1 of 8 “I will not relent” passages

​“The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four, because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges. Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace, and it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels. I will break down the gates of Damascus. I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven, and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir. The Lord has spoken.”

‭‭Amos‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/72/amo.1.3-5.HCSB

Amos lays down eight nation-states' verdicts because the Lord says! Each contains the line “I will not relent from punishing _________ for three crimes, even four,” for what they did to another kingdom. The judgment of God is coming down on these nations for either four crimes or seven crimes. It can be read “for three crimes and for four.” I will continue with the seven crimes from here till we are done with all eight nations. But God never states all seven crimes but only usually one. 

The first nation to receive this verdict is the nation of Syria with its capital of Damascus. Which is north of the nation of Israel. 

The first crime is the crime of threshing Gilead with iron sledges. Gilead would be fought over by both Israel and Syria and the people would have been put through the wringer and due to war would face a lack of food and destroyed homes and fields. 

A threshing floor is where they would separate the grain from the chaff. Sometimes they used horses or stones, but during this era, they may have made iron sleds to glide over the grain to crush it. So Syria would be impoverishing Gilead and taking their grain to feed the King and his army. This reminds me of Gideon in Judges 6 where he is threshing grain in the wine cat to hide it from the Midianites. A threshing floor is a place of God's judgment, we really don’t want to be there. 

God's judgment would come by the way of fire to their palace and citadels. God would personally break down their gates. The things that the rulers of Syria would trust in would be destroyed. If they thought because they were secure in the palace because of royal security or the fortified walls they would never have to face opposition, God reminded them that he is the one who sets up authority. If they trusted in their gods, then He would remind them that He is the only God who can save. If they trusted in the high walls of their city then He would show them that He is the only security needed. 

“The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:10‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/72/pro.18.10.HCSB