Punishment of Israel’s Sins

⁹ “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her.
¹⁰ For they do not know to do right,’ says the Lord, ‘who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ”
¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.”
¹² Thus says the Lord: “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria – in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!”

Amos 3:11 announces a calamity. This reminds us of the news we see on TV or online in our lifetime. Sometimes it is necessary to turn off the TV or put the phone aside to prevent depression or feeling low because of so much tragedy, one right after another.

Samaria was the capital of the Israeli reign, in which the prophet, under God’s command, would proclaim national calamities as punishment. What faults did that nation have? They didn’t know right from wrong anymore. Justice was perverted. They committed shameful fraud. Maybe this comes to you as no surprise at all, besides, perversion has become a very common thing, which has caused many to not know right from wrong anymore. Yes, dear reader, our times have been lived by Israel before. Imagine the great tumults you have seen, heard of, or maybe even taken place in… Revolted youths, violent protest riots, concerts accompanied by orgies, millions of miserable people in the midst of others’ wealth; a generalized disorder.

In spite of all of this, by delegating this message to prophet Amos, God was giving Israel an opportunity to repent before their judgment came. This also repeats in our days. It is wonderful to know that God is always available to hear our confessions with a repentant heart and to forgive us, thanks to the purifying power of the blood of Christ. We still have time to be saved from the calamity that is approaching. We should never wait for the day of judgment to come so that we settle our debt with God. He desires to grant us forgiveness even more than we seek to receive it! If tomorrow is judgment day, today is still time for forgiveness.

Invite God to start in your life the change that is so necessary for the whole world. Make sure you forgive others so that God will forgive you: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14,15).”

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Which is more difficult: to forgive or to ask for forgiveness? The Bible tells us that one of Jesus Christ’s disciples, Peter, had questions about forgiveness. One day, he asked the son of God: “How many times must we forgive the same person who sins against me?” Peter was quick in his thinking – he himself gave a suggestion: “7 times?”

The tradition of the rabbis taught that one should forgive the same person up to 3 times. Could it be that Peter wanted to impress Jesus by suggesting that one should forgive more than double the required number of times?

Whatever Peter’s intention, Christ went beyond when He answered: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven” (v. 22). The first interpretation we might have when reading this verse is to multiply 70 x 7 = 490 times. Did Jesus reveal to us the perfect formula to arrive at the exact quantity of forgiveness? I believe it is impossible with our heart to count that we have forgiven the same person 490 times. Are you keeping track on a tic sheet? I mean, if someone comes up to you and asks for forgiveness, do you take out your tic sheet to see how many times you have already forgiven them? Imagine if God did that to us?! Just as an example, let’s say I am 35 years old and that I started asking God to forgive me every day since I was 10 years old. As of the date of this post, this would mean that I have asked Him to forgive me at least 9,125 times, which is way more than 490 times. I have exhausted my “quota” a long time ago!

While we seek to find logical ways for our limited reasoning to find a calculation to limit forgiveness, Christ teaches us our forgiveness has to go beyond: it needs to be unlimited, because that is what God does for us. Are we able to count how many times God has already forgiven our trespasses? We need to remember that Jesus teaches us to ask the Father to “forgive our trespasses as we have forgiven those that trespassed against us” (Matthew 6:12). If we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we confess that we want God to forgive our mistakes just like we have forgiven those who offended us.

How have you been practicing forgiveness in your life?

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

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