"To Return" - Reflections Stimulated by Amos 4:6-12
When
there are national troubles, civil strife, crop failures or cataclysmic events
and the suchlike, people cry out in alarm and anger or fear. But behind those
situations there may well be the divine intent of bringing about national or
regional changes; specifically, to bring about a social change of moral direction.
You
see this when you delve into the prophet Amos, for example. In Amos 4,
especially 6-12, God points out several disastrous situations he brought about
on his people. Massive food shortages (6), drought (7-8), crop diseases and
failures (9), pandemic (10), and national destruction (11). But at the end of
each one of these tragedies God says, “‘yet you did not return to me,’
declares the LORD.” Each successive calamity was meant as a wake-up call to
bring social change, but the people refused to wake up.
This
concept shows up in numerous places in Scripture from the Old Testament to the
New. Such as Revelation 8, where John hears the seven trumpets blasting, and
with each trumpet blast comes a specific blow from God that impacts people and
nations. But it’s when you get down to Revelation 8:20-21 you realize each of
these cataclysmic judgments were meant to bring humankind to their senses and
turn them around, “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these
plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor…nor did they repent of
their murders or their sorceries…”
It
seems to me that normally we come into troublesome times and immediately want
to blame those “other people” for causing these conditions, or we want to find
explanations so we can expose evil deeds. And there is a place for that to bring
the responsible to account. But one thing that is often missing is any sense of
reflection. Is God using this series of events (even if “caused” by someone
else) to wake us up, turn us around, and get us to change? And this kind of
reflection is normally missed out on a national scale, at least in my living
memory.
The
kind of social changes called for by God may not be some type of countrywide
conversion, where everyone becomes a Christian and starts plugging into God’s
church. Instead, it may well be simply a general change of morality, what one
might call civil repentance. Just like when Jonah preached to Nineveh,
the threat of disaster resulted in a national “repentance” of sorts. Not a
revival with mass conversions, but a civil repentance in actions, “they
turned from their evil way” and so “God relented of the disaster”
(Jonah 3:10).
I
mention this because it’s helpful to keep in mind in troublesome times. It can
actually aid us to pray better for our country and set our sights on legitimate
goals that may not go all the way to massive conversions, but at least turns
our nation in healthier directions. And that kind of environment can be good
for us – Christian and nonChristian alike, and create an atmosphere where the
gospel can go forward more effectively.
One way to put it is that God’s rigor is meant to bring God’s restoration. But when God’s restoration is ignored or rejected, we’re only left with God’s rigor. Since we would rather see our nation turning to God’s restoration rather than hit by his rigor, we should heed Paul’s words to Timothy: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Pray for our country. Pray for our national, state, and local leadership. Pray for the selection process for the Speaker of the House. Pray for the greater good of our fellow citizens. Pray that our country wouldn’t ignore or reject God’s restoration. Pray that there might at least be a civil repentance so that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
Pastor
Mike
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