The prophet Amos brings God's words of judgment to both Israel and Judah and also to the nations. He speaks judgment but calls for repentance. As noted yesterday from chapter 4, God sadly concludes that in spite of the suffering His people have experienced, they will not repent.
God reveals to Amos the kind of punishment or judgment He is going to bring upon His people. Amos has spoken strong words of judgment to God's rebellious people in Israel. In fact he is accused of a conspiracy against the king. Amaziah the priest demands that he go back south where he belongs.
Yet unknown to Amaziah (and maybe all the people who heard his prophecy) Amos cares deeply about them. As God describes the impending judgment, Amos recoils with concern and pleads with God:
In our day, there are well known evangelicals who seem to teach that if Christians really love people and really believe in a loving God, then they must also surely believe God will not judge and condemn those who ignore and disobey God.
In contrast, Amos provides us an excellent example of a believer who knew and believed that our loving, merciful God does judge sin; yet he is also an example of a believer who really cared about what happened to his people; and he provides a powerful example of an intercessor who believed and experienced God answering prayer.
"Lord, help me to follow Amos' example."
God reveals to Amos the kind of punishment or judgment He is going to bring upon His people. Amos has spoken strong words of judgment to God's rebellious people in Israel. In fact he is accused of a conspiracy against the king. Amaziah the priest demands that he go back south where he belongs.
Yet unknown to Amaziah (and maybe all the people who heard his prophecy) Amos cares deeply about them. As God describes the impending judgment, Amos recoils with concern and pleads with God:
“Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small! ” 7:2
Again Amos cries out:
“Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small! ” 7:5
As Amos intercedes for his people, God relents and does not do what He had planned.
In our day, there are well known evangelicals who seem to teach that if Christians really love people and really believe in a loving God, then they must also surely believe God will not judge and condemn those who ignore and disobey God.
In contrast, Amos provides us an excellent example of a believer who knew and believed that our loving, merciful God does judge sin; yet he is also an example of a believer who really cared about what happened to his people; and he provides a powerful example of an intercessor who believed and experienced God answering prayer.
"Lord, help me to follow Amos' example."
No comments:
Post a Comment