Philippians 1:1-11.  Be sure to read the “Intro to Philippians”, it will give you background that will help you understand the book.  The book of Philippians is a letter from a real person to a real group, the believers in Philippi.  If I read your texts or email or even heard a conversation you were having with someone It probably wouldn’t make sense unless I knew some background.  The “Intro” also references a couple of other pages in the “Did You Know” section that can be helpful too.

In today’s reading we start with a typical part of a letter in those days, the greeting.  In the greeting the author identifies himself and also who he is writing to.  In this case it is Paul and he is writing to the “saints” who are in Philippi.  Saints are not a special class of believers but include everyone who has trusted their lives and eternities to Jesus.  The New Testament was written in Greek, the language of the day.  The Greek word for “saint” is “hagios” and it has the idea of being set aside or dedicated.  It comes from a word that means “terrible thing”.  The idea is a thing that isdestined to be destroyed.  In that day and time if someone offered something to a god it was usually burned with fire or killed or both.  So the ideas began to merge together a dedicate thing would be destroyed and the word for destroyed came to mean dedicated or devoted.  These people in Philipppi were dedicated to Jesus.  It is interesting that Paul especially points out the “overseers and deacons”.  When Paul started churches he would help the group choose leaders.  These leaders were the overseers (in Greek the word used means to “watch over”) and the deacons ( in Greek the word means “servant”).  It’s kind of curious that Paul singles them out.  Later in the book Paul deals with two members of the group who are having a dispute, maybe the “overseers” had become a little two laid bacck so Paul especially wants them to listen as he “looks after” the matter.  If you read the “Intro” you would know that this church had been especially helpful in the ministry that Paul had been doing, in fact they had just sent him a gift to help with his bills.  The problem is that their messenger, who had traveled t least 800 miles to get to Paul, had become sick and had needed to stay with Paul for some time.  Some scholars think the church intended for the guy to stay with Paul and help him in Rome.  Paul was sending this letter back to Philippi in the hands of that same messenger.  Their “servant” was coming back.  For some this may have seemed like a defeat and been discouraging, maybe that is why Paul especially wants the “servant” to listen.  The  last part of the greeting contains Paul’s sort of wish for the group, he wants them to have “grace” (a thing that gives pleasure or joy, like a gift) and “peace” from God.  I think that that “wish” certainly fits the situation.

In verses 3-4 we see that the thing that has brought “joy” into Paul’s life is them, and he sees them as a sort of gift from God, that is why he thanks God for them.  He is especially thankful for the part they have played in the “gospel”.  That word means “good news”.  In the New Testament the specific “good news” (or gospel) is the facts about who Jesus is (literally “Yahweh with us”) and what he has done (made things right between us and God).  In verse 6 Paul says he is sure God will finish what he has started in each of their lives.  If you read through Amos with us you might also think that Paul is hinting at a forever future as part of what God is doing in these people lives.  The “day of Christ Jesus” is probably the same in Paul’s mind as “the day of the LORD” in the Old Testament.  That is a time when God will finally deal with all evil in the world and set up a forever kingdom filled with those who have believed in Jesus.  The fact that Paul mentions God “finishing” what he has started in their lives might hint that these believes where starting to get a little tired and discouraged.

Part of their discouragement might have been Epaphroditus’ illness (he was the messenger they sent to Paul) or it may have been Paul’s personal situation (remember he had been under arrest for 3-4 years at this point).  In verse 7 Paul links his imprisonment together with living for God and sharing the “good news” with people.  He also links them with what he has been doing by thanking them for helping him.  He tells them that this is something that should give them “joy”.  His life, although filled with trials, is a gift from God and in a sense a gift to them too.  In verse 8 we see that Paul cares very much for them.  It almost sounds like he misses them, which I’m sure he did, but what is really in his heart is a desire for them to stay close to Jesus.

