Does the Lord Cause Disaster?

Amos 3:6:  "When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?  When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?"

The prophet Amos lived around 760 BC and was called to herald God's warnings of judgment to those in the region of Judah.  Israel during that day was in a spirit of optimism and confidence, because they had experienced much prosperity during the robust reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC).  Yet, just like generations before them, these people were swayed into worshipping pagan gods like the Canaanite storm god, Baal, who the pagan nations believed was responsible for fertility and great agricultural harvests.  These Israelites too began to manipulate and abuse the egalitarian, covenantal stipulations found in the law, by embracing the feudal practices of the pagan nations.  Suddenly, those who were with much financial means began to exploit the needy and impoverished, and a deep chasm opened between the exceptionally rich and the poor.  It was for this reason that the prophet Amos (whose name means "load" or "burden") was summoned by God to warn the people of His imminent  judgment if they did not repent of their idolatry, wickedness, and exploitation.

As Amos began his proclamation first against the neighboring pagan nations around Israel, one can imagine the smug, arrogant disposition of the people of Judah.  After all, they were God's chosen people.  They weren't expecting any such proclamation from a prophet of God, for they believed that they were immune from any punitive decrees from God.  But suddenly, their pompous demeanor would change when the summary judgment would be decreed against them too.  God through His prophet indicted the Israelites for "selling the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . . trampling on the heads of the poor, denying justice to the oppressed."   So too they were excoriated by the prophet of God for engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior, thereby "profaning (God's) holy name."  In their houses of sacred worship, the people of Judah brazenly enjoyed the bounty of their exploitations of others.   And they even caused those who had vowed abstinence for God to break their vows, and they threatened any prophet who would decry or protest what they were doing.

In response to the people's wickedness and sacrilege, God would burst forth in His proclamation much like a roaring lion ready to attack its prey (1:2).  He decreed that He would crush the wayward Israelites like a "cart crushes when loaded with grain" (2:13).  God too reminded the people that they once were helpless and in utter dispair in bondage to the Egyptians, but God in His mercy rescued them and set them on a pilgrimage toward the Promised Land.  They were the esteemed people of all the earth, and they should have responded with awe, thankfulness, and obedience; however, they chose to treat His favor and His blessings (which brought prosperity) with disdainful contempt.  They were so brazen that they held religious feasts to God, offering burnt offerings to Him in an attempt to validate their supposed spirituality; but God was angered by their insidious acts of sacrilege.  He told them to stop their ridulous singing and perfunctory worship.  He did not want any of it, since their lives were full of injustice and righteousness.  And it is for this duplicity that God vowed to punish them for all their sins (3:2).  Even though the people were reaping the blessings of prosperity at the time of Amos' proclamations from God, the day was coming when God's wrath would overtake them, bringing disaster.

This is a good word for us today.  We as a nation have received many blessings from the Lord, as we have experienced a level of prosperity and abundance like no other time in history.  Still, if we were honest with ourselves, we can see how very similar to the people of Judah we are behaving as a nation.  The way in which our nation treats God with contempt (even though many go through the perfunctory rituals of worship), and the way we exploit each other for personal gain is the indicting evidence that God will use against us, unless we repent and return to Him.  We must once again embrace justice and righteousness, and appreciate that our liberation from the bondage of sin has come through His death and resurrection.  His grace has given us hope, so let us repent of our waywardness and our exploitations, and turn again to the Lord.  God is full of love and mercy, and He will pardon our sins and restore unto us the blessedness of His divine favor.  If we forsake such an offering of forgiveness, we can only expect a coming day when disaster from the Lord will overtake us.