Amos 3

Reasons for Judgment ~ part 1

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Intro

√ Reasons for judgment ~ part 1

In chapters 3-6 God outlines the reasons for which He is bringing judgment upon Israel.

Ap. Important!

These chapters are important because they remind us that God is not capricious!

That is, He is not like the multitude of false gods and goddess created by the imaginations of man who are always looking for some excuse to send a lightning bolt your way.

The true God loves people and is slow to anger, long-suffering, kind, compassionate.

He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and in fact gives people lots of warnings and time to change their behavior before He brings judgment.

So, as we look at these next chapters you’ll discover that Israel had given God plenty of reasons to judge them!

The Past (vs. 1-2)

Amos 3:1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

Amos 3:2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

√ The past

This is another reminder that privilege brings responsibility!

The Lord reminds Israel that He had delivered them from the Egyptians and made them His own special people!

They in turn showed their appreciation by turning their backs on God and giving themselves over to the most vile forms of pagan worship.

So, that is why God is bringing judgment upon them because they used the blessings that God gave them to pursue their sin!

√ Election doesn’t mean freedom to sin

Just as we’ve been learning in our Sunday morning study of Galatians that Grace is not a license to sin!

So the people of Israel had to learn that God’s gracious choice of them as His people did not give them the right to disobey Him.

Election involves responsibility!

Ap. We’re accountable!

From Genesis to Revelation we find this truth, that God has always held each person responsible for their behavior.

Chosen, elected, walking under the Law, or Grace, every person is responsible for the choices they make…

…from Adam and Eve’s choice in the Garden to the daily choices we make in the “garden” that God has placed us.

So, we can’t use His grace or His election of us as an excuse to sin…

…rather He has chosen us to produce the fruit of righteousness that others might be drawn to Him by our lives!

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

And, from our Sunday morning study…

Eph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

So, Amos prophecies that the seeds of wickedness and disobedience that Israel had planted are sprouting and a harvest of judgment is coming!

The Present (vs. 3-10)

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

Amos 3:4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?

Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

Amos 3:5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it?

Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?

Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?

If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing,

Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amos 3:8 A lion has roared!

Who will not fear?

The Lord GOD has spoken!

Who can but prophesy?

Amos 3:9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,

And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:

‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;

See great tumults in her midst,

And the oppressed within her.

Amos 3:10 For they do not know to do right,’

Says the LORD,

“Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ”

√ The present

The kings of Israel had a long history of ignoring, abusing and even trying to kill the prophets that God sent their way…

Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah

Ahab imprisoned Micaiah

Joram sent men to behead Elisha

So it’s no surprise that the people of Israel wouldn’t listen to Amos and would even question his authority to speak for God since he was just a sheep breeder!

√ That’s my boy!

Because the people rejected Amos God steps in and affirms that Amos is in fact His anointed messenger and that the message Amos brings is from Him.

God makes that clear in these verses by showing that Israel’s punishment was inevitable.

Much as there is often an inseparable link between two events in ordinary life, so there was an inseparable link between God’s revelation through Amos and the inevitable judgment coming upon Israel.

So, in verses 3-6 God gives 7 rhetorical questions that demonstrate to the people of Israel that just as there is a cause-and-effect relationship in these examples from nature…

…so Israel would inevitably suffer for their sinful rebellion.

Vs. 3 ~ two people can’t walk together unless they first meet, get along, and agree to continue together.

Vs. 4 ~ lions don’t roar unless they have spotted their prey.

Vs. 4 ~ lions don’t growl in their cave unless they’ve caught something.

Vs. 5 ~ birds aren’t caught in a trap unless the trap is set.

Vs. 5 ~ traps don’t snap shut unless tripped by prey.

Pastor Paul doesn’t salivate unless it’s a dark chocolate truffle…

Vs. 6 ~ people don’t panic unless the trumpet of the watchman is sounded.

Vs. 6 ~ disaster doesn’t come upon a city unless God has ordained it

The point is that the second event is always proceeded by a first event…

…cause and effect.

In a similar way the punishment of God is always proceeded by a warning from God.

