Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?
Amos 3:7-8
GOD does nothing in the earth unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets. Does this mean that prophets alone have access to His secrets? No, but it does mean that there is a dimension in God that is released by the mouth of the prophet. The ministry of the prophet is to speak the word of God without being presumptuous, or speaking their own mind. To the extent that the secrets that are revealed are intended to instruct the people of God in righteousness; to warn us when we stray; to speak prophetically about things to come.
A lion has roared! Who will not fear? — the sound of a roaring lion causes fear and gets the attention of all who hear. This is the effect of a prophet lifting their voice to speak the word of God. This fear however, does not torment, it causes a holy reverence to arise for the LORD of all the earth. Rebellion and disobedience take a backseat when the fear of the LORD rises up in us. Sometimes the things that lead us astray are hidden, so these secrets must be revealed in order to bring us back into alignment with the Holy One. There are times in the life of a nation that we lack direction as it is written in Judges 17:6 — In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Because everyone is right in their own eyes, we need to hear from GOD in a way that convicts and even rebukes in order to keep us in His will.
Old Testament prophets were feared and sometimes disliked because whatever they said came to pass. There are two examples that make these points, the first is found in 1 Samuel 16:4-5; So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” Notice that the Elders trembled simply because Samuel showed up, because he was a prophet whose words never fell to the ground. The second example is found in 1 Kings 22:8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And also in verse 14 — And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” The king hated Micaiah for speaking the word of God; yet the prophet was undeterred because he spoke whatever the LORD said to him, good, bad or indifferent.
The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? — when the Lord GOD speaks the one who is appointed to prophesy must speak up and speak out. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” [Romans 9:19] No human has the strength to resist the Lord. Yet because He has given us free will, He speaks through secrets by His servants that causes us to fall on our faces; as we recognize that He has surely spoken.
The love of God for His children is so strong that He chases after us with His word. His word always leads us into the path of righteousness. You and I need to know that hidden mysteries are revealed to draw us nearer to Him. May we never despise the secrets that are revealed by the word of the LORD, even if they seem to be harsh in the moment. Be assured and know that all things work together for our good, because we love God and are called according to His purpose.
Maranatha
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