January 30 Daily Discovery
January 30 Daily Discovery
Read Amos Chapter 1
God Will Not Turn Away
The idiom "for three transgressions, and for four" is a type of poetry. Three is used to indicate completion, and if you add one more to it - four, you have gone beyond the completion.
What God is saying through the prophet is that, you have gone to the limit and beyond and your judgement is sure if you do not repent.
Judged for Cruelty
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
3 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
~ Amos 1:1-3
The Syrians had "threshed Gilead with iron instruments." They had only had attacked Israel, but were "over the top" cruel in their treatment of those that they had defeated.
Even in war, there should be some civility. You can take your enemy's life without torturing or taunting him.
Judged for Callousness
9 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
~ Amos 1:9-11
The people of Tyre did not remember a "brotherly covenant" that they should have honored and the Edomites dealt harshly without pity in war.
Judged for Covetousness
13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
~ Amos 1:13
The Ammonites were motivated by the goal of "enlarging their border" and in the process of fighting against Gilead, they went so far as to murder pregnant women to achieve their end.
Don't Press Your Luck
God deals with nations as if they had the soul of a single person. God deals with us as souls of a single person.
We must not act with cruelty, callousness or act out of covetousness.
God will judge these behaviors in us as well.
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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