Seek the Lord and Live

Introduction


This blog post continues on from my last blog post in regards to the nature of the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophetic words.

How is the Gospel revealed in Amos' prophecy? - The book of Amos in the Old Testament". Should we disregard the Old Testament preaching in view that we are no longer under the Old Testament law but under the New Testament grace of God? By No Means! Jesus did not brush aside the Old Testament when he said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17).

While we know that God is always forgiving, one cannot take God's love for granted by continuing to sin. Like the Apostle Paul said, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" (Rom 6:1-2), and Jesus would not have said " Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 7:21). Paul therefore reiterated this point to the young Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 saying "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..."

The message of Amos (Amos 3:1 - 5:17)

1) Don't forget who you are - your root"Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Isreal-against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth," (Amos 3:1-2)

This verse tells us three notable points about the people of Isreal - they are:
- God's chosen people
- Slaves in Egypt (in bondage)
- Redeemed and set free by God

The book of Exodus is not just a story about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, wandering in the wilderness, and eventually into the promised land. It is a lesson for God's people to take heed of, about how the Israelites sinned against the Lord along the way, and sadly only two persons out of the whole crowd of Israelites who came out of Egypt, reached the Promised Land. The rest died before reaching the destination. It is therefore not illogical to pose a question whether -

- today's believers will make it to heaven one day?
- is there a message from Amos to the believers today? YES, of course there is!

Paul wrote to the scattered Jewish and Gentile Christians in 1 Peter 2:9 saying, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." By the grace and mercy of God, through the sacrifice of his beloved son Jesus, we the believers of today are adopted into God's family - a people belonging to God, set free from darkness of sins into his marvelous light".

2) The sins of the peopleTheir sins of three thousand years ago are evident of what is still happening in the societies today.

- Greed - "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD. "Who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses." And "how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes..." (Amos 3;10; 5:12)

- Injustice - "who oppress the poor and crush the needy...and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts." (Amos 4:1; 5:12)

Greed and injustice are, however, the results of Godlessness but not the cause. The more serious part of their sin is therefore in idols worship (Godlessness), and the Lord put it:

- Idolatry - "....I will destroy the altars of Bethel.." (Amos 3:14). "Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every 3 years. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings - boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you like to do." (Amos 4:4-5)

Why Bethel and Gilgal? What is the significance of these places in history?

(a) Bethel - God led Abram to leave his country to go into Canaan, where God appeared to him and promised to give Canaan to his descendants. Abram then camped in Bethel and there he set up an altar to worship the Lord. Two generations later, Abram's grandson Jacob also came to Bethel while he was running away from his twin brother, Esau, and wrestling with God for his own life. There the Lord also appeared to Jacob in a dream, and promised Canaan to his descendants. In Bethel, Jacob set up an altar and worshipped God. By then God changed Jacob's name and called him Israel, from whose name the nation of Israel is named.

(b) Gilgal - Some five hundred years later after Jacob's (Israel) death, God delivered the people of Israel and set them free from the Egyptians bondage. God led them to Canaan land as promised. Gilgal was their first stop after reaching Canaan, there the Israelites set up twelve pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and they worshiped the Lord. (Joshua 4)

Bethel and Gilgal became the centers for worship of their forefathers. As generations pass by, the Israelites sinned more and more against God. The altars of Bethel and Gilgal were filled with shrines which people worshiped instead of the almighty God. They were religiously making sacrifices and offerings but only to the idols, religiously worshipping but without God.

Is there a lesson the church today to take heed of?

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees of his time saying, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." (Matt 15:7-9)

3) God's Judgment and Punishment

One thing for sure is that God does not judge and punish people without first giving warnings and chances to repent.

- Amos 3:7 says "Surely the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets."

He allows natural disasters as messages to people, such as famine, drought, plagues and fire (Amos 4:6-11), but the Israelites ignored all. People tend to take natural disasters for granted assuming that it is not for me and will not happen to me. We see more and more disasters happening in the world nowadays - the Hurricanes in the Bahamas, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the Typhoons of the South China Sea, the Monsoon in India, the inland Tornados in America, the devastation caused by the Tsunami in SE Asia and the earthquakes in China, and violence are on the rise all over the world. God said:

(a) "When disasters come to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" (Amos 3:6b) and

(b) ".....Yet you have not returned to me." (Amos 4:6-11)

All the disasters and violence happening in the world are signs that Jesus spoke about what will happen before the Lord returns to judge and punish the world. The nation of Israel in Amos' days was warned of the destruction to come.

