I have been reading through the minor prophets and Amos 3:8 really struck me:
A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
The context is the LORD explaining the guilt of all the tribes of Israel. In fact, the preceding verses give several illustrations of what verse 8 is speaking of:
Amos 3:1-7 Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: 2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” 3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? 6 If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? 7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.
What struck me was the fact that “A lion has roared” is parallel with “the Lord GOD has spoken!” In this context it is the LORD roaring through pronouncing His judgement upon Israel for their rebellion. But the imagery that Scripture gives of itself is often very similar to the characteristic of a roar. Whether it is a hammer shattering a rock (Jeremiah 23:29), a two edged sword piercing the heart (Hebrews 4:12), or the Scriptures being the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), the effect of God’s Word is portrayed in powerful terms.
Consider this, when you read the Word of God early in the morning before the sun rises on a busy day, the Lord GOD is roaring at you with truth. When you read the Bible to your children the powerful God of the universe is roaring His truth to you. When you gather to hear the Word of God preached (if the preacher is preaching what God’s Word says) Your Maker is roaring at you.
Your soul needs to hear His roar regularly. You should love to hear His roar of revelation. And yet, not all hear the roar. Why is that? For most it is because they are blind to the truth. They do no have ears to hear, eyes to see or hearts to receive spiritual truth. So the powerful Word of God is spoken to them and they are deaf to it. But what about a Christian who hears the roar faintly? What about the fact that recently your own time with the Lord or your time of hearing God’s Word in the gathered church has been marked by a diminished experience of the power of God’s Word?
It isn’t that the power has gone away. It isn’t that God doesn’t roar with His truth any more. Could it be that you have quenched the Spirit’s work in your life (1 Thessalonians 5:19)? Could it be that the roar of another lion has captured your ears (1 Peter 5:8) through your entanglement with the things of this world (2 Timothy 2:4)?
One of the ways to hear the roar again is to be convinced that God does roar in his Word. He roars for your good. May God give us ears to hear the roar and may we fear and love the One that roars in His Word to us.
