Key verse: “And he said,
The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and
the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel
shall wither” (Amos 1:2).
An
agnostic farmer, one day was beside himself with his arrogant spirit
against Christ. In making public his stand against the gospel, he wrote
to an editor of his local newspaper, who was a Christian. The farmer
said: “In defiance of your God I plowed my fields this year on Sunday, I
disked and fertilized them on Sunday, I planted them on a Sunday, I
cultivated them on Sunday, and I reaped them on Sunday. This October I
had the biggest crop I have ever had. How do you explain that?” The
editor replied: “God does not always settle His accounts in October.”
Our text showed God’s non-tolerance of
sin. Amos, a man with a burden, was a sheep breeder in Tekoa when he
received the vision against Israel. Israel was in direct disobedience to
God and Amos pointed out God’s judgement against them, which would
affect everything, including the pastures that would make the shepherds
mourn. If God withheld rain, sent plagues, or allowed conquering armies
to come upon the land, the shepherds would mourn.
God also pronounced judgement against
other nations, which had oppressed Israel. Damascus, the capital of
Syria, would be punished because it threshed Gilead, a region that
belonged to Israel, with implements of iron; Gaza, a city of the
Philistines, would be punished because it came against God’s people and
delivered them up as captives to Edom
The revelation from our passage today
is quite instructive. First, a believer, who backslides, like Israel,
will face God’s judgement. Some people have taken God’s longsuffering
for granted. Nahum said: “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power,
and will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3). So, please repent
because God’s judgement against sinners and backsliders is sure.
Thought for today: Though
it sometimes tarries, God’s judgment is sure.
By Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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