THE LION HAS ROARED

I love the Old Testament!  When I taught Gospel Doctrine class (several different times in several different wards) I really loved teaching Old Testament. While it is not always easy to understand, it does form the foundation for the entire story of God's dealing with His people, particularly Israel.  As such, I've been watching the Old Testament scripture discussions on BYUtv.  

Last week, they were discussing the Prophet Amos.  Amos prophesied from approximately 792 to 740 B.C. in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. He was from a small town just south of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Judah, but he was called as a prophet to the Kingdom of Israel.  Talk about your foreign missions!  It was a dangerous calling in a way because Israel and Judah were politically at odds.  Israel and Syria had formed an alliance to defy Assyria (the big bully on the block) and had asked Judah to join the alliance.  Uzziah had refused, so the allies had turned on Judah. But the Lord's patience was growing short. Amos wrote: Behold, I am pressed under you, as  cart is pressed that is full of sheaves (Amos 2: 13) - an ancient Hebrew way of God's saying "This is the last straw, Israel!"

Israel's time to destruction was short.  The Lord warned them again so that when calamity struck, they could not say, "But you didn't tell us this was going to happen!" That is the context in which Amos wrote: Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

God wasn't keeping any secrets.  He wasn't whispering.  Amos wrote: The Lord will roar from Zion. . . (Amos 1: 2, emphasis added) He reminded Israel that they were His people and that He had blessed them above all the nations of the earth. They should be walking with Him, but they had turned away. Can two walk together, He said, except they agree? (Amos 3:2)

Amos then described that if a lion is roaring, there must be prey; if a bird is ensnared, there must have been food in the trap. Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not [known] it? (See Amos 2: 3-6)

God had spoken to his prophets.  They had warned Israel repeatedly to turn away from her sins and repent.  By the time Amos was teaching, the lion hath roared . . .. (Amos 3:8) He asks: "Why aren't you afraid?"

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The lion has roared again. Prophets have warned of great tribulation if the people won't repent.  9-11 was a huge wake-up call.  This pandemic is a huge wake-up call.  All of the storms and fires and famine are wake-up calls.

America, are we awake yet?

© Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson November 2020