Roaring Like a Lion

 The voice of the LORD roars according to [Amos 1:2]. Roar is defined as a full, deep, prolonged cry of a lion or another large beast. God often speaks in a still small voice like a whisper. There are other times when God roars like a lion to get His message across. 

I read in a book recently about a lady who visited a jungle wild game preserve. On their guide through the preserve they came up on some lions. One of them began to roar. She commented that the roar of lion in a zoo does not do justice compared to the roar of a lion in the wild. She said the sound shook her to her core. She felt it in her bones and described it as terrifying. 

The voice of God can be like that. Loud. Terrifying. Penetrating. Like when He calls people to repentance. That is the context of Amos. God is calling out His people to turn from their evil ways. His voice thundered through the prophets. His voice thundered through John the Baptist who called people to repentance as He prepared the way for Jesus. Through the ages God's voice roared through powerful preachers pointing people to the way of salvation like George Whitfield. It continued through the ages through the proclamations of Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and more recently through Billy Graham. God roared through these servants. 

There have been times when God wanted to get my attention He roared through His word like a lion. The message came through loud and clear. I could not deny it, ignore it, and dared not rebel against His commands. 

Lions are ferocious. They are also fearless. They are called the king of the jungle. Jesus is the Lion of Judah. Also fearless in His rule and reign. He has no equals. Nobody is above Him. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. [I Tim 6:15]. His name is exalted above every other name and one day all people will proclaim He is Lord. [Phil 2:9-11] 

When lions roar people pay attention. There is no mistaken who makes that sound. It is distinctly loud and authoritative. Today, it seems most people do not listen to the voice of the Lion of Judah. Pulpit expositors seem to preach in vain. Hard preaching prophets are ignored just like people did in Jeremiah's day. Mark it down. God is roaring. Just look up into the heavens. The prophet Joel prophesied God would speak in the heavens. [Joel 2:30-31] In recent days we had a blood moon. This will be followed soon by a solar eclipse and with all the planets aligning. God is roaring to get our attention to repent just like in Amos' day. The day of impending judgment is on the horizon. Are we listening?