AMOS 1-4 PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Amos 1-4 Prepare To Meet Your God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. Well, in Amos chapter 1, we get the introduction to Amos in verses 1 and 2. It says this,

The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 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.

Here in verses 1 and 2, we get the introduction to Amos. We get to learn about him. We really don't hear about him in the rest of the scriptures. It's just this book that is written by him or the recording of what he prophesied. And we learn here that Amos is a shepherd.

He's not a prophet. He didn't go through the school of the prophets that was there in Israel during this time. He wasn't educated to be a prophet or to be a religious leader. He was a shepherd. And I think that's important for us to consider because as we look at this book and we look at the message that he was preaching,

commanded by the Lord to bring forth, it's a pretty hardcore, powerful message. It's a message that God could use in the nation of Israel. And I highlight that for you to remind you that God uses ordinary people. He uses shepherds.

Now we tend to kind of glorify shepherds as we look back at the scriptures, but shepherds in those days was not a glory job. It wasn't like everybody wanted to be a shepherd when they grew up. That was what they were hoping they could avoid. That was the last job that they wanted. It was a dirty job. It was a hard job. You were outside of the elements.

And so it's not, you know, the educated, you didn't go to school to become a shepherd, you know, you didn't get educated, you didn't, you know, if you had affluence or wealth, you know, you didn't go out in the shepherd field, you know, just for fun. It was the job of the people who really had no other options, no other alternatives.

Well, this is Amos. This is his role, his position. He's a shepherd. It's not a glorious job. He's just an ordinary guy with not very much means. And God is now going to use him to speak a powerful message to his people. God is able, of course, to use people who are trained and who are educated. But it seems as we look at the scriptures...

Primarily, He prefers to use ordinary people. I mean, you look at the 12 disciples, they're ordinary people. Sure, you have the Apostle Paul. He was trained and educated, but he's one out of 12 or one out of 11. The percentages are just not that high. And so for the most part, God chooses to use regular people.

He chooses to use people like you and I. In Amos chapter 7, verse 14 and 15, Amos declares of himself, he says, I was no prophet, nor was I the son of a prophet. I was a sheep breeder and a tender sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. And so Amos is responding to God's instruction.

And he's going to the people of Israel and he's declaring the words that God has given to him. God can use you. He can send you to the mission field. You could be the next person on our missions board there in the back. You could be someone that God gives the instruction. You don't have to be a prophet or a son of a prophet. You don't have to necessarily go to school. He can call you.

to go, just like he called Amos to go. He can give you words to speak to your workplace, and you can be an instrument that he chooses to use to change your work environment, to bring revival there in that place. Or God could speak through you to bring revival to the United States if he chooses. Don't limit, don't close off what God may do, what God wants to do.

Instead, be obedient and respond because God uses regular people. Don't think, hey, you know, I'm just Jesse. How can God use me to change the world? Jesse already thinks he can change the world, but you get the point, right? I'm just teasing. Sorry, Jess. God uses ordinary people and He can use any one of us. We look at Billy Graham and we go, oh man, that's amazing. He's an ordinary guy who God said, go. God said, go. And you could be that next person.

You could be that next person that God chooses to use to bring revival, to bring many people to Him.

Well, we see that Amos was an ordinary guy. He was a shepherd. He was a shepherd in the area of Tekoa. Tekoa was in areas about 10 miles from the city of Jerusalem. And so he's not far from Jerusalem, but his message is primarily to the northern kingdom. You remember at this time,

well he goes on to reference Uzziah and Jeroboam the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah at this time the nation of Israel was split in two and there was a northern kingdom which was called Israel and then there was the southern kingdom which was called Judah and they split right after Solomon's reign and under Solomon's son's reign the kingdom split and the northern kingdom never had a good king they began to walk away from God right at the start

And so God is announcing now to this northern kingdom the destruction that is coming upon them if they do not repent. And at the time that Amos is prophesying these things, it's about 40 years until that destruction takes place. 30 to 40 years after Amos is when Assyria comes and conquers the nation of Israel.

