A Nation Raised Against You Amos 6:14

Amos the “herdsman” prophet shared many times over how God intended to bring judgment upon Israel. They were rebellious against God, and their time of punishment had come. In chapter six and verse fourteen of his prophesy, Amos shared how God would “raise up a nation” against them who would “afflict” them thoroughly where we read:

But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

The verse begins, “But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says the LORD the God of hosts;” Amos began with the word, “But” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated, “behold I will raise up” or “God will stand, arise, endure and be proven” “against you” which refers to “Israel” “a nation” or “heathen or foreign people”, “O house of Israel” which means “dwelling, habitation or shelter of God prevails which was the name of the descendants and the nation of descendants of Jacob”, “says” or “utters, proclaims and declares” “the LORD” which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing one and the proper name for the One true God” “the God” or “divine deity or judge” “of hosts” which means “that which goes forth to war or warfare”. God promised by His own name to stand and prove Himself against the nation of Israel by way of another nation.

The verse goes on to say, “and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.” Amos continued, “and they shall afflict you” or “squeeze, oppress, crush and force” “from the entering in” which means “coming and going in or to lead” “of Hemath” which means “fortress” and was “the principle city of upper Syria in the valley of the Orontes” “unto the river” or “the torrent, valley, wadi and brook” “of the wilderness” which refers to “the desert plain or steppe”. The nation the LORD would “raise up” would “oppress and crush” the people of Israel from the point of entrance which was the city of Hemath to the wilderness' river or “Kedron which empties itself into the north bay of the Dead Sea below Jericho.

When we meditate upon these words of Amos, we see how thorough and complete the LORD was in His judgment against Israel. The length of Israel was to be judged which included Judah, and God was to use a “foreign” nation to do His handiwork. God did not want this to be, and yet, Israel was defiant and rebelled against Him and His ways. Jesus Christ was sent to show us “the way” to our Heavenly Father, and those who yield to Him will know the path of salvation rather than judgment. If, however, God's offer is rejected, His judgment will be “thorough and complete”, and woe be to those who fall under that punishment.

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Amos refer to “grasshoppers”, 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.