Amos 8:7–10

The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their works.
Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like the River,
Heave and subside
Like the River of Egypt.

“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.

As depressing as the book of Amos has been, suddenly we get a passage that’s a collection of images of the crucifixion of Christ.

The earthquake is referenced with, “Shall the land not tremble for this.”

The falling darkness matches, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight.”

“I will turn your feasts into mourning,” coincides with the Passover feast.

God’s only begotten is the “only son.”

One can find other, less precise fits like, “the pride of Jacob,” which can mean many things, including Christ.

Prophesy has a “bomb-dropping” style to it. It’s full of surprises, even surprising surprises.

Those surprises are by design. They are part of God’s style. He does glorious things that we don’t expect, in glorious ways that we don’t expect.

The whole course of Old Testament history is one tragedy after another. It’s sin, upon sin, upon sin.

It’s a total disaster—except that it’s not. All those negatives are to set the stage for redemption.

Christ is coming.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.