Tag: new thing

10.g. “Shall you not know it?”

Amos 9:11   “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Issaiah 43:19   Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness [And] rivers in the desert

This is an abrupt change from the strong message of rebuke and judgment.  Without this last passage and change of tone, the book of Amos would be incomplete. “It is now declared that the reason of the divine judgment is not revenge, but the only way in which it is possible to usher in the restored order on which the heart of God is set”.  God promised to take what was ruined and to repair and rebuild it. Sometimes God works in a completely new way, letting the old die and doing a work of new creation.    James, the brother of Jesus, quoted Amos 9:11-12 at the Council of Jerusalem. He used this passage to demonstrate that God promised to reach the Gentiles and to bring them into His kingdom under the Messiah, not under Israel.

Under God’s inspiration, the prophet Amos ends the book on a note of high hope, looking forward to a day of great prosperity and abundance in Israel. Under the reign of Jeroboam II, they had material abundance, but it was not in the LORD. God promised to restore them to prosperity from Him and in Him.  When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes quickly.  When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes from unexpected places.  When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes with great quality.

When God releases blessing and restoration, the work is blessed – but it is still work. The plowman, the reaper, the treader of grapes, and him who sows seed still have their work to do. God doesn’t just do it all for them, but under God’s blessing and restoration the work is done with energy and joy. The plowman doesn’t just wait around; he gets busy even if he starts bumping into the reaper! “One sign of a true revival, and indeed an essential part of it is the increased activity of God’s laborers” (Spurgeon).  However, even if it is not a time of remarkable blessing and restoration, the work of God still deserves our energy and effort.

Today at His feet I lay my burdens down

“For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.”

Psalms 98:1   Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Psalms 77:14     You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

Exodus 15:6    Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Psalms 105:5    Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

Isaiah 43:18-20     “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,

Psalms 139:14     I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Luke 1:49     for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Revelation 15:3-4     And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!  Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 19:11-21     Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

Sometime we lose sight of what God can do in the present.  We read what He has done in the past.  We also see what He has done in our own life in the past.  We read of what He will do in the future and we trust His promises proclaimed in His word.  Knowing and believing this, why is it so hard in the present to seek Him first, to tell Him how your heart aches, and trust in Him.  Issues come and it seems to erase what we know about God, at least our ability to lay it at His feet and walk in comfort of placing it there. He is our rock, hope, joy, and forever steadfast in His love for us.  He does not change and can do more than we ask and much more than we can think.