Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel (Amos 4:12 NIV).
This is a direct challenge. It calls you to prepare to meet your God. He is going to strike in greater judgments than so far seen. The reason for this challenge is the fact that you have not returned to God even though He had sent token signs of judgment.
You were not willing to learn the lesson that God tried to teach you through previous judgments. Therefore God Himself is challenging you to prepare to meet Him.
If men challenge us we can still have some hope of confronting them and by some device meet their challenge. What hope do you have to meet this challenge of God? Is it possible to be found strong to stand before this God? These are questions we cannot even think of answering.
So the best remedy is to prepare not to meet Him. Do not be surprised at this statement. Stated fully it would read, prepare not to meet Him in judgment.
For He had challenged you to meet Him in the judgment He is going to bring. The best way to avoid that is to return to Him before it is too late. There might still be a ray of hope.
That ray of hope is found in the phrase “your God.” God is still “your God.” He has not disowned you yet. Therefore there is hope yet. Even though He has challenged you, if you return to Him even at this late hour, He will receive you.
He will not continue to challenge you again. For His very purpose in doing so was make you return to Him. Now that you have done so He remains “your God!” That is a blessed thought!
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