Sincere Desire?

“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.” (Am 5:18 AV)

Do not the people of God look forward to His coming?  If so, what is this all about?  Amos is a cattleman from Judah sent to the northern ten tribes of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II.  That makes him a contemporary of Jonah and Hosea.  Given the context, this statement makes all the sense in the world.  Jeroboam II was the longest reigning king of the northern ten tribes.  During his reign, Israel experienced the greatest financial revival of the history of Israel.  Jeroboam II was not antagonistic toward the LORD nor frustrated His prophets.  He did not support them.  There was no sacred revival.  But the prophets and priests of God have liberty to minister with interference.  The Day of the LORD is His incarnation.  The statement is more of thumbing the nose at the LORD than it is a genuine desire for the coming of the LORD.  Israel figured that since they were prosperous, then the coming of the LORD was much further than was being preached.  This desire was not sincere.  It was a dare.  It was a challenge offered by a rebellious people who were living in prosperity outside of the sacred demands of the law.  In God’s mercy, judgment was delayed for an opportunity toward repentance.  This was the ministry of Amos.  God was coming regardless of how well they had it.

Lack of God’s correction does not indicate that the LORD condones our choices.  More times than not, it is an extension of His grace.  We do this with our children all the time.  They are misbehaving, so we warn them.  They continue until the hammer comes down.  Our delay is seen as lack of commitment to our word.  Imagine a father sitting in his recliner enjoying reading the evening news.  His son is on the floor picking on his little sister.  Dad tells his son to stop, or there will be a spanking.  A minute later, the son picks up where he left off.  Again, terrorizing his sister, he is warned for the second time that if he doesn’t stop, there will come a spanking.  Dad does not get up from his chair, so the boy continues.  When his daughter is brought to tears, Dad can no longer ignore his son’s behavior.  The child is dealt with.  He is surprised.  With a shocked look on his face, he is brought to a room and given corrective incentive.  Why did dad do this?  He didn’t move after several times of verbal warning.  Why now?  I thought he wasn’t serious.  Why am I crying harder than my sister?  This isn’t fair.  He let me get away with it for a time.  Why now?

Israel was going through exactly the same.  They may have been profitable and industrious.  They may have used their prosperity to peacefully raise their families and protect their nation.  What they refused to do is use the blessing of God as the means to follow the LORD in all things.  This reminds me a lot of our nation and churches.  We enjoy the blessing of God earned by our forefathers.  We enjoy a mini revival of sorts in our current days.  But there is no real spiritual awakening in our nation and churches.  How do I know?  There are no large-scale conversions rooted in true repentance and faith.  What is being reported is a cultural revival much like those we see every twenty years or so.  Churches are still shrinking.  Pews are still empty.  The vices that define our nation are still a concern.  Those professing a faith in Christ want nothing to do with sacrificial service or sanctification from the world.  God is not mocked.  He knows the true nature of our condition.  Just like Israel above, our current crop of saints mock the coming of Christ.  They see it as so far off that it is of no concern.  Therefore, sin is not a factor in our current preaching.  It is sad, really.  Do we want the coming of Christ?  Why?  Or, are we simply putting it out of our minds because we think our times are good?