“’I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord” (Amos 4:10).
In this chapter, Amos provides a list of 5 calamities the Lord sent upon Israel. After describing each calamity (hunger, drought, pestilence, etc), Amos recorded these sad words, “yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord.”
A few observations here: 1) calamity is a tool in the Lord’s toolbox. In this chapter, we see that God doesn’t just allow bad things to happen; He actually causes those things.
2) God can do this without being guilty of doing wrong. This may challenge some who think too philosophically about God. The true God of the Bible may not always fit in neat philosophical categories.
3) The condemnation “yet you did not return to me” suggests that calamity is not random; it has meaning and purpose. In these cases, it was used to draw Israel back to the Lord.
If we take the approach that “bad things” cannot be from God, this chapter can not make sense. This forces us to take a larger view of the world around us. In fact, we should seek to recognize the Lord’s hand in all things happening around us. That is how Joseph responded to being betrayed by his brothers. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).
Father, please help me see your hand in this world, and help me to respond appropriately to the things that happen to/around me. Amen.