Amos 2
LORD judges the nation of Moab verse 1- 3
Thus says the LORD
For three transgressions of Moab – and for four
I will not turn away the punishment thereof
BECAUSE he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime
BUT I will send a fire upon Moab
and it shall devour the palaces of Kirloth
and Moab shall die with tumult – shouting
the sound of the trumpet
And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof
and will slay all the princes thereof with him
says the LORD
LORD judges the nation of Judah verse 4- 5
Thus says the LORD
For three transgressions of Judah – and for four
I will not turn away the punishment thereof
BECAUSE they have despised the law of the LORD
and have not kept HIS commandments
and their lies caused them to err
after which their fathers have walked
BUT I will send a fire upon Judah
and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem
LORD judges the nation of Israel verse 6- 8
Thus says the LORD
For three transgression of Israel – and for four
I will not turn away the punishment thereof
BECAUSE they sold the righteous for silver
and the poor for a pair of shoes
that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor
and turn aside the way of the meek
and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid
to profane MY holy name
and they lay themselves down upon clothes laid
to pledge by every altar
and they drink the wine of the condemned
in the house of their god
LORD proved HIS power in the past: Amorites verse 9- 10
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them
whose height was like the height of the cedars
and he was strong as the oaks
YET I destroyed his fruit from above
and his root from beneath
ALSO I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and led you forty years through the wilderness
to possess the land of the Amorite
LORD gives example of Nazarites and prophets verse 11- 12
AND I raised up of your sons for prophets – and of your young men for Nazarites
Is it not even thus – O you children of Israel? – says the LORD
BUT you gave the Nazarites wine to drink
and commanded the prophets – saying – Prophesy not
LORD promises no protection verse 13- 16
BEHOLD – I am pressed under you
as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves
THEREFORE the flight shall perish from the swift
and the strong shall not strengthen his force
neither shall the mighty deliver himself
neither shall he stand that handles the bow
and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself
neither shall he that rides the horse deliver himself
and he that is courageous among the might shall flee away naked
IN THAT DAY – says the LORD
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: (3988 “despised” [ma’ac] means refused, rejected, abhorred, pertaining to limiting or avoiding association, spurn or trash.)
DEVOTION: There is a time when children have to challenge what their parents have taught them regarding the LORD. Amos is warning the children of his generation to not listen to their fathers who are not following the LORD.
There are parents that don’t love the LORD even among those who say they are following the LORD. There are many parents who go to church but don’t live the life the LORD wants them to live. They want their children to follow their lifestyle rather than the lifestyle the LORD instructs them to live in HIS Word the Bible.
All children have to question whether their parents taught them correctly. We can have religious parents but not true believers in the Word of God. This is what was happening in the days of Amos and have happened for every generation.
CHALLENGE: The LORD wants us to follow HIS instructions no matter what others have taught us when we were young. Start a new generation based on truth not a lie.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will gin into the same maid, to profane MY holy name (7602 “pant” [sha’aph] means gasp, to be a nuisance, pester, to cause to suffer, as if being trampled, or swallowed up.)
DEVOTION: The LORD wants us to help those who are helpless. This group of people need assistance on a regular basis. The assistance of the poor doesn’t always mean handouts. There should be time taken to instruct the poor so that they can function in society. They are not to be put down but lifted up by those who are followers of the LORD.
In our day there are many places where the poor can go. The churches responsibility is to help them through the ministries of local city missions. This can be done by giving of our time, talent and treasure.
Too often we just look down on those who are down and they feel that we don’t care what happens to them. That is wrong. The children of Israel were being like the rest of society by taking advantage of them.
We are to be encouragers and not discouragers to those who have little. Just giving them things will not help them become the servants the LORD wants them to be.
Teaching them the truth of the Word of God is the first priority. Second, teaching them to work constructively in a field where they can function is good. We are not to just shove them out of the way.
CHALLENGE: Our treatment of others really matters to the LORD. HE especially wants us to treat fellow believers really well!!
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: 9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. (8328 “roots” [sheresh] means bottom, deep, heels, foundation, source, or uproot.)
