God Always Restores


Amos 9:7-15
7 “Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’
11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.
13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

When the storm sirens blow, where to do you go? Are you one of those who obediently run to the basement or a safe room in your house so that impending disaster doesn’t end your life? Or are you foolish (like me) and hang out on the front porch or the nearest window so that you can see the action? Are you able to heed the obvious warning of danger and act accordingly? That is the final message of the Book of Amos. Are you willing to hear the voice of God and respond?

Of special note today are verses 10, 14 & 15. Verse 10 says, “All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’ Here we witness the arrogant words of the person who refuses to acknowledge that God is God. These are the only ones who will perish. It is easy to become fearful or disheartened when we study these Old Testament prophets. But it is only those who declare that God has no power over them who shall see that His wrath is real and they cannot escape it. For those who embrace the love of Jesus Christ, God’s answer to our sin, all is well for His love will surround us every moment of every day. As believers, we are the ones who will realize the blessings of verses 14 and 15.

14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

And so we come to end of our devotional walk through the book of Amos. The last few verses basically sum up the whole book. While God will keep His promise for destruction of the unrepentant sinner, He always holds out the fact that in the end He will restore His Kingdom because at the bottom of His heart lies love and mercy. While the unrepentant may never get the experience the benefits of that mercy, by their own choice, God provides resurrection for those who love Him and follow Him.

What shall we study next? I look for your suggestions and comments. Feel free to comment here or ping me on Facebook. I’ll entertain any ideas. It’s all God’s Word and all equally fascinating to me. What is your leisure?

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