As He says in vs. 7…

“Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

The Lord’s point is that He gave Amos this message of the coming judgment on Israel therefore the future in unavoidable…

…destruction is coming!

Ap. Thank God for His warnings!

God always gives people a warning before He brings His judgment upon them so that they can repent!

In the midst of the Old Testament prophets we can sometimes forget that God is merciful, gracious, and slow to anger.

He doesn’t want to destroy anyone!

That’s why He sent so many prophets to warn people of coming judgment…

…so that they might consider their ways, repent and escape the judgment of God.

Ap. Thank God for His mercy and grace!

All of us have sown seeds that we pray will never sprout!

We’ve done things and said things that are seeds of wickedness.

Some of us have planted a lot of those seeds and then watered them with more disobedience!

Without God’s Grace those seeds will sprout, grow and produce fruit that we won’t like!

“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption…” ~ Gal. 6:8

Thank the Lord that His…

“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” ~ James 2:13

That is, we don’t get what we deserve! And, by His Grace we get what we don’t deserve!

The Future (vs. 11-15)

Amos 3:11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

“An adversary shall be all around the land;

He shall sap your strength from you,

And your palaces shall be plundered.”

Amos 3:12 Thus says the LORD:

“As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion

Two legs or a piece of an ear,

So shall the children of Israel be taken out

Who dwell in Samaria—

In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!

Amos 3:13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,

Amos 3:14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,

I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel;

And the horns of the altar shall be cut off

And fall to the ground.

Amos 3:15 I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house;

The houses of ivory shall perish,

And the great houses shall have an end,”

Says the LORD.

√ The future

God describes the future punishment of Israel by using the illustration of a shepherd.

In those days a shepherd was totally responsible for the welfare of the sheep in his care.

If a sheep was killed by a predator, like a lion, then the shepherd had to pay for the loss unless he could produce a part of the sheep to prove that it was killed by a predator and not eaten by the shepherd!

Thus we read in vs. 12…

“As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear”

The application of the illustration is…

“So shall the children of Israel be taken out” ~ vs. 12

That is, when God brings destruction upon Israel only a small part, a remnant shall survive and be taken from the “lion”, that is, the king of Assyria.

Ex. Amos’ prediction fulfilled by Assyrian conquest

When Israel was conquered in 722 B.C. by Shalmaneser V, he took the same remnant left alive captive and relocated them to live in his kingdom.

Amos 4

Intro

√ Second message to Israel

In the second message to Israel Amos declared that God would exile the upper-class woman because of their exploitation of the poor.

Additionally God says that He will judge the nation as a whole for their religious hypocrisy and stiff-necked refusal to repent…

…despite His repeated warnings and punishments.

Thus you will hear God repeat this refrain throughout chapter 4…

“Yet you have not returned to Me”

The point is that God brings discipline upon a person or a nation for the purpose of bringing them to repentance as His goal is always restoration…

…but Israel in her pride refused to give up her sin and return to the Lord.

Ap. Heed the voice of the Lord

Cows (vs. 1-3)

Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,

Who oppress the poor,

Who crush the needy,

Who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!”

Amos 4:2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:

“Behold, the days shall come upon you

When He will take you away with fishhooks,

And your posterity with fishhooks.

Amos 4:3 You will go out through broken walls,

Each one straight ahead of her,

And you will be cast into Harmon,”

Says the LORD.

√ Cows

Did you catch what Amos, inspired by the Holy Spirit, called the woman of Israel!!!

“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria.”

Wow! While I wouldn’t encourage you to start calling sinners names it’s kind of fun to see that God occasionally sees fit to offend people by calling them some unflattering name!

Tell the truth, haven’t you ever wanted to call someone that deserved it a “cow”!

The reason that Amos calls them “cows of Bashan” is that they lived lives of pampered luxury much like the fat cows that fed on the rich pasture of Bashan (Golan Heights).

They were fat ~ from over eating at the expense of the poor of whom they took advantage.

They were drunks ~ demanding their husbands to keep them intoxicated with a bottomless glass of wine.

They were domineering ~ treating their husbands without respect and using them as servants.

