Amos the
prophet shared the judgments that were to come upon the enemies of
the LORD's people Judah and Israel. In chapter two and verse four of
his prophesy, Amos turns his attention toward the people of God who
lived in “Judah” where we read:
Thus
says 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:
The
verse begins, “Thus says the LORD;
For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away
the punishment
thereof;” Amos
began with the words, “Thus says”
or “utters,
declares and proclaims” “the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name for the one true God”; “For
three transgressions”
or “the three or a triad of rebellions and willful sins” “of
Judah” which
means “praised” and was “the kingdom comprised of the tribes of
Judah and Benjamin which occupied the southern part of Canaan after
the nation split upon the death of Solomon”, “and
for four” or
“four transgressions”, “I will
not turn away” or
“the LORD will not return, turn back, refresh, restore or repair”
“the punishment thereof”
which means “the treading out, trampling on or being broken and
torn”. “The LORD”
was to bring judgment upon his own people of “Judah”
because of their “four transgressions” against Him.
The
verse goes on to say, “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 continued with the word,
“because” which
means “since and on account of” “they have despised”
or “rejected and refused” “the law” which
refers to “the direction and instruction” “of the
LORD” which refers to “Yehovah
or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the one
true God”, “and have not kept”
or “have not heeded, guarded, observed and given charge of”
“his commandments” which
refers to “statutes, ordinances, limits, something prescribed or
due”, “and their lies” or “untruths, falsehoods, deceptive
things” “caused them to err”
or “wander, go astray and stagger as if intoxicated”,
“after the which” or
“afterward and behind” “their fathers”
which means “the heads and founders of a household, group, family
or clan” “have walked” or
“gone away, departed, proceeded or moved”. The reason for God's
judgment upon “Judah”
was similar to their “forefathers” and their “rejection and
refusal” of His law as well as their disobedience to His “statutes
and ordinances”.
When
we consider these words of Amos, we should be reminded of the apostle
Peter's words in chapter four and verse seventeen of his first
letter, “For the time is
come that judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if it
first begin
at us, what shall the end be
of them that obey not the gospel of God?” The
LORD does not hold even His own people as harmless when they disobey
His commandments and forsake His ways. The LORD's desire is for us to
obey Him through His Son Jesus Christ, and should we oppose Him, He
will bring judgment upon His own like He did unto “Judah”.
Next
time we see
how God will
“send a fire upon Judah”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.