Passage Read: Joel 2 - Amos 2
Meditation Verses: Amos 2:11-12
Thought
The Israelites mocked God! The young men among them, whom God moved to take the vow of the Nazarite, their neighbors made them violate their vow by forcing them to drink wine. As if it was a game. To humiliate the one who sought to honor the Lord. And those compelled by God to speak warning from Him, they told to be quiet. They provoked the Lord to His face. They humiliated those who loved Him and those who desired to help them. So the Lord promised to destroy them. He would not have compassion on that generation. He would not show mercy to those who not only ignored Him, but tried to drive Him and those who loved Him from their midst!
Application
The people who refuse to listen to the Lord deserve their judgment. The people who attack those who want to set themselves apart to the Lord--not bothering anyone else--deserve their judgment. The people who silence those who speak warning from the Lord, they all condemn themselves! They attack those who do them no harm; they bully those who plead with them to repent. God is watching and God remembers! The Nazarite walks away and renews his vow and keeps away from those who would make him break it again; the prophet departs and speaks to them no more. They have driven out their only hope. They do not undo the devotion of the Nazarite or the prophet; they only make themselves a sure target of destruction. If my devotion makes others uncomfortable, or if my warning invites hostility, I don't need to fear and I don't need to keep pressing those who try to silence me. They have sealed their own fate. I owe them nothing more.