Amos 3:1-15
Thursday, 26 May 2022
“For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” -Amos 3:7[ESV]
Amos was assigned by God Himself to prophesy judgment upon the rebellious nations including His people. Amos speaks of his calling: “I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, and prophesy to my people Israel.'” (Amos 7:14-15) Thus Amos confidently declares his higher call to the so-called religious leaders and the powerful of the land who questioned his authority. His boldness came through the power of God’s Spirit. An assurance of God’s calling and proclaiming the truth to a people who are sceptical and who underestimate you, is still one of the toughest task servants of God face even today.
Our key verse points to one of the attributes of God- He reveals to His servants what is going to happen! God’s Word reveals the heart of Our Father in heaven. Many things revealed as we see in our reading, seems like punishments but in reality, they are warnings God gives out of a fatherly love! Why? So that we would heed to the warnings, repent and turn to God. On several occasions, when people repented and returned to God, in His mercy He forgave and didn’t punish them. On the contrary, time and again after hearing the clear direction from the Lord and the consequences of their wrong doings when they still walked in their will, listening to the false prophets who were just fanning their selfish desires, only led to destruction. Our God is a just God! His sovereignty is undeniable. Whatever excuses man makes instead of repenting, at the final judgment we are all defenceless before Our Mighty God.
From the beginning, our faithful Father has been revealing His plans to unfaithful kind. It began in the Garden of Eden and does the same to His children. In our day, how does God reveal the secrets to His people? Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” It’s our duty to search the hidden treasures from the word of God. For those that earnestly search, as Jeremiah said –“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart...”(Jer.15:16) To the diligent, God gives the assurance – “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”(Jer.33:3)
How does a child of God understand what God speaks to him/her? Listen to what the Scripture says: “… today God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” (1Cor.2:10-12)
Those who have the assurance of being a child of God through His Spirit, He reveals the mystery of the word of God. All the plans about HIS CHILDREN are clearly spelt out by Our Father in His word. Those things hidden from us are His possession but He has revealed what is required for mankind. Remember: "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deut. 29:29)
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, we bow before You. Help us to meditate Your Word and clearly hear from You as Your Spirit reveals them to us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.”