Tag: Lord Jesus Christ

Zacchaeus: The Fruit of the Sycomore Tree

Amos 7:12 “Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”

There are several prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (according to the scriptures) in the provided portion from the book of Amos. I heard a saying, this will not be an exact rendition, but I agree with it: “The Bible is shallow enough for a toddler to drink from & deep enough for scholar to swim & never touch the bottom.” Even the punctuation marks are not idle when it comes to the word of God.

That being the case, let us shift our focus to one thing–the sycomore fruit in Amos 7:14. I believe this prophesy was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ with Zacchaeus. In Luke 19, the Lord is not ambiguous in respect to the kind of tree that Zacchaeus climbed. When he climbed the sycomore tree, he became it’s de facto fruit. It was a delightful blessing from the Lord this morning. Many times, like many other Christians, I read the passage concerning Zacchaeus & never had a second thought about the kind of tree he climbed. Even the traditional hymn Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man mentions the kind of tree. Thus, God tells us the kind of tree & if God says it–it is important:

Luke 19:1 “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

 

 

The Molten Calf

 

Exodus 32:1 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”

2 Peter 2:3 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

Many men have grown weary of waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ to return to Earth. Many lifetimes have passed during this wait. When Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, the Israelites surmised that he may never return. They convinced the high priest Aaron to make them an idol–the molten calf.

I view modern political systems much like the molten calf. I pay attention to politics because there are groups who would label my King James Bible as hate speech & introduce legal consequences for even owning it. I will not let that happen without a peep. However, I understand that we men & our political systems will not build the kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

Many Christians have been drawn away by socialism (communism). Do they believe we will build the kingdom of Heaven and then the Lord Jesus will descend to rule? Is their goal a Karl Marx sort of heaven? What a lousy heaven, I have much higher expectations. The communists/socialists only use for the Bible is to find choice fragments that support their political system. They do not believe the Bible at all–it is only a tool to draw Christians to chase after their molten calf. Their “Jesus” is never given the titles of Lord or Christ. His mention is more akin to Lenin, Stalin or Mao.

There will not be a building, but rather a falling away first (2 Thess 2:3) before the Lord Jesus returns–just like before Moses came down from the mountain. Love thy neighbour is good, but that is half the story. What about the first and great commandment? The communist often reduce everything to love your neighbor, but their love is based off democratic moral relativism. Communists have completely altered what is preached in many Churches nowadays. Climate Change, healthcare, psychology or obsessively preaching about racism or sexism. We are bombarded by those issues by every secular institution & media. The ad nauseam doctrine of the world is not going to help a soul who has hit rock bottom. We need the word of God.

Many professed Christians I have met do not believe the Bible. They treat me like I am crazy for believing the events were real. They have a molten calf of their own, the theory of evolution (amongst other things) & love your neighbor. I am not sure if this is only western civilization’s falling away or the final falling away? I expect things to become much worse. That is not a prophecy, that is observing the trend. Either way the patience of the saints is mentioned in the book of Revelation (Rev 13:10, 14:12).

Moses came down from the mountain & the Lord Jesus Christ will return. Keep reading the Bible and do not lose the faith.