And he (Amos) said: "The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers." (NKJV)
"The Lord roars."
God’s warnings are often not soft nor silent. He warns loudly and persistently that we might hear what He has to say. But even with the loud roar, He is often ignored.
"There is no God."
"God is love. He would never be angry with me."
"Everyone has their own definition of God. Mine doesn’t include such restrictions."
It doesn’t matter what the justification. God is ignored by many, regardless of how loudly He warns, how mightily He demonstrates His power, how pervasively He shows His love. And there was never a communication so loud, so mighty, so intense as Calvary.
Jesus taught this parable:
"A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.’ Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others." (Mark 12:1-9 NKJV).
While this parable, on one hand, was addressed to the religious leadership of Israel, it can also be addressed to those to whom God has sent His beloved Son.
God sent His Son . . . His Son to teach, His Son to show the Father, His Son to love . . . His Son to die.
There is no louder, no more mighty "roar" in all of eternity than the Lord Jesus’ death at Calvary. There is no excuse that we can give for failing to fall on our knees in abject obedience, gratitude, and love. God never roared louder . . . and that roar continues throughout the ages. "I gave My Son for you."
"The Lord roars."
There is also another aspect to this verse in Amos. The Hebrew word sha’ag translated here "roar" also means a cry of distress. The Father takes no joy in condemning those who reject Him. He constantly longs for everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). This isn’t, for God, a matter of winning, of being right. He has no need for those kinds of confirmations. He is already God, Creator and Master of the universe. No one—regardless of their beliefs—can change that or take that away from Him. He is the Almighty, the Everlasting, the King of all kings, the Lord of everything. Rather, His longings are for each and every soul to come to repentance, to reach out for salvation, that none may be lost. His is a cry of mourning, of distress that the sinful have taken such a stand as to have to come to the place of punishment. And His punishment isn’t about retribution. It’s about trying to compel the rebellious to turn from their sin. Everything God does is about that!
"The Lord roars."
He roars loudly throughout the land. He roars in mourning as He watches those He loves sin again and again and again. "The Lord roars."
The question is . . . are we listening?
© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.
For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment