Amos 2
Today's Passage: Amos 2
In Amos 1, God announced judgment on the nations surrounding Israel. If you had a map, you would see that these nations form a spiral with Israel in the middle. Chapter two concludes that spiral with Moab and Judah. For all of Moab’s many transgressions, what gets listed is the desecration of the Edom’s deceased king. Likewise, although Judah had periods of repentance during the time of the divided kingdom, they also had periods of great rebellion. Amos declared the Lord’s judgment for rejecting God’s Law and walking away from the faith of their “fathers.”
As Amos reaches the center of the spiral, the Lord’s judgment against Israel is three times longer than the others. In fact, chapter two provides a bit of a summary for the chapters that are to follow as the violations to God’s Law get expanded upon. One commentator summed it up, “Israel had violated the Mosaic Covenant in several ways, including social injustice (v. 6b), legal perversion (v. 7a), sexual sin (v. 7b), abuse of collateral (v. 8a), and idolatry (v. 8b).”
God forecasted that the judgment of these sins and the one’s to follow would lead to their destruction. Using language of an army, the Lord says that, “(a) the swift, (b) the strong, (c) the warrior, (d) the archer, (e) the fleet-footed soldier, or (f) the horseman. So overpowering would be the onslaught that even (g) the bravest warriors would drop their weapons and cloaks in a futile attempt to flee.” 40 years later Assyria fulfilled this warning as it overran Israel (2 Kings 17).
However, what stood out to me in Amos 2 was the Lord’s compassion within Israel’s rebellion. Verses 9–11 remind Israel of what God, in His grace, has done for them. He even raised up prophets and Nazirites to remind Israel of God’s warnings—pleading with them to repent. Amos, himself was one such example. And yet, verse 12 says that Israel didn’t listen to the prophets who spoke for the Lord and they forced the Nazirites to break their own vows.
Psalm 145:8 says, “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Before judgment came to Israel, God gave them every opportunity to repent. Are we sensitive to the Lord’s warnings in our lives? What sin has God been convicting you about and what are you doing to fight it?
The Lord is a good Father who loves humble repentance and obedience. He knows our shortcomings and imperfections. But, He also knows the end of the road that our sin could take us. What feels good or right in a moment leads to destruction. God wants better for us than sin has to offer. He is the best thing for us because it’s only through Him that we can experience life as He designed it to be.
Written By: Tyler Short
In Amos 1, God announced judgment on the nations surrounding Israel. If you had a map, you would see that these nations form a spiral with Israel in the middle. Chapter two concludes that spiral with Moab and Judah. For all of Moab’s many transgressions, what gets listed is the desecration of the Edom’s deceased king. Likewise, although Judah had periods of repentance during the time of the divided kingdom, they also had periods of great rebellion. Amos declared the Lord’s judgment for rejecting God’s Law and walking away from the faith of their “fathers.”
As Amos reaches the center of the spiral, the Lord’s judgment against Israel is three times longer than the others. In fact, chapter two provides a bit of a summary for the chapters that are to follow as the violations to God’s Law get expanded upon. One commentator summed it up, “Israel had violated the Mosaic Covenant in several ways, including social injustice (v. 6b), legal perversion (v. 7a), sexual sin (v. 7b), abuse of collateral (v. 8a), and idolatry (v. 8b).”
God forecasted that the judgment of these sins and the one’s to follow would lead to their destruction. Using language of an army, the Lord says that, “(a) the swift, (b) the strong, (c) the warrior, (d) the archer, (e) the fleet-footed soldier, or (f) the horseman. So overpowering would be the onslaught that even (g) the bravest warriors would drop their weapons and cloaks in a futile attempt to flee.” 40 years later Assyria fulfilled this warning as it overran Israel (2 Kings 17).
However, what stood out to me in Amos 2 was the Lord’s compassion within Israel’s rebellion. Verses 9–11 remind Israel of what God, in His grace, has done for them. He even raised up prophets and Nazirites to remind Israel of God’s warnings—pleading with them to repent. Amos, himself was one such example. And yet, verse 12 says that Israel didn’t listen to the prophets who spoke for the Lord and they forced the Nazirites to break their own vows.
Psalm 145:8 says, “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Before judgment came to Israel, God gave them every opportunity to repent. Are we sensitive to the Lord’s warnings in our lives? What sin has God been convicting you about and what are you doing to fight it?
The Lord is a good Father who loves humble repentance and obedience. He knows our shortcomings and imperfections. But, He also knows the end of the road that our sin could take us. What feels good or right in a moment leads to destruction. God wants better for us than sin has to offer. He is the best thing for us because it’s only through Him that we can experience life as He designed it to be.
Written By: Tyler Short
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