God’s prophetic announcement of judgment on sin is one of the most prominent themes in the Old Testament. The writing prophets, of course, carry the dominant message of “The Day Of The Lord” throughout their writings. That term usually refers to the time of all times when God’s justice is administered to an unjust world. The climactic message of Amos is that God’s judgment will even fall upon his own people, Israel & Judah, for their sins. Yet, God never leaves his sinful people without hope. In chapter 9:14-15, He closed his prophecy with a message of hope. He says, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.”
One of my favorite verses is from another Old Testament prophet who also prophesied the judgment of God upon his own people, Judah. Jeremiah’s prophecy was the last before the destruction of Jerusalem took place, along with the destruction of the temple. But God left his people with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you declares the lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I have heard pastors try to limit this verse only to the restoration of the remnant back to their own land, as recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. I like the way Randy Alcorn summarizes his discussion on this subject. He writes, “Yes, Jeremiah was writing to his fellow Israelites. But so were Moses, Samuel, and David, and nearly all the prophets. That’s true of virtually the entire Old Testament, which, in hundreds of cases, the New Testament freely applies to the church, followers of Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike. Israel was God’s people, and it’s no stretch to say that today’s believers, the church, are also God’s people. So verses that were written to Israel are also written for the church.”
The coming of the Lord is called “The Blessed Hope” of all believers in the New Testament. No matter what befalls us in life, we have this hope. In Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we can stand secure in our relationship with God. We, as children of God, have a great and blessed hope in the return of our Savior Jesus Christ. Titus speaks to us in Titus 2:13 about “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Knowing that the Lord is going to return and take us to be with Himself as he promised in the Gospel of John, we have a “Living Hope,” as Peter calls it, that carries us through our toughest days on earth. This is what Jeremiah intended for the children of Israel in Slavery in Babylon. This is also what God intends for his children, you and me, as we suffer in the “valley of the shadow of death” awaiting the blessed day of His return.