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Amos and God's Judgments
Amos and God's Judgments
"For three transgressions… and for four, I will not revoke the punishment…" This is repeated at against Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel. What IS evident from this is that God is the God of all the earth and rules in the kingdoms of men. God sees and knows what people do and holds them accountable for their choices. In this book it appears that these are temporal judgments against the various nations that were neighbors to Judah and Israel.
Notice in particular that none of these other nations are judged out of the law of Moses but rather on basic humanitarian principles. The law of Moses was a covenant law that God made with Israel. God did not make this covenant with other nations (cp. Psalm 147:19-20; Eph. 2:11-12, etc.). Humans are to be God's humans. We are to be human in a particular way. The history of humanity is a failure to live this way. The list includes sins of extreme cruelty even in war (1:3), enslaving a whole people (1:6), breaking one's word / covenant (1:9), implacability and continued anger (1:11), extreme brutality and committing atrocities against defenseless peoples (1:13), and degrading actions that humiliate and shame others (2:2).
While these nations did not have a revealed written law from God on how they should live, there was yet a standard of right and wrong. God expects and requires that humans not stoop to these levels of inhumanity. There is a universal moral standard and God is its author. Moral truth is not 'national' truth. Truth doesn't stop being truth because you cross a border.
While it is all the rage to deny such a concept today, it continues to be true. We have trials against those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. While Moral trespasses are 'excused' by us when committed against others they suddenly become wrong when committed against us. Stealing is 'OK' until you steal MY stuff. Murder is 'inconvenient' until you point the gun at me and then is suddenly becomes wrong. We hold to moral truth when it comes to our own freedoms and well-being.
We mentioned that the Gentiles according to Eph. 2:11-12 were told to remember "… that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Yet they were said to be "dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (2:1-2). Such condition was NOT due to violating the law of Moses (i.e., the covenants of promise) but rather to not living up to moral truth.
A good commentary on this concept can also be found in Romans 1. God's wrath is poured out against ALL ungodliness of people (1:18) and then Paul lists various examples of such moral truths that God hold's people accountable to. These include idolatry and wrong concepts about God, sexual immorality including homosexuality, and various acts of 'unrighteousness' including murder, strife, and malice. It also included pride, ruthlessness, lack of mercy, slander, etc. These things are not just wrong they are universally wrong, even in America. For three transgressions and for four, America is accountable unto God.
God is the God of the whole earth. All souls are his and the soul that sins will die (Ezek. 18:20).
