Burunche’s Blog

Jonah’s Prayer

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me. At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’

The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God! As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!” And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

The name Jonah means “dove” and God has used doves as messengers ever since the time of Noah. There might be longer testimonies, but there are very few testimonies more riveting than Jonah’s. Refusing to obey God and go east to preach to the Assyrians in Nineveh, Jonah has boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, generally believed to be modern Spain. But God has disrupted this journey, sending a storm that threatens to destroy the ship and everyone on it. When the sailors cast lots to determine who might be responsible, Jonah’s name comes up. Jonah advises the sailors to throw him overboard, since he is the one refusing to follow God’s orders. Reluctantly, the sailors do so. This chapter tells us what happens next.

Jonah is about to die by drowning and he knows it; moreover, Jonah realizes that he deserves nothing else. Jonah is sinking with seaweed wrapping about his head. Any moment might be Jonah’s last, and then suddenly, God has a large fish swallow Jonah. Jonah survives three days and three nights in the stomach of this fish. Why the number three? It may have taken that long for Jonah to give up his rebellion and agree to obey God. At the same time, Jesus will later use the example of Jonah to indicate to his disciples how many days and nights he will occupy a tomb before rising from the dead.

“As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!” And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” As Jonah is praying, God is causing the fish to move closer and closer to dry land. Once Jonah says, “I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the Lord,” the fish spits Jonah out on dry land. Grateful to be free of that burden, the fish returns to the deep sea while Jonah starts walking towards Nineveh.

By this time, Jonah’s hair and skin might be bleached by the digestive juices in the fish’s stomach. Jonah may have sea weed stuck in weird places; in other words, Jonah doesn’t look like any prophet the Assyrians have ever seen before. Jonah’s weird appearance may also help save him from Assyrian torment.

APPLICATION: How much does God have to do  before we will obey Him? In Jonah’s case, he nearly dies before he will go to Nineveh. We read Jonah’s story and think that surely we would do better. But how many times do we ignore God’s nudging? Perhaps we have an argument with a coworker or with a family member. We know we should resolve the problem immediately, but we want to stroke our hurt feelings for a little while. Before we realize it, minutes have turned to hours, hours to days, and days to weeks.

Several years ago, I had a disagreement with a close friend over something very petty. I fully intended to apologize; however, I got busy and distracted. Then my friend suddenly had a heart attack and died! The opportunity to make peace was lost forever, and I was left with bitter regrets.

Psalm 95:7-8 says, “Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion..”Jonah hardened his heart against the Assyrians in Nineveh. We too can harden our hearts against those around us, even though those people may be suffering in ways we cannot imagine. As we consider the story of Jonah, let’s examine our own hearts. Are we ignoring God’s leading? How far will God have to go to get our attention? Hint: don’t head in the wrong direction! God can easily turn your travel plans upside down. Even if God does not send a big fish to swallow you, you might find yourself at the side of the road with car problems or sitting in an airport with all flights cancelled due to weather. It doesn’t pay to fight God!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be obedient, even when we don’t feel like it. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Jonah Flees from the LORD (Nahum 1:1-15)

“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

The Great Storm (Jeremiah 6:10-21; Jeremiah 25:15-33; Acts 27:13-26; Romans 1:18-32)

Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” “Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Jonah Cast Into the Sea and Swallowed

Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?” “Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.

So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.” At this, they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm. Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him. Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.”

 God wants Jonah to head east to Nineveh to preach to the Assyrians, one of the most wicked nations going and one for which Jonah has no use. Rather than being obedient and heading east 550 miles to Nineveh, Jonah heads to the seaport of Joppa and boards a ship for Tarshish (Spain), 2500 miles to the west.

But God knows how to handle rebels. While Jonah is down in the deepest part of the ship taking a nap, God stirs up a violent storm that threatens to tear the ship apart. The sailors are panicking, calling on their various gods and throwing the cargo overboard in hopes of saving the ship.  

The captain wakes up Jonah, demanding that he call on his God; meanwhile, the sailors are casting lots to see who might be responsible for the storm. Much to Jonah’s chagrin, the lot casting points to him as the cause of the problem. The sailors demand information, and Jonah admits, “I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.”

The sailors throw Jonah overboard, begging God to save them, but they don’t stop there. These sailors are so frightened that they offer a sacrifice to God and make vows. Jonah finds himself inside a large fish, where he remains alive for three days and nights. Is this fish a whale? There have been all kinds of arguments ever since this story first was written. The actual fish involved is not nearly as important as the fact that God preserves Jonah for 3 days and nights, despite the digestive juices in the fish’s stomach.

