The Minor Prophets

Jonah the Rebellious Prophet

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jonah The Rebellious Prophet

Book of Jonah Chapters 1 and 2

One thing we should be very clear about in this Book of Jonah is that it was written as actual history and not some allegory, or fiction, or parable, and refers to real people in real places.

Ancient tradition in Israel considered Jonah and the Book of Jonah as historical facts, and we should too.

A lot is written about Jonah by Josephus and other church fathers, and they all accepted the Book of Jonah as a historical fact.

It would be best for us to accept the Book of Jonah along with the sixty-five other books of the Bible as the truth of God.

If God said Jonah was swallowed by a fish to be delivered to Nineveh, then I accept it as fact.

It does not actually say that this great fish delivered Jonah to Nineveh, and Assyria had no shore and no seaport.

Jonah was probably put to shore at Joppa, the place from which he had set out.

God wanted His message of “judgment” preached in Nineveh, and He chose Jonah to deliver that message.

God does not just choose people He knows might not like the ministry He chose them for.

God chooses His children who He knows can get the job done if their faith remains strong.

  1. We have a duty to bear witness to the true Lord of all people, Jesus Christ.
  2. God wanted Israel to know that God loved all people.
  3. Jonah was to be a picture of repentance from disobedience of a true man of God, written to all God’s people.

Another thing to consider that is not mentioned is the fact that it would be the Assyrian Empire that God would use in His “judgment” of the Northern Tribes named Israel, and the capital of the Assyrian Empire was the city of Nineveh.

The Assyrians were known as some of the cruelest people in the ancient world.

The children of Israel could be just as callous and hardhearted.

Even though most of the Ninevites returned to pagan worship later, God always, always has a remnant that stays with Him forever.

I believe that when Israel was taken to Nineveh, not everyone would be their enemy.

God has a purpose and a use for everyone upon the face of this earth.

God will use everyone who turns to Him, but God will also use the wicked to further His plan of “redemption” while not causing their wickedness.

The truth of God is that He desires mercy more than judgment, and every person who lives will get an opportunity to meet the God of the Bible.

God’s patience with our sin and wickedness, our false worship and rejection of Him as the only Living God and True God, is hard to understand, but it is real!

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

We must understand that God’s “judgment” will be real when the Lord Jesus returns in glory.

There is nowhere to run to escape the “Judgment of God”!

*****Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

The Book of Jonah, the fifth book in the row of the twelve minor prophets, is a unique book.

It is another place where we are to learn about the ways of God.

Jonah, the prophet of God, tried to put his own importance above the importance of God’s message.

We must learn that if we belong to God, we cannot run away from the purpose He has for us without feeling His chastisement.

Jonah knew the power and the truth of God!

When the truth of God is preached to any people, some will believe and be saved.

Jonah hated the Ninevites, for they were cruel, war-mongering people, and Jonah did not want to see any of them turn to Jehovah for salvation.

Just like God always does, He will take something that started badly and turn it into good results.

Jonah was running away from his home and his country to avoid doing what God wanted him to do.

Jonah would suffer unimaginable things, but in the end, he would be glad to do what God wanted him to do.

Jonah was already a prophet of God in Judah and was obedient to the Word of God.

Amos and Hosea were also serving the Lord during the time of Jonah.

They were to warn Israel and Judah of the coming judgment unless they would repent of their evil ways.

God’s new commission to Jonah was clear and unmistakable.

Jonah was to go to the city of Nineveh to warn a pagan people of the coming judgment of God.

We will learn a lot about Jonah, but we must pay attention to the actions of our God and Jonah’s God, Jehovah.

Of course, we know Him as Jesus.

Nineveh was one of the great cities of ancient civilization.

For the Lord Jesus to mention Jonah, we know that these things are true.

It just makes sense for us to accept all the Word of God as the truth.

To the Jews, the Book of Jonah is important, and they read this great truth of God during the Day of Atonement.

To critics, it is just a fairytale, but we live by faith in the whole Word of God.

If the Lord Jesus said these things are true, then we should not question them.

Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

What do we recognize as the sign of Jonah?

The sign of Jonah refers to the three days that Jonah spent in the belly of a great fish, which symbolizes Jesus’ death and resurrection after three days.

This truth is mentioned in the Gospels, where Jesus uses Jonah’s experience as a type of His own future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

The miraculous survival of Jonah serves as a powerful reminder of God’s mercy and God’s call to repentance.

It is God who is in control of all the parts of nature He created. God loves all people.

And for those who think God just has His eyes on His own people, all the other people of this earth should know that God has His eyes upon all His creation and all people of every nation.

