20240215

equal opportunity condemnation

Amos 2:1-16 (JDV)

Amos 2:1 This is what Yahveh is saying: I will not stop punishing Moab for three crimes, even four, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
Amos 2:2 And I will send fire against Moab, and it will consume the fortified buildings of Kerioth. Moab will die with an uproar, with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn bugle.
Amos 2:3 I will cut off the judge from the land and kill all its officials with him. Yahveh has spoken.
Amos 2:4 This is what Yahveh is saying: I will not stop punishing Judah for three crimes, even four, because they have rejected the instruction of Yahveh and have not kept his statutes. The lies that their ancestors followed have led them astray.
Amos 2:5 Therefore, I will send fire against Judah, and it will consume the fortified buildings of Jerusalem.
Amos 2:6 This is what Yahveh is saying: I will not stop punishing Israel for three crimes, even four, because they sell a righteous person for silver and a needy person for a pair of sandals.
Amos 2:7 They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and obstruct the path of the needy. A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning my holy name.
Amos 2:8 They stretch out beside every altar on garments taken as collateral, and in the house of their God they drink wine obtained through fines.
Amos 2:9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced; his height was like the cedars, and he was as sturdy as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
Amos 2:10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the open country in order to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amos 2:11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is this not the case, Israelites? This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 2:12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, “Do not prophesy.”
Amos 2:13 Notice, I am about to crush you in your place as a wagon crushes when full of grain.
Amos 2:14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong one will not maintain his strength, and the warrior will not save his throat.
Amos 2:15 The archer will not stand his ground, the one who is swift of foot will not escape, and the one riding a horse will not save his throat.
Amos 2:16 Even the most courageous of the warriors will flee naked on that day — this is Yahveh’s declaration.

equal opportunity condemnation

The prophet condemned nations for sins and crimes regardless of who they hurt. He even condemned Israel and Judah. His God offers his free grace to all, but he also threatens condemnation and destruction to all who reject his word.

God will not be mocked. Those who profess faith in the God of the Bible will be first in line to be punished when they willfully disobey him. There is no hiding behind a flag. There is no protection in wearing a cross.