Category: Minor prophets
The Mountain of the Lord’s Temple
Scripture reading for September 21th: Micah 3-5
“Because of you (prophets and leaders), Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.” Micah 3:12
Micah wasted no time in telling the leaders of Israel and Judah their sins. These leaders had loved evil instead of good and failed to provide justice for the land. (Micah 3:1-2) The prophets of the land were no better. If they were given food or pay, they would bring a message of “peace”. If they were not paid, the message would be of coming war! The prophets were for hire or otherwise they brought curses! The results of the failures of leadership were the destruction of the temple and of the city of Jerusalem. The leaders thought that they were safe because they called on the Lord and stayed near His temple. They were just going through the motions and under a delusion of safety. Micah was a true prophet of the Lord and warned them free of charge!
Leadership is so important for the people of God! Wise leaders model godly behavior and love to see justice done. They live by God’s word and call the people to follow. They punish those who stray from the truth and reward those who are doing right. Integrity is a mark of good leaders. They live what they say they believe. They do not claim to love God and then do the opposite of what God has said is right. As we look at our nation today, we find few leaders who really love God. Many claim to be Christians, but their actions speak louder than their words. Where are the godly prophets who will confront sin in the leadership of the land?
“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.”” Micah 4:1-2
According to Micah, God was going to provide a new time of peace in the last days. He would again establish Mt. Zion as the place of rulership for all nations and peoples. They would come to the Lord and desire to know His ways and His word. There would be a time of universal peace and He would rule over the peoples from Mt. Zion. (Micah 4:6-7) But before this takes place, Israel must go into captivity in Babylon. The Lord would rescue them.
Micah then spoke about the city of Bethlehem in Judah. From this city would come one who would rule over Israel. He would shepherd the flock of God’s people and His greatness would spread to the ends of the earth! (Micah 5:2-4) Micah named the city of Jesus’ birth over 700 years before the event! God’s prophets are always known by the truth of their words. Check out who you are listening to in these last days!
Sunday Rest and Reflection: Loving the Lost!
Dear Friends,
Greetings on another 7th day of rest and reflection. God’s love for us and for all of mankind is almost too much for us to fathom. We think we love others, but it is so easy to fall into attitudes of secretly desiring that those who hate us or oppose us would fall under God’s wrath. We can glibly say we love all people, but upon close examination of our hearts, attitudes, and words, our love is not what it should be.
As I look back on this week, the book of Jonah, covered in one day, has even more lessons for us to ponder. Jonah was given a mission by God to go to Nineveh and preach to a people who were lost and in danger of God’s wrath. Jonah did not want to go. Behind Jonah’s reluctance was a lack of love and some prejudice. He did not like the Ninevites and wanted to see them fall under God’s wrath. (Jonah 4:1-3) He thought that they were bad enough that they deserved everything that God could give them, and more!
When he did obey the Lord, he became upset that the Ninevites responded to his preaching and repented! He knew God’s heart of mercy and understood that if they truly repented, God would not follow through with the promised judgment! He sulked and wanted to die. He was angry with God for showing mercy to this people! God, however, was still merciful to Jonah. He used a quick-growing plant to illustrate to Jonah his care for him and to help Jonah understand the importance of those in Nineveh who needed His mercy. (Jonah 4:10-11)
As we think about this ancient story of a prophet of the Lord who had prejudice in his heart, we can’t help but examine our own hearts. Are we reluctant to go to those we know who are different than us? Would you go and share Christ’s love and message with a neighbor who was in the homosexual lifestyle? Would you be willing to go to neighbors who were from another culture and show Christ’s love? What about showing Christ’s love to Muslims who moved near you? Would you be open if the Holy Spirit asked you to go to someone whose body was full of piercings and tattoos? These questions are not meant in any way to be judgmental of those who are different from us or to put condemnation on us. They are meant to help us examine our heart attitudes for real love and true commitment to Christ’s mandate to reach all people with the Good News!
