July 11, 2024

Passage Read: Joel 2 - Amos 2
Meditation Verses: Amos 2:10-12

Thought

Amos records the Lord's judgments against the nations round about Israel, but He also records judgment against Israel and Judah. They are perhaps the worst offenders, because they knew the Lord, were chosen by the Lord and received His Law. He even made some to be Nazirites and others to be prophets. But not only did the people turn away from the Lord, but as if for sport, they made the Nazirite drink wine, to violate his vow, and they commanded the prophets not to speak. Those who set themselves apart to seek the Lord, those who knew Him best, they mocked and silenced. They didn't just turn away from the Lord, but they abused those who still sought Him.

Application

It should be no surprise that an unbeliever would mock and scorn someone who followed the Lord, but it is grievous indeed when people who have been blessed and honored by the Lord do so. Nazirites come from people who know something of the Lord; they are those who want to draw nearer to the Lord than the average believer. But woe to those "believers" who seek to cause the Nazirite to violate his vow. Prophets are those sent to warn the people who should know God but have strayed. Woe to those people who silence the prophets. Such people are doomed to destruction, because any sign of dedication and genuine love for the Lord is rejected by them, and there remains little hope of repentance. We need prophets, we need people who are willing to dedicate themselves to the Lord in ways far above and beyond the average believer, because we need those reminders to forsake the world and love God above all else. I need to be continually reminded that this world is not my home; in fact, it is filled with things that would turn me away from undivided devotion to Christ. I need prophets who will call out compromise and sin that I have been ensnared by and become blind to, that I secretly desire to hold on to.