"God is the one who made the star groups Pleiades and Orion; He changes darkness into the morning light, and the day into dark night. He calls for the waters of the sea to pour out on the earth. The Lord is his name. He destroys the protected city; He ruins the strong, walled city." (NCV)
There is nowhere to hide.
I look around at the godlessness that surrounds me. Even from those who claim to be Christian, even from those who regularly attend church. I read through history at the godlessness of cultures, of the cruelty that we thrust on each other, of the escalation of self-indulgence and self-interest. Last night, I read the tale of Noah, of the evil that people were compounding and the anger of God for their doing so.
God will not be mocked.
We can try to logically talk His existence away. We can use "scientific tests" and philosophical debates. We can listen to celebrities and "experts" declaring that He doesn’t exist. We can ignore the tug of our hearts until we no longer feel it. We can desensitize ourselves with alcohol and drugs and television. In the end, none of that will matter; none of that will be successful.
God is able and will bring judgment upon the people He created.
Amos uses three strong images to demonstrate the power of the Almighty God: God made the stars. He placed them in specific positions and He continues to control them. God created the night and the day. He specifically placed the sun and moon to create day and night and He continues to control them. The Lord created the seas and the dry land. He created seas to be salty and lakes to be fresh. He controls their boundaries and their purposes.
God is in control of all of this universe.
He determines whether or not the laws of science continue to work because miracles themselves are often events that occur outside of these laws. These laws don’t rule God; He rules them.
God can and will destroy anything that we think will protect us from His judgment.
Amos describes two strong cites. The first city is described (in Hebrew) as "greedy, power, mighty, strong, fierce." (Strong’s H5794). And translated literally, the connotation could be made that these are descriptions not of the physical city, but rather of its inhabitants. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you are a powerful person with great influence and control over thousands or perhaps even millions of people and resources. God can and will destroy you in judgment if you continue to refuse to submit to Him.
The second city is a "fortification, fortified city, castle, stronghold" (Strong’s H4013). The connotation here is that it doesn’t matter where you go. There is no physical structure that can hide you from God’s judgment.
So, there is no person you can become and no place you can go that you can hide from God. There is nothing that will prevent Him from exacting judgment at the time of His choosing.
In between describing God’s might and His ability to judge, Amos writes: "The LORD is His name." The Hebrew is actually YHWH, which is the name that God has given Himself. It is a name that describes the covenantal relationship that He has with His people; it contains all the promises of Who He is and Who He will be when we trust Him. It’s as if Amos interjects in between two pronouncements of judgment that God Himself will be our salvation.
The Lord never warns of judgment that He doesn’t also offer salvation. His justice and His mercy are equally offered to us. In fact, the warnings of judgment are mercy because He doesn’t have to even tell us we are disobeying Him. But His love and mercy compels Him to warn us—usually again and again and again—giving us opportunity to turn from our sin and seek His forgiveness. In all things, in all situations, He loves us! He is waiting for us to love Him back.
© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.
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