JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH In this chapter he resumes his talk about the judgment of the Gentile nations around Judah and Israel; then talks about the judgment of Judah, and finally talks in more detail about the judgment of Israel, which is the main issue, 1- Judgment of Moab 1 – 3 2- Judgment of Judah 4 – 5 3- Judgment of Israe l6 – 16 1- JUDGMENT OF MOAB: In our study of the book of Ezekiel, we saw that ‘Moab’ was a descendant of the son of ‘Lot’ by his older daughter. He was called ‘Moab’ on account of that his mother got him from her father; as the word ‘Moab’ means (from the father)1. St. Jerome believes that the older daughter, by getting her father drunk, sleeping with him to give birth to her son ‘Moab’; She refers to Satan and all those who rebel against, and not think of God, their Father2. While St. Augustine believes that the children of Moab refer to those who use the law in a wrong unlawful and offensive way; the way the older daughter of ‘Lot’ did, who used her father the wrong way3. The crime of Moab was that he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime; which, although looking as some minor offense, yet God hates sin whatever its magnitude is in our eyes. The amazing thing is that, although those bones belonged to a king adversary to the people of God; Yet God does not like ferocity or violence, even if directed to dead adversaries. The fruit of that ferocity was to send a fire upon Moab, devouring the palaces of its most fortified city ‘Kerioth’, most probably its capital (Kherbet El Rabbah, 14 miles south of the river Arnon); To turn Moab into a battle field, consumed with tumult, with shouting and trumpet sound; To cut off the judge from its midst, to become deprived of justice and wisdom; And that all its princes are to be slain. What Moab did to the dead bones, with a wicked soul and a cruel heart, would return upon its cities, princes, and people! 2- JUDGMENT OF JUDAH: If the word ‘Judah’ means (confession); those who were committed to proclaim their faith and to confess it through abiding to the divine commandment, “have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies led them astray, lies after which their fathers walked” (Amos 2: 4). Instead of confessing the truth, they accepted vanity, and walked behind lies! It is painful to see the fire devour the palaces of Jerusalem. If the word ‘Jerusalem’ means (vision of God); Going astray from the commandment of God, and walking behind lies, would corrupt the inner insight, and deprive it of the vision of God. Hence the Lord says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5: 8). And as St. Augustine says: [Let us purify our hearts by faith, to be qualified for the .171 - 1 حزقیال ص 169 2 On Ps. Hom. 34. 3 On Ps. Hom. 83: 5. 19 indescribable unseen vision1]. …All what the holy books present, are to purify the inner insight from what may deprive it from seeing God. The physical eye is created to see the temporal light; And in case some foreign body enters into it, it would disturb its clarity and interfere with its ability to see that light. The same way with the heart’s eye, If it is disturbed or wounded, it would not dare or be able to see the light of righteousness … Now, what would disturb the clarity of your heart’s eye, and even blind it, other than the lust, the meanness, the iniquity, and the pleasure of the world2?! 3- JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL: Before presenting any sermons to Israel, he revealed to them three aspects of the secret behind their judgment. (1) The oppression they practice (6 – 8). (2) Paying back the goods of God with denial (9 – 12). (3) Their falling together under judgment (13 – 16). (1) The Oppression they practice: (verses 6 – 8) “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) This is probably the first written charge addressed by a ‘Writing Prophet’ against Israel, in the name of the Lord Himself: “That they sell the righteous for silver”. Who is this righteous sold for silver, but the Lord Christ, who is alone righteous and with no sin, who was sold by the traitor Judas for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave (Matthew 27: 5; Luke 22: 5); The Lord who purchased us, not with gold or silver, but with His precious blood?!; The Lord who presented His life to redeem a slave; And the slave who sold His Lord for silver; about whom the prophet Zechariah bitterly said: “And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter – that princely price they set on Me” (Zechariah 11: 12, 13) !!! It is the sin of all the generations; Israel sells the Lord for thirty pieces of silver; The silver of this world being in her eyes more exalted than the life with the Lord; And the temporal things are evaluated more valuable than the divine! What does he mean by selling the poor for a pair of sandals (Amos 2: 6)?! … Who is that ‘poor’, sold for a pair of sandals?! But the Lord Christ, who presents Himself to us through the poor, the suffering, and the needy?! God commanded His prophet Moses to take off his sandals to be qualified to tread unto the divine sanctuaries, to behold the secrets of God, to enter with Him into an amiable debate, and to be given the shepherding task (Exodus 3). For the same reason, the Lord commanded His disciples not to wear sandals (Matthew 10: 10); so as not to be among those bound to the earth; but, through lifting their hearts up to heaven, they could draw with them every heart by the Holy Spirit, to where Christ sits. But man, instead of taking off his sandals to live in heaven, and to exalt to divine levels, he foolishly sells the poor (Christ Himself) for a pair of sandals; preferring being connected to the earthlies, and walking in the temporals, to living in the heavenlies, and being liberated from the sandals. 