Wednesday, April 8, 2015

How can God get our attention?

Read Amos 4.

Israel lived in prosperity.  They offered sacrifices every day, tithed every three days, and beyond that practiced generosity giving.  But their behavior was arrogant and demanding.  They oppressed the poor and exploited those in need.

God responded to their sin in five ways in order to gain their attention and lead them to repent.
1. Famine (v.6)
2. Drought (v.7-8)
3. Blight (v.9)
4. Pestilence (v.10)
5. Destruction (v.11)
And, five times God repeated the phrase, "yet you did not return to me."

"Therefore...prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (v.12)

They forgot that God was in charge and ignored His interventions to gain their attention.  Who is this One who commands such obedience?  Here are His claims (v.13):
1. He forms the mountains.  The God of the Bible claims credit for shaping and fashioning the mountains.
2. He creates the wind.  The God of the Bible takes credit for selecting and dispatching the wind currents.
3. He declares His thoughts to humans.  The God of the Bible has made Himself and His word known so mankind is without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).
4. He makes light and darkness.  The God of the Bible commanded light in the beginning "and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).  He can move the clouds and the storms to darken a day.
5. He treads above the earth.  The God of the Bible oversees all that is happening in His world and is ready to respond.

Who is He?  "The LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!"

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