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December 15

“The lion has roared— so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— so who can refuse to proclaim his message?” (Amos 3:8, NLT) 
This can be found on one of the Cleveland Zoological Society blogs:  “…one of the ways animals communicate with each other is through a variety of sounds. On a visit to the Zoo you may hear many animals huffing, grunting, panting, and, for some big cats, roaring. Lions are very social for large carnivores, living in prides in the wild. Male lions will use their roar to scare off intruders and warn the pride of potential danger. It’s also a show of power among other males.  Lion roars can be heard for up to 5 miles away. That means when the Zoo’s male lion, Doc, roars, everyone notices!”  What is not quite made clear in this explanation is that with the roar, the lion is marking his territory.  He is telling the other lions to stay away.  He is claiming his resting place.  You would be foolish to ignore the roar of a lion.

In the book of Amos, God is described as a lion who roared.  In our scripture for today found in Amos 3:8, we are told that when a lion roars, “Who isn’t frightened?”.  The roar of the lion is meant as a warning, something to be feared.  When God “roars”, He is also to be feared and respected.  When this happened in the days of Amos, God was marking HIS territory, Israel, from the other nations and gods.  The Lord was telling all people that the people of Israel were HIS people, the nation was HIS special domain.   At the same time, God was saying to the people of Israel and Judah that they better show respect to “the God who roars”.  In the days of Amos, the people had fallen into sin.  They ignored the worship of God to follow sinful ways.  To those who had chosen sin over Him, God was roaring to let the people know that HE was in control of the land and that they were to respect Him.

When God “roared” in the days of Amos, the people of Israel should have taken clear notice.   However, many did not.  Amos remarked of the faithless priests and prophets who knew God had roared and said nothing that “The Sovereign Lord has spoken – so who can refuse to proclaim His message?” (Amos 3:8).  Amos was shocked that respected spiritual people and leaders ignored God’s warnings against sin.  He was deeply saddened that the spiritual leaders did not speak openly of God’s will.  They knew what God wanted but were reluctant to explain God’s roaring.

In your lifetime, there may be multiple times when God “roars”.  God may be telling others that you are part of His pride.  He may be marking His territory, claiming you for one of His family.   On the other hand, God might also “roar” when He wants you to listen and respect His leadership.  God will roar in order to stop sin in your life or to warn you of a dangerous path you are on.   Whenever God “roars”, you should listen and heed God’s meaning.

There is a story told in Africa of a roaring lion.  The story begins by telling of a lion that was far away from all humans near a river crossing.  The lion was king of that region.  All other animals feared the lion.  However, during a drought, the river dried up.  Fewer and few animals came to feed at the river crossing.  In response, the lion moved upriver farther and farther.  Villages upriver began to hear a lion roar.  Then, the roar came closer and closer.  Several villagers decided that the lion would go back down the river when the rains came.  They were wrong.  Despite hearing the lion’s roar, they did not give the lion enough room.  One night, the lion came and took them.   People from that village forever learned that if you could hear the lion roar, you moved to a safer place.  You did what was needed.  You heeded the call.
​

In your life, watch for times when God “roars”.  You may detect God’s voice shouting about a wrong, an abusive situation, a past sin, a need for you.   God usually doesn’t need to roar.  God may use a still small voice as in the case of Elijah (1 Kings 19).  God may use the voice of a child, the sound of a trumpet, and many other things.  However, when God is making a very important point, God may “roar” up a storm. 
Not long after God roared in the days of Amos, foreign invaders destroyed much of Israel.   God wanting things to be different, but the people did not heed God’s warnings.  They ignored God’s roar.
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