SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/3/2015
10:53 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
God Called Amos PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Amos 3:3-8
Message of the
verses: “3 Do two men walk together
unless they have made an appointment? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he
has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured
something? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait
in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? 6
If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity
occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? 7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. 8 A lion has
roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”
When we read in the Old Testament and for that matter in
some of the New Testament passages we learn that when the Lord is about to do
something important and it is His desire to warn the people He uses a prophet,
and He was about to do something in Amos’ day and so He called Amos to tell the
people what He was about to do. Dr.
Wiersbe writes “Review the images Amos used in verses 3-6, and you will see
what kind of work God called Amos to do.
Because he was walking with God, he knew God’s secrets. ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that
fear him; and he will show them his covenant’ (Ps. 25:14). The lion was roaring. ‘A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?’ (Amos 3:8 NKJV). God was about to spring the trap: Israel would be wiped out by the Assyrians,
ad Judah would go into exile in Babylon.
Amos was blowing the trumpet and preparing the people for the judgment
to come.” Dr. Wiersbe points out in his
endnote that we are suppose to look at Numbers chapter 10 to see the different
times that the trumpets were blown to show impending dangers that were coming.
We certainly have to believe that it was God who called
Amos to be His prophet and to warn the kingdoms of Israel, both the Northern
and Southern kingdoms, and it makes no difference as all that he was a shepherd
for after all both Moses and David were keepers of sheep for sheep act very
similar to humans.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes by writing “Amos is an encouragement
to all believers who feel they are inadequate to do the work of the Lord. He was a layman, not a graduate of a prophetic
school. He learned spiritual truth as he
communed with God while caring for the flocks and orchards. Self-taught?
Yes, but he was God-taught and he was willing to share with others what
God had said to him. Robert Murray M’Cheyne
wrote, ‘It is ot great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.’ This is not to minimize the importance of
either talent or education, but to remind us that neither can be a substitute
for heeding God’s call and walking in communion with Him. Jesus said, ‘Apart from me you can do nothing’
(John 15:5 NIV).”
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