1.20 Painting The Whole Picture

Amos 3:14 (NIV)

On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Today's verse is the flip side to yesterday's article, God Loves Egypt.  It was so comforting, wasn't it, to read yesterday that the love of God and His invitation to come to Him and be saved is for everyone, no matter who we are, no matter what we have done.  Jesus is the Savior of the world.  No one falls outside His outstretched arms.

But...

While the love of God is measureless, the wrath of God is equally measureless.  To reject the Savior is to accept the wrath of God on your person.  No one is exempt.

God does not play favorites when it comes to His love or His wrath.

Amos is one of the most frightening books in the Bible.  He said to Israel in Amos chapter two, "For three sins of [Israel and Judah], even for four, I will not turn back my wrath."  What are these sins?

• rejecting the law of the Lord
• being led astray by false gods
• taking advantage of the poor
• denying justice to the oppressed
• father and son using [having sex with] the same girl
• taking for themselves offerings meant for the Lord's work

God told Israel that He had completely destroyed the Amorites for these exact practices and had given their land to Israel.  Would He now turn a blind eye when Israel did the same wicked things?  Not a chance! 

God told Israel:

You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.

Amos wrote that God would crush Israel as a fully loaded cart crushes anything it runs over.  The swift will not escape.  The warrior will not save his life.  The archer will not stand his ground.  The fleet footed soldier will not get away.

On the day that I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

So, let me ask you a question.  If God will not turn a blind eye to the nation He loves best of all the nations on the earth, if God will punish Israel, His most favored of all nations of all time when they sin,  will he let us slide?  Will God destroy Israel but let us live if we likewise trample the Word of God under our feet?

The Bible makes it very clear that everyone will stand for a test on Judgement Day, and the test will consist of only one question.  God will require everyone to tell what they did with the the invitation to come to Jesus Christ and be saved from your sins.  Did you receive Jesus Christ or did you reject Him?

Your answer will determine your fate.

Receive Jesus Christ and receive the infinite blessing of eternal life in God's presence.  Reject Jesus Christ and receive the infinite horror of God's eternal wrath in hell.  There is no middle ground.

At the end of the book of Amos, the prophet takes the application one step further and talks about God's judgment of nations.  One day Israel's fallen tent will be restored.  Romans 11:26 says, "One day all Israel will be saved."

No such promise is made to any other nation on earth.  To every other nation God says in Amos 9:8:

"Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom.  I will destroy it from the face of the earth --- yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob, " declares the Lord.

I pray that God will have mercy on this nation.  In Your wrath, O God, remember mercy.  I pray that God will send a mighty awakening to this land so that many people will turn to Jesus Christ to be saved from their sins.  I pray that we would become a nation wholly devoted to God.

The upshot is this.  God is infinite.  Everything about Him is infinite.  God's love is infinite, but God's wrath is infinite, too.  Let's not forget to paint the whole picture.