Tag: joash

9.q. “You will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise”

Amos 1:1   The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”

Zechariah 14:5    And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

Isaiah 29:6   you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.

Amos speaks of a pending earthquake that affects the region.  When looking at archeological findings from 1955 through the present day, many confirm a massive earthquake that took place during this time.  Warnings were given to the people of God.  Prophets were sent to proclaim the coming of God’s judgment because of their wayward living and neglect of following and obeying Him.  You have to wonder how many people listened and changed their lives because of the prophet’s warning.  At the same time, you have to wonder how many did not.   After all the times were good and prosperous.  Does a man ever change?  Does a man ever listen?  Are we seeking and desiring God to speak into our lives?  Are we any different than those who did not listen?  God’s Word is full of promises of both blessings and warnings of judgment.  We do well to spend time in His Word with a desire to have Him speak into our heart and soul and lead us on paths that honor and glorify Him.  Do not rest in prosperity and ease of life as time passes by.  We never know the time in which God will call people and nations into account of their complacency and neglect.

9.p. It was also a time of idolatry, extravagance, and corruption.

Amos 1:1   The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Amos, possibly the first of the writing prophets, was a shepherd and farmer called to prophesy during the reigns of Uzziah (792–740 b.c.) in the southern kingdom and Jeroboam II (793–753) in the north. During this time both kingdoms enjoyed political stability, which in turn brought prosperity. It was also a time of idolatry, extravagance, and corruption. The rich and powerful were oppressing the poor. Amos denounced the people of Israel for their apostasy and social injustice and warned them that disaster would fall upon them for breaking the covenant. He urged them to leave the hypocrisy of their “solemn assemblies” (5:21) and instead to “let justice roll down like waters” (v. 24). Nevertheless, said Amos, God would remember his covenant with Israel and would restore a faithful remnant.

Let’s see what God will say to us through Amos.  Let our ears be open and our hearts tender to His Word.  In three weeks or less, we will start to see the impact of Covid 19.  It will surely come in and through the US in separate waves, peaking state by state as it progresses day by day, week by week, and month by month.  Its effects will be seen and felt throughout our nation unless God alone puts an end to it.  As much as I want this to be wrong about the pending effects, how can it be wrong when it is certainly from the very hands of our sovereign God?  We do well to learn what it means to repent and return to God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.  Far too long, we have been complacent and neglectful of Him and His Word.  It is time for us to take our eyes off self, self-reliance, government reliance, and turn to God.  As a nation, we have tolerated pushing God out of honor, glory, praise, and worship due Him.  We have allowed ourselves to be drawn into false beliefs that we can live worldly lives and somehow think this is fully and humbly surrender to God with a whole heart, mind, and soul service to Him.  When in the past has all of the earth had so much technology and medical understanding?  Never and yet Covid 19 advances.  I fear we are looking for man to bring us out of this tragic global pandemic.  For sure God can give man understanding in and how to defeat it.  Yet when we give our reliance to man rather than the Author of all there is, we void ourselves of the help we need from God alone.

Seek and desire God’s intervention, repent and return to Him, and worship, praise and fully trust in Him alone.

2.t. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

2 Chronicles 24:1  Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

2 Chronicles 24:15  But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed.

We can never underestimate the influence of those we allow ourselves to associate with.  You would have thought Joash would have been firm in his walk with the Lord.  He was led and counseled by the high priest Jehoiada from the time he was 7 yrs old and had become king.  Joash did right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada.  It is not as though Joash did not know what it meant to lead the people in full commitment to the Lord.  He knew what was right yet still chose to listen to the princes of Judah and abandon the house of the Lord.  They chose to worship idols and Joash followed along willingly.  Even when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, being led by the Spirit of God, called them out on their falling away, Joash chose to not listen and had Zechariah stoned.

Do you ever wonder how it is possible to have tasted the love, guidance, joy, peace, and blessings of God and people turn away from Him?  So it is when we are living in prosperity and have been blessed by God with joy and peace.  We so easily don’t see the need anymore for God in our lives, and if we do it is at arm’s length.  It is almost as though we keep Him on speed dial in case we need His help but other than that there is no humble service, honor, reliance, or listening for His leading in our lives.  We might not admit it but we intentionally choose to do this.

Think about a time when chaos, confusion, uncertainty, and trials hit you hard.  Were you not calling out to God with all your heart, mind, and soul?  Weren’t you relying on and trusting in Him?  Weren’t you constantly seeking Him?  Now compare this time of your life and the earnestness in which you sought and flowed after God to how you are in times of peace, prosperity, and blessings.   Is there a difference?  Do you seek to be in His presence with the same level of intensity?  Do you seek to hear Him speak into your life?  Do you hunger and thirst for Him in the same way?  If not, then confess it and repent and turn away from this lukewarm commitment.  Remember the price that was paid.  Remember the love of Jesus Christ willingly given for the redemption of your sin.  Remember this world is not our home, we are only passing through.  Remember are a child of the King and ought to live to honor Him.

No one is immune to the attacks on our heart, mind, and soul from either self or Satan.  We need to take inventory of our heart, mind, and soul.  We need to take inventory of the time we spend in His Word, the time we spend in prayer, the time we spend in honoring, the time we spend in listening, and time we spend in thought and action.  His word should be on our heart, in our mind, and flooding our soul.  Our ears should desire to hear Him speak into our life.  Our eyes should be seeking to see His handiwork.

In all things, at all times, in all words, and in all action our lives should serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, obey, trust in and rely on Jesus Christ.  Keep Him first.  Choose to walk each moment of every day with Him for these purposes because He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.

2.g. “Therefore hear the word of the Lord

2 Chronicles 18:14  And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

Numbers 16:29     If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.

Amos 9:10     All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

Jeremiah 23:36    But ‘the burden of the LORD’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.

Acts 20:30    and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things,

Hosea 14:9    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

We see Ahab, King of Israel wanting to hear from God but only wanting to hear what he had determined already in his own heart and mind.  He surrounded himself and more than likely previously punished those who did not speak what he wanted to hear.  They were trained to speak in line with his wants and not what God would have him do.

When our heart, soul, and mind are not wholly for following and trusting in God there is an inner self that rules in His place.  This inner self will convince us we are following after God even though we are lukewarm, neglectful, and complacent. We can not serve both self and God.  We will serve the one we yield to.  We will serve the one that occupies our desires and wants.  We will serve the one we think will give us satisfaction and purpose.  Sad to say but many times this is self.

You have to imagine that at some point, at the beginning of our deception, where we began to listen to self over following God, we were aware of this and we chose to push this awareness away.  We were able to drown out the voice of God.  Our heart became hard, our ears deaf, and our choice to turn away was blinded from our mind.  Soon self became the only voice we listen to, the only thing we trusted in, and the only thing we found satisfaction in.

Remember the devil is a roaring lion seeking to deceive and draw us away from following God.  He will send many false hopes of satisfaction into our lives.  He will try to confuse us, entice us, and fill us with things of this world that will never satisfy but will always lead us away from seeking, trusting, relying on, following, honoring, glorifying, and obeying God.

The word of God is our stronghold, our hope, and our strength, for in it we find wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of God.  We see a glimpse of eternity and the love of God poured out to us through Jesus Christ.  Fill all your heart, mind and soul with the want and desire of and through Jesus Christ.  Stay in His word to find peace, joy, love, rest, strength, and hope for today and forever.  Do not allow self a second in your heart and mind for it will take this single second and turn it into a lifetime of deception.