May this day of rest and reflection fill you with a new love for those in the world. Ask the Lord for opportunities to show love to those you may be reluctant to share with. May He bless your week! In His Love, Pastor John
“You’ll have plenty of wine and beer”
Scripture reading for September 19th: Micah 1-2
“If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people.” Micah 2:11
Micah lived in a day of fallen moral values, a time when God’s people lived for materialism and pleasure. Micah was called to warn God’s people of their sins and the coming retribution if they continued on their merry way. This statement about a prophet who would tell them what they wanted to hear was meant to be funny and yet shocking to their senses. A man of God telling them about plenty of alcohol to cure their sin would be like a doctor prescribing poison to cure a fatal illness! Come to think of it, I guess that is happening today in some parts of our nation where euthanasia is legal!
As Micah exposed the sins of this people, he mentioned those who plotted to take the land and property of their brothers and sisters through fraud and deceit. (Micah 2:1-3) The land was a promised inheritance for each family. The promised land was divided by Joshua according to God’s plans by lot to each family. (Joshua 13 and following) It was to be a perpetual inheritance. When people have their own property and are responsible for it, they use their gifts and work hard to build a home and keep it beautiful. They make the most of it for business purposes and to bless their family and others. God is for personal responsibility and ownership under His authority. If we can learn to be faithful with the little here, He can give us much in the coming millennial kingdom!
I think this property ownership is interesting in light of the founding of our nation. We are a people who have always valued the right to ownership. Our government has laws that protect property ownership and rights. When any nation has denied that to people and made the government the owner, the results have been disastrous! Look at the countries where communism has tried to make the government owner and provider for all! It did not and will not work under man’s supervision. Sins of greed and desire for dominance soon take over. This is possible in our nation, too, as it happened to God’s people in Micah’s day. God is the one we are accountable to and he uses our stewardship as a test of faithfulness and to shape our character.
“In that day men will ridicule you: they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined: my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.'” “Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord to divide the land by lot.” Micah 2:4-5
The loss of their land would bring about the ruin of God’s people! This people would receive a false prophet who would prophesy plenty of wine and beer. Their delusion would lead to their destruction and captivity. They would lose their property and suffer eternal loss. Oh that God’s people would listen to truth and be responsible stewards of God’s promises!
The belly of the whale!
Scripture reading for September 18th: Jonah 1-4
Have you ever consciously tried to avoid obedience to God? Have you run from a calling or mission that you know God has directed you to? Jonah was a prophet of the Lord who was given orders by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the super-power of Jonah’s time; its inhabitants were known for their wickedness and cruelty. They routinely killed, tortured and mutilated those they conquered! It is said that they impaled people on stakes and piled up heads in great pillars to spread fear and boast of their power.
Our prayers move the hand of God but so does wickedness and cruelty towards the poor and oppressed! (Jonah 1:2) God’s heart is for righteousness and He has promised retribution for sin. His wrath is ongoing towards sin and is being revealed daily in the earth. (Romans 1:18) It will be revealed eternally in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15) But God does not judge or pour out wrath without first giving warning and an opportunity to escape. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone! (Ezekiel 33:11)
Jonah was sent on a mission of mercy to a wicked people. He chose not to obey and, to escape God’s command, boarded a ship going in the opposite direction. During the course of the journey, God sent a great wind to buffet the ship. The wind obeyed the Lord when Jonah wouldn’t! The sailors cast lots to find out the one causing the trouble and the lot fell to Jonah! The “lot” obeyed and Jonah was exposed! Jonah told the men he was running from the Lord. He also told them to throw him overboard and the sea would calm down. They obeyed and the sea was calm!
Next, as Jonah sank down into the sea, God appointed a great fish to swallow him up! The fish obeyed and Jonah found himself in the belly of this great fish, wrapped in seaweed and darkness! I can only imagine the smell and cramped quarters! What a feeling of helplessness must have gripped Jonah! For three days and three nights he wrestled with his own heart and finally decided to pray and give himself to obey the Lord! What a beautiful prayer of repentance from this belly of the whale! (Jonah 2:2-9) The Lord spoke to the fish and Jonah was vomited up on the shore of Nineveh!
The ironic part of all of this is that the Ninevites worshiped Dagon, the fish god! When Jonah came out of the fish, they thought that their ‘god’ had sent him! As he preached repentance, all of them turned to the Lord and humbled themselves! God even takes our rebellion and makes it work for His purposes!
