A0351_Judgement on Gaza
Date: 16th December 2007 (Sunday PM) Ref: A0351
Place: Kambah P.S.
Title: Judgement on Gaza
Text: & Amos 1:6-8
Illust: Read the paper, read the news from overseas and it is a continual story of the erosion of Christian values, the persecution of Christians through legal avenues, the silencing of Christians in the public debate under the guise of tolerance and wanting to stamp out hate speech. – A world that wants to indulge more & more in iniquity without having to feel uncomfortable with us pesky Christians pushing our morality down their throats. – Happier being evil.
I. Complete Transgression
A. A full Cup
i. & vs.6 – This expression is a literary device that signifies a completeness of sin, a full cup of sin. Enough is enough. One thing after another. – This is the sad & sorry history of humanity. A period of godliness then so called progressiveness when the standards of righteousness & holiness are mocked & scorned and restraint is cast off
ii. It is what we see in our society today & can expect more of with socialist Labour Government’s in power both at a State & Federal level. – Homosexual, welfare, pagan environmentalist agendas. – Pattern throughout history
Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (NKJV)
iii. Issue is that God is not mocked what we sow, we reap. God is not asleep, He is not on leave. He sees & ultimately the wickedness of the Philistines catches up on them as it does of every city.
Isaiah 5:18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; (NKJV)
B. The Final Straw
i. It does appear however that with all of the nations that God is judging in this portion of the book of Amos that there is one particular sin that God is particularly wanting to alert them too that is the final straw as it were.
ii. This is it. Finally the cup of iniquity overflows and judgement is going to fall.
iii. In this case it is “Because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom.” – an interesting literary tool again:
Captive & captivity – Hb גָּלָה & גָּלוּת – with גָּלָה being the root meaning to uncover / be uncovered / exposed / disclosed / nakedness / exile – Picture is of shame & reproach
The people of God have been mocked & scorned, none have escaped – ‘whole’ שָׁלֵם - complete perfect whole. There was no mercy shown, men women & children sent into slavery in Edom. – A complete lack of compassion, a rejoicing over the shame of the people of God.
II. Certainty of Judgment
A. Pronounced
i. God pronounces a certainty of judgement. “I will not turn away its punishment” ~ Then lists the specific judgements on the cities and in particular uses Gaza the chief city as the focal point for the judgement on the nation as a whole. & vs.7-8
Gaza; עַזָּה ‘stronghold’ – ‘strong / mighty / greedy’ – & vs.7 - to be burnt by fire. – Fire once it catches hold on something it consumes all in it’s path it is mighty & very greedy consuming all the available fuel.
Ashdod; from שָׁדַד spoil / spoiler / waste / devastate / assault - & vs.8a - All the inhabitants will be cutoff, the city will be despoiled / devastated / laid waste
Ashkelon: “The Fire of infamy, I shall be weighed” – from שָׁקַל weigh / pay / to be weighed. – & vs.8b The ruler will be weighed in the balance & found wanting. The sceptre the symbol of leadership / sovereignty is to be removed
Ekron: from עָקַר to be plucked up, torn out by the roots, mass emigration & vs.8c – When I want to weed I pull the weed out near the base to make sure I get the roots so that it can’t grow again. – God is going to thoroughly judge the remnant/ Plucked out by the roots and perish
ii. Poetic justice against each city, in punishment for their sins, their nature so they will reap.
B. Fulfillment
i. Interesting the prophecies of Amos are written sometime between 760 – 750 BC. Nothing happened no bolt of lightning fell from the sky to destroy these cities. – Nothing!
ii. 400 Years later – 332BC Alexander the Great besieges Gaza for 2 months – before capturing the city & raising it. The historian Strabo records:
“Gaza, which was formerly a glorious city, was destroyed by Alexander and remained desolate”
iii. Ashkelon was the last city to hold out against Nebuchednezzar & was finally destroyed by him in 604BC – The Phillistines ceased to be a Kingdom at this point.
iv. Judgement delayed does not mean that it is forgotten or won’t happen.
III. Challenge
A. Grace’s Delay
i. Challenge as people of God is to understand that God is a God of Grace and Mercy & that He will relent if there is genuine repentance.
ii. We have an obligation to warn. This is the call on Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 33:6-7 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ 7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. (NKJV)
iii. We see the story of Gaza & the cities of the Philistines and we see the parallels, the iniquity in our nation and we know that just as God judged Gaza so He must judge our cities, our nation unless there is repentance, a turning to Him – We have an obligation a divine commission to warn people of the judgement that must surely come.
B. Our Part
i. If God would spare Nineveh after the preaching of Jonah, then surely we are to preach, to warn, to challenge to extol those we meet that God is a just & righteous judge who must judge sin and iniquity.
ii. We also have an obligation to pray and intercede for God’s mercy & grace to be poured out, that people would be saved.
Ezekiel 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. (NKJV)
iii. An awesome text that despite the wickedness of the city, despite the deservedness of judgement, just one man interceding would have stayed God’s hand. – Let us be people who would pray for our city & nation that God would extend His mercy & grace.