God’s people

An eternal kingdom

One thing that is evident about empires that have existed on the earth is that they have all been temporary. Although some have survived for hundreds of years, none have been permanent. The kingdom God promised to David’s descendants was to be an eternal kingdom. It says of David’s son in 2 Samuel 7:13, “He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”

At first, this promise seemed to apply to king Solomon, but after his death, it became apparent that God would not be able to establish an eternal kingdom with a human king. The concept of a Messiah formulated over time and was clarified in Isaiah’s prophesy about Israel’s return to the Promised Land after their captivity. As a sign of God’s faithfulness, Isaiah stated, “Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son , and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Isaiah spoke plainly about God’s judgment, but assured the people that God intended to keep his promise to establish an eternal kingdom on earth. It says in Isaiah 9:6-7:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to stablish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

The timing of Israel’s captivity was important because the Assyrian empire that existed from 916 – 612 B.C. was the first empire comparable to Rome in organization. The Assyrian policy under king Tiglath-pileser was to reduce the whole civilized world into a single empire. God used the king of Assyria to execute judgment on Israel because Isaiah declared “every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer” (Isaiah 9:17).

In spite of God’s indignation toward his people, he didn’t want to destroy them completely. Isaiah indicated that a remnant would be saved and “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God” (Isaiah 10:21). The use of the Messianic title “The mighty God” made it clear that God’s plan would be carried out as a result of the people returning to the Promised Land.

In one sense, Assyrian captivity was preparation for survival under the Roman government. When Isaiah said about the Messiah, “the government shall be upon his shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6), he was referring to the burden of foreign rule. Even though the Assyrian empire self-destructed in 612 B.C., other empires would rise and fall, and God’s people were intended to survive them all.

The transition

Amos’ message to the people of Israel indicated they were entering into a time of transition. Things would be different for them in the future in both good and bad ways. One thing that was going to change was the people of Israel would no longer live as a collective group in a single location. Captivity would not only remove the people from their land, but also permanently separate them from each other. Since the time when Jacob’s family went to live in Egypt, all his descendants had remained together, but that would no longer be the case.

It says in Amos 8:2, “The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” The LORD used an illustration of a basket of summer fruit to describe what he would do to his people (Amos 8:1). He intended to remove them from their source of nourishment and distribute them to other locations. The LORD had been developing his people, tending to them as a farmer would his crop, and it was time for them to be harvested.

While fruit is on the tree, all of it receives the same nourishment, sunshine, rain, and fertilizer. During the harvesting process, the good fruit and the bad fruit are separated out. I believe the basket of summer fruit represented the good fruit the LORD intended to keep for himself. The bad fruit would be removed and destroyed. It says in Amos 8:3, “And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every  place, they shall cast them forth with silence.”

The arrangement God had with his people was that they would worship and serve him only (Deuteronomy 29:20). Even before the people entered the Promised Land, God knew they would forsake him (Deuteronomy 29:24-26). Captivity was a part of his plan from the beginning (Deuteronomy 30:3). I believe the reason God allowed the Israelites to practice idolatry for so many years was because of the effect it had on the surrounding nations. As wicked as the Ninevites were, even they believed, if they repented, God would forgive them (Jonah 3:9).

God was targeting a specific  segment of the population for destruction; those who refused to turn from their sin. The LORD declared, “All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us” (Amos 9:10). The people God had a problem with were the ones who thought they could get away with their sins; the ones who expected there to be no negative consequences for the bad things they were doing. God made it clear that Israel’s fortunes would be restored, but only those “which are called by my name” (Amos 9:12) would be there to enjoy it.