THE NOOSE TIGHTENS
Opening Prayer
Lord, You are the God of perfect justice.
Read AMOS 1:11—2:5
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Edom,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,
12 I will send fire on Teman
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Ammon,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
that will consume her fortresses
amid war cries on the day of battle,
amid violent winds on a stormy day.
15 Her king will go into exile,
he and his officials together,”
says the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler
and kill all her officials with him,”
says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Judah,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,
the gods their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart” (Psa. 51:6, NRSV).
Think Further
One child hurts another. Justice is required. Punishing the offender involves something like: “Serves him right!” Israel is probably chortling over the punishment of Edom, Ammon and Moab. These nations are cousins to Israel—and Judah is even more a part of the family; between Israel and Judah there has existed a hostile relationship for hundreds of years. Does Israel feel smug? The people believe they are God’s favorites and therefore untouchable. Let the others be punished for what they have done to Israel!
Edom (Esau) is Israel’s (Jacob’s) twin, but Edom continually harasses his brother Israel out of hatred. Ammon’s territory is cramped; in its restless pursuit of land, it has practiced unspeakable atrocities against women (a feature of ancient warfare, also practiced against Jewish women by Hitler’s troops during the second world war). Moab has violated the mores of the ancient world. God’s anger against Judah (Amos’s homeland) is not for inhumanity, as it is for the other peoples: Judah’s crime lies in rejecting God’s law (and therefore God himself) and assimilating some of the idolatrous practices of the neighborhood (“lies,” 2:4, note in NIV). Judah’s transgression against God is far worse than that of Tyre or Edom. Judah has acted as heathens and would now be treated as such, although her judgment is deferred for 135 years.
We who have a fuller revelation of God in Jesus Christ and his written Word have a huge responsibility to be faithful to him. The temptation to adopt and assimilate the practices and attitudes of the world around us is very strong. In many cases we perhaps don’t even realize what is happening, but when anything becomes more important to us than God, we are being led astray. May we never succumb to that temptation.
Apply
Lord, forgive us for failing so often to keep our cutting edge as Your disciples, allowing the world around us to pull us away from Your priorities.
Closing prayer
Lord, we are not haughty enough to consider ourselves beyond correction from You.
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