5 Oct. 2010 - Amos 8

Amos 8

"a basket of ripe fruit"

This prophecy is probably one of the most severe prophecies that Amos has pronounced thus far. Here, God shows Amos a basket of ripe fruit and then compares the fruit to Israel - ripe for the picking and soon. This day of picking will not be some light pruning of the rough edges, but rather a full-out harvest of Israel. dark days indeed.

The Lord then issues an ultimatum to the unscrupulous businessmen of the day, the men who sit through the sabbath and holy festivals waiting for it to end so they can begin selling, who cheat the balances and boost the prices, who hold the poor to debt by their sandals and then buy them [the poor] through their debt, that He will not forget a thing they have done when the day of the Lord comes.

Day of the Lord, that phrase/concept sounds familiar... where else is it heard, when else is it referred to?

(in this instance it refers to the overrunning of the Israelites by the Assyrians)

God then describes the day of the Lord - light will become darkness, feasting will become mourning, and singing  -> weeping. the Lord describes Israels grief as "like mourning for an only son." During this time the Lord said that He will remove Himself. He compares this to a famine or drought, but not for food or water, but for Him. The Israelites were used to "turning to God" when the times were rough and, in the past, the Lord rescued them. not this time. this time they will hear no answer. God will not answer and those that turn to their idols and false gods will most certainly be destroyed.

Pretty optimistic, yes? We can use this prophecy to look forward at the Day of the Lord, that is the second coming of Christ. Then also will there be destruction and death, but, unlike the sinful condemned, we have a hope of heaven to last us through the "trials and tribulations" of the final days. We have a secure foundation in Christ Jesus that cannot be shaken and through him we can come to know God and ultimately spend eternity with Him after out deaths on this earth.