I Will Punish Your Iniquities

God's Prophets Demand Justice
Amos Rails against Injustice

Judgment on Israel and Judah

Amos 3:1-8 The Message

The Lion Has Roared

3 Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!

² “Out of all the families on earth,
    I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

^3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand
    if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
    if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
    if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
    if nothing trips it?
When the alarm goes off in the city,
    aren’t people alarmed?
And when disaster strikes the city,
    doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

⁸ The lion has roared—
    who isn’t frightened?
God has spoken—
    what prophet can keep quiet?

For Reflection 

We are responsible for our sins.  No one else is to blame.  The "Devil did not make us do it!"  We are seduced into believing that difficulties are not of our making and deluded into thinking that our successes are all a result of our own making.  Neither is true. 

The Old Testament is true.  God holds us in account for our abandonment of God's will.  God sits in judgment.  God's warnings have always been followed by God's compassion and recommendations.  God has sent God's prophets to warn us of the outcome of our self-absorbed behavior and even sent Christ to model his wish for our lives.   And yet, we ignore God.

But God will never abandon us.  God will always hold the invitation for reconciliation open for all to accept it.  In our disregard and delusions of self-direction, we are the prime cause of our own folly.

Pray

prayers of confession and repentance.  Pray often to stay the course God has set for you.  Pray for those who are still mired in the illusion of self-determination.  Pray for the peace in a world of chaos.