Learning About God From Amos

Introduction

Good morning. If you will, open your Bibles to the book of Amos. Open your Bibles to the book of Amos. My keynote is not up, but the good news is you have to find the book of Amos. So I should be able to make it there in time. What a wonderful day the Lord has made. Amen. In Amos chapter 1, Amos writes, the words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tokoah, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Isaiah, king of Judah, and the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel. Two years before the earthquake. I mentioned to someone that I was going to speak about Amos this morning, and one of the thoughts was, is it going to be kind of a negative lesson?

Is it going to be kind of doom and gloom? And some of that I can’t avoid by preaching Amos, because if you read through the book, it’s pretty much all doom and gloom. In the song we were just singing, the words about to Christ, be loyal and be true. One of the words in there was our fidelity. And what’s interesting about Amos, and what we need to know about the time at which Amos prophesied is that he was a relative contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. There’s one we know, but also Hosea. And certainly Hosea was taught a lesson about fidelity. And the reason for that lesson, as we know all too well, is that God’s chosen people. The people that he had set apart, the people that he had rescued from Egyptian bondage.

He had done all that for them, and yet miraculously, although we might just call it humanistically, they turned away from God. And so this morning I’d like to learn some things about God from the prophet Amos. His time of prophecy may have been around 760 to 750 BC. So maybe take a middle date there to be safe. But I want to note one important aspect. While Amos does address Judah among many other nations in the first two chapters, I want to know where the people of Israel were at this time. Will you look with me in 2 Kings chapter 14? In 2 Kings chapter 14, we see the state at which Amos was prophesying. Remember, he was prophesying around the time of Jeroboam the Second. And he was prophesying primarily to the nation of Israel, the northern ten tribes.

And we’ll see where they’re at at this point. In 2 Kings chapter 14, spill with me beginning in verse 23. In the 15th year of Amaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned 41 years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. But note verse 25. This king, Jeroboam II, he restored the border of Israel from Lebohameth as far as the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah, the son of Amati, the prophet, who was from Gath Hephra.

And we see that the border was restored. Well, restored towards what end? Well, remember, as a united king, kingdom, excuse me, that kingdom of Israel that we knew, all 12 tribes intact, that was a relative power under David and Solomon. But when you divide, you lose some of that. Why was Israel in so much problems, having so many problems to begin with? What was their issue? Well, we know it was turning from the Lord. And yet in this time of Jeroboam II, the people were at a relative pinnacle of the nation of Israel’s history. And by that I mean economically, things were good. Politically, things were pretty good. About as great as they got in the divided kingdom for the nation of Israel. And so this is the background.

1. God Will Judge Us by His Standard

It is a prosperous time. It’s a happy time. And you think this is the time the people will turn to the Lord. But look with me in Amos chapter 1. Amos starts out with some doom and gloom, but not just with Israel and his crosshairs. Note with me as he begins in verse 2 of Amos chapter 1. You don’t want to put a marker here, as you can see. We’re learning about God from Amos. We’re going to look at several different chapters, several of the words and lines of reasoning that Amos uses with God’s people. Beginning in verse 2 of Amos chapter 1. 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.

Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Damascus and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazel, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben Hadad. I will break the gate bar of Damascus and cut off the inhabitants from the valley of Aven. And him who holds the scepter from Beth Adon, and the people of Syria shall go into exile to curse, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord, verse 6, for three transgressions of Gaza and for four, I will not revoke the punishment. Because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, it shall devour her strongholds.

I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon. I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord God. And if you’re like me, you’re like, I don’t know a lot of that, what that means. But rest assured that this phrase we see time and again. You see it in verse 3, you see it in verse 6, you see it in verse 9, 11, 13, and into chapter 2. Do you see it with me? Look, look for just for fun at this one in verse 6 that we just read. For three transgressions of Gaza and for four, I will not revoke the punishment. What was Amos doing? He was prophesying to these nations that they had transgressed the will of God, and for that they would be punished.

But we see that these transgressions are pretty bad. We look with me at verse 13. Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four I will not revoke the punishment. Because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbi, and it shall devour her strongholds with shouting on the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, and their king shall go into exile. He and his princes together, says the Lord. And on into chapter 2, thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Moab and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.

