Amo 2:4 | KingComments | STEP | We are still listening in the marketplace in Bethel where Amos addresses his flaming words to the nations that surround Judah and Israel. In everything Amos has said so far, we have seen the Israelite hearers nod approvingly. Of course, all those heathen nations, as well as the brother peoples who have behaved like the heathens, will finally receive their righteous punishment for what they have done to Israel. But what do we hear now? He is now addressing Judah! Amos does not walk away, he has not finished his preaching, he continues. Judah undergoes the same judgment as the nations around them. With God there is no distinction, no respect of persons, neither when it comes to sin nor when it comes to righteousness (cf. ). Let us listen to what he has to say to them. He says to them that “they rejected the law of the LORD”. Through this act they have torn themselves away from God and thus from the Source of all blessing. It is impossible to say that you believe in God and at the same time reject that in which He makes His will known. He who rejects His law, His Word, is unable to maintain His statutes. The confession that one believes in God may be there, but the practice is that one is seduced by gods of lies. When the Word of truth is rejected, lies take its place. Rejection of the Word takes place everywhere today where it is interpreted according to one’s own judgment, in a way that does not require us to give up anything that can satisfy our lusts. There is reasoning along the lines of: ‘God wants you to be happy; enjoy everything there is to enjoy; if you are happy, God is happy too.’ This is how the gods of lies work. They know exactly what the professors of God’s Name, like. Through the centuries they have developed a formula for success, a recipe that can be adapted to the needs of a certain generation. The fathers, the previous generations, have gone after it as well. The addition “those after which their fathers walked” serves to emphasize how deep the sin of idolatry is in the blood of the people. “Their lies” are the gods of lies. This is true in two ways: first, they lie themselves and second, they are the product of people’s lying spirits. There is nothing new under the sun, even though the appearance of these lie-gods changes all the time. As far as that is concerned, the devil, who uses these lie-gods, is like a chameleon. He takes on the color of the environment in which he finds himself. He exercises his evil influence in a way that suits the spiritual climate in which man finds himself. Every nation is judged according to the light it has. God punishes the people according to their attitude towards people, His people. He punishes His people according to their attitude towards Himself, their God. The judgment of Amos on Judah is fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC and burned her citadels and the house of God ( ). Joel did prophesy in favor of Jerusalem, but the city will also be judged for its many sins. This judgment will not escape her, however great the future glory may be.

‏ Amos 2:4

Judgment on Judah

We are still listening in the marketplace in Bethel where Amos addresses his flaming words to the nations that surround Judah and Israel. In everything Amos has said so far, we have seen the Israelite hearers nod approvingly. Of course, all those heathen nations, as well as the brother peoples who have behaved like the heathens, will finally receive their righteous punishment for what they have done to Israel.

But what do we hear now? He is now addressing Judah! Amos does not walk away, he has not finished his preaching, he continues. Judah undergoes the same judgment as the nations around them. With God there is no distinction, no respect of persons, neither when it comes to sin nor when it comes to righteousness (cf. Jer 9:25-26).

Let us listen to what he has to say to them. He says to them that “they rejected the law of the LORD”. Through this act they have torn themselves away from God and thus from the Source of all blessing. It is impossible to say that you believe in God and at the same time reject that in which He makes His will known. He who rejects His law, His Word, is unable to maintain His statutes. The confession that one believes in God may be there, but the practice is that one is seduced by gods of lies.

When the Word of truth is rejected, lies take its place. Rejection of the Word takes place everywhere today where it is interpreted according to one’s own judgment, in a way that does not require us to give up anything that can satisfy our lusts. There is reasoning along the lines of: ‘God wants you to be happy; enjoy everything there is to enjoy; if you are happy, God is happy too.’ This is how the gods of lies work. They know exactly what the professors of God’s Name, like. Through the centuries they have developed a formula for success, a recipe that can be adapted to the needs of a certain generation.

The fathers, the previous generations, have gone after it as well. The addition “those after which their fathers walked” serves to emphasize how deep the sin of idolatry is in the blood of the people. “Their lies” are the gods of lies. This is true in two ways: first, they lie themselves and second, they are the product of people’s lying spirits.

There is nothing new under the sun, even though the appearance of these lie-gods changes all the time. As far as that is concerned, the devil, who uses these lie-gods, is like a chameleon. He takes on the color of the environment in which he finds himself. He exercises his evil influence in a way that suits the spiritual climate in which man finds himself.

Every nation is judged according to the light it has. God punishes the people according to their attitude towards people, His people. He punishes His people according to their attitude towards Himself, their God. The judgment of Amos on Judah is fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC and burned her citadels and the house of God (2Chr 36:19). Joel did prophesy in favor of Jerusalem, but the city will also be judged for its many sins. This judgment will not escape her, however great the future glory may be.