But no place is safe when everybody in camp’s sound asleep.”
–John Benteen (Fargo)
“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'”‘
“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'”‘
–Matthew 25:5-6 (NKJV)
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Though the mills of God grind slowly,
yet they grind exceedingly small;
Though with patience He stands waiting,
with exactness grinds He all.
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A question often asked is, “How long will judgment tarry?” Will judgment, when it comes, be instantaneous, or will there be opportunity for repentance? Perhaps it lingers for the situation to develop so that wickedness will be openly exposed as fully deserving judgment. Whichever the case, we would do well to heed the words of Paul, “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time, I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2, HCSB)
In verse one, we see the time of Amos’ prophecy. He preached “two years before the earthquake.” There was a large, natural earthquake that took place, but almost forty years from the time of the prophecy there came an earthquake caused by chariots, the hooves of horses, and the marching of soldiers–the Assyrian invasion. Then it was too late…
“The LORD roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
–Amos 1:2 (NKJV)
God wanted the peoples’ attention! The roaring is an attempt to awaken those who are sleeping. Amos tells that judgment is impending, about to strike; it will be thorough, from lowland to highland; and it will bring devastation, leaving the once good lands dry and barren. The NKJV Study Bible relates, “The fact that the top of Mount Carmel, on the coast of Israel in the north, withers indicates a great disaster. Carmel was a garden spot, normally lush and flourishing year-round.” Wake up! Be sure that you have sufficient oil in your lamps for the Lord is coming!
This roar does not promise deliverance, but rather destruction. “God’s judgment from Jerusalem will spread terror like the sudden appearance of a beast of prey” (Albert Garner). We know God is longsuffering and the reason why, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV); but as Warren Wiersbe points out, “He marks what they do, and His patience eventually runs out. To try God’s patience is to tempt the Lord; and when we tempt the Lord, we invite judgment.” Even with His longsuffering, as we read in Peter, God immediately follows up in the next four verses warning that the day of the Lord is coming.
If this is the roar of the Lion of Judah, as with any lion’s roar it rings with terror. Amos will say, “the lion has roared; who will not fear?” (3:8) The roar comes from the great God–the One who parted the Red Sea, who led the people out of bondage; the One who was present in the holy of holies. Lloyd Ogilvie states that “His character was being denied and His holiness contradicted. His roar is one of condemnation and judgment. The people had gone too far.” How long does the Lord tarry His judgment? Amos says that it is coming. “When the Lord roared the nation dried up at the heat of the fiery blast” (NKJV Study Bible).
Are we deaf? Can we not hear the roar sounding today? Or do we slumber, say ho-hum, the Lord, oh He’s in the by-and-by? Wake up! Woe to us, if we do not heed the words of the Lord. Listen…! You will hear “the roar of a holy God in righteous judgment.” But what about grace, you say? Yes, we have grace, but what happens when the people continue to spurn that grace? In fact, as Ogilvie points out, “It is out of grace that God judges His people. And it is only after we have heard the roar of His judgment and repented that fresh grace can be received.”
Make it personal. It is easy to see the plight of the nation, the troubles and wickedness. But what about our lives? Have we fallen asleep? Do not the things of evil bother you or are you accustomed to it? Do we have things in our life that may cause the Lord to roar? Wake up! Listen!
————————————
Though the mills of God grind slowly,
yet they grind exceedingly small;
Though with patience He stands waiting,
with exactness grinds He all.
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A question often asked is, “How long will judgment tarry?” Will judgment, when it comes, be instantaneous, or will there be opportunity for repentance? Perhaps it lingers for the situation to develop so that wickedness will be openly exposed as fully deserving judgment. Whichever the case, we would do well to heed the words of Paul, “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time, I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2, HCSB)
In verse one, we see the time of Amos’ prophecy. He preached “two years before the earthquake.” There was a large, natural earthquake that took place, but almost forty years from the time of the prophecy there came an earthquake caused by chariots, the hooves of horses, and the marching of soldiers–the Assyrian invasion. Then it was too late…
“The LORD roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
–Amos 1:2 (NKJV)
God wanted the peoples’ attention! The roaring is an attempt to awaken those who are sleeping. Amos tells that judgment is impending, about to strike; it will be thorough, from lowland to highland; and it will bring devastation, leaving the once good lands dry and barren. The NKJV Study Bible relates, “The fact that the top of Mount Carmel, on the coast of Israel in the north, withers indicates a great disaster. Carmel was a garden spot, normally lush and flourishing year-round.” Wake up! Be sure that you have sufficient oil in your lamps for the Lord is coming!
This roar does not promise deliverance, but rather destruction. “God’s judgment from Jerusalem will spread terror like the sudden appearance of a beast of prey” (Albert Garner). We know God is longsuffering and the reason why, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV); but as Warren Wiersbe points out, “He marks what they do, and His patience eventually runs out. To try God’s patience is to tempt the Lord; and when we tempt the Lord, we invite judgment.” Even with His longsuffering, as we read in Peter, God immediately follows up in the next four verses warning that the day of the Lord is coming.
If this is the roar of the Lion of Judah, as with any lion’s roar it rings with terror. Amos will say, “the lion has roared; who will not fear?” (3:8) The roar comes from the great God–the One who parted the Red Sea, who led the people out of bondage; the One who was present in the holy of holies. Lloyd Ogilvie states that “His character was being denied and His holiness contradicted. His roar is one of condemnation and judgment. The people had gone too far.” How long does the Lord tarry His judgment? Amos says that it is coming. “When the Lord roared the nation dried up at the heat of the fiery blast” (NKJV Study Bible).
Are we deaf? Can we not hear the roar sounding today? Or do we slumber, say ho-hum, the Lord, oh He’s in the by-and-by? Wake up! Woe to us, if we do not heed the words of the Lord. Listen…! You will hear “the roar of a holy God in righteous judgment.” But what about grace, you say? Yes, we have grace, but what happens when the people continue to spurn that grace? In fact, as Ogilvie points out, “It is out of grace that God judges His people. And it is only after we have heard the roar of His judgment and repented that fresh grace can be received.”
Make it personal. It is easy to see the plight of the nation, the troubles and wickedness. But what about our lives? Have we fallen asleep? Do not the things of evil bother you or are you accustomed to it? Do we have things in our life that may cause the Lord to roar? Wake up! Listen!