And we see this is some awful stuff happening. You talk about ripping open pregnant women, burning the bones. This is some bad, awful stuff. We see that God will judge us by his standard. We all look at them and we say, that is awful. They need to be punished. I don’t know how many some of those offenses should count as. They should count at least for four, right? But do you notice chapter 2 and verse 4? You have all these awful things that these people are doing. Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Judah, and for four I will not revoke the punishment because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.

So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem. And we’re already, they’re doing these awful crimes, these foreign nations, and here comes Judah, and why are they being punished? Because they transgressed the law of the Lord. I’m not defending that they they transgressed the law of the Lord, that they despised it. That’s awful, that they were led astray by lies. That’s bad, but is that ripping open pregnant women bad?

God’s going to judge us by his standard. You see that as it continues on to Israel in verse 6. 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 into the same girl, so that my holy name is profane. 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. And we think, that’s bad too, but is that as bad as all those other nations?

What is going on here? What we see is that God is judging by his standard. And his standard is not a comparison to others. We see that concept in Acts chapter 10. Will you look there with me? Peter’s talking about it. You may know who this is referring to. Acts chapter 10 makes us think of Cornelius, doesn’t it? Acts chapter 10. And in verse 34, Peter, on this momentous occasion, when the Gentiles are shown by God to be part of the kingdom. Peter opened his mouth and said, Truly I understand that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. So we see that’s the standard. And the good news is there is no comparison.

And if you look at Amos, he’s very concerned with social justice. It is a high concern. Treating others badly, being against the people of Israel was a problem. Being greedy was a large problem for the Israelites. Not caring for the poor was a problem for the prosperous Israelites. But by comparison to others, you know it really wasn’t. Is it really that bad? No favoritism will be shown. God had a covenant relationship with his people, didn’t he? We’re going to talk more about that in a few moments. But it didn’t matter that other nations were worse. It mattered that God’s people had rejected him. They had rejected his ways. And so if any message from Amos should get across, it’s that God knows when we have turned from him.

It doesn’t matter what others do or look like. We can be and feel better than those around us. But we too will be judged. And we too will be found guilty if we transgress God’s law. I’m getting some echoing here. Can we turn off this podium microphone, please? And we see that as Amos continues into Amos chapter 3. There’s a reason Israel should have been different. There’s a reason they should have been better. Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought you up out of the land of Egypt. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. They were God’s people, and they missed the boat, and God knew it.

2. God Will Keep His Promises

And so God would punish them. If you want to know the theme of Amos, that’s it. You miss the mark, God will punish you. If there’s a summary, that’s close to it. But Amos, of course, has more to say. What we learn in Amos chapter 4 is that God will keep his promises. But look with me in Amos chapter 4. Let’s get a better example of some of the problems going on with Israel. Hear this word, you cows of Bashin, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, bring that we may drink. The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that behold, the days are coming upon you when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fish hooks, and you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead, and you shall be cast out into harmony, declares the Lord.

Come to Bethel and transgress. To Gilgai Gilgal and multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings. Publish them. For so you love to do, O people of Israel, declares the Lord God. God will keep his promises. How does God talk to the people of Israel? What did he expect from them? God expected obedience. Did he expect these sacrifices? Of course he did. But not like this. You see, what were they doing in Bethel? How were they multiplying transgressions? Well, they were bringing their sacrifices, but being religious wasn’t enough. And if they transgressed the will of God, he had promised them something that would happen. Read with me in verse 6, and keep this in your mind.

Especially here, verses 6 through 9. I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord. I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest. I would send rain on one city and send no rain on another city. One field would have rain, and the field on which it did not, rain would wither. So two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water and would not be satisfied. Yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord. I struck you with blight and milled you, your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees, the locust devoured.

Yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord. I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils, yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord. And we’re thinking, people, what are your what is your problem? How did you not know God wanted you to return to him? Just obey him. But it gets worse. Look with me in Deuteronomy chapter 28. God did these things, and then he said, Yet you would not return to me. Why would those things make them return to God? Look with me in Deuteronomy chapter 28. Deuteronomy chapter 28. Look at me in verse 22.