There are many lessons in this short book! Jesus used the sign of Jonah to tell people that he would be buried for three days before His resurrection! (Matthew 12:38-41) We learn that God is sovereign and that creation obeys His commands! How much more should we, who are made in His image, obey Him! If you are called by God to follow Him, why not avoid the belly of the whale?
Pride loses again!
Scripture reading for September 17th: Obadiah
Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. Prophesy was given over them even before they were born that there would be conflict with each other. Esau was the first-born and Jacob came out holding onto his brother’s heel. A spiritual conflict ensued that caused these brothers and their descendants to be in a struggle that lasted for hundreds of years. Jacob got Esau’s birthright for a bowl of soup. (Genesis 25:32-34) Jacob stole his brother’s blessing from their father Isaac with the help of their mother Rebekah. Esau was furious and held a grudge against Jacob, plotting to kill him. (Genesis 27:41) Jacob fled to Paddan Aram, to Laban’s house to find a wife. (Genesis 28:1-3) Esau had upset his parents by marrying Hittite women who were idolaters! (Genesis 27:44) So this conflict between two brothers smoldered like a fire, particularly in the heart of Esau!
Now, over 500 years later, Obadiah the prophet is sent with a message for Esau’s descendants. They had become a nation that was dwelling next to Israel and Judah but still held a grudge! They had pride in their hearts that they in their own power and strength would make their own way. (Obadiah 3-4) They had violence in their hearts against their brother Jacob and stood aloof while Jacob was under attack. (Obadiah 10-12) They had looked down on their brothers when they were being overtaken by foreigners and actually rejoiced over their misfortune rather than helping to defend them. (Obadiah 12-14) God’s message was that as they had done, it would be done to them! Edom would reap what they had sowed and their pride would result in the destruction of the House of Esau! (Obadiah 15-18)
We can all learn from this sad story! A grudge held can infect a family which can eventually destroy a nation of people. Esau’s grudge was never fully dealt with! Esau’s focus on his own needs, appetites, and personal pride caused his family and eventually a nation that came from him to dwell in pride. This pride and despising of their brothers resulted in God’s judgment and their destruction! Unforgiveness is just as dangerous for us today! It will isolate us from our family and open us up to the enemy of our souls. It will cut us off from God’s grace! Jesus Christ died to heal our broken family ties and restore us to God’s family! Take time today to ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness! Humility always wins and defeats pride’s death traps!
Famine for the Words of the Lord!
Scripture reading for September 16th: Amos 8-9
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Amos 8:11-12
We are so blessed in America! We have nearly 360,000 churches across our land. Even in our city of Owensboro and surrounding area, there are nearly 200 churches to choose from for a population of about 115,000. About 30,000 -40,000 of those attend a church each week, a high number compared with other parts of our nation. We have services broadcast on television, cable, internet, and radio each day of the week. Christians should be out in the community sharing their faith and the word of the Lord each day. We should not have a famine for God’s word or have to search for it! It is readily available! Access to Bibles is not restricted here either, and, indeed, most households have more than one.
Amos lived and ministered among a people who were religious and went to church each Sabbath day to hear God’s word! They had prophets like him who spoke to them regularly. To come into the adult world of that day, children had to memorize the Books of Moses before their thirteenth birthday. What happened that they would have this famine in their land? Can a person or people have the word of the Lord and still have a famine for it?
When we ignore the Lord Himself and disrespect the light that we have from Him, we go into darkness that is deeper than before! These people had the truth and rejected it! They willfully went their own way and neglected to apply what was made known to them. This brought God’s wrath and judgment on them. This should be a strong warning to us today in America and in my city of Owensboro! To whom much has been given, much will be required!
God’s mercy is evident even in these dire prophetic writings of the prophet Amos. (Amos 9:8-10) God promises restoration after the shaking of judgment. He promises to restore the nation again and plant them in the land that He gave to them. (Amos 9:11-15) God’s goodness to a stubborn people is amazing! It draws us to repentance and faithful love again! (Romans 2:4) Let His mercy bless you today! Take advantage of the blessing of having God’s word as your living bread! Eat and be satisfied!
Amos and the plumb line!
