Burunche’s Blog

Lament for Israel

“Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: The virgin of Israel has fallen; she will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; there is no one to raise her up. For thus says the Lord God: “The city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; but do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. Seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel—You who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

He made the Pleiades and Orion; he turns the shadow of death into morning and makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth; the Lord is His name. He rains ruin upon the strong, so that fury comes upon the fortress. They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. Therefore, because you tread down the poor and take grain taxes from him, though you have built houses of hewn stone, yet you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate. Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

The Day of the Lord

 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, and they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, and skillful lamenters to wailing. In all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through you,” says the Lord. Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

 “Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? You also carried Sikkuth your king  and Chiun, your idols, the star of your gods, which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.” (Sikkuth and Chiun are Mesopotamian star gods, with Sikkuth being the “king” while Chiun is an assistant.)

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“They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. Therefore, because you tread down the poor and take grain taxes from him, though you have built houses of hewn stone, yet you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate. Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time.”  Notice that there are some prudent people left; however, they have been intimidated into silence, probably by death threats from their evil neighbors. God is warning that anybody who has benefited by bribery, abuse of the poor, and other sins will never survive to enjoy the fruits of their wrong-doing.

The day of the Lord is coming and when it comes, there will be universal mourning. Nobody will be spared. There will be no refuge for these sinners. ““I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Centuries later, Jesus will tell the Samaritan woman at the well that “God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) God knows phonies when He sees them! Jesus also will tell another story of two men who go up to the temple to pray. One man is a Pharisee who strictly observes all the religious rules while the other is a tax collector, who gets wealthy by overcharging people on their taxes. But the Pharisee worships himself rather than God while the tax collector stands off in a corner beating his chest and begging, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus will assure his disciples that the tax collector is the one whose prayers God will hear and answer because he is truly repentant. God is not impressed by fancy worship services that are actually performances, or offerings where the rich give small amounts out of their abundance. God desires that “justice will run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

When we think about the Israelites moving through the wilderness, we think about the Levites packing up the tabernacle and carrying it. We imagine the Israelites worshiping the One True Living God who has miraculously delivered them from the Egyptians. Sounds great, right? Now we learn that somewhere in the camp, somebody else is also carrying these Mesopotamian star gods! Not content with hanging onto the Egyptian deities that had already proven worthless, the Israelites have also been worshiping the stars, something God has expressly forbidden them to do. Evidently, all these years somebody has been harboring the idols of Sikkuth and Chiun; after all, these idols don’t make annoying demands such as personal holiness and righteousness. Little wonder then, that the Israelites watch as Moses goes to worship God in the tabernacle; many of these people are still idolaters, even after a miraculous deliverance, even after the earthquake, fire and smoke of Mount Sinai, even after miraculous supplies of food and water.

APPLICATION: We read what was happening in Amos’s day in Israel and Judah and are appalled. But if Amos were to suddenly appear in this day and age, God would probably put strong messages in his mouth regarding our society. Truth, righteousness, purity, justice, compassion-all are being ignored. Some social pundits even complain about school children being “forced” to learn the Ten Commandments; however, these people see nothing wrong with sex change operations for children.

Pornography addiction is rampant and human trafficking is on the uprise. Women and children are abducted from stores and parking lots. Beautiful children and young people are tracked through social media so that kidnappers can plan how to snag them. Charles Martin has written a trilogy that vividly portrays the evil ways human traffickers may work. Martin’s Murphy Shepherd Novels include The Water Keeper, The Letter Keeper, and The Record Keeper. They are well-written, entertaining, and inspiring. But they are also profoundly troubling; most of those abducted by the fictional gangs have been tracked through social media platforms. God’s call for righteousness and justice is just as important today as it ever was. We need revival just as much as did those in the day of Amos. May God help us to rend our hearts and not our garments, to examine ourselves and to turn to Him to save us and to cleanse us!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that our societies are in trouble and we don’t know how to fix them. Lord, send revival and let it start with us! Open our eyes to see those things in our lives that do not please You and help us to repudiate them. Replace our foulness with Your righteousness and purity. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel

“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!” The Lord God has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days shall come upon you when He will take you away with fishhooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast into Harmon,” says the Lord.

“Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of Israel!” says the Lord God.

Israel Did Not Accept Correction

“Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord. “I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon,
and where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord.