DEVOTION: Remember that the ten spies gave a bad report to Moses. They had gone into the land of Canaan to see what it was like and they came back to the camp afraid of the size of the people. They called them giants. They had also brought back some of the fruit of the land it was good.
Two of the spies brought back a report that the land was ready to be conquered because the LORD had promised them the land. It was the Promised Land for the children of Israel.
However, the people listened to the ten instead of Joshua and Caleb. So they wandered in the wilderness for forty years so that the fearful generation would die off and their children would conquer the land.
When the forty years were up, the LORD brought the people back under the leadership of Joshua and the giants were defeated. The LORD uprooted the Amorites. Their sin had become full and they were ripe for judgment.
God is going to honor HIS people when they honor HIM. If HE promises a victory all of God’s people should go into battle. HE never lies. The children of Israel found that out under the leadership of Joshua.
We need to believe the same truths today. If the LORD instructs us to serve HIM in a certain way in a certain place we need to honor HIM and HE will honor our actions.
HE was giving this lesson to the descendants of Judah and Israel as an example of what HE has done in the past and what HE is able to do in the future. They were not listening. We need to listen.
CHALLENGE: The foundation of the wicked is sand. Our foundation is the ROCK of God. Our foundation is stronger than any nation or people in our world. We are to have victory.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. (3196 “wine” [yayin] means banqueting, winebibber, house of wine, fermented grapes juice, or drunkenness.)
DEVOTION: Amos continues with the judgment of the nations around Israel and Judah. However, he also issues judgment on Judah and Israel. They are not following the LORD even though HE has given them the land. HE brought them out of Egypt and gave them the land to serve HIM but instead they were worshiping false gods. When HE sent individuals to tell them they were doing wrong, they told them to shut up. They also mistreated a group of people that had dedicated themselves to the LORD.
This special group of people called Nazarites. These people made a special pledge to God that they would for their life or for a period of time in their lives give themselves to certain restrictions. One of the restrictions was that they would not drink the fruit of the vine or grapes. Here we find that the children of Israel were causing these people to break their promise or vows to the LORD. They didn’t want anyone to have a special relationship with the LORD. Not only did they want this group of people to not follow the LORD but they also wanted another group to not do what they were supposed to do for the LORD.
This second group was the prophets. They wanted them to not say the words the LORD had told them to say. They would rather have no word from God than to hear the truth about their condition before HIM.
Today we have many people in the pews that don’t want the pastor to preach the Word of God. They just want to hear good things about themselves and others. They want humanism in the pulpit. They don’t want to know what their responsibility is to the LORD. They don’t want to serve the LORD. They just want to do what they want to do and then go to heaven.
It doesn’t work that way. The ones that don’t want to hear what the LORD has to say to them are not going to heaven. The children of Israel wanted the prophets to say nothing. God’s children want to hear what the LORD has to say to them. They want to have a right relationship with the LORD. They want to serve the LORD. They are convicted of sin in their life and want to confess it.
Are we listening to the Word of God? OR do we want the pastors in our lives to just say nice things about us? Are we encouraging those who have a message from God to not tell us the message?
