PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Amos 9
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“I will shake the people of Israel as grain is shaken in a sieve…” (Amos 9:9)
Amos predicts a time of shaking, when the wheat will be separated from the chaff.
To keep the good, and to remove the bad, to purify the harvest of grain.
This process of purification is a common theme in the bible.
The refiners fire, sheep and goats, wheat and the weeds, pruning vines.
God doesn’t want to ‘shake’ the people, but the chaff and pebbles make it necessary.
“And not a pebble will reach the ground.” (Amos 9:9)
Because God works with all people, giving all people a chance, there are pebbles.
The pebbles represent hardened hearts that refuse to repent.
They live selfishly and cruelly, and assume they’ll never get caught (Amos 9:10).
Times of shaking are not pleasant, but God will help the grain ‘reach the ground’.
That is, the meek will inherit the earth, the pebbles and chaff will not (Mathew 5:5).
Amos is encouraging the humble and faithful that they will one day be established.
God will plant his children “in their own land, never again to be uprooted.” (9:15).
Jesus assures me that one day evil will be filtered out, and only goodness will remain.
PRAYER
Lord, I long for goodness to flourish for all people and evil to be sifted out and ended. I am encouraged that this day is coming, but please help us when life gets shaken up.
Pictures of the garden of Eden: “will rebuild it as it used to be” – God restoring things to what it used to be – a better day when we could walk with God in the garden. Jesus is near and through his Spirit is near – so that I may walk today with him – even in the challenges of the day. But there is an even better time coming when all will be rebuilt as it used to be. Lord help me serve today and continue to encourage me to walk with you – I am totally blessed when you are near!
It is comforting to note that God is sifting out the grain and the pebbles – they remain on the sieve – the chaff is blown away and falls to the ground. The next step is for the reaper (Jesus) to separate the pebbles from the grain – they are ‘handled’ again – to me given a second chance to be spared or thrown away – but is is the act of the person doing the sifting and not the action like wind blowing the chaff
God is with His people. Gd gives His people strength is they but obey. God visits His people and disciplines them so that they turn from their own desires to serve Him. Again and again, the Lord restores His people when they return to Him. Refiners fire. Rebuilding. Living for Jesus as it should be. Help me daily Lord to walk with You in Your SonShine doing Your will.
God himself is present:
let us now adore him
and with awe appear before him.
God is in his temple,
all within keep silence,
humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence.
He alone on his throne
is our God and Savior;
praise his name forever!