“I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, your vineyards, your fig trees,
and your olive trees, the locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord. “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord.

“I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord. “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth—The Lord God of hosts is His name.”

One of the definitions of stupidity is repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results! God has been doing His best to get the Israelites to pay attention, but they have been persistently ignoring Him. Look at the ways God has been using to get through to the Israelites: 1. Hunger 2. Drought at a critical point in the growing cycle 3. Blight and mildew – fungus diseases that attack vineyards, fig trees and olive trees 4. An attack of locusts (Some translations also include palmer worms or caterpillars) 5. “A plague after the manner of Egypt” – It’s not clear what kind of sickness this might be; however, if the water supply is poor, cholera and typhoid would be two good possibilities. 6. War that destroyed horses, chariots, and young men to the point that the dead bodies raised a stench. 7. Some kind of natural disaster similar to the one that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah – Was this an earthquake? A hail storm? A lightning storm that destroyed cities? Whatever happened, the people involved have made a narrow escape.

God has done all of these things in hopes that His people would turn to Him for help and would repent. Evidently, instead, the Israelites have responded by making more sacrifices to idols and possibly even seeking out new ones. Now God is reminding the Israelites precisely who He really is. ““Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth—The Lord God of hosts is His name.”

 Reading through the Bible, there are relatively few times when God lists His qualifications. God revealed Himself to Moses, hiding Moses in the cleft of a rock while He passed by proclaiming His attributes. Exodus 34:5-7 “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”  God is trying to remind the Israelites of His sovereignty in hopes of their remembering all He has done for them and repenting. Sadly, they are not listening.

APPLICATION: When disasters happen in our lives, what is our response? Do we turn to God, or do we struggle to find some other explanation? Do we ask God to reveal His Will or do we complain that God is punishing us for some reason? As far as the Israelites were concerned, they refused to acknowledge their God and suffered the consequences.

Yesterday I mentioned the “Border Patrol” reality TV series that shows customs and immigration officers working in various parts of the world. One of the most vigilant groups in any country is the group screening for anyone bringing in fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, or other items that might harbor insect pests and fungal diseases that could ravage a country’s crops. Those screening packages mailed into the country must be equally vigilant or their country will suffer the results. Everybody who does this screening remembers the story of the Formosan termites.

During World War II, the U.S. Navy shipped a lot of goods in wooden crates from Formosa/Taiwan to the naval base in Algiers, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Winters in Formosa are cold, so insect pests die in the winter; however, the climate around New Orleans is sub-tropical. Some people have banana trees growing in their yards in New Orleans. Those shipping crates were infested with Formosan termites, and when the termites reached New Orleans, they went crazy. Temperatures in New Orleans rarely reach freezing, allowing the termites to proliferate. New Orleans is famous for its many gracious streets shaded by huge live oaks draped in Spanish moss that reach their branches across the streets, shading them. Guess which trees these termites have found most delicious? That’s right! Formosan termites will burrow into live oaks, consuming them to such an extent that they become hollow and weak, simply waiting to collapse in the next wind storm.

As things deteriorate in Israel and Judah, God is sending His prophets to warn His people to repent. But generations of idol worship have done the same thing to the Israelites spiritually that Formosan termites do to live oaks: these people might look all right, but they are hollow, simply waiting for the first disaster to collapse. Even though God is doing everything He can to get people’s attention, nobody is listening, not even when God tries to remind them of who He is.

We need to ask ourselves if we are infested with spiritual termites. What is most important in your life? Is it work or sports or your family or some hobby? There is nothing wrong with any of these things; however, a life that is not based on God is a termite-infested life. May God protect us from spiritual termites!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please show us if we are placing a higher value on someone or something than we are on serving You. Help us to change, so that You come first in our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

  Authority of the Prophet’s Message

“Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:  “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

Punishment of Israel’s Sins

“Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her. For they do not know to do right,’ says the Lord, ‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall be all around the land; he shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.”

Thus says the Lord: “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria—in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch! Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God of hosts, “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end,” says the Lord.”

