Amos 9
COMMENTARY:
: 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. 8064 “heaven” [shamayim] means sky, abode of the stars, or atmosphere.)
DEVOTION: All the way through the Bible there are people who are trying to hide from God. There are people who think that if they are in the dark, God can’t see them. There are people who think that God doesn’t care what is happening here on the earth. There were people in Israel who didn’t think that God even existed.
Here we find that when judgment is about to fall on Israel they think that they can dig their way to a place below the graves and God can’t find them.
They think that they can go into first of three heavens talked about in the Bible. The first heaven is what is above us each night. The second heaven is thought to be the place where the angels live. The third heaven is where the LORD has HIS throne. Remember HE is omnipresent.
They also think that they can climb to the highest pike on earth and jump or fly into the first heaven and God can’t bring them down. They are all wrong. The God of the Bible is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscience (all knowing) and omnipresent (everywhere present) to name a few of HIS attributes. There is no place to hide. There is no place to run.
The LORD has promised judgment to Israel. However, HE will not completely destroy them. HE is going to restore them in the future. HE is going to restore the blessings of the land in the future. The LORD had a plan and continues to work HIS plan.
We will all have to face the LORD one day. The question we will have to answer is “What did we do with HIS son, Jesus Christ?”
Those who are followers of the LORD will stand before the LORD at the Judgment Seat of Christ. When we appear before the LORD we will have our works tested to see what they were made of and what our motives were when we did them.
It is always a test to keep our motives pure. The people in this chapter were doing impure things and hoping they could hide from God when the Great White Throne was convened. They are wrong. No hiding from the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Don’t try to hide. Work for the LORD once you have made a commitment to HIM. Encourage others to work alongside you to reach your world for the LORD.
: 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD. (2400 “sinful” [chatta’] means fallible, having committed unrighteous acts, one who bears blame, one counted culpable, offender, exposed to condemnation, or wicked person.)
DEVOTION: Omnipresence of the LORD is what is being reported here. The LORD is Sovereign over HIS creation. HE is sovereign over man, animals, angels and nature. HE is in control.
Every moment of every day HE sees what everyone is doing. HE cares what is happening. HE especially cares for those who are obedient to HIS Word. HE cares for HIS prophets.
Today the LORD is watching every action that we take. HE knows if we are obedient to our parents if we are still at home. Do they have to tell us more than once to do something that we should have done the first time? HE doesn’t like having to tell us more than once what is right.
If we are on the job and disobedient to our boss, HE sees it. If we are in the military and are not doing our duty, HE sees it. If we are in ministry and not doing our part, HE sees it.
If we are retired and just sitting around the house, HE sees it. Those who are retired should be serving the LORD well. I have observed men and women who are a real blessing to the church through their ministry of helps after retirement.
God wants us to be active until HE takes us home to heaven. Children help your parents around the house. Older children still help their parents. Parents need to help the children when they are in need.
CHALLENGE: All Christians should be actively using their spiritual gift/gifts in the local church. The time is short.
: 10 All the sinners of MY people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. (1157 “prevent” [ba’ad] means behind, round about, through, out of, for the benefit of, on behalf of, or separation.)
DEVOTION: Judgment has been given. The execution of the judgment is still a little time away but coming soon. God informs us from Genesis chapter three until today that judgment day is coming. It is closer than it was yesterday. We don’t know when HE will send HIS Son for a second time. The Bible states that it will happen. Before it happens some of us believe that the church will be called up to heaven.
The children of Israel are going to face a judgment at the hands of the Assyrians. It will be one that will lead to a time period of captivity and then a return to the Promised Land under the rule of another government. Israel will not be free again to own the Promised Land until the return of the LORD.
Here we find those who know the word of the LORD. Here we find people who have been warned many times by the prophets. Here we find a nation whose religious leaders are leading them away from the LORD.
The sermons that these religious people hear from the priests are that God will never judge them because they are a chosen people. They are a people who have listened to the promises of God but still have not applied them to their lives.
So they think judgment will never touch them it is for the other people. They think that they won’t be confronted by the LORD because of their sins. They are wrong. God is HOLY.
HE is still HOLY. We have to face the fact that if we are not going in the direction the LORD tells us about in HIS Word, HE will come in judgment of us. HE is not going to spare religious people, only true believers.
: 13 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. (5066 “overtake” [nagash] means to draw near, approach, step up, come forward, or very near proximity.)
DEVOTION: The same Hebrew word is used in verse ten. The religious people of Israel don’t think that the judgment will approach them. They think they are immune to any judgment of the LORD.
Now we have gone beyond the time of judgment to the time of blessing. The LORD seems to always offer hope even to people who think they don’t need the LORD. There is a future for the nation that those who presently in the nation will not see. They stand judged for their sins.
In the future, there is not going to be a famine of the Word of the LORD or of food. The food will be growing so fast that before the planter can leave the field there will be harvesters close by. The growing season will be very short. There will be plenty of rain. There will be plenty of food.
This has not happened yet. It is still future. A key to understand how long into the future is that statement that God is going to “raise up the tabernacle of David.” The future includes a king who is a descendent of David. Who will this king be?
The book of Revelation informs us that this KING from the tribe of David will be none other than the LORD Jesus Christ. HE will return for a second time to the earth to rule and reign over the nations. The Millennial kingdom will be a time of great blessing. It will be a time period when the devil will be chained for a thousand years. It will be a time period when there will be peace on the earth.
Children will be born that will have a choice to follow the King or not. Only believers will enter the Millennial Kingdom and the only form of temptation with come from the flesh. The world will be ruled by the LORD and the devil will be chained. Temptation will still be real. Choices will still have to be made.
There should only be a choice of becoming a follower of the King but that is not going to happen. Throughout history every human being has been given a choice. What is yours?
CHALLENGE: Even in a perfect environment with a perfect King there will be people rejecting Christ. Our time to work is NOW. A time of blessing is coming. Don’t look to NOW as your time of blessing and concentrate on material things.
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.
