The People of God and the Judgment of God

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: The People of God and the Judgment of God ------------------- Date: 3/3/2002
Keywords: "discipline" "judgment"
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Passage: Amos 2:6-8*

6. Thus says the Lord,
"For three transgressions of Israel and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.

7. "These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father resort to the same girl
In order to profane My holy name.

8. "And on garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

Questions

1. What specific sins are mentioned in these verses for which Israel will be punished?

 

2. Do you see similarities between the sins listed and behavior in our own day?

 

3. Do you find it surprising that God would mention judgment against His own people, Israel?

 

Practical help

Amos was an Old Testament prophet to the nation of Israel. He began his prophecy by telling the Jews that God was going to punish the sinful nations all around Israel. Syria, Philistia, Edom, Ammon, and Moab would all taste God’s punishment for various atrocities.

Is it not likely that the Jews were glad when they heard these pronouncements of judgment? We can almost hear them, "Yes, those sinful people are finally getting what they deserve from the Lord!" Did they think that God’s hand of discipline would ever come to them? Perhaps not, but it certainly did come to them.

As it was in those days, so it is today. God will not sit idly by and watch His people sin. In fact, He will more zealously intervene by way of discipline in the lives of His people when they sin, than He will in the lives of unbelievers when they sin. His intervention is a function of His great love for us.

The apostle Peter assures us that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). Take the warning Amos offers. God’s discipline is not something to be risked — because in one form or another, it will come. If you are God’s child through faith in Christ and are messing with porn, you are asking for God’s discipline. (By the way, if you have not yet become a Christian by placing your trust in Christ, please click here.) Turn away from it now.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."