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22 September 2007
Amos 9 v 5-10
The Lord GOD All-Powerful touches the land, and the land shakes. Then everyone who lives in the land cries for the dead. The whole land rises like the Nile River and falls like the river of Egypt.
The LORD builds his upper rooms above the skies; he sets their foundations on the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the land. The LORD is his name.
The LORD says, "Israel, you are no different to me than the people of Cush. I brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Crete, and the Arameans from Kir.
I, the Lord GOD, am watching the sinful kingdom Israel. I will destroy it from off the earth, but I will not completely destroy Jacob's descendants," says the LORD.
"I am giving the command to scatter the nation of Israel among all nations. It will be like someone shaking grain through a strainer, but not even a tiny stone falls through.
All the sinners among my people will die by the sword - those who say, 'Nothing bad will happen to us.'
In this passage God is like a parent. He has stood by and watched Israel fall and stumble. He has constantly picked them up, brushed them down and given Israel another chance. But now the time has come, enough is enough, the nation has got to change. Israel as a nation is struggling, it is trying to walk with God but keeps stumbling - things like false idols get in the way!
So now is the time for God to step in, the faithful ones will be looked after. God is not going to destroy the nation but instead spread Israel out to be carried by others.
God cares, like a loving parent, but He doesn't want to punish us for doing wrong. Instead He wants to give everyone the chance to redeem themselves in a safe and structured environment. It is not a nasty, evil God who punishes, but rather a God who loves and cares so much that he hurts, yet provides every opportunity He can for people to have a relationship with him.
Father God, thank you for caring about me. Thank you for helping me in the times when I've not even been able to help myself. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
Amos 9 v 5-10
The Lord GOD All-Powerful touches the land, and the land shakes. Then everyone who lives in the land cries for the dead. The whole land rises like the Nile River and falls like the river of Egypt.
The LORD builds his upper rooms above the skies; he sets their foundations on the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the land. The LORD is his name.
The LORD says, "Israel, you are no different to me than the people of Cush. I brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Crete, and the Arameans from Kir.
I, the Lord GOD, am watching the sinful kingdom Israel. I will destroy it from off the earth, but I will not completely destroy Jacob's descendants," says the LORD.
"I am giving the command to scatter the nation of Israel among all nations. It will be like someone shaking grain through a strainer, but not even a tiny stone falls through.
All the sinners among my people will die by the sword - those who say, 'Nothing bad will happen to us.'
In this passage God is like a parent. He has stood by and watched Israel fall and stumble. He has constantly picked them up, brushed them down and given Israel another chance. But now the time has come, enough is enough, the nation has got to change. Israel as a nation is struggling, it is trying to walk with God but keeps stumbling - things like false idols get in the way!
So now is the time for God to step in, the faithful ones will be looked after. God is not going to destroy the nation but instead spread Israel out to be carried by others.
God cares, like a loving parent, but He doesn't want to punish us for doing wrong. Instead He wants to give everyone the chance to redeem themselves in a safe and structured environment. It is not a nasty, evil God who punishes, but rather a God who loves and cares so much that he hurts, yet provides every opportunity He can for people to have a relationship with him.
Father God, thank you for caring about me. Thank you for helping me in the times when I've not even been able to help myself. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
