In response to
Amaziah attempting to quiet Amos from prophesying against King
Jeroboam and Israel, Amos the “herdsman, fig picking”
prophet, told him to hear the LORD's word and then repeated what
Amaziah desired for him. In chapter seven and verse seventeen of his
prophesy, Amos cursed the family of Amaziah through the LORD's words
where we read:
Therefore thus says the LORD; Your wife shall be an
harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by
the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you shall die
in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth
of his land.
The
verse begins, “Therefore thus says the LORD; Your wife
shall be an harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters
shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line;”
Amos began with the word, “Therefore”
or “in conclusion, on account of and since” “thus
says” which means “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”; “Your wife”
or “Amaziah's female spouse” “shall be an harlot”
which means “commit fornication, adultery and be a cult prostitute”
“in the city” or
“in the town which includes camps, fortified places and towers or
watch-towers”, “and your sons”
which means “Amaziah's male children and grandchildren”
“and your daughters” or
“Amaziah's female children and grandchildren” “shall
fall” which means “be cast
down, fail and be prostrate” “by the sword”
or “the knife, sharp instrument and cutting instrument”, “and
your land” which refers to
“their country, territory, district and region” “shall
be divided” or “plundered,
allotted, apportioned and assigned” “by line”
which means “by a cord, rope, band or company”. Amos pronounced
doom upon Amaziah's wife, sons, daughters and land.
The
verse goes on to say, “and you shall die in a polluted
land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.”
Amos continued, “and
you shall die” which means “be
killed or executed” “in a polluted land”
or “within a unclean and ethically and religiously impure ground,
territory and country”: “and Israel” which
means “God prevails” and was “the name of the descendants and
the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “shall surely
go” or “uncover, remove,
depart and go into exile” “into captivity forth”
which means “uncover, remove, depart and go into exile” “forth
of his land” or “Israel's
country, territory, district and region”. Amos concluded his words
against Amaziah by telling him he and Israel would “die” in their
“impure land”.
When
we think through these words of Amos, we see the harshness of the
judgment against Amaziah who opposed God's prophet. Not only would
his family die, but so would he. His land would be destroyed, and so
would Israel's. God's judgment is complete and sure, and should we
find ourselves in opposition to the people or person chosen by God,
let us remember what was pronounced upon Amaziah. Jesus came to
relieve us of all judgment that awaited us, and the only way to
prevent God's punishment is to trust in, rely upon and cling to Him.
When we obey Him, we are promised, “life, and life more
abundantly” (John 10:10).
Next
time we
begin a new chapter and see where the LORD shows Amos “a
basket of summer fruit”,
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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