Amos 2:9–12

“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
I raised up some of your sons as prophets,
And some of your young men as Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the LORD.
“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’ ”

The LORD is saying that He kept his side of the covenant.

He brought [them] up from the land of Egypt. He led [them] forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. He destroyed the Amorite before them. He raised up some of [their] sons as prophets. And some of [their] young men as Nazirites.

And what did Israel do in response? They broke their covenant with the LORD, even making a point of erasing some of His blessings.

[They] gave the Nazirites wine to drink (which violates their vows, ending their status as Nazarites). And commanded the prophets saying, “Do not prophesy!”

That’s just plain “in your face” rejection.

Any time we see something unbelievably sinful/stupid in the Bible, we should ask ourselves if we do the same thing. If the standard is exactly the same thing, then, no, we don’t. I don’t know anyone who has given wine to a Nazarite, nor anyone who has told a prophet to shut up.

But that’s a dodge. As Rafiki said to Simba in The Lion King, “Look haaarder.” What about the things that are modern equivalents? Have you despised (wasted) a blessing from God? I sure have.

Consider all the blessings God has given you. Be honest about the ones you wasted and the ones you didn’t. What blessings are opportunities now?

Every mistake is an opportunity to grow. God cares more about the growth than the mistakes.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.