Amos 4:6-11 - God's purpose in discipline

Scripture:

Amos 4:6-11
6 "But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities
And lack of bread in all your places,
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord.
7 "Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you
While there were still three months until harvest.
Then I would send rain on one city
And on another city I would not send rain;
One part would be rained on,
While the part not rained on would dry up.
8 "So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,
But would not be satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord.
9 "I smote you with scorching wind and mildew;
And the caterpillar was devouring
Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord.
10 "I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt;
I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses,
And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord.
11 "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord.
NASU


Thoughts:

The Lord lists calamities He has brought to draw Israel unto repentance, yet they would not do so (verse 11b). It parallels to how God disciplines Christians today when we wander from His will, to wake us up and draw us back to Him. The strategy is clear: when life begins to fall apart, people will reflect on their ways and recognize how they have strayed, and then repent.

I hate the fact that after a number of years of walking with Christ, I've watched a growing number of brothers and sisters fall away. Men and women that were in many cases passionate and active in their faiths. People that shared the gospel with the lost, read God's word daily, and were accountable to other believers. These were people that those around them looked to as an example of the Christian life, and now they are gone. Though God then brought calamity into their lives to wake them, they have not yet responded to His correction.


Prayer:

God, help me to see Your hand in my life. In times when I miss the mark, I pray that my heart will stay tender towards You. In all times, I pray that I will stay connected to You, not merely outwardly, but inwardly and deeply.

Keep me living in Your ways. Let me never join the fallen, and may they return to fellowship with You.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.