What did Jonah do? He tried to flee from God.

God knows what each of us are doing at any given time.

*****Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

It is believed that Tarshish was a city of the Phoenicians in southern Spain.

This ship would have been an ocean-going ship and not a small fishing boat.

The Phoenicians were the dominant sea power at that time, and their ships traveled the world.

We should understand that we may not always like what God wants us to do.

We know He will never go against His own Word, so anything God asks us to do will be the right thing to do!

The people of Nineveh were evil and malicious, but as God had promised, the entire world must be warned of the coming judgment.

Nah 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
Nah 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
Nah 3:3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

All sin is an abomination to the Lord, but God will sometimes point out a specific group of people who have become so wicked that He will issue a special call of judgment.

Archaeology has confirmed what God is teaching us in this Book of Jonah.

The Assyrians were wicked people!

In their judgment of people, lips were torn off, hands were cut off, people were flayed like you would a fish while they were alive, and there were great mounds of skulls everywhere.

Jonah made a tragic decision to deliberately disobey the Lord and run away.

We must clearly understand that God can save anybody, anywhere, at any time, and it is not up to us to decide who God will save or who God will reject.

Rom_14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

The Lord Jesus said: Mat_7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

The Lord God Jehovah could not allow His prophet to get away with these things, which means He understood the feelings of Jonah, but Jonah was not God, and Jonah could not select who God would save or not save.

God’s message is to all people!

Jonah was in open rebellion against the Lord and wanted to get as far away from Nineveh as he possibly could.

God loved the Ninevites, despite their wickedness, and wanted them to hear that there was hope for them if they would only repent of all that wickedness.

We can also see that when we disobey God, we can endanger others.

God did not want His prophet to destroy his ministry or his life.

God caused a great wind, so great that this mighty ship could be destroyed.

The mariners of the ship all called out to their false gods, and we know there was no help there.

Jonah was asleep below deck, and the captain told him to cry out to his God, who is Jehovah, the God of the Hebrew people.

The Lord God of the Bible is the only hope we have in this world!

*****Jon 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So, they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Jonah may have thought for a while that he had successfully avoided going east to Ninevah by going west to Spain, but God was not through with Jonah.

Jonah knew why the ship was in such distress.

We should understand that God chastises those He loves, and sometimes a lot of chastisement is needed to bring us back to the right path.

While God was dealing with Jonah, He also took the time to demonstrate His power over the elements of this world.

This was the time of the year when the Mediterranean Sea would have been the calmest, and the crew, being polytheists, could only blame their distress on some false god.

They believed more in their false gods than many people believe in the true God, to our shame.

Ask a Muslim who believes in false gods or ask a Hindu about their faith.

God wants us to warn all people everywhere of His coming judgment, whether they believe it or not.

Jonah finally told them his God was the LORD, the God of Heaven, and that he was running away from Him.

It was obvious to the ship that it was Jonah’s fault that had caused this terrible storm.

They asked Jonah how they could save themselves from this storm, and Jonah told them to throw him overboard.

They did not want to do this at first but later decided that there was no other option and tossed Jonah out of the ship.

*****Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

These professional sailors got introduced to the God who is our Creator.

They asked that God not hold them accountable since it was because of Jonah that the storm was so powerful.

They were now afraid for their own lives and had admiration for the God of the Hebrew people, and they offered some sacrifice when they could have just said thank you and praised Him.

A vow would mean that these sailors made some kind of promise to God.

Only Jonah knew what happened next and lived to talk about it, and the Holy Spirit caused it to be written in the Bible we have today.

*****Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

No one can outthink God! He knew exactly what was going to happen to Jonah, and He prepared a great fish to be ready to save Jonah from drowning.

If God can keep life in the womb before the birth of a child, why would He not be able to keep Jonah alive in the belly of a fish?

This great fish swallowed Jonah to protect him, and as my preacher says, Jonah became the first ever submariner.

Some say under these conditions, there was no way that Jonah could have known how many days he was inside this fish, but the Holy Spirit knows all things.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

There was but one thing Jonah could do.

*****Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
Jon 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

This story of Jonah should confirm the fact that we can pray to God from anywhere but the grave, though we know that everyone in Hell is now a believer in the true God.

Wherever we find ourselves, we are never too far from God for Him to hear us.

Jonah had caused himself to be put into this precarious situation.

Jonah was in this situation because he had willfully disobeyed God, but God was still ready to hear from Jonah.

Had Jonah not prayed, he would have been lunch for this fish!

