Daily Devotions
Amos
"Transgressions of Judah"
Text: Amos 2:4
JUDAH WAS NOT SPARED
Judah had sinned grievously against the Lord God. Its transgressions were noted and judgment proclaimed.
“Thus says the LORD:
‘For three transgressions of Judah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have despised the law of the LORD,
And have not kept His commandments.
Their lies lead them astray,
Lies which their fathers followed.'”
Amos 2:4
1. “Thus says the LORD”
Once again, we are reminded that this word came from the LORD Himself.
2. “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment”
a) Being Judah does not offer immunity from judgment.
b) Transgressions would have to be judged.
c) Punishment would be according to the transgressions committed.
3. “Because”
a) They have despised the law of the LORD.
i) King Jehoiakim even burned a scroll from Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:20-31).
ii) The king and his servants were not afraid of judgment from God (Jeremiah 36:24-26).
b) “And have not kept His commandments”
i) Moses warned Israel about this (Deuteronomy 31:29).
ii) Asaph the Psalmist noted the sins of Israel (Psalm 78).
iii) All the prophets spoke against sins.
iv) Israel had never kept God’s laws faithfully.
c) “Their lies lead them astray”
i) These lies were perpetuated by false prophets (Jeremiah 23).
ii) They believed what they wished to believe in (Jeremiah 27).
iii) Judah had turned to idolatry and believed the lies of these false religious teachers.
d) “Lies which their fathers followed”
i) From the days of Moses, there was great rebellion against the teachings of the servants of God.
ii) The forefathers had believed in these lies and thus perpetuated them through their influence.
Even the royal family was not unaffected! Many of the kings practised idolatry!