The Day of Yahweh: A Misunderstood Concept

The following sample essay on “Day of Yahweh” talks about The Day of Yahweh is the day that most people associate with a period of time or a certain day that will occur when God’s will and purpose for His world and for mankind will be fulfilled.

Some people believe that the day of the Lord will be a longer period of time than a single day- a period of time when Christ will reign throughout the world before He cleanses heaven and earth in preparation for the eternal promise of all mankind.

Other scholars believe the day of the Lord will be an instantaneous event when Christ returns to earth to redeem His faithful believers and send unbelievers to eternal damnation. We can find support and promises of this throughout the Bible. In summation according to Amos 5, the DOY (Day of Yahweh) will be a day of darkness like we have never experienced or are even able to fathom.

For the first time people of the earth will experience God’s total, all powerful wrath. We will see that the things of this world that we have sought after that we consider to be necessities will be stripped from us and account for nothing.

Our views of greatness such as fame, fortune, and our own personal images will be for nothing as God unleashes His wrath upon the people of the earth. “The New Testament calls it a day of “wrath,” a day of “visitation,” and the “great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14) and refers to a still future fulfillment when God’s wrath is poured out on unbelieving Israel (Isaiah 22; Jeremiah 30:1-17; Joel 1-2; Amos 5; Zephaniah 1) and on the unbelieving world (Ezekiel 38–39; Zechariah 14)”.

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(Got Questions Ministries) Are people of the world ready for this day that is nearing?

The Old Testament was prophesying the day as a day that is near and forth coming. In Isaiah 13:6 it says, “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near…” Just how long away is this day? Just glancing at the passage it appears that God wants the Israelites to go above and beyond what they are presently doing. The passage begins by warning them of their expectation of the DOY. Why does God warn against something that had been in some cases a positive thing for God’s people? Is God trying to end the encouraging feeling of the anticipation of the DOY by telling about the punishment that awaits them?

The passage continues and says “it will be darkness, and not light” in verse 18. This is repeated again in verse 20, (“…Is it not very dark? ”) Why does Amos repeat this? Also something to think about, for whom is it going to be dark? Is who “you”? At first glance it looks like the letter seems to be aimed at the house of Israel, which Amos repeats later on in verse 25. So, that does not leave much room for debate. In verse 19, the passage continues by giving an suggestive metaphor for what this “day” will be like (“fled from lion, and a bear met him…”).

We can conclude from this that this event is inescapable and so is God’s wrath, but after we experience this will there be relief? First, it is said that the Lord hates the various feast days and their assemblies and offerings that people are giving to the Lord in verse 21. The texts go on to talk about other practices which God detests including their music, worship and songs (v. 23). It does not look like there is much hope for the nation of Israel. Why is God so sickened by the acts of worship and praise that they are offering to Him? God offers some relief in verse 24.

The tone changes and it looks like there is a solution for God’s people. Amos says “let justice roll down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream…. ” The main question concerning this is what type of offerings were they giving to God and what was their intent? Intent seems to be very important to God here. Amos then questions the period of time they spent in the desert, and asks “did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness for forty years..? ” (v. 25). Whether this is rhetorical or a question requiring a response is something that needs to be examined.

Then there is the mention of a number of idols or deities that the Israelites took comfort in while they were in the desert. There are various interpretations of verse 26. Also there are contrasting opinions as to whether the answer to the question is meant to be answered or if it is rhetorical. Whichever way you view the question, whatever they did it was displeasing to God. It appears that if they did perform the sacrificial rituals the problem was that the sacrifices were not directed towards God and if they did not offer sacrifices they were neglecting their duties.

However, there is another possibility and that is to show that the desert sacrifices, as insufficient as they may have been, were more pleasing to God that the more magnificent sacrifices of the present. This would be more in concurrence with the later teachings of the New Testament (Mark 12:42). But in addition there are other possible alternatives especially that verse 25 and verse 26 put side by side each other to distinguish between the then and the now. Given these statements, one must ask what can one person ultimately say in conclusion about the meaning of Amos?

The difference in the DOY according to Amos, we can conclude that Amos was not a “normal” prophet. Given the repetitiveness of “day” in the book of Amos it would seem fair to say he is an eschatological prophet. “For some of the prophets, this Day would be one of punishment for Israel alone; for others, the gentiles would be the target of the Lord’s wrath; for most, the judgment would come on Israel and gentiles alike. All prophets believed that this Day would lead to repentance and redemption” (Bacon, 2010).

This was common in the Hebrew context, the prophet using a common reference (DOY) with dual significance. In this case, although many scholars debate it, it would seem that the DOY is a festival of some sort or other deity related festivals, but the ultimate significance was the fact that the real DOY would be something less than encouraging, if the people do not change their ways.

Bibliography

1. Bacon, S. (2010). The day of the Lord. The Jewish Quarterly , 149-156.
2. Got Questions Ministries. (2002-2010). What is the day of the Lord? Retrieved November 8, 2010, from www. gotquestions. org