We must know that in our time of need, we should go to God, for He is always listening for our prayers.

Psa 120:1 In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.

We are never truly in a desperate situation when we know we can pray to the God of all power, even when we are in disobedience to the Word of God, if we are willing to repent.

It would take a miracle for Jonah to survive and complete the work that God had given him to do.

The Lord used this huge fish to keep Jonah alive while He also gave Jonah a sense of being in Hell.

  1. Jonah was in pitch-black darkness, along with the unbearable smell of rotting fish, seaweed, and whatever else a fish would eat.
  2. The Lord used this fish to give Jonah a sense of what Hell would be like for those who never heard God’s message of salvation.
  3. God used this fish to deliver Jonah from death to demonstrate His great love and mercy. God will do almost anything to get His message to those who have never heard it.
  4. The Lord used this great fish to swallow and then expel Jonah as a type of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, as Jesus said Himself.

Luk 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

We should remember the Lord in everything we do, and He should never be the last thing that we remember in a time of need.

*****Jon 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Though Jonah was still inside this great fish, his heart began to change in his despair.

Jonah realized that the Lord had kept him alive inside this fish to give him time to repent.

Jonah could breathe while inside this animal, which causes many to believe this great fish was a whale, but we actually do not know for sure.

Jonah speaks with faith that the Lord could still save him if He chose to do so, and He did.

God intends that through situations such as the one Jonah was in, to show us His great mercy.

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Jonah did not know if he would truly be saved from his dilemma, but he did know that his relationship with his Heavenly Father had been mended.

Inside this fish, Jonah knew he could still reach into the throne room of God.

Jonah was not afraid to die!

*****Jon 2:10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

We do not know where Jonah was put out on dry land.

We do know that God has control of all His creation, and this fish was obedient to God.

We can ignore all those who suggest the first part of the Book of Jonah is allegorical.

Those are just people who have no respect for the Word of God nor the power of our Supernatural God.

God had humbled His servant, and His servant was now ready to serve Him.

Jonah revived his ministry from this beach where he was deposited.

He would now obey God and go to Nineveh to proclaim the Word of God to a doomed people.

This is the same job we have today!

It was Jonah’s three-day experience when he was given a new life and a new beginning.

So, it is with us!

Through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we too can receive a new life, a new beginning, a brand-new start, a second chance, and spend an eternity with the One who loves us the most.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. By Grace Through Faith.

We must never think that God is not working in this world to bring to full glory His plan of salvation, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

God’s Restoration

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God’s Restoration

Book of Amos Chapters 5-9

One thing we all must remember is that once our bond with God is broken, death has entered into our lives.

We know this flesh we wear will certainly die, but the death that is real is the death of no longer having God involved in our lives.

If we reject Him long enough, we will then be rejected by our Heavenly Father.

Israel in this Scripture relates to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom and not the Israel we know of today.

The message, though, is the same for everyone who lives upon this earth.

We are all given a choice.

*Amo 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

The verse is a call to repentance. God will contrast His requirements with our actual conduct.

We cannot just say we are Christian there must be some proof.

Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Now we have no work to do for salvation; the Lord Jesus Christ did all that work, but there should be signs of a changed life after our salvation. There should be some signs of our faith.

There should be some fruit of the Holy Spirit since He immediately comes into our lives.

This is what James is saying in this Scripture.

God will contact every individual during their lifetime, and each of us will be offered this choice.

We must seek the Lord or else face God’s judgment!

God promises us that if we seek Him, we will find Him.

Deu_4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Act_17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

It is easy to see that this seeking is not about religion; it is about a personal relationship.

This is the difference between religion and Christianity. In Christianity, we get up close and personal with God, as a family should be.

As Israel, the ten Northern Tribes found out, God’s invitations will stop at some time.

And the greatest truth of this seeking is that we cannot seek the Lord God of this Universe if we are also seeking false gods.

*Amo 5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Amo 5:6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Bethel had once been a place to seek God, but when the ten tribes split from Judah, Bethel became one of the places where there was false worship of man-made golden calves.

1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

Gilgal too had been a place where the people could seek God, but it too had become a place of false worship.

Hos 9:15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

God used to speak to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at Beersheba, but traveling to Beersheba in the day of Amos was like going on a pilgrimage.

God would be south at the Temple and not some pilgrimage.

Amo 8:14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Amos was preaching to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom, and his message was, “There is no need for you to seek God in these places where He could have been found at one time because He was no longer there.

It’s like passing a church that was once full on Sunday but is now empty every day; you could say that God is no longer there, and there would be no need to seek God there.

