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"The LORD is His name"

Text: Amos 5:8

THE GREATNESS OF GOD

Ancient Israel had lost its fear of the Lord God and thus it sinned wantonly. Amos sought to remind the erring sinful nation of the greatness of their Sovereign God.

“He made the Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
The LORD is His name.
He rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.”
Amos 5:8-9

1. Presenting God as the mighty Creator

a) He is the Creator of the universe.

i) Pleiades and Orion

ii) These were clusters of stars that were used by mariners from the earliest times.

b) He is the Creator of Day and night.

i) Deep night is described poetically as “the shadow of death”.

ii) The shadow of death gives way to morning at God’s decree.

c) He is the Creator of Nature

i) He created the water vapours.

ii) And makes rain that is poured out on the earth.

d) The name of the Creator God

i) His mighty name is “The LORD”.

ii) He is the LORD God who gave to Israel its covenant (Exodus 6:3-8).

iii) The LORD is not to be trifled with but to be feared and revered!

2. Presenting the LORD as Judge

a) He can bring physical rain.

b) He can also rain ruin.

c) Even the mightiest cannot withstand His judgment when He brings ruin and destruction.

3. The fury of the Lord

The Lord can grant grace and mercy, but it is also His prerogative to pour out His righteous fury on the fortress of the nation of Israel. No human citadel can withstand the might of the fury of the Lord God unleashed! If only Israel had understood what it means to fear the LORD their God!