Learning from Others

Amos 2:4-5

4Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.5So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

When the neighbor kids got in trouble with their parents, well, that was bad. We would all scamper back to our own yards and hope things didn’t go too badly for our friends. The next level up was when my brother got in trouble and I had to witness the scene. Now not once did I see him spanked or punished. Not ever. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t. I just didn’t have to see it. But I heard about it. And sometimes I knew that I should be punished for the same thing but I don’t remember ever volunteering for said punishment. I may have felt badly for him, but I certainly didn’t want to be a part of the trouble!

Our Old Testament friends in the Israel have now heard warnings to all of their neighbors. God’s Words have been consistent and all encompassing. And they are hitting very close to home! Now God is speaking to Judah, the Southern Kingdom. In roughly 975 BC, the last of the great kings, King Solomon, died leaving his son, Rehoboam as king over God’s people. Sadly, an insurrection was mounted and the people of God divided into 2 kingdoms, the Southern Kingdom (Judah), ruled by Rehoboam, and the Northern Kingdom (Israel) ruled by Jeroboam. In the 2 verses we examine today, God’s words of warning are going to the Northern Kingdom’s closest neighbors and brothers, Judah. If ever there was a time to listen to what God was saying to someone else, this was the time. As you can see, the finger of God has been circling the people of Israel, and now it is coming alarmingly close to home!

God is very specific about His displeasure with the people of Judah. They have not kept His laws and they have allowed false gods to lead them. Surely the people of Israel could look at themselves and see similar if not exactly the same sin. And yet, they remain heedless. Of note is the fact that God is sovereign over ALL of the nations mentioned in this passage. He does not speak to only Israel and Judah. God has power and authority over all of the people of the earth, not just those who know Him as Lord.

How close to you does the finger of God have to come before you hear His voice? Are we able to look out over the global landscape and see God at work, for surely He is moving? It takes wisdom and discernment which can come only from the Holy Spirit. If you hear your brother being punished in the other room, does it impact you? Do you review your own life and behavior to see if your life and choices please a holy God? Maybe we would do well to let the Holy Spirit refine our hearing and ability to listen, heeding the warnings and admonitions we have received, either personally or by observation of others.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more