We've all had a moment of literally or metaphorically slapping our forehead when we realise we've done or said something against our better judgment. We had information that should have shaped our actions and words, but did something that didn't line up with what we knew. We're not alone: it's been happening since the beginning of humanity, and the nation of Judah was no different.

After Amos recites the judgments coming on the nations that surround Israel, the Israelites' are likely to have responded with enthusiastic agreement. After all, these nations had mistreated their neighbours and God was punishing them for these abuses. It's interesting that many of the offences were not against Israel but against other nations; it reinforces the fact that God is the God of all the earth and that all nations are accountable to Him.

It's also significant that God is judging these nations even though they did not have His revelation and laws. God holds people responsible for what they know. The apostle Paul says something similar to the church in Rome (see Romans 2:12-16). Part of the point of Amos' judgment announcements is that all people know enough to be held accountable. There is a law of humanity written on all hearts, and God holds people responsible for how they respond to it.

In today's passage, we see that God's judgment (Amos 2:4-5) isn't just for other nations–Judah, too, is not exempt from responsibility! But instead of being judged for violations of human rights of their enemies or for war crimes, God's people are accused of rejecting the law of the Lord and worshipping false gods.

Amos uses the same framework for his accusation against Judah, his own people, that he uses for the other nations: ″For three sins of . . . even for four, I will not relent . . . I will send fire on . . . that will consume . . .″ (vv. 4-5). This literary pattern puts Judah on the same footing as the rest of the nations. Before God, Judah–the people of God who have received special revelation of His law–is just as accountable to God for her actions.

In fact, God's people may be held even more accountable because they have been given special and specific instructions about what is good and what is evil. As Jesus reminds us: ″From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked″ (Luke 12:48).