As
Amos the “herdsman fig-picking” prophet began to wind down
his prophesy, he shared how God would “bring again the captivity
of” His “people of Israel” where they would “Build
the waste cities, and inhabit them”. They would also “plant
vineyards, and drink the wine thereof” and
“also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them”. In the
final verse of Amos' prophesy, chapter nine and verse fifteen, Amos
continued to share how God would restore Israel by planting them
“upon their land” where we read:
And
I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled
up
out
of their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God.
The
verse begins, “And I will plant them upon their land, and they
shall no more be pulled up...” Amos began with the words, “And
I will plant them” which means “God would fasten, fix and
establish the people of Israel” “upon their land” or
“within their territory, country, field and ground”, “and
they shall no more be pulled up” which is all one Hebrew word
“nathash” that means “to expel, root out or pluck up”. God
was to “fix and establish” Israel back into their homeland, and
they would never have to worry about being “unplanted or removed”
again.
The
verse goes on to say, “...out of their land which I have
given them, says the LORD your God.” Amos continued, “out
of their land” which means “their territory, country, field
and ground” “which I have given them” or “put, set,
bestowed, granted, permitted, ascribed, employed, devoted, dedicated
and consecrated to the people of Israel”, “says” which
means “utters, proclaims and declares” “the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the becoming or existing
One and is the proper name for the one true God” “your God”
which means “their divine ruler or judge”. God promised that
He would restore the people of Israel by “giving or returning to”
them their land.
When
we think through these words of Amos, we understand how God was to
provide a “place” for the people of Israel. Though He would bring
His judgment upon them, they were not to be abandoned and neglected.
God would give them their “land”
as provision, and He would “establish” them there. God has
promise to “prepare
a place”
for those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior and LORD - “In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it
were
not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John
14:2) The LORD desires to give people a permanent position for all of
eternity, and even as He would restore Israel, He will do so for
those who “trust in, rely upon and cling to” Him today.
Next
time we begin
a new book in the New Testament, the book of Hebrew,
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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