Amos 9:5-7

The Lord God is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt.

God as the administrator of justice

I. He does it with the greatest ease. The Almighty has no difficulty. Never can there be any miscarriage of justice with God. He bears it right home in every case.

II. He does it with all the powers of nature at His command. His throne is on high, above all the forms and forces of the universe, and all are at His call.

III. He does it disregardful of mere religious profession. Jehovah here repels the idea which the Israelites were so prone to entertain, that because He had brought them out of Egypt and given them the land of Canaan they were peculiarly the objects of His regard, and could never be subdued or destroyed. He now regarded and would treat them as the Cushites, who had been transplanted from their primal location in Arabia into the midst of the barbarous nations of Africa. The Almighty, in administering justice, is not influenced by the plea of profession. A corrupt Israelite to Him was as bad as an Ethiopian, though he calls Abraham his father.

IV. He does it with a thorough discrimination of character. “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.” There were some good people amongst the Israelites, men of genuine goodness; the Great Judge would not destroy them. “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve,” etc. He would burn up the chaff but save the wheat. (Homilist.)