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The Vineyard from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

I have always admired Amos, who was a shepherd in a field when the Lord told him to go and prophesy to King Jeroboam in Bethel. The priest Amaziah told him to prophesy somewhere else. They weren't interested in what the Lord had to say, but Amos stood his ground and told them the message the Lord had given him. That took courage.

(Amos 7:12–16 NKJV)  Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.” Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now therefore, hear the word of the LORD: ...'

Amos, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah lived during a dark time in the history of Israel. Their forefathers had forsaken the living God and replaced Him with something else—a more passive, placebo god. A placebo is a harmless pill designed to merely calm or please someone. It has no therapeutic effect. The word comes from Latin and literally means "I shall please." The Israelites had created a pleasing god that was easy to get along with.

It was a strange situation. They had built the altars and temples for God, but He had left the building. So the priests continued their daily offerings and rituals though God was sick of them (Isaiah 1:14, Jeremiah 6:20, 7:21, Hosea 4:13). Oddly enough, church life can continue long after God has left the building.

The Lord had told them: "Listen to My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people, and walk in the way that I command you" (Jeremiah 7:23). Yet, they turned that commandment into rote tradition, and became more wicked than the people the Lord had driven out before them. They kept a long list of religious rules but had no relationship with God anymore. They were spiritually dead, and it became the blind leading the blind. God sent Jeremiah to warn them and tell them the truth, but instead of listening to his words, they became furious and wanted to kill him. 

(Jeremiah 26:7–8 NKJV)  So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die!

God's word was no longer welcome in His own house, and they beat His prophets and put them in jail (Jeremiah 20:2). Many of the kings hated the prophets of the Lord because of His loving correction: 

(2 Chronicles 18:6–7 NKJV)  But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?” So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil."

The Lord sent many messengers to try and correct them, but they beat them, stoned them, and refused to acknowledge that God had sent them at all (1Kings 13:1). That is what the parable Jesus told of the tenants was about: 

(Mark 12:1–3 NKJV)  Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

(Mark 12:4–8 NKJV)  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

Jesus was the Son in the parable who was killed, but they had killed so many of the Lord's prophets before Him. Amos was a shepherd and a farmer, but God gave him a message for Israel and sent him to them to try and wake His people up. 

God's priests were spiritually deaf and simply continued their daily drudgery. They stubbornly rejected His correction and led the people into worshiping a fake placebo god. The high priest told God's prophet Amos to get out and stay out.

(Isaiah 1:19–20 NKJV)  If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

They refused and rebelled, so when God had enough, He stirred up Assyria to destroy Israel and carry the people into exile. Then, the kingdom of Babylon captured Judah. They burned the cities, destroyed the temples, and carried the people far away to be servants in a foreign land. God gave the nation a reboot and started over, much like the flood during Noah's day. 

Jeremiah prophesied that after seventy years in exile, God would visit them and bring them back to Israel (Jeremiah 29:10). So when the seventy years were up, Daniel began praying, fasting, and reminding God of His word to them (Daniel 9:2).

Isaiah had prophesied 150 years before Cyrus became king that he would be the one to rebuild the Lord's temple (Isaiah 44:28). So God called King Cyrus by name about 150 years before he came on the scene.

(Isaiah 44:28 NKJV)  Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’

Isaiah prophesied that the temple would be rebuilt before the temple of Solomon was even destroyed. This is the time when Ezra and Nehemiah lived. The seventy years in exile were completed. King Cyrus, a pagan king who was used by God, gave the order to rebuild the temple of God at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1). The remnants of the Jewish people began returning home after spending those seventy years in exile.

God always has a redemption plan in place before His judgment comes. When the world was destroyed by a flood in Noah's time, God kept a remnant alive to rebuild it. When Israel was destroyed and taken into exile, God brought a remnant back safely to rebuild. Isaiah's prophesying of Cyrus 150 years before shows that God was already working on the way to restore a proper relationship with His people before their fall began. 

God always makes a way for the fallen to return to His family, not as an outcast but as a fully accepted, loved person of status, just as the prodigal son returned home to a feast, a signet ring, the finest robe, and sandals (Luke 15:22). 

Remember that you are a child of the Most High God, and no matter what you have done in your life, God wants you with Him. He was working out the way for you to return before you ever left. He already set the time for you to go free before you were taken captive. He knows you by name, and even the hairs of your head are all numbered (Luke 12:7). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask for and accept Your forgiveness for my sins. Please help me return to You in every area of my life. Consume me with Your love, Lord, and let me see through Your eyes today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!