A COVENANT AND CONSEQUENCES

In the ‘Old Testament’ books, the God of all hearts tells us of his warnings to his people who seem to take no heed.  In Amos, Chapter six, he says ‘Woe to you who are complacent.’ The word means ‘self-satisfied’.  God berates them in their complacency and their greed.  His accusations are: they bring a reign of terror to the land, they lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on couches, dine on choice lamb and calves, strum on their harps, drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore, the Lord says, ‘You will be the first to go into exile.’ Here, choosing complacency over the covenant brings forth consequences and hence God’s reaction.‘I will smash the great house to pieces and the small into bits.  You have turned justice into poison, the frost of righteousness into bitterness.  You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar (means, ‘of nothing’).  I will stir up a nation against you O house of Israel that will oppress you all the way.’ declares the Lord Almighty.

I can’t help but compare the above scenario to modern day living where complacency is evident in so many lives.  Virtuous, upright, just and honest refers to the righteous in our country and hopefully our Christian lives reflect this way of living.  In Chapter eight of Amos, verse 11 & 12.

‘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.’

What a consequence of complacency that situation would be would it not?

Listen to the words of the Lord.

Trust and obey and rest in his compassion.

Be Blessed

Lorraine