Amos urges his audience to imagine a courtroom scene in which God calls the nations surrounding Israel individually. God accuses them of lacking pity and pursuing their selfish interests at the expense of humanity.
Someone rightly said that modern man is able to put a person on the moon, but our morality has not exceeded that of Amos’ contemporaries.
It’s all too simple to overlook statistics, but let’s remember that behind each number lies a mother who has lost her child.
In my role as a pastor, having conducted countless funerals, I’ve never met a family that didn’t deeply mourn the loss of a beloved member.
As you read through the numbers below, keep that in mind.
— According to the New York Times, nearly half a million people have died or been injured in the war between Ukraine and Russia in the last two years.
— The war between Israel and Hamas has left approximately 20,000 people killed.
— The war between Sudan’s military and a paramilitary group has killed an estimated 9,000 people and displaced another 5.6 million.
— In a special article, the BBC traced the use of rape as a tool of war. Its main purpose is to destroy the community where this occurs.
— The KSHB television station has produced a homicide tracker for the Kansas City area. As of December 6th, we have had 245 homicides.
— Depending on the research you follow, between 20 and 50 million people are currently trafficked as slaves in the world today.
God’s Judgment on Nations with No Pity
God initiates His accusations against the nations using the same formula for each nation. The central point is that these nations have consistently lacked compassion for the people they were at war with.
Here are some examples of God’s judgment on the lack of pity and compassion.
(1) Excessive Force in War
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron. (Amos 1.3)
The frequently quoted message, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:23-25), was not meant for revenge. Instead, it aimed to restrict the amount of harm inflicted when addressing wrongs committed against someone else.
Nations that engage in excessive force against one another can expect to stand under God’s judgment.
(2) Human Trafficking
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they carried into exile entire communities,
to hand them over to Edom. (Amos 1.6)
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom
and did not remember the covenant of kinship. (Amos 1.9)
Dating back to centuries before the time of Christ, victors in war were involved in the sale of enslaved people who had been captured to other regions or parties.
Unfortunately, modern morality has not risen above that of the 8th century B.C.
What do these countries have in common: Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, South Sudan, and Venezuela? They are among the 21 top countries in the world for human trafficking.
Let’s not forget that somewhere between 20 and 50 million humans created in God’s image are serving as laborers, child brides, or prostitutes against their will.
God’s Compassion and Care
You will find God’s desire for compassion and pity among His people as a prominent message in the Book of Amos. Why do you think God cares so much about these two aspects of His character?
First of all, God’s nature is love, and he wants his children to reflect that love in our lives. Compassion and pity are integral expressions of God’s love, and they mirror his character.
When we show compassion to others, we imitate God’s love and fulfill the greatest commandments: to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Second, the Bible is clear about God’s love for the vulnerable and the oppressed.
When we show compassion, we become instruments of God’s mercy and grace, offering comfort and hope to God’s beloved creation.
God’s Word repeatedly emphasizes the importance of treating others as we would like to be treated.
Who wants to experience the horrors of being torn apart in an aggressive war? Who desires to endure the trauma of rape? Who wishes to live a life in perpetual forced labor?
When we contemplate the golden rule of treating others as we would like to be treated, our compassion must emerge from mere attitudes and translate into tangible actions.
You may feel helpless, like I do, in the face of the horrors that are facing our world. One of the things we can do is to intercede on behalf of those who are suffering the oppression of a very unjust world.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 