Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.The book of Amos is about the discipline of the Lord. Discipline is different from punishment. Punishment is pains inflicted for the wrongful acts done. Discipline has a future expectation of building us up that we may be better after it. Discipline has two kinds. One is corrective and the other is building up.
- The corrective kind: We have committed sin and we suffered for it but God wants us to learn from it and grow up to be a better person.
- The development kind: We may not have committed any sin, but we discipline our bodies that we may become stronger.
Sadly, for the people in Amos' time, it was the corrective kind. God used the sufferings to try to wake the people up. It was a long and painful process despite the repeated calls of God to seek Him and be saved.
Their sins:
- Amo 2:4 ... because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
- Amo 2:6 ... because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
- Amo 2:12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
- Amo 3:10 For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
Their repentance was not recorded in Amos but in other parts of the Bible. It ends with great blessings in Amos 9:11-15 the restoration of Israel and great prospersity.
It is God whose mercy and love that will save us. It is not us seeking God but rather God reaching out to us. For those of us who are going through the dark hours of trials, and even of our wrong doings, let us be encouraged that God is with us through them, and His blessings that will come is beyond our imagination.
Read carefully again Amos 9:13, His blessings are out of the ordinary. They are supernatural miracle. Because the normal stages of planting and reaping are all mixed up. The abundance would be so much that the mountains and hills could not contain but overflow with them.
Be not discouraged, whatever the trails, whatever sins, repent and look-up and see the love and mercy of God. Stay true to be with God and see His salvation.
May this coming Christmas be a time of breakthrough for you.
Lim Liat(c) 13 Dec 2016