Amos: God Cares
Notes
Transcript
Imagine this scene. A southern, agricultural businessman makes his way to the north. He is out of his home, but in many ways it’s the same country among the same people. He has a southern accent. The man sees various atrocities as he is conducting his business and is inspired by God to say something.
He makes his way to the local center of worship and stands in a place where he can be heard. He begins to preach.
And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
As he begins his message, he doesn’t focus on the locals, he focuses on their competition. Considering all of the nations around them, he lays out several arguments against the surrounding nations.
He begins with the nation to the north east of this land - Syria. He then indicts the nation to the south west - Gaza. He then goes to the north west - Tyre. He continues criss-crossing the map - addressing the sins of surrounding nations.
He then even refers to his own region - Judah.
Now he has their attention. People are gathered - eager to hear the judgment of the Lord against these other places.
Then Amos gets to the target of his sermon - the people of Israel.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—
those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
“Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life;
he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the Lord.
Amos saved his most pointed and detailed accusation for the people of Israel. You see the people of Israel, the northern kingdom, had rebelled against God and set up their own worship centers. Rather than returning to Jerusalem to worship and make sacrifices, they had set up idols as symbols for God and established a religious system that was a mixture of Jewish and pagan rituals.
Beyond that, they had forsaken the social constructs that God had assembled and had begun to live selfishly - oppressing the poor and dealing dishonestly.
And so Amos - this southern shepherd (1:1), gets called by God as a sort of lay-minister to speak into the lives of the Israelites of the north. He had no religious title or lineage (7:14) - he was simply obedient to the call that God had placed on his life.
Today, as we consider the book of Amos, we’re going to look at some lessons that we can learn. Before we get too far into that, let me give you a bit of background and structure to the book.
Background and Structure
Background and Structure
Amos’s ministry was likely a short-lived ministry. He served for anywhere from a few days to a few years - and this was roughly 30 years before the nation of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians (722BC).
His short book is generally divided into three sections:
Judgments against the surrounding nations (ch. 1-2:5)
Judgments against Israel (2:6-6:14)
Visions of Judgment (ch. 7-9)
In looking at the book of Amos and the other minor prophets, there are a lot of similarities. So many of these prophets were called to speak to either the north or the south at a specific time. They called people to repentance and warned of impending judgment for God’s people and the surrounding nations.
It’s easy to look at these books and see God as an angry and vengeful God - a God of doom and gloom. But in many ways, what Amos and the other prophets are communicating is that God cares! God cares about his holiness and his holy name! God cares enough to pay attention and to act. God cares enough to call us to action or repentance. God cares.
God cares about how we worship
God cares about how we worship
Remember, the northern kingdom had set up their own false worship. All of the work that God did during the Exodus in setting up the worship practices of the Israelites were thrown out the window as the northern tribes chose to worship God on their terms.
They set up worship centers that were convenient to them - in Bethel and Dan. Look at what it says back in the book of first kings. This was a few hundred years before Amos served. This was in the early days of the schism between the north and the south.
So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.
He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.
He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
In the very first indictments against the nation of Israel, Amos reminded them that it was God, not a calf that lead them out of Egypt. He then goes on to talk about their festivals and worship practices:
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves,
and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
They were worshiping idols. They were observing festivals on days that were not ordained by God. They were mixing pagan worship practices with the worship of God. They were defaming His name.
Over these last few months, we’ve not been able to worship in the way that we would prefer. We’ve not been able to assemble in a way that seems to mesh with the biblical instruction for how churches should assemble. We’ve been spread out and detached from one another, all while still trying to worship God for who He is.
Now that we can begin to come together, my hope is that we will continue to worship God for Who He is, and not for where we get to worship Him.
Amos clearly reminded the people of Israel about God with this little hymn
For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
And again in the next chapter
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name;
Part of the reason that we sing so much and read so much of God’s word in our times together is that we want to understand God as much as we can. We want the eyes of our minds to see Who He is and how He is working. We need to be reminded that God is greater than all things. He is greater than the universe.
We come because of Him, not because of what we can get out of our time together. I do hope that we do get things out of our times of worship, but that should not be our primary focus. We don’t come out of convenience, but out of conviction.
God cared about how the people of Israel worshiped. God cares about how we worship.
Secondly, we learn from Amos that...
God cares about how we live
God cares about how we live
In the “Dear Family” this week, I asked the question, “what difference does it make that I’m a Christian?” Have we responded to God’s salvation only so that we can have eternal life, a sort of spiritual fire insurance policy, or is there something more?
One of the things that we need to remember about the people of Israel is that they were supposed to live a certain way. They were supposed to conduct their lives in a manner that honored God. They were to be holy!
“Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
This call to holiness was to impact what they ate, what they put on their bodies, how they treated each other, and so much more.
Amos addresses the way that they treated each other.
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.
They were acting dishonestly in order to gain an advantage.
He continues with this warning...
“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!
And then in verse 4...
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
These people were concerned about their own comforts and not about the things that truly matter. They were living for luxury and not living for the Lord.
Even though we may be in a bit of a recession, I do wonder how much of Amos’ charge against the Israelites would apply to us today? We certainly do like our comforts and conveniences, our luxuries. I know I do. I am convicted by my own materialism and my lack of concern for those who are oppressed and in need.
Sure, I do see needs and I occasionally act, but how often does it really impact my schedule or my pocket book.
James reminds us...
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Back when we were studying the sermon on the mount, we were reminded that Kingdom people are different. That the reality of God’s Kingdom on Earth would be manifested through people who were doing life God’s way.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The world in which we live now could certainly use Kingdom people living Kingdom lives in order to make a difference to those who have been oppressed, to those in need, each other.
God Cares about what we pray
God Cares about what we pray
In the last few chapters of the book, Amos receives several visions from the Lord regarding the nature and certainty of the judgment that would come.
