Sunday, September 29, 2013

Amos-Can two walk together if they be not agreed?

When I say Amos chapter 3, chances are you think of verse 7 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." It is a powerful verse with a promise, one that the Lord will give us a way to know his mind and will though appointed servants. Sadly, this is often the only verse we read in the chapter. While a powerful verse on its own, I feel its power grows in context. Amos is an interesting prophet. He makes a point of identifying that he is not a prophet or son of a prophet, meaning he didn't belong to the school of the prophets and neither did his father (Amos 7:14)but rather that the Lord directly called him and tasked him with preaching in the northern kingdom of Israel (vs 15). Israel is at odds with Judah at this point, making alliances with their enemies and threatening them. Its in this light that I want to look back at chapter three. To catch verse seven in context, we need to start at the beginning. In verses one and two Amos sets the stage, reminding Israel that the Lord led them from Egypt, that of all nations, they alone have known the one true God. Despite this, they continue in their iniquities. The verse that follows is one of my favorites. "Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" An interesting question. If two people are trying to walk together to reach a common destination, they must be in agreement over many things. They need to agree when to leave, when to stop to rest, how quickly they should travel, and what route they should take. If they are not in agreement on all of these things, they can't walk together, at some point, they will be separated. The Lord then shares a set of events in verses 4 through six, pointing out that the are sequential, the lion roars because he has found prey, the trumpets of the army sound and the people in the city are afraid. Then, only then, does he tell them that he will do nothing without first telling the prophets, and in verse 8 he prefaces his warning, telling them that he is speaking and they should listen. This is followed by the warning in verses 9 through 16, a warning that if Israel does not repent and change that they will be destroyed. He is telling them, look, if you want to walk with me, listen to my prophet, I have sent him to you and he is here prophesying, if you don't listen to him you can't walk with me. If you don't walk with me, I can't protect you from your enemies. In the end Israel opts not to walk with the Lord. They threaten Judah and Jeruselam, who turn to Assyria for aid. The Assyrians come, defeating Israel and putting a puppet government in place. 12 years later even this is taken from them and the people are carried off into Assyria as captives (an interesting number of years since 12 represents heavenly government in Hebrew numerology). For me the message is clear. The Lord extends his invitation to walk with him to all, but to walk with him we must be agreed. Following the prophet we can be assured we walk with the Lord, and just as he led Israel out of bondage in Egypt, he can likewise keep us from the bondage of Assyria if we stay true to his teachings through his appointed prophet.

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