It has become no more than a building because it was the people who came who were the church.

Many of us used to attend other places of worship than we do today. Most of us would not have left those places if we were being fed the truth of the Lord.

The fact that the Lord used to be there is no guarantee that He is there today.

In fact, if we start preaching or teaching some new gospel in the place where we are today, we can be very sure that God will leave this place of worship.

We have an obligation to attend church!

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We cannot just attend any place of worship; we must worship in a place where we can find the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the cornerstone of the Church.

Many churches today do not even acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, or they do not have the true Word of God.

What is a true Church? Eph_2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

The Apostles taught what Jesus taught them,
The prophets tell us what lies in our future.
Jesus Christ is the God of the true Bible, and He is also our Creator.

If Jesus Christ is not your God, then you are serving the wrong God.

This makes a lot of people mad to say this, but we have to tell them the truth.

It is Satan who has lied to them!

*Amo 5:7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
Amo 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:
Amo 5:9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

The truth is that those who are not seeking the LORD are seeking themselves, and they have no care for others.

There is very little natural affection for other human beings today.

Hatred dominates the minds of most people!

As Christians, we cannot say we have the Lord Jesus Christ and to Hell with everyone else.

Our job is to show all others the way to seek our Savior.

We cannot do this if we do not first show them love!

Wormwood is a shrub or bush with an unpleasant smell and is very bitter to taste.

It is a type of unpleasantness and grief that leads to the thought of death and destruction.

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

The justice I have received from God has been sweet. He is so full of mercy and grace; His justice can be nothing else but sweet.

I did not deserve it, but the grace of God is shown to those who seek the Lord with all their heart in truthfulness.

If we teach a distorted message on the mercy and grace of God, that message will become bitter to those who have never known the truth of the Lord.

If we do not seek our Creator, what chance do we have that we will find Him?

We must seek the right God, and there is only One true God and only one true Way to Heaven.

Our Creator and our Savior are the same God!

His name in the Scriptures is YAHWEH or Jehovah.

Our world exists because Yahweh caused and causes it to exist.

God spoke our world into existence and made from nothing all the things we see.

If we cannot see Him in His Almighty Incorruptible Majesty, who only needs to speak one word and we become no more, then we will never understand His love for us, and we will deserve His judgment, which is far different from His justice.

It is this God, Jehovah, Yahweh, Jesus, who wants us all to be saved!

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

We should clearly understand that no man, no matter how strong or how strong the works of that man, no matter how powerful, can withstand the Divine Majesty of our Savior, who is also our Creator.

There is no military that God has not already overthrown. Read your Bible and your history book.

It is this same God who allows changes in nature to succeed or fail at His choosing.
It is this same God who allows the politics of this world to succeed or fail at His choosing.
It is this same God who allows the cycles of time to go and come as He wishes.

This world is moving right along just as God said it would; the plan of God never has to change.

It is not God who has allowed this world to be so close to destroying itself on any given day; it is the sinful people who live in it, but He still gets the blame, though He wants to save the people who live in it.

*Amo 5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
Amo 5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

God is saying that those who do not acknowledge Him as the Creator will never enjoy life.

It was at the city gates where man’s justice took place on the day of Amos.

If there were a judge who could not be bought or bribed, the people would hate them.

If that judge bends the law, then he is okay, but those who spoke with integrity or used reliable witnesses were hated.

We live in the time of bought and sold-out judges, if not for money, then for a political stand and hatred.

If not for money, it is for fame, or political stance, when it is supposed to be about the laws of the land, and judges have no right to make laws.

We do not even get a chance to vote for these people, so who gave them such power?

Today, if we stand up for the rights of the unborn, those who are disabled, or those who are elderly, and those who are vulnerable in our society, then we are hated, as the other side stands up for illegals, murderers, and lawbreakers to buy a vote; the hatred just continues to spread.

There is no justice beyond God’s justice!

God will judge this world one day; He never forgets the works of those who refuse to repent!

We might ask ourselves; can anyone sin so much that they will never be forgiven?

*Amo 8:4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
Amo 8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
Amo 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
Amo 8:7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Though we do not know much about Amos, he is spending this time being an advocate for these sinful people.

As we read these words, it seems that God is leaving these people no way to escape, but we see the accusations and God’s verdict.

It is not about the amount of our sin; it is about how many times we deny God’s remedy and payment for our sin.

What is social injustice?

It is a violation of another’s rights. It is withholding what is due, or fraud.

If all people are created equal, then why is there an unequal distribution of rights or privileges among people who have equal claims?

