Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Milstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 4:6-13.
As Amos continues to preach to Israel, he draws on previous Old Testament...
Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Milstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 4:6-13.
As Amos continues to preach to Israel, he draws on previous Old Testament texts. As the LORD sent plagues against Egypt in order to bring them to repentance and faith in Him as the only true God, so He has sent plagues against His own people Israel with the same goal in mind. He has enacted the covenant curses listed in Leviticus and Deuteronomy in order to wake His people up from their apathy toward Him. His plagues gradually grow in intensity and hit closer to home to the people each time. The LORD sent famine, drought, blight, mildew, pestilence, death, and destruction against His people, all in an effort to call them away from their idolatry and injustice. Each time the refrain rings with growing tragedy: “Yet you did not return to me.” For that reason, Israel will meet their God in an unmistakable way. They will know for certain that He is the Creator and the God of His angel armies. Such a text forces us to grapple with the uncomfortable truth that the LORD does do His alien work of bringing judgment upon His people for the purpose of bringing us to repentance. When disaster strikes, the faithful response of God’s people is one of repentance, recognizing that we deserve even worse temporally and eternally. In that repentance, we cling by faith to what God does in His proper work. He reveals Himself to us in Jesus Christ as the God who suffers for us, making the day into darkness on Good Friday in order to suffer for our sins and win our eternal salvation.
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