Amos was a crossover prophet. He spoke to both Israel and Judah about the impending disaster. It would appear that no one listened in either place.
“Hindsight is always 20-20”. That’s what they say, right? It might not make sense as you are going through it, but when you look back on it you can always see it clearly. I’m not sure it’s always true, but there are times when things make more sense once you are through them and can view them objectively.
I’m not sure why such a clear prophecy from Amos was ignored by the people. What God is promising to do is terrifying, in fact, what He planned to do was even worse, thankfully He changed His mind when Amos cried out to Him. The fact that God altered His plans is a testimony to the power of prayer, even a single person crying out to God can change the course of history.
But why would Amos be ignored? I’m going to allow my imagination to wander for a moment here: The Bible describes a people who are living in the lap of luxury. They spend their days eating choice foods, drinking to excess and lying around on ivory couches. They also offer sacrifices to many different gods, and probably even go to the temple and offer sacrifices there. There is some evidence that suggests that idols had been moved into God’s temple, and the people were worshipping them even there. While all this pagan revelry is happening, things get better and better in Israel. The wealthy become even more wealthy..that’s what happens when you cheat people and run a dishonest business. When you sell husks off the floor for the price of choice grain…you make money. So I’m guessing that the people haven’t seen any evidence that what they are doing is going to be punished. We know from reading this and similar passages that God has been sending death and disease, defeat in battle, poor harvests and lack of rain. People have been getting sick, all the nations around Israel are angry with them. All of this is from the Lord, and yet the people have dismissed it to “coincidence” or “that’s just the way things happen”.
Because they created a mindset that allowed them dismiss the judgements of God around them, they were able to remain in denial right up to the time of judgement. Even when Amos was shouting disaster in their ear, they simply said “go back down south where you belong, we don’t want to hear that kind of talk around here”. It’s really incredible, when you think about it.
I wonder, are there cues around us that we are missing? Should we dismiss the racial tensions that plague our country, and the political tensions that threaten to tear us apart? Should we simply ignore the discovery of corruption in the IRS, the Judicial system, the VA Medical System, the Senators and everywhere else? Is it possible that the earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and floods aren’t coincidence? I’m not saying that every one of these things are judgements from God, but I am saying that they could be. It’s up to us as humans, and certainly as Christians, to discern which one they are…accident or warning. Can anyone explain why most of the world hates America? As a matter of fact, do they? or are we simply being told that to keep us in line?
In the meantime, money is flowing pretty freely here in the U.S. We have cash to spend on third and fourth cars, clothes that we won’t even wear and all the best food. Most people who are successful by our standards won’t think twice about spending over $100 to go out to eat and see a movie…maybe have a few drinks along the way. Oh and by the way, I can’t help but notice the gradual drifting away from God in our country. Maybe it’s because of my profession, but I notice that whenever there is a priest or minister in the TV show, they turn out to be the bad guy. Many shows on TV today advocate lifestyles and habits that the Bible speaks directly against. Can all of this be coincidence?
Could God be angry with us because we removed all mention of him from our education system, removed all religious icons from our government offices and forbid people to use any reference to God in public address….such as saying a prayer at graduation? Could God be angry with us for legalizing abortion and shrugging our shoulders at the plight of the helpless? Could He be upset because of the low wages we pay to undocumented workers? There are many more examples, but I think you hear where my mind is today.
I know what happened next to Israel. I don’t want to see it happen here also. I pray that God sends Amos to the United States. I wonder, what if he has already come and spoken and our leaders have simply ignored him? It wasn’t too long ago that a minister prayed a prayer in front of Congress asking God to forgive us of our many atrocities…and many of the Congressmen got up and walked out. It reminds me of how Amos was asked to leave Samaria.
Turning slightly to focus on myself, (and us). Are there areas in my life where I am not being honest and fair? God detests lying. Am I lying either in what I say or in what I fail to say? Could anyone bring a charge against me of cheating? Have I treated everyone with the respect they are due as children of God?
Recently I was reminded of something. There are people I find distasteful, for instance; terrorists and bigots, despots and crooked leaders. I was reminded that God loves them. In this passage in Amos God reminds us that He has placed everyone in the countries where they are…not just Israel. And even though Israel has made Him furious, and will be punished severely. He won’t destroy them completely, and He will bring them back home, and some day…..bless them greatly.
That’s what God wants to do for us. And not just for us, but for the people who don’t agree with our way of living, and even the people who hate us. God loves them as much as He loves us. I found myself guilty of loving us more than them. In fact, I was guilty of not loving them at all. In my mind they didn’t deserve it.
God forgives. If we want to avoid disaster in our country, we will have to forgive others, and at the same time, cry out to God to forgive us.
Faithfully,
PR