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daily devotional
Evening ...
Jeremiah 32:17
Ah Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power
and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.
At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword,
famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to
purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed.
This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not
justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person
purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that
his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all His
children. He reasoned thus: "Ah, Lord God! Thou canst make this plot of ground
of use to me; Thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; Thou canst make me
yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for
Thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for
Thee." This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God's
command things which carna! l reason would condemn. Whether it be a Noah who is
to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a
Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege
Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams' horns, they all
act upon God's command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord
gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith. Would to God we
had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic
faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should
enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. Let Jeremiah's place
of confidence be ours-nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens
and the earth.
Amos 2:6-8
(6) Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment thereof; 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.
He describes three major sins: the sins of covetousness (verse 6);
indifference and oppression of the poor, the needy and the weak (verse 7); and
unrestricted promotion of self-advantage (verse 8). These are the effects of
rejecting the Teacher, the Instructor.
As Israel's destruction neared, conditions worsened drastically. The
courts were totally corrupt with the judges in collusion with the lawyers,
selling their verdicts to the highest bidder! Amos says, "Therefore the prudent
keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time" ( Amos 5:13). God advises
that the best thing to do was to remain silent and go on with one's life
because one could not get a good judgment from the judges! The best thing to do
was to settle out of court, if possible.
All the while this corruption ran rampant in Israel, people were
worshipping God in droves! A high percentage of the people attended services
and kept the festivals. They pilgrimaged to the centers of religion in Bethel,
Gilgal, and Beersheba where the people kept the feasts. The commentators
concede Israel may still have been keeping some of the holy days of God.
Notice what God says:
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred
assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings [worship] and your grain
offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace
offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the
melody of your stringed instruments. ( Amos 5:21-23)
God hated their feasts, their offerings, and their singing in His name.
The wording indicates nausea! Compare this to Revelation 3:16.
Most likely Israel blended the worship of the true God with the worship
of Baal and Ashtoreth and other local deities. Despite their worship, this
syncretism caused a separation from God. They were at odds with Him, even
though, in their minds, they worshipped Him. Society immediately degenerated
because the people's love waxed cold. Their worship produced no good effect
because it came from an unrighteous source.
When one studies the New Testament, the pattern unfortunately continues.
The history of the true church has been one of waxing and waning purity as
well. Generally, brief periods of unity and growth precede longer periods of
disunity and stagnation. Small, scattered congregations barely hold themselves
together during these times and do no active work.
The pattern is very similar to that established in ancient Israel. God
would raise up a man, and he would lead a Work and establish what would be
orthodox. As time went by, two groups would emerge. One group would be more
conservative, disposed to maintain orthodox doctrine and to hold on to their
traditions. The other element would be broader-minded, not bound by orthodox or
traditional forms.
The appearance of these two groups presents a Christian with complex
questions such as, "I see it, but what do I do?" Christ answers: "Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits" ( Matthew 7:15-16).
Such fruit as an increase in marital and relationship problems, uncertain
judgment regarding what is right and wrong, a lack of discussion of God and His
Word, indifference toward prayer and Bible study, relaxation toward making an
effective and powerful work, and similar attitudes are ones of which to be
wary. In such an atmosphere, if a Christian is not careful, he can take on the
enveloping and smothering attitude that invariably arises, which will
eventually snuff out his spiritual life.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Guard the Truth!
.
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening ...
Psalm 25:5
Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on
Thee do I wait all the day.
When the believer has begun with trembling feet to walk in the way of the
Lord, he asks to be still led onward like a little child upheld by its parent's
helping hand, and he craves to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth.
Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. David knew much, but he
felt his ignorance, and desired to be still in the Lord's school: four times
over in two verses he applies for a scholarship in the college of grace. It
were well for many professors if instead of following their own devices, and
cutting out new paths of thought for themselves, they would enquire for the
good old ways of God's own truth, and beseech the Holy Ghost to give them
sanctified understandings and teachable spirits. "For thou art the God of my
salvation." The Three-One Jehovah is the Author and Perfecter of salvation to
His people. Reader, is He the God of your salvation? Do you find in the
Father's election, in the Son's atonement, and! in the Spirit's quickening, all
the grounds of your eternal hopes? If so, you may use this as an argument for
obtaining further blessings; if the Lord has ordained to save you, surely He
will not refuse to instruct you in His ways. It is a happy thing when we can
address the Lord with the confidence which David here manifests, it gives us
great power in prayer, and comfort in trial. "On Thee do I wait all the day."
Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we
are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to
wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days
of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it
will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting
upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.
Amos 8:11-12
(11) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine
in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the LORD: (12) And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the
north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD,
and shall not find it.
Unfortunately, during these terrible times when God's Word is most needed
to help the people come to repentance, it will be almost impossible to find.
When the people finally realize that God wants them to repent, it will be too
late. The seeds of their destruction have been sown, and the crop is already
ripe. The only truth available to them in the tumult of God's judgment is what
they can remember. It is for this reason that God warns us in these times to
"[redeem] the time, because the days are evil" ( Ephesians 5:1! 6).
If our hope in the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the dead, and
sharing life with God eternally are not sufficient to motivate us to repent,
perhaps fear of a terrible calamity, the Great Tribulation, the Day of the
Lord, or being spewed from God's mouth as a Laodicean will move us to use the
present to secure the future. God prophesies to motivate us to cling to Him and
His Word right now, and He is willing to scare us nearly to death in order to
save us.
During this famine, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to
east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not
find it" ( Amos 8:12). Amos probably refers to the Dead and Mediterranean Seas,
east to west, and adds "north to east," describing a triangle with the south
direction left out. Why would he do this?
On a map of Palestine, the Dead Sea lies to the east, the Mediterranean
to the west and the nation of Israel to the north. What lies to the south?
Jerusalem, where the truth was! In Amos' day, the truth was taught in God's
Temple in Jerusalem.
Israelites wanted to be known as seekers of the truth, but in reality
they did not want it. Their pride would not allow them to pilgrimage to
Jerusalem for the truth, for that meant they would need to humble themselves
before the Word of God.
Wander can be rendered "stagger" like a drunk or "tremble" like lips
quivering in agitation because one is so angry or fearful he is unable to
speak. It shows the people in a state of panic and intense agitation. They are
desperately searching for what they had regarded so lightly: God, the Bible,
His truth. But they cannot find them anywhere!
Thus they will seek any kind of religion, and many will fall prey to
false ones. This scenario is already happening in modern Israel. New Age,
mystical, and Eastern religions are growing steadily, and many "Christians"
feel free to borrow "truth" from other religions. Additionally, recent years
have seen the rise of ecumenical movements within a broad spectrum of religious
bodies.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)
