Divine Justice

“Hear this Word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.’” Amos 3:1-2

Israel repaid God’s love with betrayal. He made a covenant with them like unto a man marrying a woman. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” He preferred Israel above all others. Therefore, Israel’s action against Him warranted a noticeable reaction.

“Can two walk together unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:3-8

God had walked with Israel until she began to place others before Him and diminish His importance unto her. God could not agree with her idolatrous ways. A lion roars when it has prey. A bird is captured due to being trapped. A signal is sounded when a danger appears. God’s prophets spoke because God was roaring. Severe judgments were about to befall Israel.

“Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt and say: assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her. For they do not know to do right, says the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. Therefore thus says the Lord God: an adversary shall be all around the land. He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.” Amos 3:9-11

In the past, God protected Israel from attacks by the Philistines of Ashdod and from attacks by the Egyptians, but now He calls them to assemble for war at Israel’s borders. Israel had tumult (מְהוּמָה) confusion and (עֲשׁוּק) oppression / tyranny in her midst. She no longer knew how to do right. She only knew how to use violence to get what she wanted. She would fall before the Philistines and Egyptians. They would plunder her wealth.

“Thus says the Lord: as a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion the legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria—in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch! Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts, that in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the Lord.” Amos 3:12-15

The shepherd takes the remains of the sheep to the owner of the sheep to prove that it did not just wander away due to his carelessness. It was attacked by a lion. He did not want to pay for the loss. Israel was going to be attacked with overwhelming force.

God promised to punish Israel for their transgressions. He promised to the destroy the altars of false gods in Bethel. He also promised to destroy the winter house along with the summer house. “The houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the Lord.” Those who made it rich by deceiving and leading people astray would pay for their crimes. God is a just judge. He is not manipulated by bribes. He is not deceived by misinformation. God is omniscient and omnipotent. In due season, crime networks are exposed and eliminated.

“Hear this Word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring wine, let us drink!’ The Lord God has sworn by His holiness: behold, the days shall come upon you when He will take you away with fishhooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast into Harmon, says the Lord.” Amos 4:1-3

The cows of Bashan are the fat and wanton wives of the leaders. They wanted wine from their husbands. They enjoyed oppressing and crushing poor and needy people. The Lord was going to drag them and their children with fishhooks through broken walls and cast them out to Harmon referring to the place of their exile under the Assyrians.

“Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of Israel! says the Lord God. Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” Amos 4:4-6

God gives them up to their self-willed idolatries in Bethel and Gilgal. In John 13:27, after Satan entered the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” Romans 1:18, 28 says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” It is not a good sign when God stops restraining people from sinning. It is a sign that He willing to let them go their own way even though it grieves Him to do so.

The people of Samaria brought sacrifices, tithes, leaven and freewill offerings to the Lord. They loved to proclaim and announce what they did for the Lord but the Lord was not impressed. They were not really bringing food offerings to God so He was not going to bring food to them. Thery would have clean teeth in all their cities because they would have no daily bread to eat.

“I also withheld rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city. I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” Amos 4:7-8

The Lord withheld rain from them to create a thirst in them to return to Him. He even did selective rain distributions where one part of the city had no rain and another part did. He made it so they had to seek for water in other cities. He made them to seek water to survive even as their souls needed to seek God to be saved.

“I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, the locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord. I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt. Your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses. I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord. I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me, says the Lord.” Amos 4:9-11

The Lord sent a plague, paused and waited for a return to Him. No response. Then, He sent another wave, paused, still no response. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, the Lord prophesied that He would do waves of disciplines on wanderers to bring them back to Him. In Revelation 6-16, God speaks of 21 waves of judgments in the last days. Chapters 6-7 list the seven seal judgments. Chapters 8-11 list the seven trumpet judgments. Chapters 15-16 list the seven bowl judgments. Above all else, God wants to save these souls and bring them to heaven.

“Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel! For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth—the Lord God of hosts is His Name.” Amos 4:12-13

The Lord wanted Israel to think about their relationship with Him. They had shut Him out from their lives. Finally, it was too late. They met God. Their sins were not forgiven because they did not believe in God.

Meeting God does not happen by chance. It’s not like Russian roulette or a role of the dice. It is not that one in a thousand meets Him! Everyone meets Him. Philippians 2:10-11 states that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This means yours and mine too. This will happen 100%!

So, why push thoughts of meeting with God out of your mind? This is about eternity. Don’t gamble on it working out without giving it serious attention! Jesus Christ took the sins of the world on Himself so no one would have to be punished eternally for their sin. Think of it! Even if you were a 70-year-old person and had only sinned once per day during your lifetime, you wouls have 25,550 offenses against God on your record. When you acknowledge and profess Christ as your Savior, God blots out those sins. Jesus Christ is God’s designated Savior. Ask Him to forgive your sins and fill you with His Spirit to save you and to make of you a new creation. He will.