One vision revealed a plague of locusts that would devastate the land - much like we saw last week in the book of Joel. In response to this, Amos prayed...
When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
God heard Amos’ heartfelt plea for his people and responded.
The Lord relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
Yet again, God provided Amos a vision. This time it was a judgment of fire that would destroy the land. Again, Amos interceded with a prayer to the Lord - and God responded.
Then I said, “O Lord God, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
The Lord relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Beloved - I know there are times when it seems like our prayers don’t reach past the ceiling and God seems to be slow in responding. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep allowing His Word to inform how you should pray and what you should pray for. Amos prayed for the people of Israel - that God’s mercy would prevail for a time over his justice. Let us be praying for our neighbors. Pray that they would respond to the call of the Lord. Pray that God would hold back his judgment until more people will repent and turn to Him.
Here in Amos, it seems that God relents these two times, but he does lay down a standard. Amos sees yet another vision, this time it’s a plumb line.
This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Now if you’ve never used a plumb line, they are used to determine the straightness or trueness of something. A plumb line is essentially a chord with a weight on the bottom. When the weight stops moving, it becomes the standard to measure whether a wall or some other object is straight.
God had established the people of Israel with laws and systems to help them live rightly - and yet they had become off-kilter and out of true against God’s standard. The time was coming for him to judge. They would be called to account.
The point is this, that there is a time when God will finally judge against His standard. He will call to account and will bring a decision.
God is the ultimate standard - he is holy, pure, just, right. He is the One to whom we have to compare ourselves.
We - though created in God’s image - are messed up. We are out of true. We are unrighteous. Whether in our actions or our thoughts, when we compare ourselves to God - we have no way to justify ourselves, and truly no way to be right with God - on our own.
Jesus - being both fully God and fully human - exhibits God’s perfection and lived up to God’s standard. Because He gave his life as a sacrifice to make us right with God - he becomes the standard against which God’s plumb line is compared. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
So now, for those who have trusted in what Christ has done on the cross, when God’s judgment happens, he will hold his plumb line, his holy standard up to Christ on your behalf.
(illustration of making a sports team and remaining on the team and the outcome of the effort being revealed in Jesus - can’t be kicked off because I joined because of Him).
Friend - if you’ve not yet allowed Jesus sacrificial death and resurrection assure your righteousness before God, then let me encourage you to respond today. Confess your sin, trust in what Christ has done, and daily be reminded that it you’ve been purchased by Him and are sealed for eternity. We then get the joy of daily living in confidence of the grace of the gospel and we get to extend that grace to others.
Friend, you may have someone praying for you. Praying that God’s spirit would call you. Praying that God with wait to call your life to account until you can respond. Respond today, I pray - for you don’t know what tomorrow may bring.
There are a couple more lessons that we can learn from the book of Amos. You see God cares about how we worship, how we live, what we pray for. He also...
God cares about how we respond to His Word
God cares about how we respond to His Word
In Amos 8, God shows Amos another vision. In this vision, he sees a basket of ripe fruit. Instead of being ripe to enjoy, God is communicating to Amos that the people of Israel were ripe for destruction - because they had forsaken His Word.
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,
saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances,
that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
Rather than using the New Moon and the Sabbath as festivals for helping those in need, the people were disregarding the law of the Lord and treating the poor and disadvantaged like worthless objects. They were essentially using their power and wealth to enslave people through deceptive means (ESVSB).
So, since they were disregarding the Word of the Lord, God would remove the Word from them.
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
And God did that in Israel and Judah. The time that we have between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the new testament was nearly 400 years. 400 years when there were no prophets of God writing. There was no clear word from the Lord. There was a famine in the land.
Consider the day in which we live. We have the Bible accessible in a variety of translations and versions. We can have them bound in fancy leather or simple paper. We can have them filled with devotional thoughts or commentaries. We can even have all of these translations and versions right on our phones - but is it making a difference? Are we hearing and obeying the word of the Lord? Are we responding? Or are we too at risk of God blinding our hearts and minds from the truth and power of His word because we treat it with contempt?
One commentator suggested that this is potentially what has happened in Europe. Even though for centuries the church was a dominant force on the European continent and Europe became the place where the reformation got its start - the last several hundred years - there has been a decline of people responding to the Word of the Lord there. Churches are being turned into pubs and museums. I pray that there would not be a famine of the Word here - that we would hang on God’s word and willingly submit our lives to how he calls us to live.
One of the things that the presence of the Word allows us to hear is that...
God cares about our future
God cares about our future
Even though God was going to discipline his people Israel, He was still commited to them in covenant. The closing verses of Amos talk about the promise that God would restore His people. He would once again cause them to flourish.
“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
This is a common pattern with God - there is a call to righteousness, a punishment for disobedience and unrepentance, and a promise of future hope. We’ve seen it time and again in the prophets.
We too have a glorious hope, when God’s Kingdom will be fully realized - when we we see dimly now, we will see clearly (1 Cor. 13:12).
Consider the promised hope we have in eternity...
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Closing thoughts
Closing thoughts
There are some who feel that God is just some abstract concept. Others feel he is there but He is unknowable. The book of Amos and the rest of the Bible seems to communicate that God is personal, knowable (at least as much as we can know), and God cares.
He cares how we worship him.
He cares how we live.
He cares what we pray about.
He cares about how we respond to his word.
He cares about our future.
He cares about you!
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
References:
Craigie, Peter C., The Old Testament: It’s Background, Growth, and Content (Abington, Nashville, 1987)
Dever, Mark, The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, (Crossway, Wheaton, 2006)
Longman III, Tremper; Raymond B. Dillard; An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd Ed. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2006)
McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets. Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002.