CHALLENGE: Listen to the pastor/teachers who are presenting the truth of the Word of God and challenging you to follow HIM no matter what. Don’t have your ears tickled by someone who is not honoring the Word of God.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Thus says the LORD verse 1, 4, 6
Law verse 4
Commandments verse 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 16
I will not turn away the punishment verse 1, 6
I will send a fire upon Moab verse 2
I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof verse 3
I will slay all the princes verse 3
I will not turn away the punishment for three
transgressions of Judah and for four verse 4
Law of the LORD verse 4
I will send fire upon Judah and it shall devour
the palaces of Jerusalem verse 5
I destroyed the Amorite before Israel fruit
from above and roots from beneath verse 9
I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt verse 10
I led Israel forty years through the wilderness
to possess the land of the Amorite verse 10
I rasied up of yoru sons for prophets verse 11
I used your young men for Nazarites verse 11
I am pressed under you verse 13
Judgment of the LORD verse 13- 16
flight shall perish
strong shall not strengthen his force
mighty shall not deliver
those that handle a bow not deliver
those who are swift of foot shall not deliver
rider of horse shall not deliver himself
mighty shall flee away naked
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Moab verse 1, 2
King of Edom verse 1
Palaces of Kirioth verse 2
Amorite verse 9, 10
Egypt verse 10
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Transgressions verse 1, 4
Despised the law of the LORD verse 4
Not kept HIS commandments verse 4
Lies verse 4
Walked in err verse 4
Sold righteous for silver verse 6
Sold poor for a pair of shoes verse 6
Mistreat poor verse 7
Turn the meek away verse 7
Father/son have relations with same maid verse 7
Profane God’s holy name verse 7
Lay themselves down on clothes laid to
pledge by every altar verse 8
Drink wine verse 8
Worship in house of false god verse 8
Gave Nazarites wine to drink verse 12
Told prophets not to prophesy verse 12
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Righteous verse 6
Prophets verse 11, 12
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Judah verse 4, 5
Fathers have walked in transgressions verse 4
Palaces of Jerusalem verse 5
Israel verse 6, 11
Nazarites verse 11, 12
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 16
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QUOTES regarding passage
ma˒ac (מָאַס, 3988), “to reject, refuse, despise.” This verb is common in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs about 75 times in the Hebrew Old Testament and is found for the first time in Lev. 26:15: “… If ye shall despise [rsv, “spurn”] my statutes.…”
God will not force man to do His will, so He sometimes must “reject” him: “Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me …” (Hos. 4:6). Although God had chosen Saul to be king, Saul’s response caused a change in God’s attitude: “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Sam. 15:23). As a creature of free choice, man may “reject” God: “… Ye have despised the Lord which is among you” (Num. 11:20). At the same time, man may “reject” evil (Isa. 7:15- 16)When the things that God requires are done with the wrong motives or attitudes, God “de-spised his actions: “I hate, I despise your feast days …” (Amos 5:21). Purity of heart and attitude are more important to God than perfection and beauty of ritual. (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 1, pp. 58–59). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
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2:4 The specific sins of Judah calling down divine judgment were (1) rejection of “the law [tôrâ] of the Lord” as evidenced by (2) failure to keep the Lord’s decrees (i.e., his specific instructions) and resulting in (3) being led astray by the lies their ancestors followed. All these involve rebellion against the Lord and breach of covenant.
Tôrâ (“law”) may refer to the Ten Words (i.e., Ten Commandments) and more broadly to the Pentateuch. Here the term is defined by association with the name of Israel’s covenant God, Yahweh. Tôrâ of the Lord means his teaching or instruction, not general instruction. It is the embodiment of justice and righteousness and may be equated with the knowledge of God, the rejection of which results and consists in all manner of religious and social wickedness and amounts to breaking the covenant (cf. Isa 5:7, 18–24; Hos 4:1–13). For Judah to reject the Lord’s instruction was comparable to the atrocities committed by foreign nations (cf. Ezek 5:6).
The term rendered “false gods” (v. 4) is literally “their lies,” and the phrase “the gods” in the last line is not in the Hebrew but has been added by the NIV for clarification. Andersen and Freedman make a good case that while idolatry is the common interpretation of “their lies” and may be included, the reference is more directly to false prophecy. Rather than following the Lord’s instructions as conveyed by his prophets (cf. 2 Kgs 17:23), they followed the lies of prophets who led them astray like shepherds leading their sheep into the jaws of ravenous wolves (Jer 23:30–32; Ezek 13). To follow any path other than the one illuminated by the Lord’s Word is to follow lies that lead to destruction.
