Since Israel has forgotten the Lord in their luxury, their worship, and their response to disaster, Amos calls them to prepare for a meeting with God. God has given them plenty of warnings and now the time has come for them to meet with God.
Typically the Bible presents us with two ways in which we can meet with God. The first is by ourselves in our sin and rebellion. If we keep God at arm’s length throughout our lives and hope to meet him—trusting in our own righteousness—then the meeting will be one of judgment and anger. Things will not go well for anyone in that position; you will be destroyed by God’s anger. This was the big danger for the citizens of Samaria and the people who worshipped at Gilgal and Bethel. Such a meeting would result demolition of their wealth and luxury, as they were taken to Assyria.
The second way of meeting God is through a mediator. When Israel met God at Mount Sinai, they realized their need for a mediator lest they be destroyed by God’s holiness. They saw the awesome glory of God’s presence—thunders, lightings, thick clouds, trumpet blasts, and smoke from the top of the mountain. When they realized God is awesome and holy, they asked Moses to speak for them. Moses had to intercede for them with God.
All people have to meet God. There is no way one can avoid this meeting—whether you are Christian or non‑Christian. God has put human time to an end. You cannot keep God arm’s length forever. Because he is the sovereign Lord and Creator of everything, there will come a time when you stand before him.
Just like Israel, we have a choice as to how we will meet with God. We can meet him in judgment if we continue to persevere in sin and unbelief. We can also meet him as our Father through faith in his Son. In the person of Jesus Christ, God has provided us with a means by which we can meet him. Jesus is the one Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the one who came into our world to reveal God to us. He came to live the perfect life on our behalf so that we can stand in the presence of the Father, clothed in his righteousness without a spot or a blemish. He is the one who bore the burden of God’s wrath against our sin—our failure to use our wealth correctly, our failure to worship in sincerity, our failure to respond to life with faith and obedience—he paid the penalty for all those failures. Praise God that we can meet him through a mediator and be assured that you are ready to meet your God if you trust in Jesus Christ. You do not have to fear judgment if you belong to Christ.
12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”