[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2025]
The Wikipedia entry for today[1] attributes the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem to this date in 587BC. Solomon’s Temple was a magnificent structure, described in detail in the books of I Kings and II Chronicles. For several centuries it served as the focal point for the worship of God in Israel.
But the good times did not last. Moses instructed the Israelites to teach the laws of God to their children and their children’s children[2] but, as the years passed, the sincerity and enthusiasm of earlier generations gave way to formality, indifference and eventual neglect. Can we recognise a similar pattern in more modern times?
We are living in a period of spiritual indifference, in a society where the law of the Lord is considered insignificant. What lessons can we learn from those who experienced the same decline before us?
Amos was a shepherd and an arborist in Judah but God called him to warn many middle-eastern nations, including Israel and Judah, of impending punishment.
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, … So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.
Amos 2 v 4-5 [ESVUK]
One test for the veracity of a prophet is whether their words come true. The prophet Jeremiah recorded how the words of Amos were fulfilled:
… Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem;
Jeremiah 52 v 12-13 [ESVUK]
The prophecies of the Old Testament prophets were not limited to the times in which they lived. Some were indeed, to our perspective, historical. Others such as the visions of Daniel are considered to be referring to events at a safe distance in the future. However, returning to the words of Amos, we see a warning that has a contemporary relevance:
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds.
Amos 1 v 6-7 [ESVUK]
The Bible is accurate in its records of the past, it is relevant in the present and it offers a glimpse of the future. It is more than a book of rules; it includes warnings and offers guidance and assurance. Shouldn’t we be taking it more seriously in our every-day lives?
References:
[1] wikipedia, 29 July
[2] Deuteronomy 6:7
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Last week’s reflection: Shouldn’t, Couldn’t, Wouldn’t
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys
Thanks Steve. It was when I realised years ago of the truth of Bible prophecy that the Bilble came even more alive for me.