It’s easy to be negative about judgment until we look at if from different perspectives. If you’ve been wronged, you think judgment is a wonderful thing, but if you’re guilty of something, you probably have a very different opinion. It’s usually from the guilty seat that we react to the judgment of God, and if we just understood it better, we’d probably be much more accepting. Amos, like many of the prophets, helps us to do this – to see judgment from God’s perspective and that of other victims. He reminds us of the law and of the many different ways we break it. He highlights the extra responsibility of God’s privileged people. He justifies judgement and justice without question. And he points to a hope beyond judgment, even for lawbreakers. In fact, if you don’t seek to understand the law and judgment, you can’t fully appreciate the grace of Jesus in the gospel.