In verses 9-11 Paul hints at another possible problem, false teachers.  He Wants them to keep on serving God with their lives, like they have been doing, but he wants hem to have “real knowledge” and “discernment”.  Discernment is “good judgment”.  He wants them to make sure about what they believe; that fits with “real knowledge” as opposed to false knowledge.  He wants them to live according to the truth so that their lives will “prove what’s true and best”.  He also wants their lives to measure up.  The word sincere in Greek is a compound word “Heilikrines”.  It comes from “helios” the Greek word for “sun” and “krino” the Greek word for “select or choose”.  He wants their live to ones that God would pick even in bright sunlight.  Again he mentions that he wants this to go on and on and on, until the “day of Jesus.  Paul wants them to have no regrets in the end.  Later in his life Paul will be in prison again, this time waiting execution.  In a letter to Timothy, his faithful friend, former traveling companion (as in verse 1 here) and now pastor in Ephesus, he says, “I have fought the fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”.  That is what Paul wants for his friends here in Philippi.  Verse 11 tells us how and why any of this is possible; our lives are right with God (righteous) because of Jesus.  Not only are we declared right because of Jesus but we have the opportunity to live right each day.  No wonder God is honored; He has given us a great gift of forgiveness for all we do wrong and help to do better.  That really is good news.

God help me do better each day.  Let me not get discouraged by my own circumstances or those of others.  Let me be a faithful servant.  Help me look after my won life and the life of those around me.  Thank you for the forgiveness that Jesus made possible.  Help me live and share the good news each day.

Amos 9:1-15. This chapter contains a third vision that Amos shared with the Northern Israelites.  In a way the actual vision is kind of short, he sees God standing by an altar.  Although really the whole chapter is the vision because it is not about what Amos sees but what God has to say while he is standing there.  An altar was a place where offerings were put, let, or made for God.  It was a place where people would go to sort of meet with God.  People would make their offerings expecting God to accept them.  We don’t know what particular altar Amos saw but based on what comes next it may have been the altar in Bethel, one of the main places of false worship in the Northern Kingdom.

So Amos saw God sanding by the altar.  If you are going somewhere to meet someone it is a good sign that they are there when you get there, so the Northerners probably were pleased to know God was there waiting; waiting for their offerings no doubt.  But they should have doubted because they were not honoring God according to God plan and rule, Amos has made that very clear so far and things are going to be no different with this vision.

In verse 1 God starts to talk and he talks for he rest of the chapter.  First he tells someone to “shake the capitals”.  In some translations is says pillars.  In architecture the top of a pillar or stone post is called a “capital”.  Permanent places of worship, especially in a main city, were usually pretty nice buildings.  In that part of the world and in those days these temples would be built of stone and would have many pillars.  Usually the altar would be inside of the temple.  God is telling someone to hit the temple so hard it shake all the way down to it’s foundation.  It is clear he was commanding that the temple be smashed and we see that fell in on those who are inside.  It may be that God was commanding an earthquake here (Remember Amos 1:1) but in light of the next part of verse 1 it seems more likely that he was having a foreign army invade Israel.  It seems that there were many in the temple when it fell down.  During times of invasion people would often run to their temples hoping their god would protect them.

When David (the second king of the Nation of Israel) was dying his fourth son, Adonijah, made a play for the throne.  David had promised the kingdom to Solomon.  David arranged a coronation (a ceremony where a new king is crowned) for Solomon.  When Adonijah heard the sounds of the coronation he ran to God’s altar and grabbed hold of it because he was afraid that Solomon was going to kill him. At that time Solomon spared Adonijah’s life.  It wasn’t long before Adonijah made a second play for the throne and this time Solomon had him killed.  One of his chief followers also ran to the altar for protection and he also was executed (1 Kings 1-2).

