A glimmer of hope

Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Liz Nizon answers:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Amos’ visions do not make easy reading! We see God’s judgement come on Israel through vivid images and visions, including Israel devastated by a locust swarm and a scorching fire, and then swallowed up like overripe fruit. Finally, God strikes the temple at Bethel and it is ruined.

However, there is always light at the end of the tunnel with our God. Just when we think things cannot get any darker or any worse, God, in His goodness, breaks through with His good plan for His people. He talks of the exiled people being brought back, restoring the ruined cities, and living in them once more; planting vineyards and enjoying the wine; planting gardens and enjoying its fruit. He promises to restore the fallen tent of David, the line of David from which Jesus later comes, and provide a place for all nations who bear His name. He is the One who always gives hope, in all circumstances.

God is completely good, righteous and holy, and so He must confront evil and sin. However, His long term, eternal plan is always about the restoration of people and building a family of sons and daughters from every nation to be with Him forever.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

Judgement is always a difficult topic to discuss. We find the visions of God’s judgement on His people hard to stomach and so far away from the image of a loving Father, or a miracle-working, hanging out with sinners Jesus.

Simply, I think we are nowhere close to understanding the holiness of God - He is so right, perfect, and pure that He just cannot tolerate injustice, sin, and impurity. He is wonderfully patient and bears with us, but ultimately, being righteous means needing to right the wrongs in this world. It is amazing that God’s nature is to bring justice and make right where we have done wrong.

And what’s more amazing is that all judgement due to us was placed upon Jesus – Jesus paid the penalty for my sin and took the punishment that was mine. What an amazing God we have!

What am I going to do differently as a result?

When I feel conflicted about the character of God, particularly when I see harsh judgment within parts of The Old Testament, I’m going to talk to Him about it first and ask His Spirit to show me who He really is, rather than letting the world’s view of God’s judgment shape me.

I’m also going to choose to believe that God is always good and patient – I want this to always be my default whilst I work out the trickier looking stuff with Him.

Who am I going to share this with?

I want to press into this further with godly friends who have known God for longer than I, so that we can wrestle with this together!