God is disgusted! After choosing the Israelites out of all the nations in the earth and taking care of them for years, the Israelites are behaving as if they have never heard of the God who has delivered them and who has given them their land. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

Actions have consequences, a fact that everybody knows. Now God is confronting His people. In a country where many of the roads consist of narrow paths, two people cannot possibly travel together unless they can cooperate on the way they walk along the path. Obviously, lions won’t roar in the forest unless they have caught prey. Birds cannot fall into snares unless they have been set and snares don’t merely appear unless someone sets them. Trumpets are only blown to warn people of attacks. The Lord God will reveal His will to His prophets, and when that happens, the prophets must prophesy.

Once more, God is promising to punish His people for their sins. Why would God do such a thing? God does not destroy people without a reason; people use their free will to choose evil. God is warning His people to change and to repent while they still have the chance.

“That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end,” says the Lord.” Archaeologists investigating ancient Samaria have unearthed large amounts of ivory fragments from those houses that were destroyed by invaders. Truly, the Israelites did suffer the consequences of their actions.

APPLICATION: ““You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” One of the most commonly – quoted verses in this chapter is Verse 3: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”  This verse is frequently used during marriage counseling for a good reason. No matter what kind of partnership you are discussing, if you are unequally matched and working at odds with each other, the partnership will fail miserably. God wanted to walk in partnership with the nation of Israel, the only nation with which He made such a covenant; however, the Israelites weren’t interested, breaking covenant and choosing to pursue idolatry instead. Actions have consequences, no matter how much we might wish otherwise.

One of the reality TV shows we follow depicts border patrols and customs agents in several different countries around the world. Some travelers persist in attempting to force their way into countries without proper paper work. Still other travelers reach countries with inadequate funds, hoping to work illegally. It is amazing how many otherwise intelligent people choose to flout customs import rules on such things as food items, luxury items bought abroad, or large amounts of undeclared cash even though they may face expensive fines. It is the unenviable job of the immigration and customs workers to advise travelers of these problems and to enforce the laws.

Each of us has a choice: we can choose to follow God or we can choose to go our own way, suffering the consequences. May each of us choose to follow the God who loves us and who wants nothing but the best for us!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to walk in partnership with You, knowing that You can guide us and protect us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.   

Judgment on Moab, Judah, and Israel

“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, (Or I will not revoke the punishment) because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime. So I will send fire against Moab to consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in tumult, amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn. I will cut off the ruler from Moab and kill all the officials with him,” says the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they have rejected the Law of the LORD and have not kept His statutes; they have been led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked. So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.” This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four,

I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God (Or of their gods), they drink wine obtained through fines. Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below. And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite. I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men.

Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain. Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest of mighty men will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.”

God is still calling out nations and holding them to account. First, God takes on Moab. Evidently, the Moabites have beaten the Edomites in battle. While it is traditional to put one’s foot on the neck of a conquered king and then either hang him or kill him in some other fashion, it is not traditional to destroy the body. But the Moabites have not only killed the king of Edom but also have burned the body and the bones until nothing is left but lime. Destroying a body in such a fashion will prevent that individual from possibly rising from the dead or being reincarnated according to traditional beliefs. Now God is saying that as the Moabites have used fire to carry out a dastardly deed, He will send fire to consume their citadels and their ruler and all his officials will die in battle.

Next God turns his attention to Judah, and things in Judah are a horrific moral morass. 1. The citizens of Judah have rejected the Law of the Lord and have not kept His statues. 2. They have been led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked. 3. They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. 4. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth. 5. They push the needy out of their way. 6. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name. 7. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. 8. In the house of their God (Or of their pagan gods), they drink wine obtained through fines. 9. They have made the Nazirites drink wine when Nazirites are not even supposed to taste so much as a grape or even eat a single grape skin. 10. They have commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

For rejecting the Lord who has delivered them and who has given victory in battle, Judah is going to suffer complete destruction. “Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain. Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest of mighty men will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.”

Once more we realize that being a prophet can be very dangerous! It’s amazing that after giving these prophecies, Amos survives to prophesy again. Certainly, God must be protecting Amos. Yet it’s also possible that God has chosen Amos precisely because Amos is a sheepherder and a farmer. Amos’s low social status might help protect him as he prophesies and then returns to the village. On the other hand, is it possible that the upper – class citizens of Judah might simply write Amos off as an ignorant person from the bush?

