Daily Devotions

Why is Amos so Important?

Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. Prior to that, God’s word through Amos was directed against the privileged people of Israel, a people who had no love for their neighbor, who took advantage of others, and who only looked out for their own concerns.

More than almost any other book of Scripture, the book of Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally (Amos 2:6–8; 3:10; 4:1; 5:11–12; 8:4–6). Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/amos

How do I apply this?

Injustice permeates our world, yet as Christians we often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others for “more important” work like praying, preaching, and teaching. But the book of Amos reminds us that those works, while unquestionably central to a believer’s life, ring hollow when we don’t love and serve others in our own lives. Do you find yourself falling into that trap at times—prioritizing prayer over service?

The prophecy of Amos should simplify the choices in our lives. Instead of choosing between prayer and service, the book of Amos teaches us that both are essential. God has called Christians not only to be in relationship with Him but also to be in relationships with others. For those Christians whose tendency has been to focus more on the invisible God than on His visible creation, Amos pulls us back toward the center, where both the physical and the spiritual needs of people matter in God’s scheme of justice.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/amos

Day 1 (August 11)
Amos 8:1-14
Key Verse: 4

Day 2 (August 12)
Amos 9: 1-15
Key Verse: 15

Day 3 (August 13)
Psalms 64:1-10
Key Verse: 10

Day 4 (August 14)
Psalms 65: 1-13
Key Verse: 1

Day 5 (August 15)
Psalms 66:1-20
Key Verses: 17-19

Day 6 (August 16)
Psalms 67:1-7
Key Verses: 6-7

Memory Verse
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Who wrote the book?

Psalms, a collection of lyrical poems, is one of only two Old Testament books to identify itself as a composite work containing multiple authors (Proverbs is the other). Some psalms name their author in the first line or title. For example, Moses wrote Psalm 90. David was responsible for many of them, composing seventy-three psalms. Asaph wrote twelve; the descendants of Korah penned ten. Solomon wrote one or two, and Ethan and Heman the Ezrahites were responsible for two others. The remainder of the psalms do not contain information about their authors.

The book was originally titled Tehillim, which means “praise songs” in Hebrew. The English title of “Psalms” originated from the Septuagint’s Greek title Psalmoi, also meaning “songs of praise.”

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/psalms

Day 1 (August 18)
Psalms 68:1-35
Key Verses: 5-6

Day 2 (August 19)
Psalms 69:1-36)
Key Verses: 13-14

Day 3 (August 20)
Psalms 70:1-5
Key Verse: 4

Day 4 (August 21)
Psalms 71:1-24
Key Verse: 9

Day 5 (August 22)
Psalms 72:1-20
Key Verse: 12

Day 6 (August 23)
Psalms 73:1-28
Key Verses: 2-4

Memory Verse
Psalms 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Where are we?

Individual psalms were written as far back in history as Moses’s time, through the time of David, Asaph, and Solomon, to the time of the Ezrahites who most likely lived after the Babylonian captivity, meaning the writing of the book spans one thousand years. Some of the psalms attributed to David have additional notations connecting them with documented events in his life (for example, Psalm 59 is linked with 1 Samuel 19:11; Psalm 56 is connected with 1 Samuel 21:10–15; Psalm 34 is associated with 1 Samuel 21:10–22:2; and Psalm 52 is linked with 1 Samuel 22:9).

The psalms are organized into five books or collections. They were probably collected gradually, as corporate worship forms developed along with temple worship. It is likely that by the time of Ezra, the books of the Psalter were organized into their final form. Each section concludes with a doxology, with the entire Psalter capped by Psalm 150, a grand doxology.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/psalms

Day 1 (August 25)
Psalms 74:1-23
Key Verses: 20-21

Day 2 (August 26)
Psalms 75:1-10
Key Verse: 9

Day 3 (August 27)
Psalms 76:1-12
Key Verses: 1-3

Day 4 (August 28)
Psalms 77:1-20
Key Verse: 11

Day 5 (August 29)
Psalms 78:1-31
Key Verse: 31

Day 6 (August 30)
Psalms 78: 32-72
Key Verses: 71-72

Memory Verse
Psalms 18:6
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Why is Psalms so Important?

The psalms comprised the ancient hymnal of God’s people. The poetry was often set to music—but not always. The psalms express the emotion of the individual poet to God or about God. Different types of psalms were written to communicate different feelings and thoughts regarding a psalmist’s situation.

Psalms of lament express the author’s crying out to God in difficult circumstances. Psalms of praise, also called hymns, portray the author’s offering of direct admiration to God. Thanksgiving psalms usually reflect the author’s gratitude for a personal deliverance or provision from God. Pilgrim psalms include the title “a song of ascent” and were used on pilgrimages “going up” to Jerusalem for three annual festivals. Other types of psalms are referred to today as wisdom psalms, royal psalms (referring to Israel’s king or Israel’s Messiah), victory psalms, Law psalms, and songs of Zion.

The psalms include unique Hebrew terms. The word Selah, found seventy-one times, is most likely a musical notatio added by worship leaders after the Israelites incorporated the psalm into public worship. Scholars do not know the meaning of maskil, found in thirteen psalms. Occasionally, a psalm appears with instructions for the song leader. For example, we see instructions such as “For the director of music” (occurring in fifty-five psalms [NIV]); “To the tune of ‘Lilies’” (similar references found in Psalms 45, 60, 69, 80 NIV); “To the tune of ‘The Doe of the Morning’ ” (Psalm 22 NIV); “To the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy’ ” (Psalms 57–59, 75 NIV). These and others can
refer to melodies used with the given psalm or perhaps to suggestions for liturgical use.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/psalms

Day 1 (September 1)
Psalms 79:1-13
Key Verse: 9

Day 2 (September 2)
Psalms 80:1-19
Key Verses: 3, 7, 19

Day 3 (September 3)
Psalms 81:1-16
Key Verse: 13

Day 4 (September 4)
Psalms 82: 1-8
Key Verses: 6-7

Day 5 (September 5)
Psalms 83:1-18
Key Verse: 18

Day 6 (September 6)
Psalms 84:1-12
Key Verse: 10

Memory Verse
Psalms 103:1-2
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: