November 2-6, 2009

What sorrow awaits you who say,
“If only the day of the LORD were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
(Amos 5:18)

Before we continue our journey, sit down with me a moment and let me tell you a story of my life. When I was five years old, I was in a tornado. My aunt who was just sixteen at the time, was babysitting that evening, while my parents were at a church function. As the darkness gathered and the hail began to fall, my aunt huddled us together in our living room. We did not have a basement and there was no place to hide. As the tornado ripped down the street, falling huge trees, tearing apart houses and buildings and blowing windows out of storefronts and homes, my aunt did the only thing she knew to keep us safe; she had us pray. When the storm lifted, you could no longer see the street because of the number of trees that filled the pavement. While there was damage all around us, the only thing our house endured was blown leaves in the yard.

For many years afterward, the sound of strong wind rustling through the trees gave me a very unsettled feeling. As an adult, dark storm clouds brought great fear. One day as the sirens went off, notifying us that a tornado had been sighted, and I sat huddled with my children, I stopped to ask myself, “Who holds your life and orders your steps? Do you trust Him or don’t you?” And from that moment on, the fear of storms literally vanished!

As we continue our journey, we will watch the storm clouds darken the skies. The devastation of God’s judgment is coming and there is no holding it back! As we continue our steps with Amos, we hear his concern for the household of Jacob. Each time he sees the judgment hand of God on the horizon, he intercedes and God relents. Finally, God takes Amos to the wall and holds the plumb line up to it. The wall is faulty and leaning and must be dealt with. This is when God tells Amos to stop interceding; His judgment will come.

I can only wonder how well Amos’ message would go over in the church today. He preaches that the people piously sit in their pews on Sunday and go back to the sinful, cheating ways on Monday. There was not a famine of the Word of God, but a famine for HEARING the Word of the Lord. Amos’ prophecy is clear - God is about to shake things up and there will be no place to hide!

In spite of all of Israel’s sin and rebellion, there is still a ray of hope in the dark, foreboding clouds. God promises to rebuild what He tears down. God’s word through this fig farmer promises abundant fruitfulness and assures them they will never again be uprooted.

On Wednesday we meet Tiglath-pileser III. His name was actually Pul or Pula, but he took on the title of the mighty Assyrian ruler, Tiglath-pileser I who ruled about three hundred years earlier. Very little is said of Tiglath-pileser II. Pul enthroned himself after a bloody coup in which he had all the royal family killed. His quest for power caused him to become one of the greatest conquerors of all time. Nation by nation, he swallowed them up and forced Assyrian rule upon the region. To keep rebellion at bay, he transplanted citizens into the conquered lands and kept them dependant on Assyrian provision and protection. He was also the one who brought Babylon under Assyrian dominance. We will learn more about him as we continue our journey in the days ahead.

Also on Wednesday, we bid farewell to King Uzziah, the king God struck with leprosy because of his arrogance. In the year King Uzziah dies, we are confronted with one of the most prominent prophets of God to ever come on the scene. Isaiah’s message of despair speaks clearly of the Assyrian invasion that lies on the horizon. Isaiah is so filled with the Word of the Lord that he even weaves God’s warnings in the names of his children. When Isaiah tells them that he and his children serve as a warning, he meant it. The names of his children spelled out their impending doom!

It is sad to hear Isaiah’s word and know that they fell on deaf ears. What makes it so heartbreaking is that his words could easily be said to this generation and, for the most part, would have the same response. God will only tolerate sin for so long before He calls for a day of reckoning. The darkness that is gathering today warns of a greater gloom than in Isaiah’s day. Our only hope is to hide under the shadow of God’s wing. Only there will we be safe until the storm passes by!