Page 17 - 6-5-15 Friday's Edition

Local
Punishment Comes With Disobedience
follow
His commands. People
who are truly dedicated and committed to serving God will accept what God says and put forth great effort to do what He has commanded.
Verse5-SoIwillsend down fire on Judah, and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be de- stroyed.” The punishment He declares upon them will be destruction. Since the people will not listen and obey God, He will cause de- struction upon everything He has given them. The places and things you have found comfort and peace in, God will destroy. You have to be careful when you want to lis- ten to God to be blessed but after you are you ignore Him.
Verse 6 - This is what the LORD says: “The peo- ple of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go un- punished! They sell hon- orable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. The focus in these verses shifts to Israel. They too have sinned; how-
ever, theirs is the treatment of people.
The people are behaving unjustly. Those who tried cases or settled disputes made their decisions based upon what people would offer them. The decision was not based upon what was fac- tual or what was right. Ever wonder how many decisions are made based upon what is right in the eyes of God verses how much money, sta- tus, and prestige a person may have? When the people of God pervert justice to be in favor of the rich, He is not pleased and He declares they must be punished.
Verse 7 - They tram- ple on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. In their mistreat- ment of the poor they treated them like the dirt on the ground. They had no regard for them as human beings or as people of God. The church must be careful how it treats those who are considered
poor. America has to be care- ful how it treats its poor. The next sentence in the verse points to moral corruption.
The girl the father and son share is not a prostitute; if she was Amos would have called her one. This behavior is greatly frowned upon by God. This is against all that God stands for and has no place in anything associated with Him.
Verse 8 - At their reli- gious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as secu- rity. In the house of their gods, they drink wine bought with unjust fines. The people were corrupt! The clothes that people gave as collateral for loans the priest and others used them to lie on around the altars. It was bad they were just loung- ing around the altar, but to use the clothes of the poor in- stead of their own was more evil. God does not like the poor being taken advantage of. It is not good when the church puts more pressure on the poor while the rich continues to be comfortable.
People would live a differ- ent spiritual life if they really believed in the punishment of God. There is so much more focus on the grace of God that some people are not concerned about the punish- ment of God. Knowing the punishment of God will help a person learn the expecta- tions of God. It is in the pun- ishment that you learn what is acceptable to God because God does not punish without letting you know why. Amos 2:4-8 teaches the church these lessons.
Verse 4 - This is what the LORD says: “The peo- ple of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go un- punished! They have re- jected the instruction of
the LORD, refusing to obey his decrees. They have been led astray by the same lies that de- ceived their ancestors. The sin committed here is di- rectly against God Himself. This verse not only tells that the people of Judah have sinned but it mentions the frequency. They have sinned again and again.
It says something about the person who keeps doing the same sin again and again. This is willful disobedience. God declares these will not go unpunished. He further states that their sin is that they are rejecting His instruc- tion and refuse to obey His commands. God does not look favorably upon those who will not listen to Him or
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-B