The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Amos 1:1,
"The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel."
The introduction to this prophecy from Amos begins with some identifiers. The Lord gave Amos this prophecy during a time when two specific kings reigned: Uzziah, Judah's eleventh king, who ascended the throne in Judah at age sixteen. One source lists his rule from 783-742 BC.. Jeroboam (the second King Jeroboam), listed by the "Jewish Virtual Library" as reigning in the northern kingdom of Israel from 790-750. He was the thirteenth king of divided Israel (if I am counting correctly).
What God gave Amos came two years before "the earthquake". An excellent article on this earthquake, a magnitude 8 earthquake event, occurring sometime around 750 BC. is found at http://www.icr.org/article/scientific-scriptural-impact-amos-earthquake/
This is real history, these are real people, and the Lord really did reveal to an actual shepherd named Amos things he had to say. We live in an age when the Bible is dismissed as so many fantasy stories. Nothing could be further from the truth. Within its pages are found God's interaction with mankind. He has some things he wants us to know. God speaks of himself, his agenda, his plans for mankind and what will take place in the future.
Those who would brush off the Bible as irrelevant and without import or meaning for our day do so to their own harm.
I find it fascinating the Lord at times couched what he had to say with information that authenticates what he has to say.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment