Daily Devotions
October 29th, 2012 by Pastor SolleyAmos 2:1-4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, And for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: And Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: 3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, And will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD. 4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept his commandments, And their lies caused them to err, After the which their fathers have walked:
Over and over again in the beginning of the book of Amos this phrase is repeated; “For three transgressions…and for four”. It is a testimony to the love and longsuffering nature of God. Over and over again God would withhold judgment giving men time to repent. Over and over again man would not and so that judgment would come. But think of the longsuffering nature of God on display then and now as well. I often wonder as I look at this world, look at the actions of man, look at sin on display, what holds back the judgment of God? It is the long suffering nature of God, and are we not blessed because of His longsuffering nature of God? Here is a thought; what would have happened to us, what would happen to us if God were not longsuffering? When I begin to think in my mind and question why God doesn’t judge the world I pause to remember how long suffering God has been and continues to be with me. I thank God that I was given space to repent and come to Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to have a longsuffering God. However we must keep in mind that God will and must judge sin. His longsuffering nature does not take away from his holiness and righteousness.