Rev. Dr. Ryan Tinetti, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 3:9-15. The prophet Amos pictures a courtroom scene in these verses. The LORD...

Rev. Dr. Ryan Tinetti, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 3:9-15. The prophet Amos pictures a courtroom scene in these verses. The LORD summons Israel’s archenemies, Philistia and Egypt, to serve as witnesses against Samaria in the northern kingdom. The LORD brings forward the evidence against Israel. In their storing of wealth as the source of their security and at the expense of the weak, Israel has in fact only stored up violence and robbery for themselves, a danger that all should guard against when it comes to money. The LORD speaks the verdict and punishment against Israel. He will send an adversary against them; though a remnant will be spared, the scene remains a gruesome and near-complete destruction of Israel for her injustice and idolatry. Like the father Jacob had been a deceiver, so Israel had believed and lived. Israel had placed her trust in the wrong houses, the idolatrous house of Bethel and the luxurious houses in which they lived. The LORD would bring them to an end. The depth of the bad news of Amos’ courtroom scene allows us to grasp the height of the good news of the Savior. What could Israel say in her own defense to the LORD’s accusations? What can we say in our own defense to the LORD’s accusations? There is no righteousness of our own that we can offer. Instead, we can only put our trust in the righteousness of Another, the righteousness that is freely given to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. He alone is our Advocate whose perfect life, death, and resurrection can deliver the verdict to us: “Forgiven.”