Today’s Reading is frightening. God is telling His People that He will punish them for not believing and obeying. From the Book of Amos 3: 1-8 and 4: 11-12
Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the LORD pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt: (The “whole family” includes the 10 Northern Tribes, founders of the European peoples from whom most of us are, to some degree, descended. He is speaking to us, telling us what He has done for us. And, He tells us what He will do.)
You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes. (We’re going to be punished for allowing abortion and sin to prevail.)
Do two walk together unless they have agreed? Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? (If He did not intend to punish us, He would not be roaring His displeasure.)
Does a young lion cry out from its den unless it has seized something?
Is a bird brought to earth by a snare when there is no lure for it? (The corrupting virus has supplied temptation. Many are lost in those snares of sin.)
Does a snare spring up from the ground without catching anything? (The snares are there to catch things, in this case, sin-loving souls who have turned from God, His prophets, and the Messiah Whom they predicted.)
If the trumpet sounds in a city, will the people not be frightened? If evil befalls a city, has not the LORD caused it? (For several years, we watched have cities from Libya to Iraq falling to murder, rape, and plunder across North Africa and Iraq. The same destruction looms over us.)
Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.
The lion roars— who will not be afraid! The Lord GOD speaks— who will not prophesy! I brought upon you such upheaval as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: you were like a brand plucked from the fire; Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD. (The very same sins are ascendant in the nations about to be destroyed.)
So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel! and since I will deal thus with you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. (Destruction is coming. Judgment is near. We can only be saved by turning to God and The Only Church He Founded.)
We are promised repayment for our sins. The snares have drawn many of us down to destruction. That’s why snares are allowed. Sheep must be separated from goats. Saved souls read and heed.
