Amos 4:6-13
6 “But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
7 “Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you
While there were still three months until harvest.
Then I would send rain on one city,
But on another city I would not send rain;
One part would be rained on,
While the part not rained on would dry up.
8 So the people of two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,
But would not be satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
9 “I struck you with scorching wind and mildew;
The caterpillar was devouring
Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
10 “I sent a plague among you as in Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses,
And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a log snatched from a fire;
Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore so I will do to you, Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
Prepare to meet your God, Israel.”
13 For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind,
And declares to a person what are His thoughts,
He who makes dawn into darkness
And treads on the high places of the earth,
The Lord God of armies is His name.
The People not Learning the Lord’s Lessons
Yet you have not
Today’s passage is the latter half of the prophecy of judgment that begins with “Hear this word” (2). Last time, “the sin of oppressing the poor” and “the sin of idol worship” were pointed out. Here, “the sin of not learning the Lord’s lessons” is condemned. The words, “Yet you have not returned to Me,” appear five times (v 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). (1) God struck the people of Israel with famine (v 6). “I gave you also cleanness of teeth” refers to a condition in which there is no food to eat. Yet the people were unwilling to learn the lesson. (2) Next, God withheld the rain (v 7-8). The rain that fell before the harvest was indispensable for the harvest, but it was withheld. Even when rain did fall, it fell in an irregular pattern, because the Lord was in control of the weather. Yet the people were unwilling to learn the lesson. (3) Furthermore, God sent natural disasters (v 9): blight, mildew, and invasions of locusts. Yet the people were unwilling to learn the lesson. (4) God struck the people of Israel with plague and the sword of the enemy, as He had done to Egypt, yet the people were unwilling to learn the lesson. (5) Finally, God struck the people of Israel and made them like Sodom and Gomorrah. As a result, Israel became “like a log snatched from a fire.” Yet the people were unwilling to learn the lesson.
God’s pain
The words, “Yet you have not returned to Me,” are repeated. In them, God’s pain and sorrow are expressed. When God judges His own people, it is not that He is doing so with delight. God did everything He could to call the people of Israel back to Himself, but all of it ended in vain. Therefore, judgment comes (v 12-13). This is the Assyrian captivity that would occur in 722-721 BC. How is God speaking to you? We must not waste God’s grace. If judgment were to come upon us, it would be entirely our responsibility, because God has loved us to the point of sacrificing His Son Jesus and has done everything He could. Let us remember once again this well-known verse: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me to such an extent. I now return to You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.