Sorry! Somehow this was in the drafts file and didn't get published earlier.!
On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar. Amos:2:6
Once again we look at the misuse of
justice written in scripture concerning cloth. Whether this was the
cloak or the regular clothing of the people who owed them something,
we do not know, but God is not happy with them...to the point that He
refuses to NOT take action against them. To take one's clothes in
that day and age was to take their life. For many this was all they
owned. Nakedness is spoken of and apparently was truly a condition of
the desperate. To remove their clothing and leave them in a loin
cloth or less would be a grievous act, not only of lack of mercy for
their plight, but also lack of mercy for their reputation. The total
humiliation of it for the person defrocked, for their families, for
God's reputation as a giving and forgiving God.
Not only did they lack mercy, they then
went to church, perverted the whole worship into an orgy, and used
the clothes that they had stolen as theirs, or as picnic blankets.
They drank wine confiscated also from the poor, and had no unclear
conscience about the whole matter. They felt justified, satisfied,
and proud of their position as boss. They had no humility before
their own boss, God, and showed no mercy. God was going to do them
the same favor and show them no mercy, as well. With the same measure
we use, God will measure out to us...in mercy, favor, wrath, and
love. Those who give, to more will be given, and to those who take,
all will be taken from them.
God owes us nothing, but He love us
anyway. He acted on our behalf to draw us to Him. He blessed us when
we didn't deserve it, and pours out mercy when He could pour out
wrath. But this doesn't last forever...He will some day repay those
who scorn His goodness and do not reproduce it in their lives toward
others.
And then to play church when we are
filled with hatred toward our fellow workmen, well, He sees that as
unforgivable. The verses before these speak of them first rejecting
the law of the Lord, not keeping it, and lying about it to themselves
and others. They exchanged truth for error first, and then started
treating their fellow man with the same scorn. It all starts with
one's attitude toward God. When we see who we are in His eyes, His
holiness and our sinfulness, we have compassion on our fellow
sinners. We see that no matter how hard we may try to love, to be
patient or kind, we fail miserably. We hurt others intentionally or
unintentionally, and we have to humble ourselves and apologize for
not being what others need us to be. But when we take God's Word and
see Him as less than He is, and us as more than we are, then we get
an attitude. We are owed something, so we take. We want justice, so
we mete it out however we see fit, even if it destroys our neighbor.
In this world of people hurting one
another, we look for answers. World peace...when we can't live in
peace with our spouse, community unity...when we can't even be
consistent in keeping our homes together. We wish people could just
get along, but there is always selfishness. We want others to be
unselfish while we get what we want. And the answers we look for
always require the others to change what THEY are doing, thinking,
and being.
When the only answer is to bow before
the throne of God and be humble before Him, and taking that humility
to those around us. Demanding what we want solves nothing, even when
it is something good. Imitating the God of mercy and giving is the
answer to a world in pain. If we all give, we all receive. When we
give mercy, God grants us His mercy, whether people do or not. When
we forgive the debts of others and don't make them “pay up,” God
forgives us our debts. When we let go of anger and offense toward
people who hurt us, God fills us with a peace that will make us
wonder why we decided to fill ourselves with rage. The payback that
we get is far more satisfying than anything we can take from another,
be it in clothes or be it in emotional turmoil or anything else we
subject people to to get even. God doesn't get even...He
forgives...and pays the debt owed...and pulls the offending party to
Himself if only they will come humbly.
And that, my friends, is too wonderful
for us to fathom.
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