In a world surrounded by pain, sorrow, confusion, chaos, and evil where is our hope and joy? It is in Jesus Christ Our Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit! We can trust and rest in “thus saith the Lord Your God’. This was the message of all the prophets as they pleaded with the people of God. Everything will be to His Glory, and He will accomplish all that He has planned. Amos was speaking to the nation of Israel, but his prophecies in the last chapter was directed to our future as well. So let us look at Amos and realize the hope and joy we are promised as well. For Amos did speak of the promises to all people. But let us first also review chapters 7 and 8. That along with a verse from Daniel will help us to understand what we are currently facing.
Why We Grieve and Pray: Amos 7
Vision of the Locusts
7 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the [a]beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. 2 And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:
“O Lord God, forgive, I pray!
Oh,[b] that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”
3 So the Lord relented concerning this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
Vision of the Fire
4 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called [c]for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the [d]territory. 5 Then I said:
“O Lord God, cease, I pray!
Oh, that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”
6 So the Lord relented concerning this.
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Note that both visions were of intense suffering that would come to all the people. When Amos prayed, we are told that the Lord relented. Does that altar His Sovereignty? No! It does demonstrate His desire for us to care about the suffering of all those around us and His desire for us to intervene with prayer. We are called to pray for our nation and grieve for their lack of worship. This is like when Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah, or Moses intervened for the people. Our prayers are powerful; but as we shall see this does not change God’s overarching plan.
God Explains Himself
Vision of the Plumb Line
7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore.
9 The [e]high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the [f]sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.
I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
Amos 7:7-9 (NKJV)
In this vision, God explains that the people are so far from meeting the standard of righteousness. The plumb line was to measure the straightness of a wall, but they were far from being straight in their lives. They strayed so far from true worship of God, there was no way to hold tight. God was the one who gave them these moments of prosperity and yet, they did not listen. He had sent messengers and these messengers were ignored.
And then, the priests of the area tell Amos to leave and be silenced.
Before Hope and Joy Can Reign- Cleansing must come
8 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 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.
3 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 [a]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail, Amos 8:1-4
With great patience, God had cried out to His people, but to no avail. They believed He owed them everything because of who they are. Is that not what we see surrounding us every day? Or consider this! Is that not what we think as well? We question God with every trial that comes, never considering how much He has given and how little we have thought of Him.
So, God declares it is over for the northern tribe of Israel. He will destroy them that He might save the remnant and send Jesus through them
Where Grief Turns to Hope and Joy
Daniel Prayed to intercede for His people. He knew it was time they should be returning to Jerusalem after the long exile.
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: 24 “Seventy ‘sevens’[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[e] 25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him Daniel 9 (NIV)
Where We Stand Today–Our Reason for Hope and Joy
We are the gap that lies between the 69 weeks and the 70th week. At the exact end of 69 weeks, Jesus entered Jerusalem to die. He ushered us into the current age of the church. The final week is set up for the final cleansing of the Jewish nation. After the first horseman of the apocalypse present themselves, 144,000 Jews accept Jesus Christ as Savior. These messianic Jews are sealed to be witnesses (missionaries) to both Jew and Gentiles during the tribulation. So, at the end of this comes the events of Amos 9, as Jesus comes to cleanse the earth of all the evil. No one will be able to Hide from His righteous judgement.
AMOS 9: Judgment Comes
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said:
“Strike the [a]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.
2 “Though they dig into [b]hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
3 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;
4 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.”
5 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 [c]the River,
And subside like the River of Egypt.
6 He who builds His layers[d] 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. Amos 9 (NKJV)
This is the fulfillment of the 70th week
8“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.
9 “For surely I will command,
And will [g]sift the house of Israel among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve;
Yet not the smallest [h]grain shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,
Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
Hope and Joy Reign
Then begins the millennial reign of Christ where all has been established. God promised Abraham that he would
11 “On that day I will raise up
The [i]tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And [j]repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom,[k]
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this thing.
13 “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.
14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; Plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 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.
In this God fulfills His promise of Hope and Joy to Abraham
12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12 (NKJV)
Therefore, where is our hope and joy? God has accomplished each part of the promise and we are a part of this. This is just a moment in time. We are like Daniel, an exile in a world that is not our home. So, let us live as Children of the High God full of hope and joy through the power of the Holy Spirit.
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy….“The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him the Gentiles will hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 8,12-13 (NIV)
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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