–Ernest Haycox  (Saddle and Ride)

       “Everyone depends on you, and when the time is right, you provide them with food.”
                    –Psalm 145:15  (CEV)
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          3.5 — Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
            .6 — In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  (NKJV)

     When I was a teenager, I purchased my first study Bible and my pastor, G.R. Kelly wrote this verse in the back of my Bible.  This is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture; invariably it is probably one of yours or of someone you know.  We need to take some time to look more deeply at what is being said.  Keep in mind as we study the term, “all.”  In your mind understand what that really means.  Charles Bridges says that these two verses are “the polar star of a child of God–faith in His Father’s providence, promises, and grace.”
     It is emphatic that we are to trust “the Sovereign Lord with every fiber of our being,  putting the full weight of our cares, worries, and problems on Him.” (Beasley)  We are to trust solely and completely in God Almighty and His Word.  Trust is entire and exclusive.  It is complete.  Mike Leake says that “trust isn’t a half-hearted endeavor.”  It is indeed then a whole-hearted work.  Charles Bridges declares that, “Since He is truth itself; we should take Him at His Word, any limit to the confidence is a heinous provocation.”  Trust–true, deep-seated trust.  To trust Him means knowing Him and His will.  It means total commitment.  As Jesus said, we must pick up our yoke and follow Him.  Warren Wiersbe points out that “This is a promise, but the fulfillment of that promise is predicated on our obedience to the Lord.”  
     Therefore to trust Him, means that we must know Him.  Acknowledging could better be translated “knowing”; we must come to know God if we are to trust Him.  People say they want a relationship with God, but they don’t take the time to get to know Him.  To really know God we must prayerfully and consistently study and ingest His Word.  “The more we truly know Him, the more we will trust in Him, and the less in ourselves and others.” (Beasley)   Knowing Him, according to Dan Dick, means “to learn to accept a God who is greater and more powerful than the limits of our minds can grasp, we will begin to experience God more fully.”  
     Relationship, intimacy with God–J.L. Flores writes, “The trust of a Christian will be in proportion to his love to his Lord.  The more intimate the knowledge, the deeper will be the love; the deeper the love, the more entire the trust.”  Trusting and knowing God then go hand-in-hand.  When we do that we are on our way to having our pathway directed.  Leake says, “Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is fundamentally a Christ-centered quest.”  
     Knowing Him takes time.  Knowing Him isn’t a sometimes thing, but it is moment-by-moment throughout the day.  Do we thank God for the gloomy days as well as the bright days?  If not, do we really know Him?  Do we really trust Him?  Having our paths directed is for the person who diligently studies the Word of God; the person who seeks consciously to do the will of God.  “Faith is not without reason, but it is always beyond reason.” (Dick)  We must understand who we are serving, yet at the same time know that we cannot fully understand Him.  Trusting is a conscious dependence on God, then He will direct our paths.  When we lean upon our own understanding we can easily miss God’s will.  In trusting Him there must be the submission of our wills to His. (Flores)  
     Remember, the person who trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26), yet why then do we do so?  Why do we insist on going our own way?  To have that personal relationship we must place aside our will.  Tozer wrote, “Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes.  For true faith, it is either God or total collapse.”  
     So do you know God and trust Him?  If not, do not expect that He will direct your path.  We must acknowledge Him, know Him, in all our ways, the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, the sour and the luscious things that are provided.  That great man of God, Charles Bridges sums it this way, “It is therefore our plain duty not to neglect our understanding, but to cultivate it diligently in all its faculties.  In a world of such extended knowledge, ignorance is the fruit of sloth, dissipations, or misguided delusion.”  Friend, get to know God and then be confident that He will direct your path.  It is part of that process of growing; it is part of that process of living.  Don’t miss the working of God in your everyday life.

                    –Hebrews 4:12  (ESV)
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     In 1948, the Jewish nation was restored, but there was no king, priest, temple, or sacrifices.  This will change; in the future, the dynasty of David will again sit on the throne.  Amos has been prophesying dire warnings and destruction now he ends his book with the promise of hope, the promise of restoration.

          9.11 — “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;
            .12 — That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the LORD who does this thing.
            .13 — “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
            .14 — I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
            .15 — I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.  (NKJV)

