Amos 2

Privilege Brings Responsibility

Pray

Intro

√

You’ll recall from our first study that God called Amos to bring a word of irrevocable judgment against…

Six Gentile nations that shared a border with Israel

Southern kingdom of Judah

Northern kingdom of Israel

Last week we covered the first 5 Gentile nations in chapter 1…

…this evening we start with the 6^th Gentile nation and then look at God’s word against Judah and Israel.

Ap. Privilege brings responsibility

Amos’ prophecy reminds us that if God judges lost people for their sins…

…then He will most certainly judge those sinners who claim to know Him!

While it is true that the people of Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Ammon, Moab and Aram deserved judgment…

…we’ll see in our study this evening that God promised even harsher judgment on the people of Israel because they knew better and sinned anyway!

Remember that the Gentiles had their conscience and the innate knowledge of God’s existence to guide them…

…Israel had that plus the Word of God, the Law of Moses, and a long line of prophets to correct them!

So, the prophecies of Amos remind us that when we see God’s judgment poured out on people we call “sinners”…

…that it would be wise to check our own lives to make sure we’re not guilty of the same sins!

Prophecy Against Moab (vs. 1-3)

Amos 2:1 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

Amos 2:2 But I will send a fire upon Moab,

And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth;

Moab shall die with tumult,

With shouting and trumpet sound.

Amos 2:3 And I will cut off the judge from its midst,

And slay all its princes with him,”

Says the LORD.

√ Prophecy against Moab

First of all we notice that Amos continues the pattern we saw in the first five prophecies…

“For three sins…and for four”

Could mean….

“The die is cast”

Or, as one scholar suggested we’re supposed to add the 3 and 4 to equal 7 the Hebrew number of completion.

That is, the sins of the nation in view have gone as far a God is willing to let them go…

…that is they have become completely wicked and are beyond to repentance.

Keep that thought in mind because when we get to the prophecy against Israel we see evidence to support that idea!

√ The sin of Moab

The sin for which God is bringing judgment upon Moab is that they…

“Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.” ~ vs. 1

Moab was the kingdom sandwiched between Ammon to the north and Edom to the south in what is today called Jordan.

At some point prior to Amos’ prophecy the Moabites had defeated the people of Edom and either desecrated the tomb of their king…

…or killed the king in battle and then burned his body.

It was really the ultimate act of contempt and was considered highly offensive by all the peoples of the East as they placed great importance the tombs of their ancestors.

Ex. Tombs of Petra

When you visit Petra today, which was the ancient capital of Edom, you’ll see hundreds of buildings carved out of the stone walls of the cliffs.

What most people don’t realize is that the vast majority of those buildings are tombs!

The point is that the Edomites, like the Jews and other ancients peoples, took great care to provide a peaceful burial place for their ancestors.

Based on God’s reaction here in vs. 1 He too wasn’t pleased by this act of contempt done by the people of Moab…

…so He promises to bring fire on their bones and destroy both Moab and her people.

√ Prophecy fulfilled

The prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrian king Tiglathpileser conquered Moab in about 732 B.C.

Prophecy Against Judah (vs. 4-5)

Amos 2:4 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Judah, and for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

Because they have despised the law of the LORD,

And have not kept His commandments.

Their lies lead them astray,

Lies which their fathers followed.

Amos 2:5 But I will send a fire upon Judah,

And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

√ Prophecy against Judah

God has finished dealing with the Gentile nations and now turns His attention to His own people, those living in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Amos predicts that God will bring judgment upon them also for the…

…”lies which their fathers followed” ~ vs. 4

The word “lies” is the Hebrew word “kazab” which means…

“falsehood; literally (untruth) or figuratively (idol)”

That is, God is going to judge them because they had abandoned Him and turned to worship and serve false gods which are really nothing more than lies!

√ Their sin

The question comes up, when had the people of Judah worshipped false gods?

During the life time of Amos the king of Judah was Uzziah who was a generally a good king who served the Lord.

Later in his life he did sin by entering the Temple, but during his reign the people still served the Lord.

