Politics
Scripture Reading: Joel 3; Amos 1-3; Revelation 10-11
Does disaster come to a city unless the LORD has done it?
- Amos 3:6
Amos 3:6 is the climatic question in a whole series of rhetorical questions asked by Amos. The questions follow on the heels of his denunciations and pronouncement of judgment on the various nations that existed during his ministry.
His overarching message in this is that the LORD (Yahweh) was not a tribal God of Israel. While Israel had a special place in God’s purposes, those purposes always included and involved the whole world and every nation.
The questions he asked are about cause and effect. We might express what Amos was getting at by the commonly used phrase, “Things happen for a reason.” And here in Amos, he is saying that the disaster that was falling on Israel had a reason.
What we should take away from this is that God is not uninvolved in the rise and fall of nations. We may not always understand or know exactly what God is doing and how it all fits into His long game, we can be confident that it does fit and it does have a reason.
We can also be sure that no nation falls without there being an underlying cause. Somewhere, somehow they kicked the pillars out from underneath themselves.
For the Christian, it is a good reminder that we should obey the New Testament command to pray for our leaders. Even if we are jaded against politics, even if we don’t trust anyone in a political office or position, we should pray for them. What they do effects us all. And we want to live free and peaceable lives for the Lord.
