Daily Devotions
Amos
"Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness"
Text: Amos 5:25
THE WILDERNESS YEARS
Israel was in the wilderness for forty years as a form of chastisement from the Lord. This period was mentioned in the book of Numbers. Psalm 78 was written as a historical epic poem remembering how Israel had failed miserably as the people of God! Amos offers an insight that is startling, to say the least.
“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
You also carried Sikkuth your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.”
Amos 5:25-26
1. “Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years”
a) On the formal side… yes!
b) But this was not what God was looking for!
c) The nature of this question was actually rhetorical.
d) The fact was that the house of Israel had never been faithfully worshipping the Lord God.
e) Not even in the forty years in the wilderness with Moses as their shepherd had Israel proven faithful to the Lord.
2. “You also carried Sikkuth your king”
a) On the one hand Israel offered formal worship… represented by sacrifices and offerings.
b) But on the other hand, Israel covertly worshipped another king; an idol called Sikkuth.
c) These devotees carried their idols throughout the forty years in the wilderness!
d) There is a play on words with the word “king”.
i) In Hebrew the word for king is “melech”.
ii) The children of Israel worshipped Molech (a description of Molech worship may be found generally described in Deuteronomy 18:9-13; 1 Kings 11:7).
3. “And Chiun, your idols”
a) This was the name of another idol-god.
b) Israel kept their idols away from the eyes of Moses.
c) They succeeded to hide these idols from Moses, but not from the Lord God.
4. “The star of your gods”
a) Worship of celestial planets was not uncommon.
b) Astronomy in the ancient days was studied with reverence.
Chiun apparently was a more popular idol, being dubbed “the star of your gods”.