I am not talking about equality in riches, I am talking about equality in rights and justice.

Israel was guilty of many things, but the main thing was superficial worship.

By law, they had to honor the Sabbath and all the other religious holy days and national celebrations.

This law became a thorn in the flesh of the politicians, the merchants, and the business leaders of that nation.

You tell me we are not experiencing this today. God’s laws are a thorn in the flesh of commerce and wickedness.

Sunday, our day of worship, means nothing to most businesses today.

Even our schools will try to practice sports on Sunday.

All sorts of professional sports use Sunday rather than a weekday.

Even Wednesdays are taken up with secular events.

Alcohol can now be purchased seven days a week.

Politicians are pushing to legalize popular drugs using the excuse to raise taxes when they should be making ways to spend less.

It is our tax system that drives businesses to run twenty-four-seven.

This world is trying to take away any time set aside to worship God.

The alternatives to God that this world offers are nothing more than idol worship!

The guilt of Israel was that while they were supposed to worship, their minds were on how to make more money, or how to rob the poor even more, or how they could take away the land of some poor person.

We see these same things in our politicians today>.

I cannot imagine sitting in God’s house trying to figure out a way to falsify the balances or more ways to deceive more people.

They knew the Law, and they knew this was an abomination to the Lord:

Deu 25:13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
Deu 25:14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
Deu 25:15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Deu 25:16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Amos’s job was to announce these judgments to the people of the Northern Kingdom, and Amos knew it would not sit well with the people, but God offered Amos no other answer.

We cannot soften the truth of God and say we are God’s followers!

Only those who feared the Lord would be afraid.

There would be no joy on the Sabbath.
God’s judgment would bring death to many people.
If there were survivors, they would be traumatized, wondering what God would do next.

We do not have to wonder what God will do next!

He either tells us, or He shows us in His Word, examples of what He has already done because He never changes.

If there is one truth in this world, it is that God’s judgment on unbelievers is a sure thing!

God’s “judgment” on sin is a sure thing!

Amos got a chance to witness these things in a vision that God sent to him.

God has every right to judge this world because He created it!

We all will stand face to face with our Almighty God, our Creator!

Some, at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The rest, at the White Throne Judgment.

The even clearer message is that until that day of judgment, we need to repent and seek the face of God.

We will all give an account for the things we have done unless we repent.

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

If we do not want to hear what God has to say, then one day God will take away His Word, and we will know nothing and be like the evolutionists who come up with unbelievable theories and fantasies.

*Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amo 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
Amo 8:13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
Amo 8:14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

We may be in that time when the Word of God is hated, and the world does not want to hear what God has to say!

Remember what the Lord Jesus said as He spoke unto the seven churches of the Church Age, the Age we are in now.

To the church at Ephesus: Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

To the church at Smyrna: Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

To the Church at Pergamum: Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

To the Church at Thyatira: Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

To the Church at Sardis: Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

To the Church at Philadelphia: Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

To the Church at Laodicea: Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote down these words given by the Holy Spirit:

Jer 23:30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
Jer 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

The most tragic thing that can happen to this world is for God to abandon it to its own ways.

It is easy to see that wicked men of this world would destroy it.

It is this same wickedness that says we have too many people to feed in this world and do everything they can to stop population growth.

The ways of God are perfect!

Psa 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

The ways of the world are sinful:

1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The world is tired of God telling them they are full of sin and need to repent.

No one in the world has any desire to repent!

The world does not want to hear the Word of God.

When we look at what the Lord Jesus was saying to the Church, He was saying that much of the Church does not want to hear what He has to say.

When this point is reached, God has said He will send a famine of hearing the Word of God.

We must understand that if we reject what God has to say, He will quit speaking to us.

He will put false prophets and preachers in places of worship, and they will do nothing more than tickle the ears of the congregation.

Act_28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

2Ti_4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti_4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

I believe we are in this age or this time now.

Even here in America, the Ten Commandments cannot be posted anywhere without somebody bringing a lawsuit, but why?

People just do not want to hear what God has to say about the way they live their lives.

To repent is just a word in most churches and means nothing.

There is coming a day when this world will become so lawless that the people will once again want to hear what God has to say, and they will not be able to hear it or even find it.

They will go to some church, but that one in the pulpit will teach them about some dream they had that did not come from God.

If they find an old version of a Bible, the Holy Spirit will not open their eyes to what it says.

The young people will see a world falling apart, left by their elders, and seek guidance from God, but they will not find it because the Word of God has been altered to become the word of the world, with just enough of the truth to cause confusion

They will be told they can find the Word of God at the Luciferian Church, but it will not be found there because it never was there.