APPLICATION: While many of us claim that we want to hear from God, how picky are we about the appearance of the messenger? Do we listen better if someone claiming to be a prophet is nicely dressed and obviously highly educated? What if God sends somebody in stained jeans and a blue work shirt and dirty work boots? Here in Ghana the cheapest and most common footwear is flip flop sandals. Poor women may wear cloths made by sewing several pieces of left over material together and pairing this with a worn tee shirt. Such material is sometimes called “African sympathy cloth.” What if God were to send an old lady in a tee shirt and African sympathy cloth to give you a message in pidgin English? Would you listen or would you simply ignore her?

In Romans 1:18-23 Paul described those who claim to hear from God but who really don’t. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”

God is a good Father and good fathers do not force their kids to play guessing games. If we ask God to give us wisdom and to teach us about Himself, He will certainly do so. The big question for us is this: Do we really want to hear from God? What if God asks us to clean up our acts? What if God asks us to give up something to which we are addicted such as work, food, video games, not to mention things such as drugs or alcohol? But here is the secret: if we truly want to change, we can ask God and He will help us change. May God give us humility so that we will ask for His help!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us want to change but we feel stuck in our obsessions. Help us to want to change and help us to trust You to help us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors

“The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”

Judgment on the Nations

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,
because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces. I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” says the Lord God.

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,
because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, which shall devour its palaces.”

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,
because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory.
But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour its palaces, amid shouting in the day of battle, and a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. Their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together,” says the Lord.

The day of the Lord is coming, and God is about to settle a bunch of scores! Syria, the Philistines, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon – all these nations are about to perish, and God lists their sins against Him. The Syrians have mercilessly attacked the Israelites living in Gilead on the east side of the Jordan river. Remember that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half – tribe of Manasseh chose to settle in Gilead because the pastures were so extensive and verdant. Here God mentions the five Philistine cities individually and promises that the Philistines will be destroyed. God promises the same thing to Tyre. While the Philistine cities are on the mainland, the city of Tyre is on an island reached by a causeway. But Tyre also is eventually destroyed because they ignored a covenant of brotherhood.

The Edomites and the Israelites are technically brothers. When God led Moses and the Israelites to Canaan, He forbade them from attacking the Edomites because of this brotherhood. But the Edomites have repaid that favor by continually attacking the Israelites. The Ammonites will also be destroyed because they attacked Gilead and showed no pity to anyone, including pregnant women.

Eventually, many of the cities mentioned here wound up as mere tells, mounds of ruins with lots of stories but few facts to verify their origins. Some of the peoples mentioned here were destroyed so completely that for a long time, scholars refused to believe that they had ever actually existed. Only more recently have these areas been excavated sufficiently to verify Biblical truth.

APPLICATION Several years ago, there was a song entitled “From a Distance.” Here are the words:

From a distance, the world looks blue and green And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance, there is harmony And it echoes through the land
It’s the voice of hope It’s the voice of peace It’s the voice of every man

From a distance, we all have enough And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance, we are instruments Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope Playing songs of peace They’re the songs of every man

God is watching us God is watching us God is watching us From a distance

From a distance, you look like my friend Even though we are at war
From a distance, I just cannot comprehend What all this fighting’s for

From a distance, there is harmony And it echoes through the land
And it’s the hope of hopes It’s the love of loves It’s the heart of every man (every man)

It’s the hope of hopes It’s the love of loves This is the song for every man

And God is watching us God is watching us God is watching us From a distance

Oh, God is watching us God is watching God is watching us From a distance

There’s just one problem with this song: God is NOT watching us from a distance! God is as close to us as our heart beats and our next breath. When the nations mentioned in this chapter of Amos were committing horrible crimes, God was right there watching, not in some distant place. If God had been watching these five nations from a distance, they might not have suffered their eventual fates. But God cared passionately about what these nations did, just as He continues to care passionately about us.

“But if God cares so much about us, why do bad things happen?” You ask. Bad things happen because sin has been in the world since the beginning of time. Whether or not you believe in the story of the Garden of Eden, sin is a reality. And because of our sins, our world also has become polluted. Several times in the Old Testament God mentions that the land is crying out to Him because of the sins of its people.

