Violence and Robbery (Amos 3)

 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds” (Amos 3:10).

     Violence, robbery, quarrels, murder, war . . . these stem from wanting what we do not have (James 4:1, 2). Of course, there are appropriate ways to acquire what we do not have, but, unfortunately, Israel gave us the example of acquiring inappropriately. Israel resorted to violence and robbery. They had their winter houses and summer houses made of ivory that had to be maintained. It took massive resources to maintain lavish accommodations and those resources had to come from somewhere. The folks who could afford to have these types of homes were taxing, fining, oppressing and neglecting the poor to get what they needed to sustain their lifestyle. 
     So bad were conditions in Israel that the Lord called upon ungodly neighbors and the Mosaic Law to bear witness to judgment. He called upon Ashdod and Egypt to gather around and look at the confusion and the oppression (vs. 9). He also called attention to the Law to show that he was not responsible for the downfall; Israel herself was responsible. The Law stated that if livestock was put in the care of a neighbor that, in the case of losing the animal, the caretaker was responsible for the loss (supposing they may have eaten it themselves or sold it) unless he could produce a torn piece of the animal to prove that wild animals attacked it (Exodus 22:13).  Enough evidence would remain to prove that it was not God's neglect or injustice that led to Israel's downfall, but rather her violence and robbery.
     We've been laying alongside Israel some of our own country's involvement in parallel behaviors. We've actually seen that a few evil people with a lot of power, money and legal protection can cause a lot of violence and robbery. Here's another clip from John Perkins that shows how things escalate to violence and robbery.