12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” 13 He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name.
Earlier Amos envisioned God trying limited punishments to get Israel to return, but without success. Now, he presents God as preparing to unleash the full horror of the covenant sanctions. Basically, the Israelites will not experience each of them one at a time but everything at once. Of course, this is Amos’s interpretation, but, since God is love, we should see what happens to Israel as the consequence of their actions. Note that the term “prepare to meet your God” echoes Exodus where it is used for the meeting on Sinai.
In the final verse, Amos reminds us of God’s awesome power. He is someone to fear since he can both create and destroy life. Note that the verbs usually translated as “form” and “create” are the same as in the creation story in Genesis. Remember too that the word for “wind” in Hebrew also means “breath” or “spirit”.
Given the extent of polytheism in Israel, probably most people considered God, at most, the most powerful of many gods. Here, Amos shows them how wrong they are. God “forms”, “creates”, “reveals” thoughts, “turns dawn to darkness” and “treads on the heights of the earth.” He forms the tallest mountains, but he also gives life to each of us. In other words, he controls everything and everyone: All that exists must answer to him. Yet, although we are but creatures, he reveals his thoughts to us. He shares his plan for this world he has created. He is all-powerful, infinitely above us, and yet loves us so much that he wants us to know him.
In our world, it is rare that the great and powerful care about the lives of ordinary people, and yet God does. He cares so much that he was willing to die for us, despite all our faults. His name is Lord God Almighty, but the Hebrew means that he is God of the Armies. This refers to the heavenly armies, i.e. angels. Note that the heavenly army appears in Luke, bringing peace to the earth and showing how little we truly understand God. Of course, we are very much like the Israelites and throughout history, Christians have found it easier to worship what they’d like God to be rather than what he is
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