Saturday, September 12, 2020
The Lion’s Roar
The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem raise his voice: the pastures of the shepherds will languish, and the summit of the Carmel wither.
As the sacred high place of Carmel withers and the simple shepherds suffer, God roars out a warning through the prophet Amos. What is it that we hear?
God says: You ask for my wisdom and I give it to you; yet you pause for my words do not always match your desire. You ask for my consolation and I bestow it on you; yet you mourn for what you do not have. You ask for redemption and I breathe new life into you; yet you hesitate . . . for you struggle to cast off your old complaints. They have become too familiar and too comfortable to you.
Amos challenges us today to listen for the roar of the lion, to tend to the altar on Carmel, to restore the shepherds to their flocks and fields. Where in our own lives do crops waste away and the sacred places fall silent?
If we have no commentary to explore the opening verses of Amos, we might use one the the following online.
http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/amos-lbw.htm
http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=amos&qs_version=NIV
To learn more about Mount Carmel and why it still considered a scared place, visit: http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtcarmel.htm
Image from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Carmel-mountain-ridge-Israel
The Noontimes 