OT: Amos
So far in our study of the Minor Prophets we’ve seen Hosea indict the people for breaking the covenant between themselves and Yahweh by worshiping idols, and we saw Joel accuse the people of indifference and spiritual apathy, issuing a wake up call to the nation.
Now we’re going to look at the third Minor Prophet, Amos.
Background
So we know right from the start that Amos was a shepherd. He’s not a priest, or a member of the social elite, he’s a working class shepherd. Furthermore, he’s from Tekoa, about 10 miles south of Jerusalem in the Southern Kingdom. Yet his ministry takes place in the Northern Kingdom. In chapter 7 we learn a little more about him.
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’” (ESV)
The priest calls Amos a “seer” or one who sees visions. They know that Amos is having visions from the Lord, but they don’t want to hear it because it’s uncomfortable.
Our task for this time together, is to discover what this uncomfortable message was that Amos delivered, and determine its application to our lives.
Overview
I think it will be helpful to remind us of something God had said a long time before this to his people.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, (ESV)
God is jealous of his people’s worship. He doesn’t want us to worship anything other than himself. Now we could talk about why, because he is the ultimate, and if we worship anything other than him we are worshiping something less than him, but let’s just keep in mind that he is jealous for our worship. Now back to Amos.
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 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.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen. (ESV)
God is saying to his people, “I hate it when you go to church. When you gather together and take up an offering, I despise that. I won’t accept it. And when you sing…it’s just noise, I can’t listen to it. Just shut up!”
Now if God is so jealous for our worship, why would he say something like that?
To answer that question, we need to go back and take a look at some of Amos’ visions.
This is about the Syrians. Damascus is the capital there. God is angry with them because they were harsh with their neighbors in Gilead.
Here God is upset with Gaza because they sold “a whole people” into slavery.
Here God is angry with Tyre because they treated other people like they weren’t equals.
Edom dealt violently with other peoples.
The Ammonites killed innocent women and children to enlarge their kingdom.
The Moabites were so severe that they even burned the bones of their enemies to nothing.
Are you beginning to see a pattern here? God is announcing his anger toward the nations because of the social injustice they have practiced against each other.
No one in Israel would have been bothered by these prophecies. It is what comes next that disturbed them so.
The people of Judah (Southern Kingdom) have rejected God’s law for their own way.
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—
7 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;
8 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. (ESV)
Even more damning. The people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) have dealt unjustly with their own brothers. They have sold people into slavery to enrich themselves. They have not only broken God’s commands, but have taken advantage of the needy while doing so.
Lack of Justice
All of this amounts to a lack of justice among God’s people.
In one of the few passages in the Bible where God directly addresses the women of Israel, listen to what he says to them.
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, that we may drink!’
2 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 fishhooks.
3 And you shall go out through the breaches,
each one straight ahead;
and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the Lord. (ESV)
Bashan, east of Galilee, was known for it’s lush pasture land and the cows that were raised there were fat and well-fed. He just called the women fat cows! He said they were pampered and spoiled like those fat cows of Bashan. So much so that they encouraged their husbands to oppress and take advantage of the poor and needy to support their lavish lifestyle.
In the verses just preceding these, He spoke of their luxurious homes. They lived in nice big homes and took advantage of the poor and needy.
And so God announces judgment on them for their unrighteous deeds.
And he says in chapter 5 that some of them were looking forward to the Day of the Lord and they shouldn’t.
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19 as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it? (ESV)
We saw last time in Joel that for God’s people, the Day of the Lord was a day to be looked forward to, not a day of judgment. Yet here God is telling them not to rest on that promise, not to look forward to it.
And from there he goes into those verses we started with about hating it when they “worshipped” him.
He ends that passage with a verse made famous in America by Martin Luther King Jr.
His call to repentance is a call to action. To social justice. Let’s turn to the New Testament to see what God says about this same subject.
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (ESV)
We’ve talked about his verse before, but I think it’s important. God is saying that if we don’t worship him with our lives, by the way we treat the needy, the widow and the orphan, then our “worship” on Sunday morning is something he hates. Notice that he ends verse 27 by saying we are to keep ourselves “unstained from the world.” Back in Amos, the accusations against the nations, and the accusations against God’s people looked the same.
