#DailyDevotion Do We Repent In The Midst Of Disaster?
Amos 5 7You are twisting justice to make it a bitter experience and throwing fairness on the ground. 8He Who made the Pleiades and Orion, Who turns the darkest night into morning and darkens the day into night, Who calls the water of the sea to pour it on the ground — He is called the LORD. 9In a flash, He brings destruction on the strong and so destroys a fortress.
In the previous verses the LORD was bringing destruction upon the Israelites. Now we have a ground of reason for Him doing so. They were messing around with the justice and righteousness the LORD had established in the Torah. They turned justice into bitterness (wormwood-a very bitter herb). Righteousness and fairness were cast to the ground. I think it is fair to say this probably means whoever had the money to pay off the judges and elders at the gate were getting their way. They weren’t being prosecuted for their crimes and were setting up innocent people as the criminals. They were using the law to take advantage of the lowly and the meek of the land. The LORD’s justice can be swift and terrible, but it is always fair and just. The Israelites were called to replicate this through the precepts and statutes the LORD had given them.
Our country, state, county and cities run by their own laws, not the laws given by the LORD. We might want to ask ourselves, are our laws fair and just? When the poor and lowly are taken to court by the rich and powerful are they getting fair treatment? If they are not, will the LORD not punish our country along with all its inhabitants who allow this to happen? If we see this, perhaps we should use what political power we have to change the laws or justices.
The LORD then gives them a reason to pay attention. Who is He? What can He do? What does He do? He made the Pleiades and Orion. You may not be familiar with the Pleiades. They are not as bright as they used to be. It’s hard to miss Orion, particularly in the fall and winter with its bright companion star(s) Sirius. It spans across the night sky. The LORD made that, as well as all the rest of the lights in the night sky. Do you really want to mess with Him?
Some commentators note that the “darkest night into morning and darkens the day into night,” is not talking about the natural occurrences but is being used metaphorically. The darkness is when times are at their worst and death seems eminent. The light is when things are going well. Well the LORD can turn your darkness into light. He can also bring your bright day into deepest darkness just by thinking about it. Is this the person you really want to oppose with your life?
He brings forth the remembrance of the deluge He brought upon the earth. But there are many such times where the LORD had brought sea upon the land in deluges. Being from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast areas, hurricanes and tropical storms do this very thing—and we do not repent.We may even curse God for allowing these things, protesting our innocence. We are not as innocent as we make ourselves. There is no one who is good, no, not one. The only contribution man makes to these ecological disasters is our sin which calls out for God’s punishment. The LORD is the one in control of all such things. Do we recognize it? The One who calls forth these waters is the LORD. His destruction is swift and can take down the strongest buildings.
Like the Israelites, we are all called to examine ourselves, confess our sins, and look to Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. Don’t be like those who refuse to repent. Judgment is coming.
O just and merciful LORD, grant us repentance in the midst of our troubles our sins have brought upon us so we may escape them in the world to come. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.