APPLICATION: How far would you go to run away from God? Before we criticize Jonah too severely, let’s remember that the Assyrians were incredibly cruel. The Assyrians commonly skinned their prisoners alive and also split them open while they were alive. In an age when it was common for conquering armies to murder a king’s sons while he was watching and then blind him, the Assyrians must have set new standards for evil.

Little wonder then, that Jonah was revolted at the idea of preaching to the Assyrians. Jonah may also have been terrified that the Assyrians would torture him as they had so many others. When God called Jonah to preach to the citizens of Nineveh, He made no promises about keeping Jonah safe. All God did was to order Jonah to go; God left no room for argument.

What did Jonah think he was accomplishing by running away to Tarshish? Jonah told the sailors that he worshiped “the God of the heavens who made the sea and the dry land.” David wrote in Psalm 139:7-12 “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.” Jonah knew these truths; yet, he tried to run anyway.

“I’ll go back to the hospital, but if You don’t give me the words to say, I’m going to stand there with my teeth in my face.” I was in General Surgery residency, and I had just made it home when one of the wards called. A lady whom we had already discharged was complaining of pain and they wanted me to come back and do something somehow. I was tired and I did NOT want to go, but I felt God insisting that I should. I was anything but a model of obedience; however, I went. But that meeting was a divine appointment. This lady was suffering pains because there were people whom she needed to forgive, and she needed to hear that God could forgive her as well. God did give me the words, and I also prayed with her. By the end of a short conversation with a prayer, the lady felt wonderful. Ten minutes after I finished talking with this woman, the people who were to send her home picked her from the hospital. God delayed this lady’s departure just long enough for me to speak with her and pray for her.

Perhaps God is prompting you to go to someone and be reconciled with them. God may be nudging you to speak words of comfort or encouragement to someone who has hurt you deeply. Remember that hurting people hurt people. Go ahead and have those conversations. You never know what God can do with you if you give Him a chance. You may make the difference between someone finding their way out of a bad situation or succumbing to despair and committing suicide.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to listen to You and to be obedient, even when we don’t want to. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Today we are considering the shortest book in the Bible, Obadiah. The name Obadiah means “servant of the Lord.” Nothing is known about this prophet apart from this book. There have been several theories about the period in which Obadiah might have lived; however, this illustration summarizes the most accepted one. If these dates are correct, Obadiah would have been a contemporary of Jeremiah, living just at the time of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem.

The main theme of Obadiah is God’s judgment against the nation of Edom. The Edomites were descended from Jacob’s brother Esau and lived in a mountainous kingdom south of the Dead Sea. Feeling secure in their location, the Edomites mocked the people of Judah and even took part in at least four plunderings of Jerusalem.

Why would God send a prophet to pronounce judgment on a nation that refused to worship Him? Remember that Jacob and Esau were both sons of Isaac, the son of Abraham. God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; however, He could also have been Esau’s God, had Esau chosen to serve Him. But Esau and his descendants rejected God, choosing to serve idols instead. Ignoring the kinship of shared blood, the Edomites chose to attack the people of Judah on at least four separate occasions. As a result, the Edomites would eventually be expelled from their stronghold in Mount Seir by the Nabatean Arabs and dwindle away until they no longer existed as a people.

The Coming Judgment on Edom

“The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,  “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be greatly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.

“If thieves had come to you, if robbers by night—Oh, how you will be cut off!—Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, would they not have left some gleanings?

“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! All the men in your confederacy shall force you to the border; the men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it.

“Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

Edom Mistreated His Brother

“For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. In the day that you stood on the other side—In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem—Even you were as one of them.

“But you should not have gazed (gloated over) on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress. You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed (gloated over) on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. (handed over to the enemy)

“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been.

Israel’s Final Triumph

“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” for the Lord has spoken.

The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, and the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South. Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”

The Edomites have perched in their rocky strongholds for ages and feel quite smug and secure. Surely no invader will ever be able to roust them from their lands! Trusting in an unassailable location rather than God, the Edomites have done everything they can to avenge themselves on the Jews, even though their father Esau refused to take revenge on his brother Jacob. By attacking Jerusalem, the Edomites have broken the covenant between Jacob and Esau and are about to reap the results.

“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! All the men in your confederacy shall force you to the border; the men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it. “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.” All the time the Edomites have been scorning God, the weight of their sins has been mounting and soon even those who are allegedly their confederates will attack them, wiping them out completely.

““For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been.” There is a saying that “What goes around, comes around.” Jesus will tell his disciples that the measure they give out was the measure they will receive. God has given the Edomites time to repent, and they have failed to do so. Now they will suffer for that bad decision.

