HE PROTECTS HIS OWN
Opening Prayer
Thank You, God, for Your loving-kindness!
Read Amos 9:1–10
Israel to Be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent to bite them.
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
“I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;
6 he builds his lofty palace[a] in the heavens
and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Arameans from Kir?
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Have you ever tried to watch a room full of toddlers? It is not easy, is it? Well, imagine keeping track of every person, all at once.The fifth and final picture in Amos is terrifying. God is seen standing beside the pagan altar, calling for the pillars to be struck. The roof collapses on the people and nobody can get away. If they dig, climb or hide, God will get them. There is no escape. The scene is terrifying and his judgment is total.
The news was overwhelming for the nation of Israel. God was ready to judge and there was no escape. But… isn’t it a relief when there is a word like “but,” “yet,” or “however” in a passage like this?
But God will not totally destroy the people. Again there is a glimmer of hope in the bleak message of impending doom. Throughout Amos there have been hints of this; hints that God discriminates; hints that God will destroy the nation and yet there is still hope for any who are responsive to him. That hint will become full-blown hope in the next and final section of the book.
For now, let us rest secure knowing that God can destroy our whole world in judgment and yet protect those who are his.
Apply
With whom can you share the message of God’s “way out” of judgment? How can you share about God’s amazing grace with them this week?
Closing prayer
Thank You, God, for the privilege of a personal salvation. Thank You that I am secure from ultimate judgment through trusting Your Son.
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