Thursday, May 31, 2007
Amos 8:4-8
Hear this, you who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
saying, “When will the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
that we may buy the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?” (ESV)
by Leota Stevens
These verses remind me of a statement by Nitkita Khrushchev, the communist party leader of Russia during the Cold War. He said, “When you are skinning your customers you should leave some skin on to grow again so that you can skin them again.” While this passage is aimed at those conducting unfair business practices, it addresses us all. Lust for and love of monetary gain along with dishonesty in relationships with God and our fellow man negatively impact our entire societal structure. God is honored only when we deal justly and walk uprightly before him.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
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