In the next part of verse 1 we see that those who did not die in the false temple were killed with a sword.  This is definitely a picture of an invasion.  Most of theses invasions in the Bible are by other nations that God motivates to invade.  Occasionally we see angles, God, or even Jesus wielding a sword though.  The end of verses one is a picture of total destruction.  We will see later though that God must have a specific group of Israelites in mind and that not every single Northern Israelite is killed in this invasion.

Verses 2-4 basically tell the people that they “can run but they can not hide”.  The language is very similar to Psalm 139 but it turns that Psalm upside down.  Psalm 139 is a Psalm (or song) by David in which he takes comfort in the fact that he was made by God and that God is there for him no matter where he goes.  Unfortunately God presence is no comfort for those in Amos who are now trying to hide from him.

In verse 5 Amos uses a compound name for God, “Lord GOD”.  AS I mentioned before many translations do not translate the personal name of God (Jehovah or Yahweh) out of respect.  This was a practice started by the Jewish people who would substitute the word “Adoni” which means “master of lord” when they would read “Jehovah” (probably more correctly “Yahweh”) in the Old Testament.  Here in verse 5 both words are together, “adoni Yahweh”, lord Yahweh.  In this case the translators have substituted GOD instead of LORD.  Notice that the word is all capitals (that’s how most translations which do the substitution let you know the word is really “Yahweh”).  The word hosts usually referred to some sort of army and often it was an army of angels. Whether this is an army of angels or a human army we see that Yahweh is master over it.  The rest of verse 5 and the beginning of verse 6 describe the power of God over the physical world.  At the end of verse 6 Amos makes it very clear we are talking about a very specific god here, the one true god, Yahweh.

Remember the picture of God standing by the altar in verse 1?  Seeing someone waiting for you can cause a sense of pride, the Israelites probably took it for granted that God was there for them, after all he is often described as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Jacob is Israel the father of the twelve tribes of Jacob or Israel) (See Exodus 3:16).  In verse 7 God tells them that they are no different that anyone else to him, he loves the Ethiopians, Philistines, and Arameans (who Jeroboam, the Northern king had recently defeated) too.  Verse 8 tells the Northerners why they are in trouble, they are sinners.  The word “sin” was used in archery when someone missed the bullseye; they had “sinned” or missed the mark.  Israel here is being told they have missed God’s standard for them.  Because the kingdom has consistently gone another way God is going to destroy them.

Remember above that I said that God had a specific group of Israelites in mind when he was talking about the destruction.  Here in verse 8 we see that the group is the disobedient rebellious Israelites, the “sinful kingdom”.  Starting with the end of verse 8 through verse 12 we see that God “will not totally destroy the house of Jacob”.  He describes what is happening as a way of separating the faithful from the unfaithful Israelites.  Notice in verse 10 it is the “sinners” who will die by the sword” and that those people have had a prideful attitude.  In verses 11-12 we see that the “tent of David” will be rebuilt.  This is a reference to the promise of a forever kingdom for David, the one that will come at the end of the “Day of the LORD”.  It will be a universal kingdom, over the whole world, a world filled with people “called by God’s name.”  The end of verse 12 tells us just who that god is, Yahweh.  Verses 13-15 further describe the goodness of this future kingdom.  The book ends with one last assurance that Yahweh is speaking and he is still their God.

So the book ends sort of where it began, Amos the obscure shepherd for the Southern Kingdom goes back into obscurity.  The words of Amos, which were really the words of Yahweh have come to an end, but the message still stands.  History is moving toward that “day of the LORD” and each generation, each person must decide if they are called by Yahweh’s name or are going to follow some other God.  We all have missed God’s mark, we all are under the penalty of sin (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  But God has provided a way of escape.  You can run but you cannot hide.  The only escape is the free gift of salvation through Jesus, God with us (Romans 3:23).  Heaven is there for the taking, take God’s offer today and honor the one true God now and forever.

Jesus thank you for the offer.  Thank you for calling out to me.  Thank you for helping me see.  Thank you for eternity with you.  Let me live for you each day.