Amos 4:6-13 Still Not Listening!
God has reached out to his wayward people, Israel, in MULTIPLE ways. His corrections went unheeded. All He gets from them is, “Still not listening!”
God had been reaching out to Israel the WHOLE TIME that they had turned away. He called to them to return to Him. He promised them protection if they would. He made it harder and harder on them in the meantime in an effort to bring them to their knees.
I’m wondering if Israel became the frog in the pot of water. When a frog is put in a pot of water that is refreshing, he stays put. To cook him, all you do is gradually heat the water. He becomes accustomed to the temperature as it slowly rises and he stays in the pot and cooks. By the time it boils, it’s too late for him to flee. He is dinner.
God KNEW His people, even better than they knew themselves. He told Jeroboam that he would have most of the kingdom before Solomon even died. God KNEW what lay on the other side of that prophecy. Jeroboam’s building of the golden calf did NOT take God by surprise. But He didn’t reach out and strike Jeroboam dead or even flatten their new idols. He did, however, destroy Jeroboam’s family and remove the kingdom from his hands.
The two golden calves erected by Jeroboam stayed in the land of Israel until God took Israel captive by Assyria. Every king of the northern kingdom of Israel continued diverting the people from returning to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. WHY did He let them stand? We KNOW that He could have turned them to powder where they stood IF He wanted to.
I was wondering why God allowed them to get so far away from Him. Why He didn’t remove the idols or strike those who worshiped them down where they stood. While contemplating that, this is what I received for an answer: God won’t FORCE us to love Him. He will draw us to Himself by various means. He can use both blessings and curses to get our attention. Then it is up to US to decide what to do with these moments. Do you hide them and hoard them? Do you seek out the TRUE Source? Do you learn from them; walking away from the places of harm and toward the source of blessings? Do you ignore them all together? Do you attribute them to your own efforts?
Apparently, Israel sought out the WRONG source. For every punishment that came against them, they turned to their idols to solve it. For every blessing they received, they praised themselves and their false gods for such good fortune. This just got them deeper into sin.
God KNEW how Jeroboam would lead the people astray before He even did it. But God gave him the opportunity to choose rightly. God even gave him incentives to follow Him. He chose poorly. And Israel went along with his choices.
NONE of God’s measures to get Israel to return to Him succeeded. And, NO, that wasn’t a surprise. It was a disappointment, and it elicited an even stronger round the next time. Finally, God reaches the end of His patience with Israel. He sends Amos to tell them this.
God lists all that He has done to reach Israel. As Amos was recounting these times, dd ANY of the people put it together? Did ANY listen and change their hearts? How many would pretend to listen and change? How many would brush aside God’s words through Amos as one brushed a spider web out of the way?
God honors man’s right to choose. He is the One who gave man free will in the first place. But Israel, as a whole, had made a covenant with Him. He expected them to honor their side of the agreement. That’s why He pushed so hard, trying to get them back in line with their promise. He wanted MORE THAN ANYTHING to bless His people. But He couldn’t. The terms of the covenant called for punishment for breaking it.
God NEVER fully gave up on Israel. MANY of those whom He wanted to bless, would die instead. They would die because they REFUSED to listen to Him calling them back from disaster. God did NOT kill them. Their own decisions did.
When you are hanging off the side of a cliff, do you refuse the strong rope that is lowered to you and try and find your own path back up? Or do you GRAB ONTO THAT ROPE WITH BOTH HANDS and hang on tight? And, who do you credit or blame for being over the edge in the first place? That ‘blame’ is probably going to color your decision. An HONEST assessment is the foundation of a wise future.
Are you standing on the edge of a precipice, expecting it to hold your weight? BACK UP! Don’t wait for the ground to crumble beneath you before reaching out for safety. God calls us back EVERY TIME but He won’t pick up your feet and bring them to safety. We have to listen and step away, or grab the rope after we have waited too long.
Father God, THANK YOU that You DO continue to call out to me. Thank You for speaking LOUD enough that I finally listened. I have no idea how different my life could have been if I listened from the beginning. You knew what it would take to get my attention; to finally get through my thick skull. THANK YOU for NOT giving up on me!!!
Help me Father to listen early the next time. And EVERY time after that! I don’t want to fall from my own stubbornness. I want with ALL MY HEART to stay in Your presence and in Your perfect will for my life. Help me get closer and closer to this desire each day. Little by little, every day. And BIG steps when needed too Father.
