–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!'”‘

                    –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!

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Last Stand at Pagago Wells)

       “But in keeping with his promises we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

                    –2 Peter 3:13 (NIV 1978)
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What are you focusing on?  That’s the question that needs an answer from Psalm 123.  Charles H. Spurgeon states, “We must use our eyes with resolution, for they will not go upward to the Lord of themselves, but they incline to look downward, or inward, or anywhere but to the Lord.”  When people scoff at you and try to hinder your walk with the Lord we might ask “Where are you, Lord?” or “Why don’t You do something?”

          1 — Unto You, I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
          2 — Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He has mercy on us.
          3 — Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us!  For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
          4 — Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at east, with the contempt of the proud.  (NKJV)

It does take discipline to lift up our eyes.  It is much easier to look down, or inward and blame troubles on our weakness or on others.  
     If you do much hiking, especially in the high country, you may at times look behind you and see that it would be much easier to go back down to the valley rather than continue the upward climb toward your destination.  “You look up, the difficulties looming over you are formidable and, without God’s help, insurmountable.” (George Wood)  The writer of this Psalm was having trouble maintaining his gaze on the destination.  Heaven is our home–why then do we look longingly to the world?  This pilgrim must “transfer his gaze from the difficult circumstances to God himself.”  (Wood)  Don’t focus on the circumstances, the storm, the battle, the sickness–focus on the Lord.
     As Christians, we must come to the conclusion that the Lord is there.  He is there every step of the way.  He is there to guide, to feed, to quench our thirst, to help us overcome.  God is not up on top of the “mountain” watching us, but is right there beside us.  The words of the song come to me:

               Each step I take I know that He will guide me;
               To higher ground He ever leads me on.
               Until some day the last step will me taken.
               Each step I take just leads me closer home.
                       –W. Elmo Mercer

When it seems that we cannot take another step–take one more.  When it seems our endurance is at an end–take a deep breath and regain your focus.  When exhaustion comes–realize that the Lord gives added strength.  The NIV translates verse 4, “We have endured much…”  That is when we should ask the Lord for help, or as the Psalmist exhorts, ask Him for mercy.  The load is heavy, let Him help you with it.
     George Wood points out that this psalm does not have a word of praise or thanksgiving.  Listen, be honest, some days are like that.  That’s when spiritual discipline comes in.  Even when worn out, focus on the Lord, take another step forward and upward, and even if it is only duty the words of Paul should come to mind, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV)  Remember, the road is upward, not downward.  Don’t be dragged back down, but ask for mercy each day as you walk the Gloryland Trail.

               “Awake, our souls!  Away our fears!
               Let every anxious thought be gone!
               Awake, and run the heavenly race,
               And put a cheerful courage on.”
                       –Isaac Watts

                    –Romans 1:25(Phillips)
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We are living in a day when the groundwork is being prepared for the time of the Tribulation.  The coming of the Lord is at hand, and because of that there are more and more false prophets.  Look around you and see if the words of the Prophet Jeremiah aren’t not being seen in the world today.  “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:  Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.  For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 29:8-9, NKJV)
     False prophets, false religion–woe to the person who practices deception; woe to the person who listens to the words of these people.  Not only did Jeremiah speak of the false prophets, but also other prophets and we read of the words of Peter and Jude regarding them.  Jesus even describes their character, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15, NKJV)  Other versions translate them as “raging wolves” or “ferocious wolves” or “vicious wolves.”  Jesus doesn’t hold back as he describes what they are like.
     A false prophet may look the part, play the part, and even sound legitimate.  They are deceptive for they seek only to devour; they are predators and vicious.  They cause people to believe a lie or to put their trust in something other than Jesus and His Word.  Jeremiah said, “And the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My name.  I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.” (Jeremiah 14:14, NKJV) The NIV says they speak from the “delusions of their own mind.”  Zechariah further tells us, “For the idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies, and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain.  Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; they are in trouble because there is no shepherd.” (Zechariah 10:2, NKJV)
     In other words they speak from their own delusions.  The prophecy was what the people wanted to hear.  Signs and wonders may even follow them as we are warned in Deuteronomy 13:1-4:

          “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’–which you have not known–‘and let us serve them.’  You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.” (NKJV)

Confusion should not be the part of the believer.  But in this day there are many voices.  Ray Stedman said, “There is nothing more deceitful than false religion.”  But we hear the clamor of all paths lead to God.  Just recently the pope said, every religion is a way to arrive at God.  “All religions are paths to God.  I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the divine.”  This is contrary to the Word of God where we see that the gate is narrow.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, NKJV)  Believe Jesus, or believe the pope and others.  To believe anyone but Jesus is to make Jesus a liar.
     One day in the future there will come a man who will tickle the ears of the people.  He will give them false hope and point their attention to the “man of lawlessness”–the Antichrist.  He will begin with subtle deception and use persuasive words that will deceive the masses.  We read in Revelation 13 that “he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.  And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.  And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast…” (11-14, NKJV)  Deception, delusion, lies and the message of the dragon.  This man–the False Prophet–will enamor the people to worship the “image of the beast” (Revelation 12:14).

                    –Elmer Leonard  (“The Nagual”)

       “And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?”

                    –1 Corinthians 8:11 (NKJV)
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               37 — And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
               38 — and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
               39 — Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
               40 —  And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”  And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
               41 — “A moneylender had two debtors:  one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
               42 — When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both.  So which of them will love him more?”
               43 — Simon answered and said, “I supposed the one whom he forgave more.”  And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
                               –Luke 7:37-43, NASB

     Simon, and the other guests, must have been stunned by the actions of this woman.  This should not happen; this woman should not even be at the feast, yet they have just witnessed a remarkable display of love.  She had begun to cry, not just a few tears, but to weep, the tears flowing onto Jesus’ feet.  She then undoes her hair and wipes His feet with it, kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.
     Tension fills the room.  The touch of this woman was considered contaminating and Gary Inrig explains that according to the Talmud, “a woman can be divorced for unbinding her hair in the presence of other men,” and on top of that to use her hair to wipe His feet.  Appalling, to say the least.
     Then Simon makes the statement, to himself, whether Jesus actually heard him or perceived what was in his heart, He answers Simon, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”  Not rebuking, yet there was the tone of authority and that the person had better listen.
     Jesus then proceeds to tell a short, simple parable of two men who owed a man money.  One owed a debt of five hundred day’s wages the other owed fifty days.  Neither had the money to pay–in this sense that both men are impoverished makes them equal.  Ponder that, put it in a spiritual context.  “If none of us can pay the debt of sin, it does little good to determine that someone else is a great sinner.  Spiritual bankruptcy, like financial bankruptcy, is a great equalizer” (Inrig).
     The moneylender did not extend the debt, nor excuse it; he forgave and ended the debt.  The debt was completely canceled.  Notice the wording, “he graciously forgave them both.”  We see here then an act of grace.  A debt is a debt whether great or small; a sin is a sin whether great or small.
     The Lord then ends the parable with a question (He’s good at that), “Which of them will love him more?”  Gary Inrig states that there are two implications of this question.  First, “there is a link between love and forgiveness.  Forgiveness precedes love.” And second, “Love is a response to pure grace, aroused by gratitude.”  Gratitude is an expression of love.  Which as a side-note is a good reason for us to be thankful to the Lord in all things.  Both love and gratitude are shown to the forgiver.
     Does Simon stutter in his response?  “I suppose,” he mutters.  Is this an uneasy reluctance on the part of Simon to answer Jesus?  Was Jesus uncovering something that was hidden in Simon’s heart?  Something to ponder until our next lesson on this parable.