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23 September 2007
Amos 9 v 11-15
"The kingdom of David is like a fallen tent, but in that day I will set it up again and mend its broken places. I will rebuild its ruins as it was before.
Then Israel will take over what is left of Edom and the other nations that belong to me," says the LORD, who will make it happen.
The LORD says, "The time is coming when there will be all kinds of food. People will still be harvesting crops when it's time to plough again. People will still be taking the juice from grapes when it's time to plant again. Wine will drip from the mountains and pour from the hills.
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity; they will build the ruined cities again, and they will live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they will plant gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant my people on their land, and they will not be pulled out again from the land which I have given them," says the LORD your God.
I wonder if anyone really has dangled a carrot in front of a donkey and as a result the donkey has moved forward. Would the carrot go off, would the donkey fall for the trick again? That's the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.
But if you are having a really bad day, do you theoretically dangle that carrot in front of yourself - "I'll have chocolate if get this essay done in the next two hours", or "yippee only a few more hours at work and then I'm on holiday". Admit it, we've done something like this!
Today's reading is all about the promise, the treat, the nice ending, the surprise. It's almost the carrot in front of the donkey - "look at what you'll get when you've finished all the hard stuff." God reminds the people of Israel that he will not break His promise. No matter how hard things have become for them. God reminds them that they will come back, that they will eat and drink their own fruit and that He will restore the kingdom of David.
What a carrot that is! They've been told just how bad they are, just how much they need to change and in the end be punished. Yet God is amazing (He really has got lots of patience) and He says look, this is what is going to happen. This is what I'm going to do for you.
There will be situations that we have been in and realise it or not God has dangled that carrot, look at what I'm going to do for you, look at the doors that I'm opening for you. In return you have to move forward, yet moving forward requires trust and lots of it! Israel in all its grumpiness had to trust that the Lord would keep his promise. Israel also had to work at being faithful, not running after the latest false idol.
How much do you trust God?
Lord, I put my trust in you. There will be hard times and I know it is then when I need to trust you more. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
Amos 9 v 11-15
"The kingdom of David is like a fallen tent, but in that day I will set it up again and mend its broken places. I will rebuild its ruins as it was before.
Then Israel will take over what is left of Edom and the other nations that belong to me," says the LORD, who will make it happen.
The LORD says, "The time is coming when there will be all kinds of food. People will still be harvesting crops when it's time to plough again. People will still be taking the juice from grapes when it's time to plant again. Wine will drip from the mountains and pour from the hills.
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity; they will build the ruined cities again, and they will live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they will plant gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant my people on their land, and they will not be pulled out again from the land which I have given them," says the LORD your God.
I wonder if anyone really has dangled a carrot in front of a donkey and as a result the donkey has moved forward. Would the carrot go off, would the donkey fall for the trick again? That's the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.
But if you are having a really bad day, do you theoretically dangle that carrot in front of yourself - "I'll have chocolate if get this essay done in the next two hours", or "yippee only a few more hours at work and then I'm on holiday". Admit it, we've done something like this!
Today's reading is all about the promise, the treat, the nice ending, the surprise. It's almost the carrot in front of the donkey - "look at what you'll get when you've finished all the hard stuff." God reminds the people of Israel that he will not break His promise. No matter how hard things have become for them. God reminds them that they will come back, that they will eat and drink their own fruit and that He will restore the kingdom of David.
What a carrot that is! They've been told just how bad they are, just how much they need to change and in the end be punished. Yet God is amazing (He really has got lots of patience) and He says look, this is what is going to happen. This is what I'm going to do for you.
There will be situations that we have been in and realise it or not God has dangled that carrot, look at what I'm going to do for you, look at the doors that I'm opening for you. In return you have to move forward, yet moving forward requires trust and lots of it! Israel in all its grumpiness had to trust that the Lord would keep his promise. Israel also had to work at being faithful, not running after the latest false idol.
How much do you trust God?
Lord, I put my trust in you. There will be hard times and I know it is then when I need to trust you more. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