So, what time period does God have in mind?

We know that following the death of king Uzziah the kings of Judah progressively went down hill (with a few bright exceptions)…

…ultimately completely abandoning the Lord under the rule of Zedekaiah.

But the language here in Amos indicates that it was for sins committed in the past that God promises judgment.

Turns out that within one generation of king David’s death the people turned away from God and ran after false gods!

Ex. The sins of Solomon

Despite the fact that God showed great favor to Solomon…

Giving him greater wisdom, wealth, and glory than any other king in history and appearing to him twice…

…Solomon violated all three of God’s commandments for kings (ref. Deut. 17:15-17)

He went to Egypt and bought horses by the thousands, he married hundreds of woman, and he filled his palace with gold.

The result of his was that in his old age his wives turned his heart from God to worship the false gods of their nations.

The scripture records…

1Ki. 11:4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.

1Ki. 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

1Ki. 11:6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.

1Ki. 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.

That is, Solomon didn’t just ignore the Lord…

…he went out of his way to worship false gods including those that required human sacrifice!

Ap. Was Solomon saved?

Lots of debate on that subject while we may not know for sure until we get to heaven…

…this much we know, he was blessed greatly by God and then sinned greatly introducing idolatry to Judah.

Ex. The sins of Judah

1Ki. 14:22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.

1Ki. 14:23 For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.

1Ki. 14:24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

So, because of their unfaithfulness God planned judgment against them, which came during the reign of Zedekiah who lead the people in rebellion against God.

√ Prophecy fulfilled

As we learned in our study of Ezekiel the kingdom of Judah was destroyed in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon including burning the Temple and palaces in Jerusalem.

Ex. Excavations in Jerusalem

When you visit Jerusalem today you can actually see a level of strata 6 inches thick of ash!

Prophecy Against Israel (vs. 6-16)

√ Prophecy against Israel

The prophecy against Israel is the longest and most detailed because it was to Israel primarily that God called Amos to minister…

“The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel…” ~ Amos 1:1

Probably because at this point in history Israel had done more to anger God than the other nations mentioned.

√ Israel’s sins ~ vs. 6-7 & 12

Before we read the accusations against Israel remember that I told you to keep in mind the pattern of…

“For three sins…and for four”

…and that it may mean 3+4=7?

Guess how many sins God accused Israel of committing…

…7!

The seven sins of Israel…

Amos 2:6 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

Because they sell the righteous for silver,

And the poor for a pair of sandals.

Sin #1 ~ is that they took advantage of the poor people in Israel and sold them into slavery if they could not pay their debts…

…even a debt as small as the price of a pair of sandals!

The Law broken ~ God commanded His people to care for the poor and to extend mercy and grace toward them (ref. Deut. 15:7-11)

Amos 2:7a They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,

And pervert the way of the humble…

The NLT translates it more clearly…

Amos 2:7a They trample helpless people in the dust and deny justice to those who are oppressed.

Sin #2 ~ the wealthy and powerful people of Israel plotted with the judges to deny justice to the poor so that they could take their land.

The Law broken ~ God specifically told the children of Israel not to deny justice to the poor! (ref. Exo. 23:6).

Amos 2:7b A man and his father go in to the same girl,

To defile My holy name.

Sin # 3 ~ the men of the land were involved in such depraved sexual immorality that father’s and son’s shared the same girl!

Probably not speaking of sex with wife/mother, note the word “girl”.

More likely a reference to sex with temple prostitutes which was common among the pagan religions in that area Israel had adopted.

Could also speak of a concubine (ref. Reuben’s sin ~ Gen. 35:22)

The Law broken ~ Lev. 18:8 & 15

Amos 2:8a They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge,

Sin #4 ~ broke the Law by not returning the clothing taken from a poor person as a guarantee on a loan.

The Law broken ~ the Law gave specific instructions about what could and could not be taken as a pledge.

Couldn’t take a millstone ~ deprived a person of the means to earn a living and provide food (Deut. 24:6).

