Scripture
Men will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east
searching for the word of the Lord
but they will not find it.

Observation
The Lord shows Amos a basket of ripe fruit. The Lord says to Amos that the time is ripe for the people of Israel; he will spare them no longer. Because people are more concerned about making money than truly worshipping the Lord and they cheat the poor in their commerce, the Lord is going to trample them.

The land will be covered in darkness and their singing will turn to mourning. Worse, there will be such a famine for hearing the words of the Lord that people will travel all over desperately seeking the Lord's voice.

Application
This chapter, more than any other chapters in the Old Testament, speaks to the state of western society today. Greed and concern for wealth run rampant, so much so that we are more worried by our material standard of living than by the evils of abortion and sexual sins in our society.

The west has largely turned its back on christianity and is becoming increasingly hostile to the gospel. The church and scripture are ignored as society looks to human wisdom for enlightenment. Darkness is descending.

This is the situation to which Jesus has called us to be light. As our culture descends into darkness, our light must shine brighter.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, let me shine your light into the dark situations I will face today. Amen.