The final line of v. 4 is literally “after which their fathers followed.” The comparison may be positive, referring to the statutes their ancestors followed, or negative, referring to the lies they followed. The latter is more likely. (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (1995). Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (Vol. 19B, p. 59). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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2:4. The Gentile nations had rebelled against the “everlasting covenant” God made with them at the time of Noah (Gen. 9:5–17). But Judah’s sins (peša‘) were against the Mosaic Covenant. They had rejected the Law of the Lord. They had not observed the decrees, or stipulations, of His unique agreement with them. Instead of holding to His objective truth, they let themselves be led astray by the same false gods which had deceived many of their ancestors. The word for false god is kāzāḇ, “a lie or something deceptive.” The idols were deceptive for they were unable to help the people. In Deuteronomy God constantly warned the Israelites not to follow false gods (Deut. 6:14; 7:16; 8:19; 11:16, 28; etc.). (Sunukjian, D. R. (1985). Amos. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1430–1431). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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In his six messages, Amos had announced judgment to the nations surrounding Israel and Judah, starting with Syria in the northwest and ending with the trans-Jordanic nations of Ammon, Moab, and Edom. (There’s probably a map of the divided kingdom in the back of your Bible.) As his fellow Jews heard these denunciations of the Gentiles, no doubt they applauded and wanted to hear more. But when Amos focused on Israel and Judah (his own land), that changed their attitude completely. The very idea of a Jewish prophet classifying God’s chosen people with the Gentile “dogs”! “We know we aren’t a perfect people,” the people of Judah would argue, “but at least we worship the true and living God!”
Yes, the temple was filled with people bringing their sacrifices, but Judah was a nation given over to idolatry. “Their lies [idols] lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed” (2:4 nkjv). They were wandering like lost animals and like drunken men. The Gentiles had sinned against conscience and the laws of brotherhood and humanity, but the Jews had despised and rejected the very laws of God, given to them by Moses. Theirs was the greater sin, for greater privilege always brings greater responsibility (Rom. 2:17–3:9).
God had frequently punished His people in their land by allowing various nations to attack and subdue them, but now He would punish them out of their land. The Babylonian army would destroy Jerusalem and take thousands of captives to Babylon where they would live in the midst of gross idolatry for seventy years. However, unlike the six Gentile nations Amos had denounced, Judah would not be destroyed but would be spared. In His mercy, God would allow a remnant of Jews to return to establish the nation and rebuild the temple.
“I don’t know why you preach about the sins of Christians,” a church member said to the pastor. “After all, the sins of Christians are different from the sins of unsaved people.”
“Yes,” replied the pastor, “they’re worse!” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (pp. 18–19). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)
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Judah, privileged above all others, had despised the law of the Lord, and refused obedience to His commandments. The lies of their false teachers had caused them to err—the prophets whom they preferred to the heaven-sent messengers of the God of their fathers. Alas, the fathers had turned away from their Rock, and the children had walked in their ways. Because of this, Jerusalem’s palaces, like those of the nations, must be burned with fire, and the place where Jehovah had set His name be given up to His enemies (vers. 4, 5). (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (p. 149). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 4. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Judah, &c.] With whom Benjamin must be joined; for the two tribes are meant as distinct from the ten tribes, under the name of Israel, following. The prophet proceeds from the Heathens round about to the people of God themselves, for the ill usage of whom chiefly the above nations are threatened with ruin, lest they should promise themselves impunity in sin; though, if they rightly considered things, they could not expect it; since, if the Heathens, ignorant of the will of God, and his law, were punished for their sins, then much more those who knew it, and did it not, Luke 12:47 and he begins with Judah, partly because he was of that tribe, lest he should be charged with flattery and partiality, and partly because of the order of his prophecy, which being chiefly concerned with Israel, it was proper that what he had to say to Judah should be delivered first: and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; the prophet retains the same form as in his prophecies against the Heathen nations; his own people, and God’s professing people, being guilty of numerous transgressions, as well as they, and more aggravated than theirs; see the note on ch. 1:3. because they have despised the law of the Lord; a law so holy, just, and good, and so righteous, as no other nation had; and yet was not only not observed, but contemned: other nations sinned against the light of nature, and are not charged with breaches of the law of God, which was not given them; but these people had it, yet lightly esteemed it; counted it as a strange thing; walked not according to it, but cast it away from them; which was a great affront to the sovereignty of God, and a trampling upon his legislative power and authority: and have not kept his commandments; or statutes; the ordinances of the ceremonial law, which he appointed them to observe for the honour of his name, as parts of his worship; and to lead them into the designs of his grace and salvation by the Messiah: and their lies caused them to err; either their idols, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; which are lying vanities, and deceive, and by which they were made to err from the pure worship of the living and true God to superstition and idolatry; or the words of the false prophets, as Kimchi; the false doctrines they taught, contrary to the word of God, directing them to seek for life by their own works; and promising them peace, when destruction was at hand; and daubing with untempered mortar; and as no lie is of the truth, but against it, so one untruth leads on to another: after the which their fathers have walked, after which lies, idols, and errors, as in Ur of the Chaldees, in Egypt, in the wilderness, and even in later times: this was no excuse to them that they followed the way of their ancestors, but rather an aggravation of their guilt, that they imitated them, took no warning by them; but filled up the measure of their iniquities, and shewed themselves to be a seed of evil-doers, a generation of wicked men, the sons of rebellious parents. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 486). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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In some passages the complete destruction of a nation’s support in its past and its hope for a posterity is depicted as a destruction of root and branch (or fruit; cf. Amos 2:9; Mal 4:1 [H 3:19]). (Austel, H. J. (1999). 2471 שָׁרַשׁ. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (958). Chicago: Moody Press.)
