When Amos the
“herdsman” prophet
pronounced the LORD's judgment upon His own people Israel, he called
them “kine of Bashan, that are
in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the
needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink”.
The people of Israel were so “fat” with luxurious living, they
had no regard to the LORD or His commandments. In chapter four and
verse two of his prophesy, Amos declared how the LORD swore they
would be “taken away”
from their homes “with hooks and fishhooks”
where we read:
The Lord
GOD has sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon
you,
that he
will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
The
verse begins, “The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness,
that, lo, the days shall come upon you,...” Amos
began with the words, “The LORD God”
or “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name
for the one true God” “has sworn”
which means “adjure and take an oath” “by his
holiness that”which means
“apartness, sacredness and set-apartness”, , “lo the
days” which means “time or
period and division of time” “shall come upon you”
or “enter in, attain, carry in and lead”. God forecast the “time”
of judgment was to “come upon”
the people of Israel who lived in luxury like fatten cows.
The
verse goes on to say, “...
that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with
fishhooks.” Amos continued,
“that he will take you away”
which means “bear up and carry” “with hooks”
or “something piercing or as a barb”, “and your
posterity” which means “future
remnant, residue and reward” “with fishhooks” or
“harpoons and hooks used for fishing”. The judgment of God was to
include Israel's exodus by “hooks”
that were put into their noses or lips as they forced them from their
current abodes.
When
we think through these words of Amos, we may be appalled at the
inhumanity of “hooks” and “fishhooks” being
used upon people. However, this was to be the “punishment”
that would come upon them. God “swore” by His own
“holiness” that this was to be expected, and He knew in
advance the troubles they would face. The LORD knows our future too,
and without Jesus Christ as our personal LORD and Savior, we shall
face judgment that is far worse than “hooks” and
“fishhooks”. May we hear Amos' words to Israel and take
heed to God's solution for our salvation.
Next
time we see Amos share how the people of Israel will “go
out at the breaches”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment