The Lion Has Roared

I'm convinced that no good thing dwells in Chicago. That's the Cardinals fan in me talking. Chicago, particularly Wrigley Field, is a breeding ground for evil.

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I was reading Amos today. It's sad that he's not as famous as his cookie counterpart. But the Old Testament Amos has so much more to offer than a popular baked goods franchise ever could. Remember that, please.

Is God secretive? Is He the unknowable shaker of nations? Does He operate behind a black veil of cosmic espionage? Does He act and leave humanity with no clue as to His motivation? Certainly, the greatest King in existence and conception need not justify His reasoning to a people born from dust. How wonderful, then, and how thrilling is it that God does not act without revealing His motives to His people? Amos 3:7, in the midst of imploding and burning nations, states with a full and undisturbed confidence, "For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets." Praise falls short by light years to express the gratitude due to a merciful God who gives warning shots. His wrath is not blind and puerile, like a whimsical 2 year old that throws a fit because no one will play nice.

In chapters 1 and 2 of Amos, the Lord describes plainly and in unsettling detail why fire and wrath is destined for these certain peoples. And where are God's secrets crystallized? How can we know His motivation, His mind? In the words of His prophets! Those words have been entombed in paper and leather and they scream comfort to His troubled people. They scream comfort to me. The Bible encapsulates the thoughts of God. It doesn't reveal all God intends or purposes. The secret things belong to the Lord (Deut.28:28). But He has made clear to us what He would have us know. There is no need for guess work when it comes to figuring out what the Lord is like and what He demands.

I love 3:8: "The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy?" Warning! There is a danger out there and it will kill you! That danger is God. You will ruin yourself if you keep living with a blind eye to consequence! God will undo you! What person who knows that can but prophesy? Meaning, who can but proclaim that truth (prophesy meaning to declare truth, not only to foretell a future event God has revealed)? I have heard the lion roar. I have heard and I have read. My heart has been run through by Romans 1:18 that says that "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." So then how can I not but shout it? How can I not make it clear that God is furious, and rightly so, with what the peoples have done and who they are? If I truly understand the fearsome qualities of that mighty lion and the danger He poses to those who are deserving of His wrath, how can I not be moved into action? It's a question that will haunt me and stick in my mind like shrapnel. I thank God for such haunting thoughts.