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FROM MY READING:
Christians must also remember that Justice Scalia’s understanding of the proper reading of the Constitution as a text is directly relevant to the church’s proper reading of Scripture. The same liberal theorists who propose reading the Constitution as a “living” and “evolving” text also propose that the Bible be liberated from its actual text and from the intention of its authors. Ultimately, this approach to the Bible, common to theological liberalism, denies the authority of God as the ultimate author of the Scriptures. It is no accident that liberal theology and liberal theories of the constitution emerged together in American public life.
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The American people have been converted to belief in The Living Constitution, a ‘morphing” document that means, from age to age, what it ought to mean. And with that conversion has inevitably come the new phenomenon of electing and confirming federal judges, at all levels, on the basis of their views concerning a whole series of proposals for constitutional evolution. If the courts are free to write the Constitution anew, they will, by God, write it the way the majority wants; the appointment and confirmation process will see to that. This, of course, is the end of the Bill of Rights, whose meaning will be committed to the very body it was meant to protect against: the majority. By trying to make the Constitution do everything that needs to be done from age to age, we shall have caused it to do nothing at all.” (Al Mohler)
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I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. –Booker T. Washington
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Sol writes (Mexico): Love and appreciation to my favorite military men!!! Oscar Ibarra and Ben Ibarra ! We are so proud of you both! The military has not only taught you so many skills; but has taught you faithfulness, sacrificing and integrity. We pray that you may grow closer to the Lord in your daily living, so He may strengthen your body and soul to be able to keep going! Love you both so much! (Two sons in US military)
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Esther 5
Esther plans a banquet to set the stage for the revelation of the death plot.
INSIGHT“Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). One of the supreme examples of this truth in all of the Bible is Haman. His ego is on a feeding frenzy. He has power, wealth, position, family, friends, and honor. Yet all of this fails to satisfy his ego. Mordecai’s unwillingness to bow down to him sticks like a bone in Haman’s throat. Haman’s wife reveals her character by suggesting a flamboyant display of vengeance: “Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high [75 feet], and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it,” she counsels (v. 14). The same shadow is darkening both hearts. When pride is taken to this extreme, we see how exceedingly ugly it is. Beware of pride! (Quiet Walk)
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A WOULD-BE FOLLOWER
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Luke 9:59
Here is someone whom our Lord invites to follow Him. “He said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59-60). Our Lord challenged him and said, “Follow me!” And the man, you remember, responded by saying, “All right, I am coming, but ‘suffer me first to go and bury my father.'”
What is the principle here? Well, our Lord is teaching this man the urgency of entering the kingdom of God at once, without a moment’s delay. You must be right in your understanding of it, and then you must enter it immediately. Now let us be clear about that. Our Lord’s statement sounds terrible, does it not? On the surface it sounds as if He was refusing this man permission to go home to bury his poor father who was dying. But it does not mean anything of the sort. If this man’s father had been ill and had died, the son would not be with the Lord. The Jews were strict about this.