Couldn’t take the clothes of widow ~ just bad form! (Deut. 24:7)

Had to return the clothing taken as a pledge by nightfall so that the person didn’t freeze (Deut. 24:10-13).

Yet we find here in vs. 8 that the wealthy people of Israel not only didn’t return the clothes given by debtors…

…instead they used them in their worship of false gods!

Amos 2:8b And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Sin #5 ~ they worshipped false gods and drank wine that was produced for the purpose of honoring pagan gods.

The Law broken ~ Exodus 20:3, number 2 of the Big Ten!

And…

Amos 2:12a “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,

Sin #6 ~ they intimidated the Nazirites to break their vows to God (ref. Numbers 6:1-21).

The Law broken ~ there isn’t a specific law against enticing or intimidating a person to break their vows to God. But, I think it’s fair to say that to do so violates the spirit of love toward one another.

Amos 2:12b And commanded the prophets saying,

‘Do not prophesy!’

Sin #7 ~ they wouldn’t let the prophets that God sent them deliver His word!

The Law broken ~ not a specific law, rather, their attitude demonstrated a spirit of rebellion against the Lord.

So, for their 7 sins God promised to bring complete destruction upon Israel!

Ap. Are you sinning? Are you listening to the word of God?

√ God’s favor ~ vs. 9-11

Amos 2:9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,

Whose height was like the height of the cedars,

And he was as strong as the oaks;

Yet I destroyed his fruit above

And his roots beneath.

Amos 2:10 Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,

And led you forty years through the wilderness,

To possess the land of the Amorite.

Amos 2:11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets,

And some of your young men as Nazirites.

Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”

Says the LORD.

In these few verses God quickly reviews Israel’s history and recounts for their consideration how gracious and loving He had been to them over the years.

His point is that they had no reason to reject Him or to sin against Him because He had provided for all their needs and had spoken to them through the prophets.

Therefore, they were guilty and deserving of all the judgment that God would bring upon them.

√ God’s judgment ~ vs. 12-16

Amos 2:12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,

And commanded the prophets saying,

‘Do not prophesy!’

Amos 2:13 “Behold, I am weighed down by you,

As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.

Amos 2:14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift,

The strong shall not strengthen his power,

Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;

Amos 2:15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,

The swift of foot shall not escape,

Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.

Amos 2:16 The most courageous men of might

Shall flee naked in that day,”

Says the LORD.

For the seven sins that God accused Israel of committing He promises to bring judgment on seven different types of soldiers in Israel’s army!

The swift ~ vs. 14

The strong ~ vs. 14

The mighty ~ vs. 14

The archer ~ vs. 15

The runner ~ vs. 15

The horseman ~ vs. 15

The brave ~ vs. 16

The idea of this prophecy is that just as Israel’s sin was complete (or full)…

…so God’s judgment would be compete!

√ Prophecy fulfilled

Just as God said so Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V in 722 B.C.

Close

√ Privilege brings responsibility

Of all the nations in the world God chose the nation of Israel to be His own special people.

They were to be a testimony to the peoples around them and ultimately to the whole world of God’s plan of redemption.

He showed them His power, His glory, and great favor by delivering them from slavery and giving to them a beautiful land to dwell.

He revealed His will to them so that they knew what He desired of mankind and how to live a holy life.

With those special privileges came special responsibilities, as Jesus said…

“to whom much is given, from him much will be required” ~ Luke 12:48

So, as we’ve seen in chapter 2 Israel would be judged more harshly than her neighbors because although they knew God’s will…

…they chose to sin anyway!

Recognize that rebellion against the known will of God is always a greater sin than the sin done in ignorance.

That’s not to say that sins done in ignorance aren’t bad, they are…

…but sins done against the known will of God will bring a greater judgment.

Ex. The towns where Jesus did most of His miracles

Jesus rebuked the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum for their unbelief and said that they would receive a greater judgment on the Day of Judgment than the wicked cities of…

…Sodom and Gomorrah, and the people of Nineveh!