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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“This is what the Lord says:”
“A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth will
recover only two legs or a piece of an ear. So it will be for the Israelites in
Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and for the people of Damascus reclining on
couches.”
Amos 3:12 (NLT)
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
So far, what we have seen in Chapter 3 of Amos is a God
angry at His people and promising judgment for the sins they have committed in
His sight. But today, as we finish this chapter, we find a single verse that
offers a glimmer of hope in the midst of the Lord’s assurance that severe
punishment was coming their way. Look at these words again here:
“This is what the Lord
says:”
“A shepherd who tries
to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth will recover only two legs or a piece of
an ear. So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and
for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.” Amos 3:12
(NLT)
The picture painted at the opening of this verse is rather
graphic. If a lion would attack a sheep, it was typically the end of the sheep
with only a few body parts the lion didn’t want available for the shepherd to
collect. It was an interesting analogy as Amos was a shepherd as you may recall
before he became a prophet for the Lord.
Note that this example was compared to the Israelites who
lived in Samaria and Damascus, enveloped in opulence as they lay down on
luxurious beds and reclined on couches.
What was the Lord getting at here? What did these two things
have in common?
At the heart of the answers to these questions is the matter
of being spared.
Just as only a few body parts of the lion-eaten sheep
remained so too would only a few of the Israelites be left after the attacks of
the Assyrians and Babylonians, and the subsequent seventy year captivity in
Babylon. Not everyone would make it back but those who were spared would be
allowed to return to Israel to rebuild their nation, their homes, their temple,
and their relationships with God. We know this took place after the Persians
defeated the Babylonians and their king, Cyrus the Great, gave permission for
the Israelites to return home, an account of which can be found in the Books of
Ezra and Nehemiah.
Now you may say to yourself, “That’s a great story but what
does all this mean to me?”
It really means everything to you as well as all mankind.
This is because we are all sinners and thus destined for
utter annihilation, condemnation, and damnation when this worldly life is over.
Without salvation, God sparing us through His Son, Jesus, no one would be
spared from complete destruction.
Thanks be to God that He so loved the world and everyone in
it that He did offer up His Son as a living sacrifice, the final atonement for
sin needed. He then said that if anyone would believe in His Son as Savior,
that person would not perish but have everlasting life.
Thus, trust in Jesus equals being spared, justified on the
final judgment day when Jesus returns. Choosing to reject Him only leads to eternal
perdition. There is no third option, no middle ground.
In the end translation, you are either going to be spared or
you’re not. It’s all or nothing.
So where do you stand today?
If Jesus were to return today, would you be spared because
you placed your hope in Him or would you be destroyed because you chose to refuse
allowing Him in your life.
On the final judgment day, like the judgment God imposed on
His people through the Assyrians and Babylonians, only some will be spared. I
pray you will be counted in that number.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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