When the judgment of God was
to come upon the people of Israel, Amos “saw the Lord standing
upon the altar” of false gods, and He told Amos to “smite
the lintel of the door” so that the “posts may shake”.
The LORD also told Amos to “cut them in the head, all of them”
because He was going to “slay the last of them with the sword”.
These people would not be able to “flee away”, and even if
they “escaped”, they would “not be delivered”.
In chapter nine and verse two of his prophesy, Amos shared how even
those who “dig into hell” or “climb up to heaven”,
God would “bring them down” where we read:
Though they dig into
hell, there shall mine hand take them;
though they climb up to
heaven, thence will I bring them down:
The verse begins, “Though
they dig into hell, there shall my hand take them;” Amos
began with the words, “Though they dig” or
“row or force a passage as by robbery” “into hell”
which is the Hebrew word “shĕ'owl”
refers to “the underworld,
grave, pit or old testament designation for the abode of the dead”,
“there shall my hand”
which means “God's strength and power” “take them”
or “fetch, lay hold of, seize, acquire and snatch those who attempt
to escape”. Even though the people of Israel attempt to flee to a
“place of no return and without praise of God”, the LORD would
capture them in their flight.
The
verse goes on to say, “though they climb up to heaven,
thence will I bring them down:” Amos
continued, “though they climb up”
or “go up, ascend, retreat to or shoot forth” “to
heaven” which refers to “the
visible heavens, sky, abode of the stars and atmosphere”, “there
will I bring them down” or
“make them descend, decline, march or sink down”. Though the
people would attempt to “climb”
into the “sky, atmosphere or heavens above”, they would be failed
by the LORD as well.
When
we meditate upon these words of Amos, we may be reminded of Psalmist
who asked, “Where shall I go from your spirit? or where
shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are
there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are
there.” (Psalm 139:7-8) These people within Israel
were worshiping false gods, and when judgment fell upon them from the
LORD, there was no place to hide. God is omnipresent which means
there is no where that He is not. We cannot escape Him, for wherever
we go, He is there. Jesus Christ went to be with His Father after His
resurrection, and now as God, He is everywhere. We should know there
is no place in earth, heaven or hell to which we can run away. The
easiest decision we can make is to simply turn to and trust in Him.
Let us remember, no matter where we are, He is there, and His hand is
outstretched to save those who believe in Him.
Next
time we
see how the people will not be able to hide in “mount
Carmel”
or in “the
bottom of the sea”,
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.
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