Amorite Iniquity Limit

Heh.  A new coining from Wretchard the Cat in a tweet.

Hamas pursued the grand strategy of limited terror attacks for decades, in their way prospering, until for reasons historians may yet decipher they went past the Amorite Iniquity Limit and by going too far, called down a sulphur and brimstone airstrike on themselves.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) November 12, 2023

Hmm.  What is this principle/  I have never heard of the Amorite Iniquity Limit before.  The Amorites were a tribe in the Old Testament who were punished for their sins.

Genesis 15:13-21 (KJV)

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

The Amorites occupied lands that the Lord meant for the Israelites.  And what of their iniquity?  They were guilty of attacking the Israelites, worshipping false gods, etc.  The Amorites were told that they were in sin and to fear judgment.  They repeatedly continued to act against God's will for several centuries and had not yet been judged by God.  Until God judged them, their iniquity was not complete.  

Only when God visited his punishment on the Amorites for their sins, was their iniquity complete.  Effectively, part of their punishment was the conquest of their lands by the return of Abram's descendant from captivity under Joshua who was instructed by the Lord to destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.  Which he did.  The iniquity of the Amorites was fulfilled.  

So what is Wretchardthecat's Amorite Iniquity Limit?  My interpretation is the the Amorite Iniquity Limit is the furthest degree of violence and inhumanity that will be allowed by others before dire consequences are visited upon those who commit the acts of violence and inhumanity.

I like the salvaging of the phrase and mild repurposing.

And one cannot finish without taking the opportunity to note the wonderfully named King of the Amorites when Moses led his people out of Egypt and fought the Amorites.  King of the Amorites was - King Og.

Wretchardthecat explains his use of the Amorite Iniquity Limit:

I guess you could think of the Amorite Iniquity limit as a kind of credit card on atrocities every terror outfit has. While your balance is low enough the big boys will ignore you, but once you're big time over the limit, God or history will come and repo your ass.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) November 12, 2023