"Almighty Lord,
please forgive us!" (Amos 7:2) - This is the prayer that the Lord is
waiting to hear and answer. "Almighty Lord, please stop!" (Amos 7:5) -
This is a prayer for God's mercy. We come to Him, deeply aware of our
sin and His judgment. We cry to Him for mercy. Why should He have mercy
on us? From our point of view, there is no answer to this question. From
His point of view, there is an answer - the Cross. Upon Christ, there
is our sin and God's judgment. To us, there is mercy and grace. There
are people who do not want to hear the Word of the Lord. They say,
"Don't ever prophesy again in Bethel" (Amos 7:13). Why did they tell the
prophet to "run away to Judah! ... and prophesy there" (Amos 7:12). The
reason is this - "This is the king's holy place and the king's palace"
(Amos 7:12). Holy? - What is holy about a place when its people send
away the prophet of God, and tell him to preach the Word of God
somewhere else? If a place is really holy and the people are really
holy, there would be a real desire to hear what the Lord has to say to
us. What did Amos say about this? This is what he said - It was the Lord
who said to me, "Prophesy to My people, Israel" (Amos 7:15). The Lord
says, "Speak." The world says, for the Word of the Lord "Stop speaking
to us." A true prophet will speak the Word of the Lord.
“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem”, the keynote of the service was joyful thanksgiving. They gathered together “to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27). “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). They sang “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). This joyful thanksgiving is only a foretaste of the greater joy and thanksgiving of heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In the city of God, “the glory of God” will be shining with everlasting brightness (Revelation 21:23). The Church of God will be “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The beautiful picture of the godly wife in Proverbs 31 gives us an outline of what God is seeking to do in His people. It is summarized in Proverbs 31:30: “A woman who fears the Lord is to be ...
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