We know, first I’ll read in Deuteronomy chapter 28. We know that this is where God promises them blessings if they would just simply obey him, or cursings if they would not. In verse 28 and verse 1, and if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I will command you today, the Lord God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. There’s the good promise. Here’s the other promise. Look with me in verse 15. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

Look with me in verse 22. Here’s one of these curses. Tell me if this sounds familiar. In verse 22, the Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought, and with blight, and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. Doesn’t that remind us of verse 9? Look with me at verse 27. In verse 27.

Does that remind you perhaps of verse 10? Brothers and sisters, God had promised. And what God has said will come to pass. Amen. That is a powerful, wonderful thing. We think about the rainbow in the sky and how God promised Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with water. And that’s fantastic. That’s amazing. But that same God has also promised that we must obey him. How many times did Jesus talk about hell? Depending on which type of understanding of Christianity you want to take, you can find some places that won’t talk about hell at all. Or that say that hell is just an annihilation of the spirit. It’s not a real place. It’s not forever. But the very God who has promised us everlasting life has promised us that if we do not seek him and obey him and believe, we will be cast into eternal damnation.

And we can take that to the bank. That’s what we learn about God. He keeps his promises even though his people don’t. That is a powerful point. Did you notice, by the way, in chapter 4 of Amos, up at the beginning in verse 1 about those cows of Vashan? Or these women who were up there doing what? Well, he’s talking about the people of Israel and say they oppress the poor, who crushed the needy, who say to your husbands, notice this part, bring that we may drink. They just wanted more. This was a prosperous time. Give us more. We don’t care how you do it, just get more. Isn’t that the danger sometimes of a society like ours? When there’s so much good, there’s a lot going on, but we just want a little bit more.

And you know what? If I have to miss a service or two in the process, or if I have to go out and maybe take advantage of someone just a little bit, you know, I’m not like others. I’m not at war. I’m not killing people. I’m not part of ISIS. I’m not part of those horrible, awful nations and people and religious groups. That’s not me. But what Amos teaches us about God is that it doesn’t matter what we’re not, it matters who we are. And it matters, am I God’s? And if not, I am found opposed to God, and my transgressions will frame my eternity. And so we see a final point is that not only does God keep his promises, he expects us to be recognized.

3. Recognize That All Good Things Come From God

Well, you look with me at Amos chapter 6. In Amos chapter 6, the prophet writes, 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, pass over to Kalnah and see, and from there go to Hamath the Great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than their kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? Oh, you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seed of violence? Now note these descriptions with me. Look with me in verse 4. Note how they are described. 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 and bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils.

But are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away. Do you see those beds of ivory, those couches? It was a prosperous time in Israel. It was great. Things were good. So what’s the problem? Is God condemning luxury? Is God upset that the people would dare to enjoy themselves?

Look at me in Deuteronomy chapter 8. I think perhaps this identifies the problem. In Deuteronomy chapter 8. Read with me in verse 11. And I’m particularly mindful of this point as I think about these lessons about God that we can learn from Amos. And I see that, you know, Israel was a very prosperous nation at this time. Things were going well. People were doing good. And we’ll see what time sometimes that effect can have. Do you see with me in verse 11 of Deuteronomy chapter 8? Take care, lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today. Lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you to do you good in the end.

Beware lest you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day. Do you see the attitude that riches can have on us? And you know, we say, we read that, look with me in verse, excuse me, 17 again. My power and the might of my hand have gotten me my wealth, and we think, whoa, anyone who thinks that has a problem, God has got to be number one. We know all good things come from God. I would never be like one of those people who forgets God.

And I, you know, I saw a post on the internet I thought was interesting. And because, you know, I’m a good person, and I would never say that, you know, it’s just me. It’s all about me who’s gotten what I have. It’s just about what I’ve been able to do. I’m not like that. I saw an internet post that said, what if you woke up with today? Only what you had given thanks to God for yesterday. I thank God. I’d like to think fairly frequently for life and family and jobs. But if I don’t truly realize that I’m nothing without God, that God is everything, I have missed the boat. It might not seem exactly like the brashness of Deuteronomy chapter 8 there. But if God’s not first, he’s not where he’s ought to be.

Look at what God has done in my life. Did you see that appeal in Deuteronomy chapter 8? What was the basis of what God said? Do you see it beginning in verse 14? You forgot the Lord God who did what? Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there’s where there was no water. And we say, these silly people, God did everything for them. But without God, I was eternally condemned. God did everything for me. Without God, I have no hope, no life. Do I forget that sometimes? It’s not just what we say, it’s how we think, it’s how we are.

Am I permeated with the goodness and the grace of God that gives glory and honor to the one who deserves it? That is the challenge for my life. And it’s not just about being brass and ignoring God. It’s about proactively putting God first and not forgetting his ways. See, in Amos chapter 1 and 2, we see all those nations, and we say, wow, yeah, they deserve that. Oh, that’s horrible. I can’t even, I don’t even know why he’s bringing that up in a sermon. That’s bad. And then I realize that for me, the wages of sin is death. And if I wasn’t me, and I was just a sheet of paper, that’s my transgressions. I wonder how quick I would be to judgment. Praise be to God that we can have great grace and mercy from our Lord.

We need to recognize that all good things come from God. We need to constantly remember that our spiritual salvation comes from him and him alone. If you look with me in Haggai, the book of Haggai. You know what’s interesting about Haggai is that the people should have known better at this point, shouldn’t they? The people and Haggai were back. They were out of their captivity that we know was coming. And most historians may put Israel’s downfall around 722 BC, so we know that Amos was about three decades before their fall. But in Haggai’s time, the people will know better, right? In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai, the prophet to Zerebbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehosadakh the high priest.

Thus says the Lord of hosts. These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. What was the problem? They left God’s house undone. They had built up their houses. God doesn’t have a problem with that. What were they doing? They were living in what type of houses? What does the text say? Paneled houses. Do you remember those beds of ivory, those nice couches? It’s not a problem to enjoy what God has blessed us with if we recognize that he has given it to us. But it is a problem when it supplants the word of God. And the problem that Amos had to deal with was with people who were apathetic towards God because they were proactively seeking more and more. Isn’t that exactly the problem with the cows of Bashan? In Amos chapter 4?

4. God Is Not Interested in Our Worship in Form

They oppress the poor. Why? They wanted their husbands to give them something to drink. These things sound really bad. There is a lot of doom and gloom in the prophet Amos. And you know one other point to take away from this as we conclude is learning about God is God is not interested in our worship in form. We need to worship him in spirit and in truth. We can fool ourselves. We can we can kid others but God knows why we’re worshiping him. Why did he reject the sacrifices? Because they didn’t mean it. It was just a form. You can’t live one way outside of praising God and then come in and praise God and God accept that. God is no fool. But in Amos chapter 9, there is hope.

Conclusion

And Amos chapter 9 and verses 11 through 15 and what are some of the only verses that you can construe as hopeful in the book of Amos and it’s nine chapters. I suppose you could put the call to repentance in that in that group too. In verse 11, note with me here. And 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 treaders 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, 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’ve given them, says the Lord your God. And certainly God returned his people to the promised land because of that faithful remnant. But we know from Acts chapter 15, when James cited this very idea. We know that the good news is in Jesus. The good news is because Jesus has died on the cross for our sins. The very thing that we remembered this morning for the Lord’s Supper is the very thing that should keep us going each and every day.

God knows us. God will judge us by his standard. How are we to live? What did Peter write in 1 Peter chapter 1? Be holy, as I am holy. We are to be holy like God. And brothers and sisters, that is a very high calling. See, being holy like God isn’t about being better than other nations. Being holy isn’t about being as good as the person sitting next to you in the church building.

If we want to be with God, we have to accept God. We have to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We need to know that in God alone comes salvation. I will pledge this day to serve Him. What do I learn about God from Amos? That He expects my obedience. And brothers and sisters, it’s time to begin. Trusting in the Lord, putting Him first. If you’re here this morning and realize that perhaps on that list, you wouldn’t be one of the foreign nations. You wouldn’t be the people of Ammon. You wouldn’t be the people of Moab, but you may find yourself like the people of Judah because we have rejected the law of the Lord. We realize God knows.

But the beauty is that God has offered us today this opportunity, this time to make it right. Will you come to God today? Will you trust in his grace and mercy and simply obey him? Will you be baptized, having all of your sins forgiven, accepting the grace of our Lord? If we can help you in any way this morning at all, please don’t hesitate to come forward right now as we stand and sing the invitation song.