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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 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; He builds His lofty palace in the heavens and
sets its foundation 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.”
“Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?”
declares the Lord. “Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from
Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?”
“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. “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. All the sinners
among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not
overtake or meet us.’”
Amos 9:5-10
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
As we go through life, I think we tend to forget about
all the power that God possesses power that could either be brought to bear to
defend and save us or leveraged against us in judgment. We seem to go through
the motions each day, immersed in the glory and majesty of God’s creation, yet
overlook or take for granted the clout of the Great Creator.
It’s almost as if God thought we might go through periods
of oversight because He gives us great passages in the Bible to serve as
reminders as to who He is as well as what He has done and still can do. One such
passage is at the heart of today’s devotion as we start to bring the Book of
Amos to a close. Look again at the words from this book’s final chapter:
“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; He builds His
lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation 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.”
“Are not you
Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring
Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans
from Kir?”
“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. “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. All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who
say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’”
Amos 9:5-10
Why do I say that I think people tend to forget about the
Lord’s incredible strength and might?
Because who in their right mind would sin against Him if
they truly remembered that He could touch the earth and melt it, cause the
rivers to rise like the Nile which would rise as much as 25 feet at its flood
stages every year, build a lofty, majestic palace in the heavens and set the
foundation on the earth, or pours the waters of the sea over the face of the
land.
Who else can do such things?
We’re told in the passage. His name is the Lord, the Lord
God Almighty.
So if the Lord can melt the earth, command the seas, and
build heavenly dwellings, how in the world can anyone stand against Him?
The answer is no one and yet the people of Israel decided
to take on this omnipotent God, choosing to sin at will and worship false gods
and idols in His plain sight. Once they had been His chosen people, set apart
from all other nations but in the midst of their transgressions and blatant
disrespect and disregard for the Lord, they had become no better that the pagan
peoples around them, the Cushites, Philistines, and the Arameans.
Indeed, the eyes of the Almighty, Sovereign Lord were
fixed on the Israelites and ready to aim His judgment on them. He said so
Himself, that He was going to destroy His people from the face of the earth. He
promised to “give the command” and shake the Israelites “among all the nations”
just as “grain is shaken in a sieve”, and as we know He did just that, ensuring
the Israelites were hauled away from their homeland to live in foreign
territories. The sinners, those who believed that no disaster could come upon
them, would perish by the sword and see just how lethal it would be to take
such a bold stance against the One who hated their iniquities, the One whose
name was the Lord.
Friends, this Lord who possessed the power to do all
things in the day of Amos the prophet is the same Lord we serve today. He is
still the Lord who can melt the earth and cause the waters to rise and fall. He
is still living in the lofty palace He constructed in the heavens and that
palace still has its foundation in the earth. He is still the Lord who expects
His people to live in righteousness, to be set apart from the world and living
in His holiness. And He is the same Lord who despises sin and will bring
consequences on anyone who chooses wickedness in life, leveraging His power
against the transgressor.
In the end translation, God is God, the King of kings, and
the Maker and Master of all things. He has no rival and no equal. No one can
stand against Him.
His name is the Lord and it’s high time every person in
creation respect His power and authority.
Or else.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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