It was at Beersheba that the enemies of Isaac caused all the wells to go dry, and Isaac had to dig new wells that were also filled.

God is saying that the well of knowledge in the Word of God is dry, and there is no one to clean out the dirt and sludge of the world from it, where there still remains the Water of Life.

Jhn_7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Jhn_4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

We should understand that every person worships something. Whatever they hold first in their lives is their god!

It may be an image of their goal, it may be some idol, it may be something from some religion other than Christianity.

Even the so-called Christians must place God first in their lives, and many refuse.

If we fail to worship anything other than Jehovah in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ in the New Testament, or Yahweh, we are sinning Blasphemy.

All false religions will fall, never to rise again.

No one can escape the Judgment of God!

Amo 9:1 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
Amo 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

Once all false religions have been removed, God will do certain things to reclaim Israel.

*Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Amo 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

God will make Israel the honcho nation of this world.

God will restore His people, Israel, to the national pride they had when King David ruled Israel.

“In that day”, the day of the return of Jesus Christ, when He will publicly appear to save that remnant of the Jews that is mentioned throughout the Old Testament.

The Northern and the Southern tribes will be reunited as it was in the time of King David, but this will be the time of the Second Coming of the Messiah.

All those who were against Jehovah will be removed: Amo 9:10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

We should also understand that at this time, all the land that was promised to Abraham will be restored to Israel.

This is the same land that came to Israel in the days of King David and King Solomon.

This would be the land of Israel, but King Jesus will rule from Jerusalem, and He will rule this entire world.

Psa 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
Psa 72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
Psa 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

The government of the Messiah will be universal. There will be no one who can hide from the rule of the Messiah.

It is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham: Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

The world will look a whole lot different, even from what it looks like today.

There will be major climate change!

*Amo 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Amo 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Amo 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

When we know God up close and personal, we will always have a bright and wonderful future. It is His promise!

The judgment of Israel is over after all these years; they now accept all the Word of God, even the New Covenant(Testament).

They have realized that all the Old Testament prophecies were true all along.

They now know the Son of God whom they had rejected and worship Him.

God had broken them because of their sin, and they had now repented and returned to Him.

True prosperity had finally come to Israel, and Jerusalem was now truly the City of Peace.

For the ploughmen to overtake the reaper means that it would take the reaper all Summer to gather in the harvest.

Even the vineyards would produce much more than was needed.

God would also cause cities that had lain in ruin for so many years to be rebuilt.

For the people in the day of Amos, this last part was a message of hope for the people of Israel.

All they needed to do was to believe the God who had delivered them so many times!

They would not have to depend upon foreigners or anyone else around them. God would make their land sufficient, just like their God is sufficient to meet all our needs.

I know this is true because He meets all my needs.

The prophecy of Amos could only be fulfilled by Jehovah, the Living God.

They would never have to leave their land again.

God would make sure these things happened just as Amos had delivered to them.

God means what He says, and God says what He means.

Amen.

The Logic in God’s Judgment

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Logic of God’s Judgment

Book of Amos Chapters 1 through 4

As we take a look into the Book of Amos, we should realize that the Ten Tribes called Israel had moved away from God from the very first day of separating from Judah.

As we study this book of prophecy, we will see that God has given this nation a last chance to repent and return to the truth of Jehovah and worship as God had given them in the Books of Moses.

None of the kings of this divided nation called Israel had any interest in the truth of God nor the worship of the LORD Jehovah.

We know the Lord is patient with His people, but there is an end to that patience, and after patience runs out, it is replaced with judgment.
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God always has to overcome His compassion for His people to bring judgment, but He will.

It is these lessons we read about in the Old Testament that we can learn how God will react to these same types of things today.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

1Co 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

We can visibly see how patient God is with the world we live in today, but the Old Testament proves that God’s patience will end, and judgment will come.

God will not allow wickedness and sin to continue indefinitely!

The Book of Amos is a book of judgment!

For one hundred and eighty years, the Northern Kingdom had rebelled against the LORD.

Amos preached a message that focused on the coming judgment of God.

Amos was just a lowly shepherd from Judah who prophesied mostly in Israel, showing us that God can use anyone willing to serve Him.

*Amo 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

In the Scriptures, earthquakes are mentioned as tokens of God’s power, but also as a means of fine-tuning the timeline of the Scriptures.

Job 9:6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

Earthquakes are also tokens of God’s presence.

Psa 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Earthquakes that we are more familiar with are those that are from God’s anger.

