Daily Manna
No Boundaries
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Key Verse
“Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked” (Amos 2:4).
TEXT — Amos 2:1-5
Message
All men are equal before God. As the ultimate Judge of all creations, God does not consider background, colour, race or social status as a condition for determining the end of all men. As shown in Proverbs 3:1, God requires all men irrespective of where they come from not to forget His law.
This forms the fulcrum of today’s text. God spoke to Prophet Amos about His resolve to judge Moab and Judah based on their transgressions. As for Moab, God promised not to “turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime”. In the case of Judah, God frowned at their flagrant disregard of His words. As a result, He insisted on bringing punishment upon them “because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments…”
Moab was a Gentile nation, which was constantly in conflict with the Israelites. Amos proclaimed Moab’s doom for seizing and burning the king of Edom. In its case, Judah was out of the 12 tribes that constituted Israel. Judah, like Moab, transgressed the word of the Lord. Even though Judah was a tribe of Israel, God did not spare them. Rather, He promised to send fire upon Judah and devour the palaces of Jerusalem for despising His laws.
This account reveals that God is neither of the Jews nor of the Gentiles exclusively. He is the God of all creation. He never discriminates based on background, colour, ethnicity, political class or social status. He is the ultimate Judge, who determines the actions and deeds of all men purely based on equity, fairness and justice. He demands outright compliance with His word as a condition for walking with Him and ultimately escaping eternal damnation.
Thought for the day
God’s judgment does not respect a sinner’s status.
BIBLE
in one year
ISAIAH 46 – 50
Leave a Reply