George Otis Jr. and his group the Sentinel Organization have extensive video proof of the way in which the environment can transform itself once the people living there have repented. From the South Pacific to Alaska to South and Central America, people who have repented have seen their lands become fertile, fish species re-populate and the environment change completely. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDqY29Fbu8M )

We really can change the world around us, not by programs or policies but by repentance. If we repent and follow God, we can begin to change our immediate environment. From there, who knows how God might use us?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners in need of salvation. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives so that You can work through us to change our surroundings. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Yesterday we finished considering the Book of Joel. Today we are moving on to another so-called “minor” prophet, Amos. Pastor Chuck Swindoll in his book Searching the Scriptures introduces Amos this way:

Who wrote the book?

The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of Jerusalem. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. Rather, he was “a grower of sycamore figs” as well as a shepherd (Amos 7:14–15). Amos’s connection to the simple life of the people made its way into the center of his prophecies, as he showed a heart for the oppressed and the voiceless in the world.

Where are we?

Amos prophesied “two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1; see also Zechariah 14:5), just before the halfway point of the eighth century BC, during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. Their reigns overlapped for fifteen years, from 767 BC to 753 BC.

Though he came from the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos delivered his prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel and the surrounding nations, leading to some resistance from the prideful Israelites (Amos 7:12). Jeroboam’s reign had been quite profitable for the northern kingdom, at least in a material sense. However, the moral decay that also occurred at that time counteracted any positives from the material growth.

Why is Amos so important?

Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. Prior to that, God’s word through Amos was directed against the privileged people of Israel, a people who had no love for their neighbor, who took advantage of others, and who only looked out for their own concerns.

More than almost any other book of Scripture, the book of Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally (Amos 2:6–8; 3:10; 4:1; 5:11–12; 8:4–6). Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.

What’s the big idea?

With the people of Israel in the north enjoying an almost unparalleled time of success, God decided to call a quiet shepherd and farmer to travel from his home in the less sinful south and carry a message of judgment to the Israelites. The people in the north used Amos’s status as a foreigner as an excuse to ignore his message of judgment for a multiplicity of sins.

However, while their outer lives gleamed with the rays of success, their inner lives sank into a pit of moral decay. Rather than seeking out opportunities to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, they embraced their arrogance, idolatry, self-righteousness, and materialism. Amos communicated God’s utter disdain for the hypocritical lives of His people (Amos 5:21–24). His prophecy concludes with only a brief glimpse of restoration, and even that is directed to Judah, rather than the northern kingdom of Israel (9:11–15).

APPLICATION: The description of Israel in Amos’ time sounds eerily similar to our world today. While many people are enjoying economic success, COVID restrictions and other disasters have reduced others to poverty. Morals are deteriorating. Sexual traffickers track children through social media accounts, plotting ways and means of abducting them. I used to enjoy the photos of my friends’ kids; now I pray for protection for them every time I see another photo. Women and children must take defensive measures in stores and parking lots, lest they be kidnapped. Perveyors of pornography are raking in huge profits. Politicians are manipulating immigration crises in a lust for power. Having declared the unborn and newly-born not to be human beings worth saving, abortionists are pushing their evil agendas throughout the world. Where are the prophets when we need them? But if a true prophet speaks, will anybody listen?

In 2017 B.K. Dell published a book of fiction entitled Mead Mountain, In that story, a pastor felt the Lord calling him to speak to the huge mountain behind his church, Mead Mountain, and command it to crumble. Naturally, this prophecy received national attention along with corrosive ridicule, particularly when the mountain failed to crumble on the exact day the pastor had indicated. But a few days later, the mountain crumbled and fell! The pastor looked out one morning and there was no mountain! Did the disappearance of this enormous monolith bring people to their knees in praise and worship of God? Are you kidding! The very individual for whom the mountain had been named came up with all kinds of theories about water entering cracks and erosion and a host of other reasons to give “natural explanations” as to why the mountain suddenly fell apart.

The obvious moral of the story told in Mead Mountain is this: people see what they want to see and believe what they choose to believe. The mountain vanished; if God chose to use several different kinds of erosion, etc., so that millions of tons of rock disappeared suddenly, why not? For those with faith, God did a miracle. For those without faith, “natural” explanations bolstered their rejection of the very God who had created them as well as the mountain.

 Elizabeth Barret Browning once wrote, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

In Amos’ day there were those who listened and repented. But there were probably far more people who took one look at this sheep herder cum fig tree dresser and turned up their noses because he didn’t smell very good and he was obviously a poor working man. Such people deluded themselves to believe that if God were to send a nicely – dressed prophet speaking in glowing phrases, they would listen.

