Dark Devotions (Ray Patchett & Steve Messer)
Be Careful What You Wish For
Woe to you who desire a the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom
with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20 ESV)
Like any time of hardship, the Covid 19 situation is causing some heightened speculation about the end of all things and which world leader might be the Antichrist. It’s probably not too difficult to guess which names come up frequently. And the problems we face today, which various politicians claim to have the best answers for are pretty much the same problems as the northern kingdom of Israel faced just before their exile by the Assyrians around 700BC.
There were extreme inequalities, various international political tensions, food security issues relating to climate and disease control (eg. famine and locust plagues 4:7-10). And because these times were politically tumultuous there was speculation about the timing of God’s kingdom. Israel was looking for the coming of Yhwh to rule his people, and they were looking forward to this day when all idols and their worshippers would be exposed and Israel would be vindicated as Yhwh came to delight in his people.
However, there was a massive problem that Israel had completely failed to grasp, which is that Yhwh hated their religious assemblies and feasts and he wouldn’t accept their offerings and sacrifices (5:21-22). It’s not that they weren’t doing these things in accordance with how they were regulated in the Law, it’s that they were neglecting fundamental aspects of daily life that reflected the nature of God himself, also revealed in the law. Again, we see this concern in Scripture, that as idolaters we love ritual more than faithful obedience because it is much easier.
Amos warns the people, that to assign any real value to their ‘religious practices’ they must stop trampling on the poor, perverting justice, hating the truth, persecuting the righteous and taking bribes. This is summarised in the phrase, 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amo 5:24 ESV). Amos’ main point is these people’s desire for the day of the Lord is foolish, because if it did come to them, it would be devastating. It would be according to the proverbial, ‘out of the frying pan
into the fire.’ Or, in Amos’ words, having fled a lion only to meet a bear, or, coming home to your place of rest and being bitten by a serpent.
We need to be careful what we ‘wish’ for. To want the day of the Lord while living in defiance of his word is to invite disaster. The northern kingdom of Israel had to learn this the hard way and their fate reminds us that the only hope of meeting this day of the Lord with joy and certainty is by the greater David and the restoration of his fallen tent:
“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, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the ploughman 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. (Amos 9:11, 13 ESV)