that which goes out by a hundred”
a) Some cities (towns/ villages) were even smaller.
b) Some communities do not number beyond a hundred.
c) But when war comes, no one is spared.
d) The loss could be as high as ninety per cent.
e) One cannot keep a city going if there are only ten people there in the community.
The future of the nation was truly bleak and absolutely lamentable!