It's Our Choice: Amos 9:1-4
God still loves the rebellious, but He cannot do much with them. Rebellion is a condition of the heart. Rebellion is a choice, and forcing people to act a certain way is counter to free will. Little can be done in the rebellious heart until a person lets go of their own rebellion.
God stands at the altar for this last vision of judgment to Amos. At the very place designed to symbolize relationship with God, God stands. However, God is not receiving sacrifices. God doles out judgment.
He calls for the capitals to be struck. The capitals are the large, broad structures placed at the top of columns. They receive the weight of the roof and focus it down into the shaft. When the capitals are shattered, the weight of the roof is much less evenly distributed and far more likely to crack and fall to the floor.
God stands at the altar and calls for the temple to be brought down upon the worshippers. We don’t know where this vision takes place, but it is likely in one of the main worship centers in the northern kingdom. It’s a point about relationship. He destroys the very place that should have connected Him to His people.
It is more than the location of worship, though. This is a very dark vision about the people. Those who survive the destruction of the temple will be pursued by the sword. The people who were called to be an example of something different have instead chosen to be like the world. Instead of God’s people impacting the world, the world influenced the people. In walking away from God, they no longer put relationship with God on display. In becoming like the world, they became like dull and rusty tools in God’s hands. Their purpose was gone.
Although we may choose to walk away from God, we cannot escape His grasp. The creator of the universe can reach anywhere. He can reach into Sheol. He can grasp the heavens. He controls the world from the highest mountain to the deepest trench in the sea. Even if we allow ourselves to become servants of the world, we cannot escape God’s reach. He is an almighty God; everything is within His power.
In the end, God knows all human beings sin. We all fall short of God’s glory. He does not expect perfection. The contrite heart is loved by Him. The repentant heart is easy to forgive. The heart that acknowledges its sin is a pleasure to mentor, coach, and restore to greater glory.
God takes rebellion seriously, however. The rebellious heart is not a repentant heart. The heart that intentionally walks away from God is no longer malleable. It will not allow itself to be shaped by God. There is little God can do with such a heart except to give it over to its own desires and consequences. God still loves the rebellious, but He cannot do much with them.