Reality was far different: God chose Amos precisely because he did NOT fit the mold of a prophet. God is pesty that way; He refuses to obey rules we make up for Him. As we study Amos, let’s remember that God is far more concerned about our availability than He is about our ability. Whenever I speak before a congregation, I always remind myself that God spoke through Balaam’s donkey. It’s God who is important and not the messenger. Let’s open our hearts and minds to receive what God might teach us through the Book of Amos.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to get rid of our goofy preconceived notions about You and about how You might speak to us. Help us to be willing to listen to those whom You send to us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

God Judges the Nations

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land. They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; because you have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My prized possessions. Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their borders. ”Behold, I will raise them out of the place to which you have sold them, and will return your retaliation upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, And they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off; for the Lord has spoken.”

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around.
Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; dor there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; dor the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.”

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

God Blesses His People

And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; a fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Acacias. “Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

If the previous chapters of Joel sounded dire warnings, this chapter is full of magnificent promises. The time is coming when God will judge the nations. God will restore His people and will protect them. Those nations who have sinned against God will be judged harshly. “The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

Next, God is going to heal the land of Israel. The vineyards will be so fruitful that the mountains will literally drip with new wine. The livestock on the hills will be so healthy and plentiful that the hills themselves will practically drip with milk. All the brooks of Judah will be flooded with water, even those water courses that only flow immediately after heavy rains in the mountains. There will even be a fountain of water flowing out of the Temple Mount into the Valley of Acacias. Will water literally flow or is this a figure of speech indicating that the knowledge of God will flow? Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers tells us, “Shittim, in the land of Moab, is symbolical of the barrenness and sterility of land where there is no water; of the dry places of the world, where there are trees lacking moisture: the heathen, to whom God is not known, shall yet become covered with the knowledge of the Lord.” There are many dry areas in Judah, all symbolic of the hearts of those who do now know God.

APPLICATION: “Well,” you say, “this sounds great if you are Jewish, but what if you are not?” God chose the Jews to demonstrate what could happen when a people was totally devoted to Him. God has never excluded anyone who truly longs for Him and who truly seeks Him. Many times, we are seeking God without realizing it; all we know is that we long for true love, for purity, for peace and for rest. The One True Living God is the only One who can give those things.

Many of us have suffered in families where love was conditional and had to be earned. Love that must be earned is not love at all. Many of us have found ourselves in situations in which we were treated as people of little or no worth. But we are of such worth to God that He has sent His only Son Jesus Christ to shed His blood to pay for our sins on the cross.

Jesus told His disciples that He came so that we could have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Why settle for lives of little meaning that leave only dust in our mouths when God is offering abundant life?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and that by ourselves we cannot earn our way into heaven. We thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Lord, forgive us our sins and help us to follow You from this day forward. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Day of the Lord

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations.

A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array.

Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief.

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him—a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

The Land Refreshed

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. “But I will remove far from you the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea; his stench will come up, and his foul odor will rise, because he has done monstrous things.”

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the warming [k]locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.

God’s Spirit Poured Out

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

What does it mean to blow a trumpet? In ancient Israel, trumpets were used for signaling, particularly calls for help when a city was being attacked. Here Joel is predicting that throughout Judah, the citizens will hear trumpets screaming for help, but no help will be coming. God’s people have rejected God and now will be reaping the results.

“The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?” Destruction is coming, and the only way to avoid it is for God’s people to repent and turn to Him for help.

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.” God is warning people to repent quickly, but He is promising forgiveness and healing. “Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” Priests who have rejected their holy calling will repent in tears and intercede for their people.

“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people.” When the priests intercede and when the people repent, God will restore the land and drive the enemies away. “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the warming [k]locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.”

Who among us has not made horrible mistakes? Who among us has not longed for a reset button, a means of re-doing those critical mistakes we bitterly regret? Now God is promising complete restoration, health, and healing.

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Amazing! Notice that God promises to pour out His Holy Spirit, something that actually will happen on the Day of Pentecost. “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” Deliverance! Complete and total deliverance! God is pledging His Holy Name, putting Himself on trial. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This promise is for everybody who has ever called or who will ever call on the Name of the Lord.