(a) enemies overrun their land (Amos 3:11; 4:2-3)
(b) fallen Israel, never to rise again (Amos 5:2-3)
(c) there will be wailing in the streets (Amos 5:16-17)
(d) Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing (Amos 5:5)

Amos prophesized to the nation of Israel (the northern kingdom) around 760 to 750 BC. History tells us Israel fell to their enemies in 722 BC, and Jerusalem in Judah (the southern kingdom) was destroyed twice (586 BC and AD 70)

God provides solution

Not only God always first sound the alarm to people, he will always provide the way out for those who take heed of his message to revert the judgments and punishments to come. He knows that people are in bondage to sin, they can't get out of their mess in life unless with the help of God. He therefore extended his hands out to the people who are willing to accept him, saying:

4) Seek the Lord and live (Amos 5: 4,6)

Here God is not offering a religion for people to follow, he offers his love (a relationship with Him) like the Father to the "prodigal son". God has always been there right from the Old Testament, with open arms to receive anyone who would call on him. But sadly people could not see and believe in Him. Some 700 years BC, the prophet Isaiah prophesized:

- "We all, like sheep, have gone astray...the Lord has laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all." (Isa 53:6). Hence, Christ the Son of God came into the world proclaiming the good news to the people of the world, saying:

- "...the truth (Jesus) will set you free...And if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed..." (Jn 8:32,36)

- "Come to me (Jesus),....and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28)

I conclude with this reminder:

Isaiah, a prophet in Judah who came after Amos, echoed God's advice to the people. "Seek the Lord and live", and he proclaimed:

- "Seek the Lord while he may be found, and call on him while he is near." (Isa 55:6)

Interpreting the Prophetic Words of the Old Testament

There is much debate amongst Christians today of how to interpret the prophetic words of the Old Testament. And, of course, we should probably expect such questions to arise when considering the difficult nature of such portions of Scripture.

Those Old Testament words are not the easiest in deciphering a clear cut understanding. Therefore, when we turn to the prophetic words of the Old Testament, such as Isaiah or Amos, we must first remember that the Old Testament is not an entity in and of itself. It is part of the whole Scripture, with the New Testament being the end of the story.

The prophetic words of the Old Testament were spoken into a specific time in history, but were part of God’s overall redemptive plan for all peoples. Think of it this way – Have you ever walked into a movie an hour late? It isn’t ideal, is it? But, if you pay close attention, you could probably catch the main storyline of the film. But, how much more devastating would it be if you had to leave a movie that had about thirty more minutes of play time? For me, though I might be able to guess the ending, that would seem much worse than the former. It’s similar with the Scriptures. We need the whole story, and the Old Testament is the beginning of that story and the New Testament is the ending of that story. As new covenant believers, we cannot approach the Old Testament and look to simply interpret it without the ending of the story. Therefore, all Christians should keep in mind that the ultimate and best interpreter of the Old Testament is Christ Himself and the New Testament. I love this short, yet poignant, statement found in 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their "Yes!!" in him.

For me, it would seem tragic if we considered trying to interpret the Old Testament without the New Testament. In (2 Corinthians 3:14-16) Paul has this to say: ‘They [the Old Testament writings] found their fulfillment and had their meaning made plain in Christ; when people read them without using this key to unlock their significance, “a veil lies over their minds” This has relevancy when we come to the topic of eschatology, for many a beliefs are founded upon the prophetic writings of the Old Testament such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah. But we must understand that, as new covenant followers of Christ, we are called to read the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament. We are called to see the beginning words of Scripture interpreted through the living and final Word, that is Christ. Specifically regarding the prophetic words of the Old Testament, another theologian states:

The Old Testament is no longer the last word on end-time prophecies since the Messiah of prophecy Himself has come as the last Word. The New Testament has been written as the ultimate norm for the fulfillment.

