{"id":8610,"date":"2020-04-06T20:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T03:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=8610"},"modified":"2020-04-05T18:56:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T01:56:38","slug":"amos7_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/amos7_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"When Jesus Stood in the Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amos 7:1-17\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Amos 7:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Amos 7:1-6 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign\u00a0LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0relented. “This will not happen,” the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0showed me: The Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then I cried out, “Sovereign\u00a0LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0said.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-6:\u00a0 Amos sees two visions.\u00a0 The first is of the Lord preparing to destroy Israel with a locust plague (v1-2).\u00a0 The second is of the Lord preparing to destroy Israel with a fire (v4).\u00a0 Upon seeing each vision Amos stands in the gap and cries out to God to have mercy on Israel (called Jacob), and God hears Amos\u2019 prayer — \u201cso the Lord relented\u201d (v3, 6).\u00a0 It\u2019s a similar scene to when Abraham pleads for the city of Sodom in Genesis 18:16-33.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Just as Israel was spared from a locust plague and a great forest fire because Amos stood in the gap and interceded, so\u00a0we have been spared from the wrath of God against our sin because one greater than Amos stood in the gap and interceded on our behalf<\/strong>.\u00a0 His name is Jesus.<\/p>\n

Amos 7:7-9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-9:\u00a0 Amos sees a third vision, this time of the Lord standing by a wall with a plumb line, which is a line with a weight tied to one end and used for measuring.\u00a0 In this case, the Lord\u2019s plumb line is used for the purpose of measuring whether Israel should be punished or not.\u00a0 The fact that the wall \u201chad been built true to plumb\u201d (v7) suggests that Israel is deserving of punishment and that the Lord would \u201cspare them no longer\u201d (v8).\u00a0 In other words, despite Amos successfully interceding for Israel on two previous occasions in verses 1-6, there was now no stopping the Lord from bringing Israel down (v9).\u00a0 \u00a0The fact that God relented the first two times from destroying Israel but would eventually go on to judge and punish Israel speaks to three things:\u00a0 (1) God\u2019s patience with Israel; (2) Israel\u2019s stubbornness in continuing to sin; and (3) God\u2019s justice and His unrelenting wrath against sin.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God is patient with those who continue to sin against Him, but He will not wait for them forever.<\/strong>\u00a0 One day, when Jesus returns, God\u2019s \u201cplumb line\u201d, so to speak, will be used to measure and on that day God will no longer wait to declare His judgment on those who continually reject Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
Amos 7:12-16 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the\u00a0LORD\u00a0took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now then, hear the word of the\u00a0LORD\u2026<\/em>On verses 10-17:\u00a0 Here Amos is confronted by Amaziah, a priest who works in the idol worshiping centre at Bethel.\u00a0 This was basically a head to head confrontation between Amos a servant of God and Amaziah a servant of Satan.\u00a0 In front of King Jeroboam II Amaziah falsely accuses Amos of raising a conspiracy against the king in the capital city of Israel (v10) and prophesying about the king\u2019s death and Israel\u2019s exile (v11).\u00a0 Amaziah tells Amos to get out of Bethel and to go back to land of Judah and \u201cearn your bread there\u201d (v12), implying that Amos is a profiteering prophet who makes false prophesies to earn a quick buck.\u00a0 In a condescending and official-sounding tone, Amaziah tells Amos that he is not welcome in \u201cthe king\u2019s sanctuary\u201d at Bethel and in \u201cthe temple of the kingdom\u201d (v13).\u00a0 Amos stands his ground against Amaziah, remembers how God called him to speak on His behalf (v14-15), and continues to prophesy (v16-17).What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When the enemy tries to discourage you, discredit you and falsely accuse you, stand your ground, remember your God-given calling and keep hanging onto God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 You will be victorious in the end if you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You that when I was subject to God\u2019s wrath, You stood in the gap for me, interceded for me and saved me.\u00a0 Please strengthen me to stand my ground against the enemy and be victorious against him through Your power.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Amos 7:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Amos 7:1-6 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up.\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign\u00a0LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”\u00a0
\n3\u00a0\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0relented. “This will not happen,” the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said.\u00a0
\n4\u00a0\u00a0This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0showed me: The Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.\u00a0
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Then I cried out, “Sovereign\u00a0LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”\u00a0
\n6\u00a0\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0said.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-6:\u00a0 Amos sees two visions.\u00a0 The first is of the Lord preparing to destroy Israel with a locust plague (v1-2).\u00a0 The second is of the Lord preparing to destroy Israel with a fire (v4).\u00a0 Upon seeing each vision Amos stands in the gap and cries out to God to have mercy on Israel (called Jacob), and God hears Amos\u2019 prayer — \u201cso the Lord relented\u201d (v3, 6).\u00a0 It\u2019s a similar scene to when Abraham pleads for the city of Sodom in Genesis 18:16-33.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8610"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8613,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8610\/revisions\/8613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}