“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” for the Lord has spoken.” Even though the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem might be going into exile in Babylon at this point, God is promising to return them. But God is also promising to annihilate the Edomites.

APPLICATION: What can we learn from Obadiah? The Edomites brought about their own demise by refusing to keep covenant with the Jews, even though Jacob and Esau had made a covenant. (Genesis 33) Oaths are made to be kept, not broken. Even though there are many politicians and business people these days who appear to succeed despite a web of lies, God is the One who keeps the final books, and God hates liars and oath-breakers.

Are we people of our word? Do we mean what we say and do we keep our promises or do we manipulate and twist things? Those who manipulate, lie, and misuse mainstream media for their own ends might feel that they have succeeded; however, God is still watching and God knows the intents of the human heart. Let us remain honest and true so that at the end of everything, God will look upon us with favor!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to speak truly, to think truly, and to act truly. Keep us close to Your Heart so that we refuse to lie or manipulate. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Destruction of Israel

“I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, and break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, and he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.

“Though they dig into hell, from there My hand shall take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down; and though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, from there I will search and take them; though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them; though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword, and it shall slay them. I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord God of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell there mourn; all of it shall swell like the River, and subside like the River of Egypt. He who builds His layers[stairs] in the sky, and has founded His strata in the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth—The Lord is His name.

“Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says the Lord. “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’

Israel Will Be Restored

“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the Lord who does this thing.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

Destruction is approaching rapidly! All these people who have turned their backs on God are going to meet a terrible fate, one from which there will be no escape. Even if these people are able to tunnel into hell, God’s wrath will still catch up with them. Even when they go into captivity, God will still allow them to be slaughtered.

Most of the Jewish blessings begin with the words, “Blessed art thou, O Lord of the Universe.” Sadly, the citizens of Israel have forgotten/ignored that reality. “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?” God has brought the Israelites out of Egypt; however, God also has re-located the Philistines and the Syrians as well. God rules the nations, whether or not they acknowledge Him as sovereign.   

“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says the Lord. “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’” God is planning to distribute the citizens of the Northern Kingdom throughout the known world, but He will not destroy them utterly. On the other hand, those foolish people who are trusting their idols to save them will perish. Sounds pretty horrible, but wait! Restoration is also coming.

“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the Lord who does this thing.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

Eventually, the Assyrians carry off the people of the Northern Kingdom and they meet the fate God has already proclaimed. But the people of Judah will be carried off to Babylon, where King Cyrus will eventually encourage them to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. Many people feel that the final verses apply specifically to modern Israel, where there are enormous vineyards, gardens, and all kinds of farming projects. Despite being under daily rocket bombardment, Israel continues to survive.

APPLICATION: We might well imagine that many of the Israelites are refusing to listen to Amos, stuffing their fingers in their ears and chanting “Na! Na! Na!” to drown out the sound of his voice. But in every place, God always has a remnant and the promises of the last few verses would encourage those who still worship the One True Living God. By now, these people might be forced to worship God in their homes, fearing that if they worship outside, their neighbors may attack them.

Many years ago, J. B. Philips wrote a book entitled Your God is Too Small. Philips contended that most believers have no true understanding of the greatness of God or of His power and majesty. As a surgeon, I am constantly amazed at the beauty and complexity of the human body. Simply study a baby’s hand for a few minutes and you will find yourself in awe of the Creator who could conceive such a marvel. My husband, a Navy veteran, can describe enormous typhoons in the Pacific that dwarfed the largest ships. And yet these phenomena are simply a few of God’s creations.

The ancient Israelites refused to worship God and turned their backs on Him and paid for those decisions with their lives and the lives of their families. Let us worship God in the beauty of holiness and let us bow ourselves down to the Creator of the Universe, for He is truly worthy of all honor, praise, and worship!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to worship You in spirit and in truth. Give us a sense of Your Majesty and Your Glory. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Vision of the Summer Fruit

“Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.  And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord God—“Many dead bodies everywhere, they shall be thrown out in silence.”

Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, and make the poor of the land fail, saying: “When will the New Moon be past, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, nd the needy for a pair of sandals—even sell the bad wheat?”

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall the land not tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it shall swell like the River (the Nile), heave and subside like the River of Egypt. “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight; I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it. “In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst. Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.”