Psa 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

God’s fierce anger is still in the future.

Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Isa 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

*Amo 1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Amos was chosen because, in his preaching, he could roar, and his message was that God would soon roar out of Zion.

In fact, Amos begins where the Book of Joel ends.

Joe 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Zion was the same as the city of David to Amos.

1Ki 8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

Amos first begins to prophecy judgment on all those nations that have had any dealings with Israel.

The LORD speaks from Zion, which He had assigned to be the central place of worship of the Jews and also the central place of government, as formed by King David.

Israel was to have a theocratic government. A government that followed the Word of God.

God speaks to all His people, and He includes strangers.

Zion is the dwelling place of the LORD, spiritually and soon will be physically for one thousand years!

A roaring of the lion can be heard from five to eight miles, but God’s roar will be heard from any location upon this earth if He so chooses.

A lion’s roar is aimed as a threat to his enemies, and the roar of God in judgment will be directed at His enemies, the enemies of the Church and the enemies of Israel.

Jer 25:30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
Jer 25:31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Jer 25:32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
Jer 25:33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

This is another reason why the Lord Jesus is known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He will roar in judgment sooner than we think.

*Amo 2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
Amo 2:7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
Amo 2:8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

What was wrong with Israel in the day of Amos and still so today?

This sent waves of shock through the crowd that Amos was preaching to, for in their mind they would say to you, “There is no way God’s judgment would fall on them”.

They are so wrong because they know the key to God’s Grace is obedience to His Word. Why would God not judge those who refuse to obey Him?

To the world today that misunderstands God’s nature. Yes, God is Love, and because of this, He is long-suffering.

His long-suffering means He is waiting for the world to repent and turn from its wicked ways, but it never will, so eventually God’s justice must prevail on those who live wickedly, or He would not be the God of truth.

Israel was feeling really good about everything when Amos was preaching about judgment on all those other nations, but their attitude changed when Amos began with God’s judgment upon Israel.

The Judgment of God is coming to this world, and the only way to miss it is to repent and turn back to our Creator. Our God is also our Creator!

God has warned this entire world.

Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

God’s justice must prevail!

These verses describe to us the crimes of Israel.

1) We see a perversion of justice. The judges took bribes and condemned the righteous.
Keep in mind, Judas took silver to condemn our righteous Savior.

For the very smallest of bribes, they rejected the cause of poverty in their own nation.

Eze 13:19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

They continuously broke the Laws of God.

2) They desired that the poor be removed from the earth.

This sounds like today, when our politicians remind us that if not for the poor and the elders there would be plenty of money to waste on other things, while they intentionally try to move the middle class into that poor category.

Those who are poor are also those who are depressed, even though depression can attack anyone, no matter their status.

It is many of those who are poor who are almost forced to do crooked and evil things in an attempt to survive.

We cannot defend this, but we can acknowledge it.

The world continuously ignores the dignity of human life if you are not a part of their crowd.

3) For a man and his father to go into the same maid could be said to be incest, which was forbidden and could be seen as organized prostitution, but it is certainly fornication.

Eze 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

4) Those who were well off would take the outer clothes of those who had fallen on hard times, as a pledge. These would be the clothes they wore during the day and covered themselves with at night.

Those who stole those clothes would think nothing of wearing them to the House of God.

They engaged in hypocritical worship by worshipping at every altar in any place of worship, even those places where idols were worshipped.

Israel’s worship of Jehovah had become corrupt.

Before we pray and worship at any altar, we had better be sure we are in a true House of God!

5) Israel rejected the Lord as the source of their blessings since the Lord removed them from the Iron Furnace of Egypt.

*Amo 2:9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Amo 2:10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amo 2:11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.
Amo 2:12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

As we read the Old Testament, we read over and over how God had blessed this nation and had forgiven their many sins.

It was the Almighty God who had destroyed the Amorites and allowed Israel to take over their cities and their homes.

They were certainly wicked people, but Israel was falling into the same trap of judgment.

It was the Almighty Living God who had saved Israel from Egypt, where they had been slaves for nearly four hundred years.

It was the Almighty God who had sent to them His prophets from their own nation, and they had murdered many of them.

6) Even the Nazarites who had committed themselves to live righteously and devote themselves to the Lord were forced to drink wine against their vows.

I absolutely cannot see how those of a certain religion can serve wine at communion, knowing God said not to drink wine at all.

We have to make a vow to live righteously to be saved!

Those who interfere with God’s children will truly suffer the wrath of God.

Mat_18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mrk_9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Luk_17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

Israel at this time was no different than the nations and peoples God had removed from Canaan Land!

