And he said:
“The Lord roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of Carmel withers.” (Amos 1:2)
The Lord is not sounding too happy here, would you agree? Mourning shepherds and withering mountaintops paint a disturbing picture… The Almighty then proceeds (through Amos) to tear into people after people: Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and last but not least, Israel.
See what God had to say about ‘His people’:
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for silver,
And the poor for a pair of sandals. (Amos 2:6)
The people of Israel are being called out here for their sins. And notice the first thing God calls foul on – “they sell the righteous for silver”.
Indeed, they not only were doing this during the days of Amos, but many years later they would sell out their very own Messiah for thirty pieces of silver!
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. (Matthew 26:14-16)
Sell the righteous for silver - that's what happened to Jesus. Think about this: they sold God for 30 pieces of silver! Our priceless and Holy King was served up like He was wanted by a bounty hunter. And what a price – 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave in those times. This is just one more humiliation thrust upon our Savior.
The One who would make a way for us all – the only truly Righteous One who ever walked this earth, was handed over to be ruthlessly murdered. Amos is speaking of God’s righteous anger at the people’s wrongdoings – but hundreds of years later, the same nation would go far beyond this, and when God could hold His anger no longer, He poured it all out on the only One who could take it and turn it into something beautiful….for the very same people who betrayed Him.
#LoveMatters