Daily Devotions
Amos
"I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good"
Text: Amos 9:4
THE EYES OF THE LORD
The psalmists would sometimes describe the loving eyes of the Lord looking after His children who fear Him (Psalm 33:18; 34:15). However, in this solemn prophetic declaration we have a different perspective of how the Lord would see renegade and unrepentant Israel!
“‘Though they dig into hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
And though they hide themselves on top of Carmel,
From there I will search and take them;
Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea,
From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword,
And it shall slay them.
I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.'”
Amos 9:2-4
1. “I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good”
a) Israel had nineteen kings.
b) All of them were idolatrous.
c) Every single one was wicked.
d) The end had come for the nation.
e) God’s eyes would no longer spare them.
f) The nation of Israel could not be described as a righteous nation in any way.
2. There would be no escape
a) Figurative expressions of places of refuge:
i) Hell
ii) Heaven
iii) Bottom of the sea
They would not escape the judgment that the Lord had determined and pronounced (Amos 8:2).
b) Literal expressions
i) Top of Mount Carmel.
ii) Surrendering to the enemies and becoming captives.
c) Still rejecting the word of God!
Those who sought to escape were not repentant. They would not turn to the Lord in sorrowful penitence. They were still thinking that they could escape the solemn judgment of the Lord!