What could be more enticing than a lovely basket of ripe summer fruit? We might drool simply imagining how good those apples and pears might taste. But what if the fruit is bad, almost to the point of rottenness? Or what if the fruit is infested with worms? Few things are worse than biting into an apple and seeing HALF a worm, particularly if you have already swallowed that bite! Here God is comparing the nation of Israel to a basket of summer fruit. The Israelites have been worshiping idols for centuries and now the end is approaching rapidly. God is about to withdraw His presence, and the songs of praise in the temple will turn to keening wails of grief. There will be dead bodies everywhere, and they will be thrown out silently, for fear of the enemy.

Meanwhile, all the time Amos is uttering these prophecies, upper-class Israelites are pursuing business as usual. Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, and make the poor of the land fail, saying: “When will the New Moon be past, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—even sell the bad wheat?” It’s no time to be a poor person in Israel! If you aren’t sold rotten wheat for inflated prices, some rich person might buy you as a slave for a few pieces of silver or even for the price of a pair of sandals.

These people are crazy, refusing to remember that God watches everything they do and remembers their names. “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works.” God knows these people’s thoughts even before they conceive them. Even the very land is grieving because of these people’s sins.

Amos is warning that God is preparing to bring judgement and that when that judgement arrives, the skies will blacken, and everyone will be so grieved that the survivors will tear out their hair and wear sackcloth. The survivors of Israel will grieve like parents who lose an only son.

Finally, God is promising to withdraw His word from the land. “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it.”  Even though so many people in Israel are worshiping idols, God still has a remnant of true worshipers. But when God withdraws His people, those who are left will suddenly miss righteousness, holiness, and peace and search everywhere with no results.

“In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst. Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.” The end is coming for idolaters in Israel, and they will die.

APPLICATION There’s a 1970 Joni Mitchell song that says, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone. They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.” (Joni Mitchell “Big Yellow Taxi”) Although Mitchell was writing about mindless development in Hawaii, the words could apply to the citizens of Israel. God has called the Israelites to be His holy people, a light to the nations. Sadly, the Israelites have settled for worthless idols that demand horrible sacrifices, fertility cults, and wide – scale corruption.

If God is preparing to make an end of Israel, why send prophets such as Amos? God is doing everything He can to give the citizens of Israel the opportunity to repent while there is still time. God is trying to pierce through the stony covering of selfishness and greed to the hearts trapped there. God is using the example of a basket of ripe fruit to indicate that the sins of Israel have ripened to the point of harvest – God’s harvest and not man’s.

While it is tempting to criticize the Israelites, are we doing any better? Those promoting electric vehicles are conveniently overlooking the fact that many of the elements of the batteries for those vehicles are being mined by child labor. We revel in cheap clothing prices, ignoring the Asian sweat shops that produce those garments. Ghanaians describe someone who is very rich as “enjoying.” Are we “enjoying” at the expense of the poor? What does God think about our lifestyles? Do we need to repent?  May God open our eyes to see those things in our lives that grieve Him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we are blinded in many areas. Show us those things we need to change and those attitudes from which we need to repent. Help us to repent and change. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line (Joel 2:1-11)

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up. (A swarm of locusts coming from the east.) And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”

Amaziah Accuses Amos

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words, for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’” And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”

 “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’”

Swarms of locusts! Judgement by fire! God is preparing to destroy the nation of Israel; however, He is warning Amos so that Amos can warn the Israelites. Amazingly, each time God shows Amos a new horror that might overtake Israel, Amos begs for God to spare the nation, and God relents. Then God shows Amos a plumb line. Plumb lines are long lines with a weight attached that are hung in an attempt to demonstrate the vertical on an upright surface. If something is said to be “out of plumb,” it deviates from the true vertical.

“This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”  Through the years, God has tried to show His people what is right and true, but His people aren’t paying the slightest attention. If the nation of Israel were a tower such as the leaning tower of Pisa, by now the tower would be toppling over. Why does God mention the house of Jeroboam? It was Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, who instituted idolatry by erecting two huge altars with golden calves, one in Dan and the other in Bethel. Jeroboam created his own religion to prevent his people  from going to Jerusalem to worship.

“Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel.” This is the second King Jeroboam, not the original King Jeroboam. But it’s the priest at Bethel who is trying to drive Amos away. Perhaps Amaziah has been making money by issuing false prophesies; certainly, he wouldn’t want to be upstaged by a real prophet! But Amaziah is going to pay a horrible price for his actions.

“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’”

Amos has not chosen to become a prophet; instead, God has chosen Amos. and Amaziah has exposed his entire family to destruction by his arrogance. Amaziah’s wife is fated to become a prostitute to survive while his children will be slaughtered, his land seized, and he himself will die in exile. It’s a bad idea to mess with the One True Living God!

