Amos 2 Devotional

When the Circle Closes In

“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.”Amos 2:6 (BSB)

The circle of judgment tightens. Moab is condemned, then Judah for rejecting the law of the LORD (2:1-5). Finally the pattern lands on Israel, the very people listening. They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals (2:6). They trample the poor and push the needy aside (2:7). They lie down beside altars on garments taken from the poor as pledges and drink wine paid for with fines in the house of their God (2:8).

Against this God sets what he has done. He destroyed the Amorite before them, brought them up from Egypt, led them forty years in the wilderness, and raised up prophets from their sons (2:9-11). A people rescued from slavery were now treating the poor as goods to be sold. It is easy to agree when judgment falls on others. Paul warns that those who judge others for the very things they do condemn themselves (Romans 2:1). Grace received is meant to make us gentle with the weak, not to make us forget them.

To think about: Where are you quick to see wrong in others while overlooking how you treat people with less power than you?