AMOS 1:3-5 HATE NOT THE SINNER

3 This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, 4 I will send fire upon the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad. 5 I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says the LORD.

God is not only the God of Israel but the sovereign God of all creation, and therefore, of all the nations. Even though they have not been given the Law or been sent a prophet of the Lord, the nations are still accountable before the Lord for all they have done. The benchmark for the judgment of the nations is how they deal with people, all of whom have been created in God’s image. In God’s economy there is a price to be paid for man’s inhumanity to man.

First on the docket for God’s judgment are the hated Syrians. Their repeated invasions of Israel had been mark by incredible and indiscriminant cruelty perpetrated on the population. Whether it is meant metaphorically or literally, the Syrian invaders are described as treating the defeated people as if they were not human but merely stalks of grain. The imagery is that of tearing, crushing and grinding into nothing.

God will not stand idle before such inhumanity. Even in the midst of war, the leaders and warriors are held responsible before God for those excesses that issue from treating human beings without respect.

When we are grievously wronged, we must remember that the one who wrongs us is still a human being no matter how inhumane he acts. We cannot let our hatred rule our actions and drive us to respond in a vicious and inhumane manner. God is the sovereign Judge and in his hands is the just judgment. Few, if any of us will face anything as excruciatingly inhuman and unjust as Jesus did in the scourging and crucifixion, yet he forgave the perpetrators even from the cross.

Save me Lord from the sin of Syria. Let not hatred get a hold of my heart and cause me to disregard the humanity of another person, no matter how detestable and inhumane their actions may be. Help me to remember that I live under the same Judge as they, and that no cruelty on my part will be tolerated by you. Amen.