We must remember that we can never read the Old Testament without first seeing that Christ is the great fulfillment of such. Though we refer to this passage mainly when discussing the relationship of the Law to the Christian, I think there is something bigger going on in (Matthew 5:17) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them".

Did you catch that? The phrase 'the Law and the Prophets' is synonymous with the whole of the Old Testament canon (see also Luke 24:27, though the word 'Moses' is used in place of 'Law').

Thus, it have been clear that Jesus was declaring that He was the fulfillment of all that was written beforehand in the Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament). He came to fulfill it all through His birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And that is good news!

God has never failed in fulfilling His promises, but we must not limit the fulfillment of God’s word. Fulfillment has come, but it has come in an even greater way than the prophets could have ever imagined. For as Paul said, ‘all the promises of God find their Yes [or Amen] in him’ (2 Corinthians 1:20). God truly is faithful to far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20)!

Visiting the Biblical Jordan – the land where the prophets walked

Imagine walking in the footsteps of Elijah, John the Baptist, or even Jesus. There is a verdant place amid an arid country where one can experience that.

Rich in Bible history, located on the border of Jordan and Israel, is sometimes referred to as “the other Holy Land” offering tourists of all faiths and denominations an opportunity see, feel, and experience first-hand locations mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

Standing on the Jordan side of the River Jordan. Across is Isreal

The very name of the country - Jordan retains the unique baptismal aura of a holy river and a blessed land. It was here, in the waters of Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, where the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit first manifested itself explicitly when John baptized Jesus Mathew 3:13-17
No tour of this ‘other holy land’ is complete without walking where Jesus walked to the place where John the Baptist helped initiate Christ’s ministry - Bethany Beyond the Jordan. A now muddy, oily creek that separates Israel from Jordan, while uniting the hearts of Believers for decades.

Joshua & Daniel pointing to the spot believed to be the site where Christ was baptised by John the Baptist.



Daniel & friend took a quick shot of the wilderness, believed to be the site where Christ was tempted after the baptism. It is a huge/vast, rugged and dry land.

Mount Nebo - Deuteronomy 34

The Cross with a Copper Serpent was built to commemorate the Biblical history associated with the location.



From the spot we stood, is a pilgrimage site believed to have been from where Moses spotted the Promised Land. We could see the Promised Land and with a view encompassing the Dead Sea, Jericho, the Jordan Valley, and Jerusalem.



In the meantime, here’s some facts on Jordan you may also find interesting:

God repeatedly designated Jordan as a land of peace and refuge, where Ruth, Elijah, David, Jesus, John the Baptist and the first Christian communities, among others, found safety and peace. Most of the great biblical prophets made their journeys of faith from the east bank of the Jordan River to the west , symbolically moving from the wilderness where men and women are tested, to the Promised Land.
The southern Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea plains, and the surrounding hills and mountains are the home to some of the most momentous events in the history of man’s relationship with God. Here Abraham arrived in the Holy Land; Jacob and Esau made their pact; God protected Lot while destroying Sodom and Gomorrah; Moses saw the Promised Land which he would never enter; Joshua crossed the Jordan River into Canaan; Elijah rode a chariot of fire into heaven; Elisha cured the leper in the waters of the river; John the Baptist preached, baptized Jesus and was killed by King Herod; and Jesus received the Holy Spirit and resisted the temptations of Satan.

The Dead Sea

The sea is called “dead” because its high salinity means no macroscopic aquatic organisms such as fish or water plants can live in it, though minuscule quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi are present.

In times of flood, the salt content of the Dead Sea can drop from its usual 35% salinity to 30% or lower. In the wakes of rainy winters the Dead Sea temporarily comes to life.

Learnt from our tour guide, the Dead Sea is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. Israeli experts say it is nine times saltier than the Mediterranean Sea.

Daddy & Daniel cleaning themselves from the salt water 'cos it really sting their rashes.

We have seen on TV when how people float in the Dead Sea … but its true, you float so high in the water that one can easily sit there and read a book!!

Joshua & mummy enjoying their Dead Sea "spa" - though it was winter then but surprisingly once you are in the water it is soothing and warm.