HOPE OF A RAPID HARVEST
Opening Prayer
I praise You for Your faithfulness, O God. There is none like You.
Read Amos 9:11–15
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name,”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.
“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
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
If God decides to bless his people, how blessed do you imagine they will be?As we come to the close of the book of Amos we meet a full-blown description of the hope of God’s goodness. The nation is challenged and threatened with judgment throughout the nine chapters, but then comes this overwhelming image of hope.
Why should the nation respond to God? Not just out of fear, but also with great hope. Amos promised that a day is coming when God would restore the nation completely. Not only would they have their borders, but also abundant harvests—so fruitful that the person reaping the harvest would catch up with the person preparing to plant… instant fruit! The people would be brought back from exile and God’s promises would be fulfilled.
When God makes a promise, he keeps it—even if his people sin and have to be disciplined for it. God is the great promise-keeper. The prophets could look beyond the imminent exile and scattering of Israel, to the ultimate hope of God’s plan coming to full fruition. What you do and how you live will have consequences. But there is nothing you can do to undermine God’s promise to be good to you in Christ. Your future is greater than you can even imagine! One day, sin’s great offensive will be over and God’s promises will be fulfilled.
Apply
What are some of God’s promises of his love and salvation? Look them up and write them down to remind yourself in the future.
Closing prayer
Thank You, God, for Your loving judgment, and for the hope that we have, precisely because You keep Your promises despite us!
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