APPLICATION: God is holy, just, and true. God always keeps His promises and He will never turn away anyone who calls on His Name. Although short, this chapter is full of magnificent promises. “But,” you say, “those promises were merely for the people of Joel’s day.” Not so! God is a God of eternity and He knows the end from the beginning. These promises are just as valid for us as for those who heard Joel speak them. Look at those promises again:

1. “So I will restore to you the years that the warming [k]locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.”
2. ““And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
3. “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

These promises are for all of us! Write these promises on your heart! Write them in your cell phone notes! If possible, write them on note cards and post them all over your house so you can remind yourself of them at every opportunity. For in these promises, we can find life and God’s mercy for our sins.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, light up these promises so that every one who reads these words will find Your message for them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Invasion of Locusts

“This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: Hear this, O elders; and give ear, all who dwell in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers?

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth. For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.

A Call to Mourning

Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth. Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

A Call to Repentance (Amos 5:4-15; Zephaniah 2:1-3; Luke 13:1-5)

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness

from the house of our God? The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away. How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.

Talk about climate change! Nobody knows exactly what kinds of locusts are about to hit Judah, but there are four kinds: devouring locusts, swarming locusts, young locusts, and destroying locusts. By the end of these visitations, there will not be anything left. Vineyards, olive groves, fig groves, pomegranates, date palms, apples and grain fields – everything will be devastated. Not only will the economy collapse, but people will starve. Left without vegetation, the land will suffer severe drought, making it far more difficult for agriculture to recover. “Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.”

“Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth. Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD…. Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.” Joel is warning the people of Judah that they either repent and mourn now or they will REALLY grieve later! Things will be so bad that there won’t even be grain left for the grain offerings or wine and oil for the other offerings.

 “Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away. How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, nd fire has consumed the open pastures.”

Left without any shade or rainfaill, seed will shrivel in the dry ground, and pastures and the trees of the field will burst into flames. All the streams will fail, leaving animals to die.  

APPLICATION: In 1981-82, severe drought hit Ghana and bush fires destroyed 50% of the vegetation. At the same time, Nigeria forceably repatriated one million Ghanaians overnight, causing the population to increase from thirteen million to fourteen million. One grim joke asked, “Where do the fourteen million magicians live?” with the answer, “In Ghana, because nobody knows how they are making it.” At the time, many Ghanaians did turn to the Lord, and God answered their prayers, sending the much – needed rains.

Many times, we want to imagine that we can control our environment; however, all it takes is one fierce tornado or hurricane to remind us that we cannot. But what is our response? Do we repent or do we try to find other answers? Do we ask the Lord of the Universe for help, or do we turn to science, politics, etc.?

When Joel first gave these messages, he was begging his friends and relatives to turn back to God before they had to face destruction. Today, how close are we to facing the same fate? Are we turning our back on God, only to hope that He will somehow deliver us anyway? May God help us to turn to Him before it’s too late.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, save us! Help us to trust You first and always. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The name “Joel” means “the Lord is God.” Nothing is known about Joel, apart from the fact that he was the son of Pethuel and a native of Judah, possibly from Jerusalem. Yet another mystery is the date of Joel’s prophecies. Many people feel that Joel was written about 830 B.C., since the nations and conditions mentioned by Joel best match this period. “Also, the prophet Amos indicates an awareness of Joel in his prophecies.” ( Introduction to the Book of Joel, Amplified Bible New King James Version.) When a severe locust plague hits Judah, Joel uses that plague to warn people to repent. Joel warns that God is preparing to bring more stringent judgement.

Why study such a short book? Even though the Book of Joel only contains three chapters, it is packed with meaning. Some of the most oft – quoted promises in the Bible are found in Joel.

APPLICATION: Once more, God reminds us that there are no little people in His economy. Even though Joel is a short book and is considered a minor prophet, God can still use these verses to speak to us. Sometimes the shortest verses may prove to be the most meaningful and memorable.

We need to remember that Jesus came from a small town and that many of the towns in which He ministered were small towns. Many of Jesus’s disciples were fishermen. Many of the people who gathered on the hillsides above the Sea of Galilee came from the local villages. God cares about people from all kinds of places.

It’s possible that Joel’s prophecies hit hardest for those involved in agriculture. Only in heaven will we learn how many people actually repented after listening to Joel’s words.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, thank You for speaking to us through Your Word. Give us listening ears and understanding hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.