Amos 2: Bullseye

Key Verses
4 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.
 
 
Meditation
God credits His people with a bulls-eye because Jesus shot the perfect arrow into the bullseye before becoming the target of the Father’s just judgement. Meditating on God’s just judgment in today’s reading ultimately pushes us to the cross of Christ and empowers believers to walk in a newness of life.
 
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 6:23a) The Greek word for sin is “Missing the mark,” the most common description of sin in the New Testament. Like an archer seeking to hit a target, every person has aimed at holiness and missed. All of us fall short of God’s glory.
 
Amos takes aim with the arrow of God’s judgement. After warning the nations surrounding the Promise Land (chapter 1), Amos puts Judah & Israel in the crosshairs. God’s people had rejected God’s rule, forgotten God’s faithfulness, and like the pagan nations around them, were going to be hit with God’s judgement. All have sinned and all deserve judgment- no one is exempt.
 
“…But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23b) Humanity misses the mark. Jesus Christ hit a bulls-eye as our representative. Where we reject God’s law, Jesus embodied it (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus became our sin that believers may become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Jesus succeeded where we fail, and then became the target of God’s judgement on the cross. From faith in the finished work of Jesus, Christians are forgiven and freed by receiving God’s Spirit that we might walk in a newness of life.
 
Today’s Reading
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Moab,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because he burned to lime
    the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
    amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
    and will kill all its princes with him,”
says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the Lord,
    and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals--
7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
    and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
    so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
    the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
    whose height was like the height of the cedars
    and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.
10 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for Nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
 
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
    and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,
    nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.
 
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you live condemned, as if judgment is still coming? Or do you live freely believing “there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)?
 
-Where do you need to believe the gospel, the finished work of Jesus on your behalf? Where are you struggling to believe you are forgiven by Christ’s finished work?
 
-How can you celebrate the finished work of Jesus, living by the Spirit He gives you? Jesus hit the target of perfection you missed then He died to pay the price you deserve to give you His victory… How can you live in this victory today?
 
Key Verses
4 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.