1 In Ioan 5: 8. .292 ، 2 خواطر فیلسوف في الحیاة الروحیة (الخوري یوحنا الحلو) بیروت 1970 ، ص 291 20 The scholar Origen1 believes that the sandals refer to the dead temporal life, and to the love of vain appearances. Like making the sandals and the drums that give loud and empty sound, from the skin of dead animals; So is selling the Lord Christ, with His eternal glory, for the sake of the dead temporal life; Or for acquiring vain temporal honor, that has the shining appearance, with no inner serious work. The Lord then came to reveal strange examples of transgressions committed by the Israelites, in which the most horrible defilement were mixed with oppression; which are: a-“They who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth” (Amos 2: 7). Not only have they no compassion upon their poor brethren, but they cruelly oppress them, and trample their heads by their feet in the dust of the earth. Whose head are they trampling by their feet into the dust of the earth, but that of the Lord Christ Himself, the Head of the whole church?! They despise Him and insult His precious salvation; About whom the apostle Paul says: “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God under foot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?!” (Hebrew 10: 29). Despising the poor and insulting him, we are actually despising his Head, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That is why St. John Chrysostom says: [How great is the stature of the poor, being considered as equivalent to a dwelling place of the Lord, where He can hide! The poor may appear as the one who stretches his hand to beg, Yet it is God Himself who receives your alms!] And on the tongue of the Lord, he also says: ‘You heard that I am clothed with light as a robe; Yet when you clothe a naked poor, I, Myself, would feel the warmth, and reward you for the cover! 2’ b- “and push the afflicted out of the way” (Amos 2: 7) They do not stop at being negative, disregarding the poor and the afflicted; but if they happen to see him approaching an open way for his salvation, they would close it in his face; They actually work to the account of the kingdom of oppression! c- “A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name” (Amos 2: 7). What a horrible portrait of iniquity, for man and his father to partake of the sin of adultery with the same girl! And as said by St. Basil the Great in his letter to Diodorius: [There is no mention in the law of that particular transgression; as such a horrible thing is unimaginable, and does not need to be warned against!; According to the words of the apostle Paul: “Fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints” (Ephesians 5: 3) 3]. d- “They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god” (Amos 2: 8). They not only go to the heathen altars, and partake of the banquets of their temples; but they mix their uncleanness with cruelty; While pretending piety, they lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge from the poor who are unable to pay their debts; and they drink the wine of those condemned and could not pay the fines put on them.!! They pretend to worship, using the clothes and wine of the poor, who cannot acquire the necessities of life. .32 ، 1 للمؤلف: الخروج، 1981 ، ص 31 . 2 للمؤلف: الحب والعطاء، 1970 ، ص 43 3 Ep. 160: 3. 21 (2) Paying back the goods of God with denial: (verses 9 – 12) By mentioning several examples of the bitter transgressions of the children of Israel, mixed with oppression and cruelty; he intends to confirm that they are without excuse; Instead of paying back the multitude of God’s good, through living a holy life, they walk in denial. “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before you, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorites I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O children of Israel’’, Says the Lord. But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy’” (Amos 2: 9-12) It is the perpetual story of man; God, in every generation presents salvation, and proclaims His exalted divine love for man; Yet man, in the foolishness of his heart pays this love back with denial. Historically, God paved the way for the Israelites in the old; As the Amorites, their enemies, were giants like cedars, and as strong as oaks, God destroyed their fruit above, and uprooted them from beneath. Then He set forth, carrying His people as though on the wings of His exalted love, caring for them all along forty years through the wilderness, until He delivered to them the land of the Amorites. As a further sign of His love, He raised some of their sons as prophets, and some of their young men as Nazirites , consecrated by His name! Yet, they paid back His love with hatred, and God’s gifts with denial and rebellion. They gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets not to utter the word of God. And as said by St. John Chrysostom: [God made it a point to show that the Israelites are worthy of greater judgment; on account of that they transgressed after been given such great gifts1]. Mentioning giving the Nazirites wine to drink, before commanding the prophets not to utter the word of God; is because drinking wine refers to man’s loss of balance and wisdom; And to minister to God while intoxicated with wine, would lead to