Posted by Chester Morton / Monday, 18 July 2016 / No comments
Amos pronounces God's judgment on Israel
In the course of his work as a prophet, he had seen many
visions. In his fourth vision, Amos saw a basket of summer fruits which meant
that the summer season had come to an end. Amos interpreted this to mean, God’s
judgment upon Israel was certain. Israel was going to go to exile.
In his last vision, Amos beheld God standing before the
altar, striking down everything in sight. Amos interpreted this to mean the
complete destruction of Israel and that nobody was going to escape the wrath of
God.
In those days, the popular belief was that God had chosen
Israel and therefore was obliged to protect her no matter what the people did.
They believed that in spite of their wickedness, God was going to judge the
Gentiles and not Israel.
The people believed that there was going to come a time when
God would establish his lordship over the Gentile nations and dispense justice
to Israel. It was going to be a day of light, victory and blessings, a day when
Israel would triumph over their enemies.
Amos, on the other hand, told the people that God was going
to punish the people because though he had chosen Israel as his people out of
all the families of the earth, they did not reciprocate God by being obedient
to Him. They also did not keep the moral demands of God but rather committed apostasy
and social injustice.
According to Amos, though God had called Israel to a special
position, it called for greater responsibility and does not entitle them to
any special privileges. If God had a special relationship with Israel, it did
not mean that they should misbehave.
Amos said “The
day of the Lord” would be a day of judgment, a day of darkness for Israel
rather than a day of doom for the Gentiles.
He concluded by stating emphatically that Israel would be
punished for her unrighteousness and would be sent into exile.
