Saturday, October 13, 2007
Amos 6:6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The complacent in Zion and Samaria surely took care of themselves well! They demanded the best that the world had to offer. They had to have the best wine and have it in abundance. They had to have the finest lotions and oils with which to bathe. Yet while they found themselves amidst all this finery, they were not at all concerned with the ruin that was everywhere around them -- spiritual ruin. The land of Joseph and his brothers had despised the LORD.
They had nice clothes and good houses, but they did not love God. They did not look to the promised Messiah with repentant and faithful hearts. They had not put "first things first." The most important things they had forgotten and the less important things (like wine and lotion) had become their greatest concerns.
It is a temptation we face too. It is easy to do just what they did and become more concerned with earthly things than the things that are important to God.
Jesus, our Savior, put "first things first." In order to cleanse us of our sin and secure for us eternal life in heaven, He did not concern Himself with the outward trappings that others ran after with such vigor. He did not even have a house of His own. He was, however, deeply concerned about this: that sinners be saved to finally join Him in the Father's house.
Thanks be to God!