I would suggest that they were emulating queen Jezebel the wicked witch who married king Ahab and who led the people of Israel into idolatry.

√ Roundup

So, God promises to roundup those fat cows and lead them into exile where they will become food for vultures on Mount Hermon!

Amos 4:2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:

“Behold, the days shall come upon you

When He will take you away with fishhooks,

And your posterity with fishhooks.

Amos 4:3 You will go out through broken walls,

Each one straight ahead of her,

And you will be cast into Harmon,”

Says the LORD.

The description here of how they would be led away is exactly how the Assyrians handled their captives!

They would literally push a sharp owl through the nose, or cheek of their captives, string them together with a chain…

…and lead them back to Assyria to serve as slaves or toss their bodies along the road if they died in transit!

In fact, that’s what God predicts in vs. 3…

“And you will be cast into Harmon”

The word “cast” is the word used for tossing dead bodies into a grave!

Contempt (vs. 4-5)

Amos 4:4 “Come to Bethel and transgress,

At Gilgal multiply transgression;

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

Amos 4:5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,

Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings;

For this you love,

You children of Israel!”

Says the Lord GOD.

√ Contempt

These two verses are a spoof on what the priests would call out to religious pilgrims, normally the priests would cry…

“Oh come, let us worship”

But Amos calls out…

“Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression…”

That is instead of coming to worship God Amos calls out with sarcasm that they should come and sin because that in fact what they did when they “worshipped” their false gods…

…thereby break their covenant with the true God.

√ Bethel & Gilgal

The significance of these two places is that…

Bethel is where Israel’s first king, Jeroboam, set up an altar with a golden calf for the people to worship.

Gilgal was the place where Joshua and the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.

They set up 12 stones as a memorial of the miracle that God did and continued to burn sacrifices and offerings there for many generations.

But, God had ordained Jerusalem as the one place for the people to worship, by worshipping at Bethel and Gilgal the people were in direct disobedience to God.

Correction (vs. 6-11)

Amos 4:6 “Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities.

And lack of bread in all your places;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the LORD.

Amos 4:7 “I also withheld rain from you,

When there were still three months to the harvest.

I made it rain on one city,

I withheld rain from another city.

One part was rained upon,

And where it did not rain the part withered.

Amos 4:8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,

But they were not satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the LORD.

Amos 4:9 “I blasted you with blight and mildew.

When your gardens increased,

Your vineyards,

Your fig trees,

And your olive trees,

The locust devoured them;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the LORD.

Amos 4:10 “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt;

Your young men I killed with a sword,

Along with your captive horses;

I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the LORD.

Amos 4:11 “I overthrew some of you,

As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the LORD.

√ Correction

God lists 7 different ways that He had chastised His people for their sin in an attempt to bring them to repentance!

Hunger/famine ~ vs. 6

Drought ~ vs. 7-8

Blight & mildew ~ vs. 9

Locusts ~ vs. 9

Plagues ~ vs. 10

Military defeat ~ vs. 10

Devastation ~ vs. 11

That is, God had repeatedly brought difficult times on the people of Israel so that they might repent of their sin and return to the Lord, yet…

“Yet you have not returned to Me”

God’s point is that each of these punishments were clear indicators to the people of Israel that they were on the wrong side of God…

…and that they needed to get right with Him!

Ex. Moses & Solomon

The reason that the people would know for sure that these disasters weren’t coincidental is that God had told them through both Moses and Solomon that they could expect these exact punishments if they turned away from Him!

In Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28-29 and 1^st Kings 8 God lists these 7 forms of punishment!

Catastrophe (vs. 12-13)

Amos 4:12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Amos 4:13 For behold,

He who forms mountains,

And creates the wind,

Who declares to man what his thought is,

And makes the morning darkness,

Who treads the high places of the earth—

The LORD God of hosts is His name.

√ Catastrophe

Because of Israel’s long history of rebellion and refusal to listen to God and return to Him…

…God declares irrevocable judgment and death.

“Prepare to meet your God”

That is, the people of Israel were going to die and be confronted with the God they ignored.

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