Monday, August 6, 2012

AMOS: The Lord's Justice, and His Mercy!

“On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the Lord who does this thing. (Amos 9:11-12)

Biblical Truth & Life Application
God is a just God - sin and disobedience will not go unpunished! (Psalm 7)  Sometimes it appears to us that people are "getting away" with doing any and every thing they want, whether good or bad, and not receiving any consequences for it.  God makes it clear through the prophet Amos that this is not so.  Ever wonder why Jesus taught, But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. (Matthew 5:39) ?  Because we are His, therefore,  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

No, God doesn't want us to go around letting people hurt us or take advantage of us, but He wants us to understand that whatever someone does for or to us, they are actually doing for or to Him. (Matthew 25:37-46) God will take care of any and every one who has done any and every thing towards His children: “For three transgressions of Damascus [Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab], and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ... (Amos 1, 2:1-3)  Whatever each of these nations specifically did towards the children of Isreal is not the point.  The point is God knows everything they did, and He calls each of them out and deals with them justly, to the point that they no longer exist, but were destroyed in an eathquake. (Amos 1:1-2)

God, being a just God, must also deal with His children, because they too have done wrong, worst of all, towards Him. The name "Amos" means a burden, and it had to have been a burden for him to prophecy to his own countrymen the punishment they would receive from God: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.  “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,... (Amos 2:4-16)

So, what punishment does God deam just towards His children: 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 3:11) God continues to give His children warning after warning, but they refuse to heed: “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, The Philistines from Caphtor, And the Syrians from Kir? “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; (Amos 9:7-8) (Amos 3:9 - 9:8)

Just as a parent may deam it necessary to take everything away from a disobedient child, that parent does not stop loving that child and will restore those things to that child when they feel they have earned it back.  So God does for the children of Isreal: Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” Says the Lord. I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the Lord who does this thing.(Amos 9:8, 11-12; Amos 9:8-15The Day of the Lord, the day of restoration is coming, and only the children of God will be saved! (Revelations 20)

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