Connect Amos 5:17 with other scriptures about God's presence during judgment. God’s presence in the vineyard of grief (Amos 5:17) Amos 5:17: “There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the LORD. • The Lord Himself—not merely an angel, not a natural disaster—moves through Israel in judgment. • His visitation is literal, personal, and unavoidable; the people feel it in their own fields and streets. A familiar echo: “I will pass through” • Exodus 12:12: “And on that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male… I am the LORD.” – In Egypt, the same phrase describes a decisive, night–time judgment. – Blood on the doorposts shielded those who trusted His word; absence of blood meant death. • Amos reverses the Exodus pattern: Israel now resembles Egypt, and the Lord’s passing brings wailing, not rescue. Snapshots of divine presence during judgment – “Follow him through the city… start killing; do not show pity.” – The Lord is “in their midst” (v. 9) as He marks the remnant and strikes the unrepentant. – “Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before Him…” – His approach terrifies both idols and people. – “God came from Teman… In wrath You marched across the earth; in fury You threshed the nations.” – The prophet sees a global procession of judgment. – Jesus “walks among the seven golden lampstands” (the churches), commending and correcting with searching eyes. – The same loving Lord who saves also threatens to “remove your lampstand” (v. 5) if repentance is refused. – “One like the Son of Man… swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.” – Final judgment is carried out by the visible, returning Christ. – The Lord Jesus is “revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in blazing fire,” giving “vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel.” – Judgment is described in terms of His manifested presence, not His absence. Two sides of the same presence • For the penitent, the Lord’s nearness is refuge (Exodus 12:13; Zephaniah 3:17). • For the unrepentant, that same nearness is terror (Amos 5:17; Revelation 6:15-17). • Scripture never presents judgment as God stepping back; He steps in. His holiness demands a response. Living in light of the Lord who walks among us • His Word is trustworthy—every promise of blessing and every warning of judgment will stand. • The blood of Christ now marks the doorposts of believing hearts; when He passes through the world again, those under the blood are safe (John 5:24). • Ongoing repentance and obedience keep us ready for the day “He comes to be glorified in His saints” (2 Thessalonians 1:10). |
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