AMOS 8:1-2 Thus the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit."
[Revised Standard translation]
Then the Lord said, "This fruit represents my people Israel—ripe for punishment. I will not defer their punishment again. [Living Bible Translation]
Summary
The book of Amos is a book about prophetic justice and judgment. Amos was a prophet---a spokesperson for GOD, predicting and foretelling GOD's plan for the people, including GOD's plan to judge and punish the Israelites for their sin. The Israelites had disobeyed God. They had broken their covenant with GOD by repeatedly worshipping idols. The wealthy elite were becoming rich at the expense of the poor, stealing even their "smallest crumbs" with taxes, fines and unjust interest rates. There was rampant corruption and social injustice everywhere, even in the courts. Individual pride, the lust for power and self-interest were more important to the people than GOD or righteousness.
In chapters 7and 8 of the book of Amos, (i.e., The Book of Visions), Amos describes a series of visions from GOD. In the first two vision narratives (the 7th chapter) Amos seems to persuade GOD not to carry out the punishment on Israel. However, in the 8th chapter of GOD gives Amos a third vision. GOD shows Amos a basket of summer ripe fruit. The kind of ripe fruit Amos saw may have included strawberries, peaches, blueberries or cherries. In the hot Middle East sun, this type of ripe summer fruit would not have lasted long. The fruit would turn brown. It would become soft. It would decay, spawn mold, rot and then smell. Eventually it would have to be "dealt with." Through this vision, GOD lets Amos know that, like ripe rotting fruit, Israel's sin and social injustices had gone unchecked long enough. The stench of Israel's sin was too great. It had to be "dealt with." GOD would not defer HIS punishment any longer. The time was "ripe" for punishment. The people and the nation of Israel were accountable to GOD and it was judgment time.
Fruit v. Fruit Juice
Many food guidelines recommend 2-4 servings of fruit per day. Fruit is rich in vitamins and nutrients and daily consumption of fruit is generally considered necessary for a good health. [Note: If you have a medical condition, your doctor may have other dietary recommendations or restrictions.] However, just as there is a difference between eating molding ripe fruit and eating recently picked "fresh fruit," there is also a vast difference between eating fruit and drinking fruit juice.
While fruit juice contains vitamins and is often "fortified," the difference in eating a piece of fruit and drinking fruit juice can be striking. In "Calorie Counter: Fruit vs. Fruit Juice", Laura Blue provides the following information regarding how fruit stacks up against its liquid counterpart:
- ORANGES
One 8-oz. glass of orange juice has close to 2.5 times the sugar and just one-third the
fiber of a typical piece of fruit. The stats from caloriecounter.com: the small juice contains
112 calories, 0.1g dietary fiber, and 20.8 g sugar, while the fruit has 45 calories, 2.3 g
dietary fiber, and 9 g sugar.
- APPLES
An 8-oz. apple juice has roughly twice the sugar but less than one-tenth the fiber of a
medium-sized apple. The stats: juice has 120 calories, 0.3 g dietary fiber, and 27.2 g
sugar; the fruit has 72 calories, 3.3 g dietary fiber, and 14.3 g sugar.
- GRAPES
A glass of grape juice contains — once again — about 2.5 times as much sugar as the
same volume of fruit (one cup of grapes), although with about half as much fiber. The
stats: juice has 154 calories, 0.3 g dietary fiber, and 37.6 g sugar; a cup of grapes has 62
calories, 0.8 g dietary fiber, and 15 g sugar.
- PINEAPPLES
An 8-oz. juice has not quite twice the sugar contained in the same volume of fruit (one
cup of diced pineapple), with roughly one quarter the fiber. The stats: juice has 140
calories, 0.5 g dietary fiber, and 34 g sugar; a cup of fruit has 74 calories, 2.2 g dietary
fiber, and 14.4 g sugar.
Emphasis added. See, www.healthland.time.com. "Calorie Counter: Fruit vs. Fruit Juice," by Laura Blue. Many fruit juices sold in stores, even organic juices, contain far more sugar than the amounts cited above. For those who are trying to reduce their sugar intake, eating a piece of fruit and drinking a glass of water is a much healthier alternative and a better choice (especially for weight control) than drinking fruit juice.
Fruit juice consumption should be particularly monitored in infants and children. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition cautions that juice in bottles, used as a pacifier, and prolonged bottle feeding predisposes children to nursing bottle dental caries (i.e. tooth decay; rotten teeth). In addition, excessive juice consumption in children has been associated with excessive weight and decreased stature. See, "Fruit Juice Consumption by Infants and Children: A Review," by Barbara Dennison, MD; Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 15, No. 5 (1996) published by the American College of Nutrition. Parents should be mindful of their children's fruit consumption and should not confuse the nutritional value of eating a piece of fruit with drinking fruit juice.
Spiritual Fruit
Not only must we be mindful of the fruit juice we drink and give children, and the fruit we should eat, but we must also be mindful of whether we are "spiritually fruitful." Like the Israelites during the time of the prophet Amos, our choices have consequence. We are accountable.
Galatians 5:22 states "the fruit of the [HOLY] SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (See Living Bible translation.) Today, let us pray for wisdom. Let us pray that we act justly and never with indifference to society's wrongs. Let us love mercy, walk humbly with GOD and obey GOD's WORD.
Let us pray for spiritually fruitful lives.
Pray for a steady diet of THE HOLY SPIRIT and Be Blessed.