The question was that this young man says, “Yes, I am going to be a Christian, but not just now. I will be a Christian later on, when I have time. I am very busy at the moment. I am at the top of the ladder. I have great success ahead of me. I am beginning in my profession, or in my trade, or in my industry. Not yet! Oh, I like this teaching! I believe it is right; but I cannot do anything about it now.”
A Thought to Ponder: Our Lord is teaching this man the urgency of entering the kingdom of God at once, without a moment’s delay. (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 128-129, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Wonderful Things to Come
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
This fantastic promise refers back to another great promise given by God to His people: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him” (Isaiah 64:4).
The Old Testament promise applied primarily to the nation of Israel, but its New Testament extension incorporates it in a global promise to allwho love the Lord of glory, “crucified” by “the princes of this world” (1 Corinthians 2:8), the One who was also the Savior of the world.
Comparison of the two prophetic promises yields three vital truths. These things that God has prepared for His loved ones have been in view “since the beginning of the world,” and have been revealed in part by the prophets, who have been speaking also “since the world began” (Luke 1:70).
Secondly, those who “wait for him” in the Old Testament are synonymous with those who “love him” in the New. The apostle Paul joins both themes together when he says: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness . . . and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
Finally, we cannot even begin to comprehend the glorious things God has prepared for those who love Him and wait for Him. In some measure, the Spirit later revealed them in part through John’s eyes and ears when he saw “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven” and heard “a great voice out of heaven saying . . . God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2-3). Then our eyes shall fully see, and our ears hear, and our hearts understand the fullness of God’s love in Christ. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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10 Christians Are Dying Every Day for their Faith in Nigeria by Scott Slayton:
Life has become increasingly difficult for Christians in Nigeria, as persecution continues to rise and an average of ten Christians are dying for their faith every day. 91 million Christians live in Africa’s most populous nation, but many of them face consistent harassment and violence from Muslim extremists.
David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, recently spoke about the struggles facing Nigerian Christians on the Pure Flix Podcast. He explained that “There are these Islamic terrorist groups with safe haven in the north and the government has done little to nothing to root them out. That makes the north of Nigeria one of the most dangerous places for Christians.”
Curry pointed to a May 18thincident in which Islamic extremists attacked a church’s choir practice and are still holding 17 members captive. He said, We don’t know who is alive and who is not. The women are either forced into marriage to jihadists – under Sharia law there is often nothing they can do to get those individuals back – they are ransomed to raise money for terrorist activity or they are killed.”
In an area known as Nigeria’s Middle Belt, Christian farmers face attacks from militant Fulani herders and from Boko Haram. According to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, more than 500 Christians have died at the hands of Fulani herders since 2016. Boko Haram, while weakened in many places, still remains active in Nigeria and has increased its attacks on Christians there this year.
Some Nigerian Christians have reached out to the United States for help. According to Fox News, a delegation of Nigerian activists traveled to Washington in June with the support of Save the Persecuted Christians and the International Committee on Nigeria.
Rebecca Sharibu was among those who traveled to Washington. Her daughter Leah was kidnapped from her school by Boko Haram militants more than a year and a half ago. Many of her schoolmates were set free, but Sharibu claims her daughter is still in captivity because she “would not relinquish her Christian faith.” She said, “Leah is a beautiful child. She loves the Lord and I am so proud of her for not giving in. But she has spent her 15thand 16thbirthdays in captivity and we need her home.”
Leah appeared in a video released by the militants last August. She was draped in traditional Islamic garb and begged for the Nigerian government to meet Boko Haram’s demands. Those who made the video said Leah would be killed if the government did not acquiesce to their demands. Leah has not been heard from since.
David Curry said that Christians in Nigeria have remained firm in their faith even though they face overwhelming obstacles. He explained that “Their life is stripped down to the basics and they decide what is the most important. And it comes down to their spiritual life and that peace you get from Scripture and wisdom to help you live every day, even in these really hard circumstances… You can find that these folks that are held captive for a long time and you see their faith walk grow despite [the fact that] they have been stripped of every comfort.”
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