APPLICATION: The calling to be a prophet is a difficult and exacting one. Many individuals who call themselves “Prophet” have no idea what they are doing. God has called Amos to leave Tekoah and Judah to go to Israel, where his prophecies have met anything but a favorable response. So many times, people picture themselves standing before cheering crowds as they proclaim, “Thus says the Lord!” Nobody wants to consider the strong possibility that people will not only refuse to listen but that they may attack you and your family, throw you into prison, or ruin you financially.

In Amos’s day, many prophets came from families in which prophesy was a tradition. But Amos was a farmer, a sheep herder, and a dresser of sycamore fig trees. In the social scheme of things, farmers and shepherds were considered low – class. That’s why Amos had to defend himself from the verbal attacks of Amaziah. Amaziah may have been angry that God chose Amos rather than him!

Scorned by Israelite society, Amos might give up; but he has persisted, and God honors that persistence. Amos and God are so intimately related to each other that God reveals his intentions for Israel to Amos, allowing Amos the opportunity to intercede. And God listens to Amos and changes His plans! Without Amos interceding, the destruction of Israel would have been far worse.

Most of us live in relatively obscurity, much as Amos did. But to God, there are no little people. God sees each of us and God hears our prayers. When Amos begged God to withhold the swarms of locusts and heavenly fire, God agreed. Amos’s example should encourage each of us to continue to pray on behalf of our loved ones and our society. Only in eternity will we know how much good our prayers have accomplished. How do we know whom or for what to pray for? Simple test: if a person or a situation irritates or distresses us, that’s our sign to pray! Only in eternity will we know how much good our prayers have accomplished. We might be the ones who stand between God and total destruction for individuals and even for nations.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be persistent in prayer, knowing that You hear us and answer our prayers. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen. 

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion (Luke 6:24-26)

“Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours? You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.

The Pride of Israel

The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die. And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.” For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”

“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’ (Lo-debar means “nothing” and “Karnaim” means “horn,” a symbol of strength.) For behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of Hosts, “and they will oppress you from Lebohamath to the Brook of the Arabah, “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Ah, Israel! What a lovely place, provided you have money! Too bad God isn’t as impressed with these people as they are with themselves! “Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours? You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.”

While the citizens of the Northern Kingdom are living in luxury, they refuse to realize that their nation is deteriorating spiritually and is about to come to an inglorious end. The Israelites are about to go into exile at the hands of the Assyrians and may even face catastrophic plagues before the Assyrians arrive. If there are ten men in a house, they will all die and those who come to collect the bodies will be afraid to mention the name of the Lord. All of these gorgeous mansions will be reduced to nothing.” For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”

The citizens of Israel have refused to acknowledge their evil deeds; however, God is not impressed. “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.” To use a modern expression, lies are attempting to identify as truth, but God refuses to accept such nonsense. “For behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of Hosts, “and they will oppress you from Lebohamath to the Brook of the Arabah, “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”  The Assyrians will make a clean sweep of the entire nation of Israel. All ten of the tribes involved will either be destroyed or carried into slavery. This destruction will be so complete that these ten tribes will subsequently be referred to as “the lost tribes of Israel.”

APPLICATION: Why is God so angry at the nation of Israel? Were the Israelites to spread the wealth around and were they to worship God instead of idols, God would not be angry. But the Northern Kingdom of Israel was founded on idolatry and that idolatry has only gotten worse as time has gone on. Totally ignoring God’s Laws and the words of the prophets, the citizens of the Northern Kingdom have persisted in enriching themselves at the expense of the poor, the widows and orphans – the very people whom God has ordered them to protect.

What does the Book of Amos have to say to us? God sent Amos to warn the nation of Israel that destruction was imminent if they did not repent and change, establishing righteousness and justice throughout their kingdom. Upper class Israelites were enjoying a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of the poor and downtrodden.

If God gives us wealth, what do we do with it? Do we take lovely vacations, purchase vacation homes and pleasure boats? Go on expensive shopping trips and excuse them as “retail therapy?” On the other hand, there are those who have endowed schools, orphanages, and scholarships in a number of places, doing untold good in the process. The Rockefeller Foundation serves as one such example. More than 100 years ago, research funded by the Rockefeller Foundation eliminated hookworm from the rural American South by implementing two innovations: building toilets and the wearing of shoes. Hookworm is passed from one person to another when someone who is barefoot walks through feces containing hookworm larvae. But you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to help people. There are those individuals who have worked in relatively low-paying jobs who have nevertheless succeeded in funding college education for deserving high school students.  May God help us, so that we will use the resources He has given us to fulfill His perfect will for those resources!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to use the resources You have given us to help those around us as You want us to. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

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.