Time for "That Day"

This morning my Bible opened right to Amos 9, which is some of my favorite imagery speaking about what I call "Days of Acceleration". This morning I was reflecting on these verses an noticed a few things I had not seen before, and did some research on the verses as well.  Here are the verses - Amos 9:9-15 NIV:

[9] “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. [10] All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'

[11] “In that day “I will restore David's fallen shelter---I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins---and will rebuild it as it used to be, [12] so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name, ” declares the Lord, who will do these things.

[13] “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, [14] and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

[15] I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God."

I love verses 11-15, but this morning I felt it was important to include verses 9 & 10, for that is the context in which "That day" occurs.  There is a dramatic component to the revelation, restoration and revivals of God, and many times they seem to follow difficult times.  On the way to church this past Sunday, my honey and I were talking about how the US is certainly being attacked and beaten on by the enemy, by forces that mean to cause destruction and chaos.  We see fires and hurricanes, and at the same time riots and protests, social upheavals, racial and political violence, and even direct attacks against the church.  In this country for sure the times are darkening, however it is within the darkening days that the light of Christ is supposed to shine brighter.  I am reminded of Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV:

[1] “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. [2] See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. [3] Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

Going back to the verses from Amos, we see the Lord commanding a time of shaking preceding the prophetic message of increase and restoration, and the earlier verses of the chapter are filled with images of God's wrath, and again it is into this that we see "That Day" appear.  It is important to note, that these verses were written prior to the revelation of Jesus, who was the only one to perfectly represent the Father (Heb 1:3) and as such, we must read these verses with our understanding of Jesus' revelation, for He didn't come to Judge the world, but to save the world (John 3:16-17). 

Additionally, if you read the preceding verses you see that in spite of all the difficulty, that God maintains his attention on His people and the shaking that is spoken of in verse nine, is actually the process of separation, out from where they have been driven.  It is within this context that God then speaks prophetically of restoring the "shelter" of David.  The actual Hebrew word means a rude shack or hut, and this is symbolic of how run down the House of David had become.  The Lord will be about restoring and repairing and rebuilding that which has gone into disrepair.  The people are separated out from their place of refuge and hiding, restored to their proper possession of land, and then blessed with abundance!  Amos goes back and forth between the work of God and the co-work of the people (See verses 11 and verse 14), and there is a sense of partnership, and blessing.

Finally, the days of rapid fruitfulness, of abundance beyond natural means, the days when fruit grows where it once never did (Grapes don't grow well in Mountains), and all of it happening at the same time are an amazing picture of true revival.  Having studied many of the great revivals, there is a sense of absolute divine acceleration and abundance, people experiencing salvation in a moment, people who have no intention of meeting God, being overcome with a spirit of repentance, whole cities, towns and villages experiencing massive waves of salvation, even in places that were considered resistant or unfruitful for years.  What a glorious picture of blessing, abundance and permanence.

It is my prayer that we are entering into such times as these, for clearly we are being shaken!  I pray that this will cause God to be glorified in His Church, and that we will see days of abundant, rapid, overflowing blessings, salvations, healings, miracles, signs and wonders as we experience "That Day" of revival and restoration!

Amen!