“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” (Am 9:13-14 AV)
Verses 11-15 of the last chapter of Amos are encouraging words toward Israel regarding its restoration and coming prosperity. The ironic thing is that a few verses earlier, Amaziah and the princes of Israel tried to quiet the prophet. They tried to pressure him to return to Judah, whence he came, and tend his sheep. They did not like his words of judgment against Israel and Jeroboam II. Because there was great prosperity under this secular king, they believed their lack of sacred fervor was excusable. By the mouth of God’s man, that was not so. If successful, they would have shut down the preaching of the prophet when they needed it most. They would have quieted him right before the best part came. They would have unplugged the mic just before they received the encouragement they needed. Whether we like it or not, we need to hear the hard things before the comforting things come.
So, our journey with cancer has been an enormous learning experience. We are blessed in that the LORD did not give us something we could not handle. It is a slow-growing cancer that is manageable. Some live with this cancer for decades. Initially, we did not hear the good news. We just heard the bad things. Not that our care team wasn’t telling us, but we were shocked and scared. We didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. To us, there was no rainbow. A few months into our journey, we switched oncologists. Our first doctor was great. But she was not a specialist with this rare cancer. She was replaced by a rather well-known specialist who was a contributing physician to what is now the standard of care for this cancer. She helped to create the first-line defense medication. Our first visit, she gave us the worst before she gave us reassurance. There are four levels of treatment as this disease progresses. Each one more toxic than the last. By the time a patient is receiving level four, we are talking months instead of years. No one likes change. This kind of change is especially difficult. Our oncologist lays out the likely future. We got the bad news first. However, over the last three years of dealing with this, we have heard many encouraging bits of news. Treatments for this cancer are growing exponentially. What was available twenty years ago is a small fraction of what is available today. The bad news had to come first. We would have canceled all our appointments and given up. If we cut off the messenger before she gave the good news, then there would be no hope.
Amos, like most prophets, gives much warning. They plead with their audience to get right with God. They name names. They name sins. It is not a comfortable experience for preacher or congregant. But if we do not hear the bad news, we will never hear the good news. The good news is predicated on the bad news. The gospel is only relevant to those who realize their sinful nature. The lost person who accepts Christ must come to the truth that sin offends God. God is the Creator and has the right to demand holiness from His creation. We have angered a holy God, and damnation is our reward. Again, difficult to hear. The gospel is deliverance from our sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel has no meaning if the bad news of damnation is never mentioned. So, too, must the child of God accept the terms of God’s ministry? Yes, there is comfort. Yes, there is strength. Yes, there is encouragement. But we cannot subsist on a constant diet of dessert. The main entrée is necessary for the dessert to taste sweet. If they shut down the preaching of Amos, they will never hear of the promise of restoration. If we shut down the warnings of the preacher, we will never hear of the good news to come.
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