Amos 5:18-24

{Prayer}

            Ever just have one of those days? You know the ones. One of those days where everything is going along great and then something happens. You burnt your toast, you spilled your coffee down your shirt, the heater in the car didn’t work this morning. Things just keep coming at you and it seems like if anything else were to happen, it would. It’s just one of those days where absolutely nothing is going your way. If anything, it seems like things are only going from bad to worse. It’s just one of those days where you want nothing more than for the day to be over so that we can hopefully move on to a what will be a better day.

            In light of my upcoming vacation, I came across this hunting story which really illustrates this idea of what it means to have just one of those days.

            Two hunters are out in the woods on a great hunting excursion. Things are going great, they’re having fun, until they came across a bear that was so big that they dropped their guns and ran for cover. One man climbed up a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he just sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out and almost ran into the waiting bear. He stopped … looked … hesitated … and then dashed back into the cave again. A few minutes later, the same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out, “Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!” Woody panted, “I can’t! There’s another bear in the cave!”

            Things were going great for these guys. Then the bear, then they drop their guns, one gets stuck up a tree while the other is caught between a bear in the cave and a bear outside of the cave. Both of these guys are like, “Can this day get any worse!?!”

            Listen again to these opening verses in our Old Testament reading from Amos. “Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light – pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?” (5:18-20).

            Man, Amos is mean. These are some harsh words that he writes. Want to talk about a guy who is the downer of a good party and who is going to try to burst your bubble of happiness. The people want the day of the LORD because it’s going to be great day! It’s going to be a day of feasting, it’s going to be a day filled with rich blessings and celebration!

            But cynical little Amos is like, “You want the day of the LORD? Really? Are you sure about that, because it’s not going to be anything like what you think it’s going to be. You want the day of the LORD; you’ll get the day of the LORD.”

            But why the different expectations? What’s going on with the people where they think the day of the LORD is going to be a great day verses Amos’ description of it being like one of those days that just goes from bad to worse?

            Well … the people of Israel are living in a time of great prosperity. The Assyrians have backed off entirely. They are back home licking their wounds and regrouping their armies. With the pressure of the Assyrians gone, the people are flourishing. They are saying that life is grand and joyful as it was back in the height of Solomon’s rule. Back then, and even now, they are enjoying peace, things are going right for them, they are living life to the full. And because everything is so prosperous, people are sure, their confident that their prosperity is a sign that God loves them, that God is satisfied with them.

            And yet, in the midst of their prosperity, the people are engaging in false practices. They are stealing from the middle class. They are not taking care of the poor. In Amos 8 he says this, “Hear this you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’ – skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat” (8:4-6).

            The wealthy were taking advantage of the people causing them to pay more for things than they should; they were conducting an ancient version of human trafficking by selling the poor into slavery; they were even adding the chaff, the garbage to the wheat to bulk it up. So the rich are getting richer

            And so Amos is speaking to a very prosperous people who are absolutely sure that their prosperity is a sign that God loves them, that God is satisfied with them. Even while some of the people are engaging in these worship practices that are beautiful, they are confident that God is loving them. They want the day of the LORD because there are imagining it as a day of restoration. The light is going to dawn, kingdoms are going to be back together, the Messiah is going to come … it’s going to be a peaceable kingdom!

            Amos steps in and says, “You want the day of the LORD? Well here you go. It’s not going to be a day of light like you think. Rather it’s going to be a day of darkness. You’re going to run and escape from a lion, only to be eaten by a bear. You’re going to go into a house to escape something, put your hand on the wall to catch your breath and a serpent, a snake is going to bite you. That’s the kind of day it’s going to be. The LORD is going to have His way with you and He’s not happy.”

            There are other instances in Scripture like this that we find in Amos. The thing with those, the thing with this lesson from Amos … God is always the one who is in control. Despite what the people may think … God is in control. Despite what you and I may think … God is still in control. It’s never the people. They, us, we all live our lives by the grace and mercy of God. God is in control and it’s going from bad to worse. And so it’s just one of those days.

            And I get it … this reading, when you dig into, it’s tough, it’s downright mean, there is nothing encouraging here. And you know, it’s just one of those days.  …

            When you dig into reading, you’ve got to be thinking, “man, there has to be some sort of silver lining here.”

            And there is. This idea that it’s just one of the days, that it’s one of those days which just go from bad to worse … that’s the crucifixion of Jesus. During the crucifixion, things go from bad to worse. Jesus comes to save people and instead He ends up getting killed for it.

            Think about it for a minute with me. Jesus has these disciples, these loyal followers who say they will stand by Him no matter what. They will fight for Him. But when it comes time for Jesus to be arrested, they all run away. Peter is questioned in the courtyard about knowing Jesus and Peter denies it three times, denies Jesus. None of them are around during the beating, the whipping, the mocking, the scourging. And then hanging there on the cross, with His skin torn body scrapping up and down on that wooden cross, Jesus is forsaken, abandoned by the One He thought would never leave Him, His own heavenly Father. It’s just one of those days.

            And yet, that’s it. It’s just one of those days that saves you. Of all the different judgment days that are found in Scripture, just one of those days is necessary for salvation. The day on which Jesus died is just that day. On that day, God Himself who is bringing judgment enters into judgment. Jesus enters into God’s judgment for you and me. Jesus gives up His life in order that you can have eternal life. The day Jesus died … that is the one day.

            And you just need one of those days to know that you are God’s and to know that He is with you. Many think that once you become a Christian and start going to church that everything is going to be great in your life. But that’s not how it works. God tells us in His Word everything is not going to go the way we plan. When things don’t happen how we think they should, you get this sense that God’s against you, that everything is falling apart … when that happens, just hold on to that one day. Hold on to that one day because just one of those days is sufficient for your salvation. And one of these days, Jesus is coming back to restore you and to restore this creation to perfection forever Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.