God intends for his people to live differently from the world. Not separate from the world. In the world, but different. If God’s people live just like the world and then gather for “church”, God says it sounds like noise and he can’t stand to listen to it.
Listen to Jesus on this same subject.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (ESV)
This is the Day of the Lord that they were looking forward to, when Jesus will judge the nations. And Jesus says, this is how this is going to go down…
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (ESV)
For, you came to church every Sunday and Wednesday.
For, you raised your hands while singing.
For, you played on the worship team.
For, you taught a Sunday School class.
For, you knew all the Christian lingo.
NO!!!!!!
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (ESV)
Jesus says we are to care for, provide for, show his love to, those who are hungry, thirsty, alone, needy, sick, and in prison. We are to do so for all who are in such need, but especially for those who are followers of Christ and find themselves in such situations (Galatians 6:10).
Showing such compassion, and engaging in such labors as these, does not earn us salvation. Scripture is clear that we cannot earn our salvation. But, it does prove our salvation. If our faith is real, it will necessarily result in such actions.
Engaging in social justice action has a part to play in the redemptive plan of God. We are not to do these things in an effort to merit God’s favor for salvation. And we are not to do these things for their own sake, loosing sight of the gospel. No, the purpose for such actions is to point people to the gospel!
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
It is confusing to the world when they see us proclaim a savior who came healing and caring for the needy, and yet we don’t do those things in his name.
This is why Amos issues a call to action as his call to repentance. To turn from from the spiritual apathy and complacency Joel warned of, and to faithfully worship the Lord, means to seek justice, to show mercy.
Jesus himself said so when he accused the Pharisees of tithing out of their spice racks, but failing to do these things.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (ESV)
Judgment & Restoration
Jesus continues in Matthew 25, explaining how this will work out on the last day, the day of judgment, for those like the people Amos was talking to, who claimed to worship him, but did not show mercy and justice and compassion to others.
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (ESV)
Amos goes on to announce God’s judgment on the nation for their lack of justice and mercy.
6:1 “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!
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,
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 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.”
8 The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” (ESV)
He warns them against feeling safe and secure, of enjoying their comfort and abundance of food, of pursuing entertainment and recreation, of making much over their own superiority and attractiveness.
He announces God’s judgment on them for their lack of concern for justice and mercy.
In chapter 7 God uses the image of a builder checking a wall with a plumb line. How that works is that a string is suspended from a point at the top of the wall, with a weight attached at the bottom of the string. Gravity assures that the string will then hang perfectly strait. If the edge, or corner, of the wall does not run parallel with the string, then you know the wall is crooked.
God uses that imagery to show that his people are crooked. They have gone astray from the strait path he set before them. They were not representative of his justice and mercy. For this reason the judgment was coming.
At the end of the book, the tail end of chapter 9, the prophet does announce that the judgment will serve as a sieve to eliminate the wicked from among God’s people. Once that is complete, he will restore the nation and bless his people once again.
Conclusion
The message of the book of Amos is that the authenticity of our worship is dependent on how we live our lives. If we do not seek justice and act in compassion toward those in need, our “worship” is nothing more than a noisy show. Real worship on Sunday morning is the result of a life of worship lived during the moments of our daily lives.
Yes, our singing and praying and preaching can be real worship, if they flow from lives that are lived in worship. Caring for the needy and oppressed is worship, often more real and acceptable in God’s sight, than the singing of a worship song.
I want you to examine your life and consider:
What would it look like in your life, for you to demonstrate the compassion and mercy of God, the generosity of God, the love of Christ to those in need?
What would it take for you to save up and provide the $300 it would take to buy a swing set for the orphans in the Ukraine? It might mean that you don’t eat out nearly as often, that you don’t buy that soda or energy drink at the gas station when you fill your car up, that you don’t go to the movie theater so often, that you don’t buy that that new game, or that new shirt, or shoes, or pocket knife, or whatever it is. It means you sacrifice of yourself, to give to others in need.
Sacrificing, and giving financially is great, but what about your time, and yourself? How can you get your hands dirty? How can you serve directly?
Maybe it means you take that time you would have spent at the movie theater, and instead you spend that time helping out someone you know in need. Help out at the Daily Bread, or the YMCA, or mow a widow’s lawn, or whatever.
Look for opportunities to serve others. Pray for opportunities to show Christ’s love. Don’t just think about it, or talk about it, DO IT!