Have you noticed how the Church is following in these same steps?

If you are in a godly church today, it is a must to resist any change that goes against the Word of God! All the Word of God!

Jer_6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

We cannot be so foolish as not to walk in the truth of God.

What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a person who pretends and is deceitful.

Claiming to believe in the LORD is not enough to become acceptable to God.

A true believer will do their best to follow the LORD!

A true believer will do their best to be obedient to all the Word of God.

A true believer will do their best to live righteously in this world.

A true believer will be looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

A hypocrite is deceitful.

What did the Lord Jesus say we needed to watch out for in the end times?

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

We cannot allow false so-called Christians to destroy our churches!

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

*Amo 2:13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
Amo 2:14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

In response to any rebellious attitude and opposition of people in answer to His concerns, God has no choice but to react in “Judgment”.

Sin is a heavy burden that will take us into the pits of Hell, when God is so willing to forgive if we will repent and return to Him.

Why would anyone want to go to Hell to spend an eternity there?

The Northern Tribes of Israel were guilty of extreme wickedness, and God judged them by sending them into captivity into a nation that worshipped idols and rejected Jehovah.

God is saying that His cart is so heavily loaded with sin that anything He rolls over will be crushed into non-existence.

God will have removed His compassion.
God will have removed His mercy.
God will have removed His grace.
God will have removed His love, and this leaves only His “judgment”!

God had stated that He hated Esau and the Edomites no longer exist as a people.

God is telling sinners that He hates sin, and the Lord Jesus will say, “I never knew you,” or to Him, you did not exist.

Mat_7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Are those Ten Tribes of Israel still lost?

The “lost tribes” were not entirely lost — many integrated into local populations, and some groups, like the Samaritans, preserved their identity.

The one thing we know for sure is that there are Jews scattered all over the world, and many of them have gone back home to Israel.

We can say that there are no lost Tribes of Israel because God knows where they all are.

What did God do?

God shows them instances of judgments He had sent at various times to correct His people.

*Amo 4:6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Amo 4:7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
Amo 4:8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Amo 4:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Amo 4:10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

This is not some form of toothache, but it is famine.

Their teeth would be clean because they had nothing to eat.

The Laws of Moses, which they were so proud of, stated: Deu 28:48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he hath destroyed thee.
Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

In all the years since God had taken Israel out of Egypt and formed the nation that they are today, they have never truly repented of rejecting God and His Word.

God disciplines because He loves us, not because He hates us!

The stubbornness of Israel’s rejection caused God to be harsher with His people.

All God has ever asked from any of us is to repent and turn back to Him.

The LORD sent famine and hunger, and this famine struck every city so that each city would not have the resources to feed its people.

Next, God sent drought, and God sent this drought three months before harvest time, so there would be very little to harvest.

They had three months to repent and save their crops, but they were too stubborn to give in.

They would hear about rain in another city, but by the time they got there, the water would be used up.

When they did have enough water for meager crops to grow, God sent the blight and the palmerworm.

Blasting was the damage caused by the scorching East wind.

Eze 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

Mildew would also ruin some crops. Mildew is caused by fungi from dampness and is the opposite of conditions caused by drought.

The locust swarms and disease would take anything that was left of their crops.

They faced economic devastation, but they still would not repent.

War, drought, and famine always end in disease, sickness, and plagues among the people.

These would be the same type of plagues that God used on Egypt, but they still would not repent.

So, God sent war.

The young men, the pride of most nations, were slain with the sword of their enemies. This is what war does. War removes many of the next generation and affects a nation for years.

God took away their ability to defend themselves.

The stink of unburied carcasses lay everywhere, and even more disease came to Israel.

*Amo 4:11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Amo 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Amo 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

God reminds them that their sin was counted just as hideous and wicked as the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they would have perished if God had not plucked them out of the fire.

Their homes were burned, their cities were burned, and everything they had left was burned, and they have been to if God had not plucked them from the fire.

There was only one thing left to do, and it was for God to come to this earth and take care of this rebellion Himself.

We should all ask ourselves, “Are we ready to meet the God of the Bible?”

God’s judgment is certainly coming to this world.

Judgment is inescapable for those who refuse to repent and return to the Creator.

God will not send an angel.
God will not send the death angel.

God will come Himself, and if He comes in His glory, no one will be able to stand before Him.

There is only one way out to safety, and it is by repentance and returning to the God who made us.

Act 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

We can meet God in the clouds, or we will meet God in “judgment,” and we do not have much time left to decide!

Amen