Scripture reading for September 15th: Amos 6-7
“This 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. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. The the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.” Amos 7:7-8
Amos had received a series of visions from the Sovereign Lord about the coming judgment on the nation. The first vision concerned a swarm of locusts stripping the land clean. (Amos 7:1-3) Amos interceded for the nation and the Lord relented. The second vision concerned a judgment by fire on the nation and Amos again interceded and the Lord relented. Prayer by one man can make a difference! We must never stop praying and believing in faith even when God warns us of coming disaster!
The third vision is the passage that we will consider today. God had a plumb line and was standing by a wall that was built true to plumb. Being plumb simply means perfectly perpendicular. A plumb line is a line of string with a pointed weight on the bottom. It is held up near the wall and shows clearly if the wall is plumb or not. If the wall is not plumb, it is leaning and may topple or could be taken down. The more out of plumb, the more the wall is in danger of collapsing.
In this vision, the wall that was built true to plumb was the nation of Israel. God had “squared” them away and put His law as a plumb line in their midst to keep them straight. The people, however, refused to love God and obey His law. He was their builder and maker and lived in their midst. He sent prophets to drop the plumb line into the lives of His people and show them that their wall was out of whack! Amos had been sent to warn them of their complacency and materialism. (Amos 6:1, 4-6) They were living lives of luxury and feasting and drinking but had forgotten the God who had formed them and blessed them to be His holy people!
Amos got the left foot of fellowship by King Amaziah. He was told not to speak any more in Israel but to go back to Judah where he came from. (Amos 7:12-13) Plumb lines were not welcome! The prophet was causing people to be upset and angry. Prophets could bring a revival and the wall would come back into plumb, or the wall might just have to fall because it was too far out of plumb! This time the wall would fall! (Amos 7:16-17)
How is the wall of your life? Is the plumb line of God’s truth being dropped regularly alongside of it? Are you listening and reading and heeding the plumb line? Today is a good day to straighten up and make the necessary changes!
“Prepare to meet your God”
Scripture reading for September 14th: Amos 3-5
Amos, a country preacher, uses plain language that cuts to the chase! Country people don’t usually beat around the bush. They call it like it is. This is a good trait, but sometimes lacks tact in the eyes of those who are more refined! I imagine that Amos made a few people pretty mad! For instance, in Amos 4:1 he calls the women of Samaria “cows”. These women were likened to the well-fed cattle of Bashan, a farming area east of the Sea of Galilee. These women were demanding drinks from their husbands and were oppressing the poor and needy while they enjoyed an abundance. Amos promised them that God’s punishment was on the way.
Amos told the people to go up to Bethel and sin. They were religious and brought offerings that they boasted about as if they had produced them all by themselves. God had tried to correct them and get their attention, but to no avail! They would not return to God with humble and contrite hearts! (Amos 4:6, 9, 11) God had sent famines, plagues, war and trouble to wake them up but they failed to respond. The final call was for them to prepare to meet their God! (Amos 4:12) Amos then takes up a funeral lament for Israel as if she had died and met God! (Amos 5:1-3)
What was Amos’ remedy for these hardened religious people? He told them to seek the Lord and live! They needed to honor the God who made the stars, who speaks to the waters of the sea and pours them out on the land! (Amos 5:8-9) This God had power that should be feared and He should be revered! They were to seek good and not evil and they would live. God eternally hates evil and his wrath is always against it. God’s people must hate evil and injustice in evil times, and stand for what the Lord is for. (Amos 5:14-15)
Amos reproves this religious people again for saying that they longed for the day of the Lord! He told them that it would be a day of darkness, not light for them! (Amos 5:18) It would be like a man fleeing from a lion, only to meet a bear. These people were going through the motions and God hated their songs, festivals, feasts and offerings! Their hearts were not right! He wanted justice and righteousness that resulted from His people living by faith in the fear of the Lord! (Amos 5:24)
As we listen to this farmer preacher, we hear truth spoken in plain language. The times he lived in are a lot like ours. We need to be sure we are seeking the Lord with our hearts, and not just words and ritual. We must hate evil and love good! We should be working in our day and time for justice and help for the poor. The day of the Lord is coming! We must be prepared to meet our God!
“. . . prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” Amos 4:12b
Sunday rest and reflection: Spirit outpouring!
Dear Friends,
Another day of rest begins to remind us of the finished work of our Savior, Jesus Christ! We can truly rest from any effort on our part to try and save ourselves. We can put away religion, sacrifices, penance, and extravagant offerings as possible ways of paying God back or purchasing freedom. The debt of sin is canceled! Simply asking Him in faith for mercy has brought the remedy as a gift! (Romans 6:23) Putting our trust in Jesus Christ is sufficient and it is finished! (Romans 10:9-10) What a blessing!
As I reflect back on this week’s reading, the book of Joel comes easily to mind. We had only one day to read this and reflect on it and it is so rich in revelation and truth. God’s desire has been to bless His people and make them a blessing to the entire world. He would do this by living in their midst and placing a covering of His glory over them. He would provide for them and be their source of real food and living water. He would clothe them in the finest of garments and they would reside in the land of milk and honey. He would drive out all of their enemies and His presence would mark them as a chosen people, blessed beyond measure.
However, sin had so devastated mankind and even God’s people, that they lived far below their God-given potential. His people lost His glory in their midst and fell into idolatry and under the curse brought on by their sins. In Joel’s day it was a locust plague! This plague was uses as a type of the coming ‘day of the Lord’. The remedy for this plague was found in rending of hearts, not clothes. Broken hearts make good vessels for God to pour His Spirit into! The Holy Spirit heals and binds up wounds. He brings the Word of God to our inner man and faith arises to live in victory! Signs and wonders begin to follow the preaching and living of God’s Word for He honors faith and obedience. Prophesy flows from the presence of the Holy Spirit. We see the plans and purposes of God and are able to take faith-actions that save us and those around us.
We desparately need an outpouring of God’s Spirit on our church and land! Consider this book of Joel and let the Spirit prompt you to take the proper actions. Ask for an outpouring into hearts prepared by brokenness! God is faithful! In His Love, Pastor John
“Fire in the House!”
Scripture reading for September 12th: Amos 1-2
Fire is a devastating force when not properly controlled and utilized. It has the capacity for great good and also for brutal destruction. I was helping an uncle shell corn at his farm about 6 miles south of our farm in Iowa. I was a young farmer and had started farming with a small hog herd and had about 25 sows (mother hogs) with their babies in a building. It was winter time and we were using heat lamps and furnaces to keep the hog building warm. One of the lamps must have fallen onto the straw, and a blaze erupted that swept through the building. I remember hearing the call to come home from my distraught aunt. “There’s a fire in the hog house!” I arrived home to find a charred building and some charred animals! It was devastating and caused great anguish to me and loss of my precious animals!
Amos was a fig (not pig!) farmer and shepherd who was called to be a prophet. (Amos 7:14-15) The reading today contains several warnings of “fire in the house!” These warning were to nations and peoples surrounding Israel and I imagine God’s people were probably cheering as their wicked neighbors were warned by God. (Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 14; Amos 2:2) God, however, is no respecter of persons and we as people all have the same malady at our core: sin. Amos also warned Judah and Israel that they also had fire coming to their houses as well! (Amos 2:4-16)
What was the root cause of these fires? Sins! Sin brings God’s wrath and fiery judgment. God hates sin because it is totally foreign to His nature of love. Sin brings destruction, anguish, and great eternal loss to those made to enjoy His blessing and glory! But our God is very merciful! He always warns His people of their sins and even provides a way of escape for them. (1 Corinthians 10:13) He wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance and deliverance. (Amos 3:7) This is why He sends the prophet, preachers and saints to testify of His mercy and grace!
Our nation is saturated with the gospel! We have more churches, preachers, and radio and television preaching than anywhere else in the world. To whom much has been given, much will be required! The gospel warns people that there is ‘fire in their house’ and provides a Savior who took the fiery wrath of God against our sin. The gospel offers us a new form of fire in our house, the precious Holy Spirit! This ‘fire’ is redemptive and empowering to the humble and teachable. It gives us power to live free from sin and to take the gospel to those who have the wrong kind of fire in their house. Take time today to thank the Lord for His mercy and His wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit!