HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. Amos 8:1-2
Because we read the Bible in English, puns and other wordplays are lost in translation. Understanding this vision depends on a play on the Hebrew words translated “summer fruit” and “end.” Amos answers God’s question by saying he saw ripe fruit. But, when God responds, He uses a similar-sounding word to suggest the time was ripe for His people.
The fruit represents people. If ripe, they were ready either to be used or to rot. God says the time is ripe for picking Israel. God had tried to get the people to repent, but in their hardheaded and hardhearted way, they would not. John the Baptist uses a different metaphor for the Jews of his day: The axe is about to fall (Matthew 3:10). God’s patience had run out. He would “not pass by them anymore.” In their spiritually oblivious state, disaster would take them by surprise.
Could we be taken by surprise?
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (I Thessalonians 5:1-6)
This passage sounds strikingly similar to Amos 8. Could we be lulled into complacency? Is God’s hand involved in world events, while we think we have plenty of time before the end? Are we motivated to make use of the time left to us? God says the time is ripe. He gives us time to repent, but that time grows shorter daily.
Do not look at me to see what I am doing, Do not look at the elders to see what is going on. Look within your heart, and your life and see what you have to fix before time runs out and the door is closed. I urge you today to make your calling and election sure. The clock can strike midnight any time, for it is later than we can ever think. My beloved ministers, brothers and sisters in the Lord I call on you today to repent and confess the Name of the Lord before His people. AMEN