the corruption of the house of God, and the loss of its peace. And as said by St. Jerome: [Aaron and the other priests were commanded to refrain from drinking wine or any other intoxicating drink before entering into the temple, lest they die; That teaches us that those who minister in the church without reverence would die2]. If commanding the prophets to stop testifying to God, by proclaiming the word of prophecy, is a serious sin, It would be more so for those who enter the house of God; and not only refrain from uttering the truth, but non-reverently distort the truth, corrupts God’s sanctuaries, and hinder the spiritual work. What God did with Israel, He has done, and is still doing with each of us. The Amorite He destroyed before us is the devil who had authority for so long; Whom, being a giant like the cedar, and as strong as the oaks, we used to fear. But the Lord, with His cross, destroyed his authority, and by preaching Him, saw him fall like lightening from heaven (Luke 10: 18). God brought us forth, as though from the land of servitude, bearing us by His Holy Spirit, to inherit the land possessed for so long by the Amorite. Coming to 1 On Priesthood 6: 11. 2 Adv. Javinian 2: 15. 22 be kings and priests of the Lord, I wish we do not do like the Israelites, drink the wine of this world, and stop the Spirit of prophecy and of the testimony to the Lord. (3) Their falling together under judgment: (verses 13 – 16) To confirm to them, that having sinned, there is no possibility of escaping punishment; The Lord began by saying: “Behold, I am weighed down by you, as a cart is weighed down that is full of sheaves” (Amos 2: 13). God who carries the whole world by His might, groans because of our sins and iniquities, that weighs down on Him like a cart full of sheaves, to say: “I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble for Me. I am weary of hearing them; I am weary of bearing them” (Isaiah 1; !3, 14). Seeing His people’s apostasy, He bitterly says: “My heart churns within Me” (Hosea 11: 8). I wish we are not like a cart full of the sheaves of evil, that weighs down the soul and heart of our Redeemer and Heavenly Father; and makes Him say: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death … O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26: 38, 39). I wish that the fiery chariot of God, that carries His heavenly nature, would work in us; so as not to present a heavy burden that weighs Him down; but to fly high by the Holy Spirit of God, soaring to the heavenly places, from glory to glory with no hindrance. I wish, instead of being like a cart full of sheaves of evil, that hinders the salvation work of God, we would become like a light and swift cloud that carries the Lord to come to Egypt to establish an altar in its midst (Isaiah 19). “Therefore flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not retain their strength, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow; The swift of foot shall not deliver himself, Nor shall he who rides a horse, deliver himself. The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day’,says the Lord” (Amos 2: 14-19) What a tough and difficult situation; No one whatever are his wisdom or his potentials, can flee from the judgment; Flight shall perish from the swift; namely, he who thinks of himself as clever, would not be able to deliver himself. On that day, when man falls under the heavy weight of his sins, his mental potentials to swift action, his strong body, his reputation of heroism, the bow in his hand, the horse he rides, or the mighty heart by which he is known; would not be enough to deliver him … He will not only be unable to flee, but he would stand naked; as he is found not clothed by Christ, our righteousness! I wish we acquire Jesus Christ within us; I wish we are clothed and be covered only by Him; I wish we enter and take refuge into Him: I wish we hold His cross as a bow, that would never fail: I wish our legs become strengthened to walk along the way of truth, and to have the possibility to set forth, as though by a heavenly chariot, and to have our hearts strengthened by Him; So that the day of the Lord would turn into a day of joy and conquest. Only Jesus is our strength, victory, spiritual weapon, eternal garment, glory and joy, that would never be taken away from us. In the old, the work of the law has been to proclaim the vanity of all our human potentials for salvation; Not to live destroyed, but to receive our Christ as the source of our salvation. The Psalmist looking around him for help among the rulers, and finding out how weak they are; he says: “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom 23 there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish” (Psalm 146: 3). Finding no possibility of salvation even in his own parents, he bitterly says: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Psalm 27: 10); And finding no help among humans, he says: “I said in my haste, all men are liars” (Psalm 116: 11). Thinking of himself as mighty and of possibilities, man is rebuked by the Lord, saying: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches” (Jeremiah 9: 23); And in case he leans on his horses, he hears: “A horse is a vain hope for safety” (Psalm 33: 17); and, “you said, ‘No, for we flee on horses’, … We shall ride on swift horses’;… Therefore those who pursue you shall be (more) swift” (Isaiah 30: 16). Let us receive God Himself ; He is our salvation, wisdom, riches, strength, and everything for us.
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