This book has been dominated by “dark clouds of judgment ends with this more cheerful message of hope.” (Craigie)  God promises a new beginning for a remnant.  The tone has changed from judgment to hope.  Amos, too, looked forward to the coming David–the Messiah.  It is not yet, but it is still promised, therefore, it will come.  Peter Craigie states, “A day is still to come…in which the people will be restored to their land, there to live in God’s bounty and prosperity.”
     There are five promises in this prophecy:
          1)  the tabernacle or booth of David will be built–since it is David we know that this is in reference to the Messiah who is from the line of David.
          2)  power over all the old enemies–the kingdom will be enlarged; it will also include Gentiles (hmmm, the Church of the Redeemed)
          3)  there will be prosperity and bounty for the land–in the future reign of Christ, the curse will be removed from the land.
          4)  captives will be brought back–notice the “I wills” of these verses and know that God will make it happen.  “He is the source and sustainer of the restoration.” (Ogilvie)
          5)  the covenant of the chosen people will be remembered–following the coming judgment there is the promise of a new beginning.  As Matthew Henry states, “The kingdom of the Messiah shall take such deep rooting in the world, as to never be rooted out of it.”
     A short, few verses that bring hope and promise to the chosen ones of God.  Oh yes, they would face the judgment of their vile fruits.  There is a cost of being chosen; we have been appointed to live holy, righteous lives, and it would do us well to remember that.  Lloyd Ogilvie says, “We, like Israel are accountable to Him for what we do with the blessings He bestows on us.”
     We bring to a conclusion this powerful book.  Gary G. Cohen has this to say in closing, “Let this ending scorch its strong lesson upon the heart of every reader, to make sure he has come to the foot of the cross and by faith has embraced Christ’s forgiveness.  Let every reader be sure that he is standing secure upon the ground of God’s blessings, rather than upon the land of sin and rebellion, wherein only sorrow and grief abide.  As in the case of Israel, there is fullness of blessing only when Jehovah is in truth your God.”
     What happened to Amos?  Did he go back to his herds and farm?  Did he continue to act as a prophet?  That we do not know, but we know that he brought forth God’s message in a powerful way.  Kyle Yates leaves us with what I call:  Practical Lessons of Permanent Value.
          1)  Men displease God by hollow, insincere worship.
          2)  Nations and individuals that have been favored are laden with corresponding responsibilities.
          3)  God is gracious and patient in warning us.
          4)  Social injustice is intolerable to God.
          5)  Sin must be punished.  Men must suffer.
          6)  Ease, luxury, and idleness lead to open sin.
          7)  Possessing power over others creates grave dangers.
          8)  In any emergency God can raise up an effective prophet to do His will.
          9)  The discipline of the desert is valuable.  What a great service the wilderness did to Amos!
        10)  God amply warns before He brings judgment, but He does not speak and warn endlessly.
        11)  Farley states in closing:  “Our solemn assemblies may still be despised by Yahweh.  Whenever mere ritual and form are allowed to take the place of filial communion with God and moral obedience, our worship will be as lightly esteemed by Him as was the worship of Israel long ago, and our sanctuaries will fall, as did the ancient high places.  Our churches will be empty, their services despised, and the heart and mind of men will turn for sustenance elsewhere.”

                    –Romans 15:1  (Amplified)
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     “So often this road gets rough and rocky…” (unknown).  Is this what Jesus meant by taking up His yoke?  We must be careful when we begin to look at the Christian life and start complaining and crying out our woes thinking that this is the yoke of Christ.  True, the yoke was a frame that joined two animals together so that they could pull a heavy load.  But before I go any further, let’s read the Scripture from Matthew.

          11:28 — Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
             :29 — Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
             :30 — For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.  (NKJV)

     For sure, the yoke of the world is burdensome.  Andy Starks writes, “The world is a hard taskmaster and cannot be pleased.”  No matter what, the world always wants more.  It is like the harsh master, Simon Legree, the work done is never enough.  Work, work, work, and the body and soul rebels.  It either rebels by breaking down, or it rebels by trying to escape through myriad means:  drugs, entertainment, alcohol, and a host of other types of binges.
     Jesus had been speaking to the Pharisees so He is referring to the yoke of the law.  But, in reality, there is also the yoke of the world.  The Pharisees put heavy loads on the peoples’ shoulders, the world burdens the body and soul down, then there is that enemy of our soul that tries to push us down to the pit.  Oh, what a heavy load it is that man tries to bear.  Jesus is speaking of a different kind of yoke–His yoke.  D.A. Carson says, “That yoke is ‘easy’ (good, comfortable) and his burden is light.  The ‘rest’ he promises is not only for the world to come but also for this one as well.”  I want to read these verses again from Henry A. Harbuck’s translation”

          .28 — Come here to Me [and become My disciples], all of you who are weary and heavy-laden–(that is, all of those who are toiling, working, carrying heavy loads and burdens and the weight of religious obligations which pertain to guilt and sin), and I will give you rest–(that is, I will give you peace and rest from your weariness).
          .29 — Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me–(that is, permit Me to teach and guide you), for I am meek and gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls–(that is, you will obtain peace/quietness and assurance for you hearts or minds).
          .30 — For My yoke is easy–(that is, My yoke feels good–it’s a perfect fit and it’s pleasant], and My burden (load) is light–(that is, My burden is nearly weightless, and it feels good).

     Jesus is not saying that there won’t be troubles, trials, toils, and persecutions that the believer might face.  He is, however, saying that when dealing with those things that the world throws at us that He will give us joy, rest, and peace in the midst of them–that is His yoke.  The yoke He gives fits us perfectly and not only that, He is helping us carry the load.  The burden is not totally upon us.  “The expectations of Christ are much more easily met.” (Starks)
     The heavy burden of the Law is no longer there.  The heavy burden of guilt has been removed and there is now hope.  There is rest when you work along side of Jesus; no longer is the burden yours to bear.  If you find yourself toiling with the burdens of life, leave them at the Savior’s feet.  Drop that heavy, worldly load and pick up the yoke that Jesus offers.  He longs to help each one of us.  The obstacles and toils of the road that is rough and rocky will not be easier to bear.

               “Come unto me; I will give you rest;
               Take my yoke upon you, Hear me and be blest;
               I am meek and lowly, Come, and trust my might;
               Come, my YOKE is easy, And my burden’s light.”
                      –Charles P. Jones (emphasis mine)