And so he's there in Judah, but right on the border, and he's prophesying against Israel and warning them of the judgment that is to come. Well, as we head in now, the first really two chapters are kind of devoted to the surrounding nations. He deals with them first, and then he'll come back and deal with the nation of Israel. So let's pick it up in verse 3. It says this,

Thus says the Lord, For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

I will also break the gate bar of Damascus and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Avon and the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Gaza and for four, I will not turn away its punishment because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom.

But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza which shall devour its palaces forever.

I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod and the one 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. Verse 9. Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyre and for four, I will not turn away its punishment because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, which shall devour its palaces. Here as we head into chapter 1, we see now Amos is talking about different nations that are surrounding the nation of Israel. And he has this same type of formula that he uses at the beginning of talking about each of these nations.

He says, "For three transgressions of this place, and for four, He will not turn away its punishment." And that is a poetic way of expressing a repetition or an abundance or an excess.

And so what he's saying is he's addressing each of these nations. He's using this poetic language to say this nation has an abundance of transgression. They have an abundance or an excess of sin and rebellion against God. And it's repeated. It's ongoing. It's not that they one time made a mistake, but that they persist and that they continue on in this abundance or excess of sin against God.

And so here in verses 3 through 10, we see three different nations mentioned. The first one is Damascus, which Damascus is the capital city of the nation of Syria. And so he's addressing the nation of Syria by referring to Damascus. This nation, this city is northeast of the nation of Israel. And he says that he's going to bring punishment upon them. He lists one specific thing for each of the nations.

And the specific thing that he mentions here for Damascus is because they threshed Gilead.

Now Gilead was a city of the nation of Israel that belonged to Israel and God is saying because you attacked Gilead and took that land, that city from my people then I'm going to bring judgment upon you. Now you can see when this took place if you want to you can check out later on 2 Kings chapter 10 and you'll see there how Syria attacks. It's the east side of the Jordan. You remember Gilead

two and a half tribes stayed on one side of the Jordan River. They said, hey, we like it here. It's good for our sheep. You know, we don't need to cross over. And so they stayed there on that side. The rest of the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River and went into the land of Israel. Well, Gilead is in that east side, which has the two and a half tribes. And so it was in that area that Damascus attacked and took. And God says, as a result of that, I'm going to bring punishment upon you.

Well, then he refers to Gaza. Now, Gaza is south and west of Israel. It's the same area that we refer to today as the Gaza Strip. It was the area where the Philistines lived. And God says for three transgressions, for four, an abundance of sin there in Gaza, in the Philistines.

But then he lists a specific one. He basically declares that they were selling slaves to Edom. They were taking some of the Jewish people and selling them to a nation south of Israel, to the Edomites. And so as a result of that, as a result of their treatment of God's people, God says, I'm going to bring judgment upon them.

And then finally in verses 9 and 10, he makes reference to the city of Tyre. The city of Tyre is north and west of the nation of Israel. And he addresses them, again, for three and four of their transgressions. They have an abundance of sin. But a specific one is they sold, again, matzah.

much like Gaza they sold the people of Israel as slaves to Edom but also he points out that they broke their covenant with Israel and that's a covenant that was made back in the time of David when he and Hiram remember Hiram of Tyre and

Hiram sent down the logs in order to build the temple, to build the house, and to do the work that God had called him to do. And so there was this covenant between them, but God says, you've broken that covenant, you've forgotten that covenant, and turned against the people of Israel. And as a result, he's bringing judgment upon them. Well, we see a couple more nations be addressed in verses 11 through 15. It says this,

Thus says the Lord,

For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four I will not turn away its punishment, because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rava, and it shall devour its palaces amid shouting in the day of battle, and a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. Their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, says the Lord."

Here in verses 11 through 15, he follows the same format and addresses now the nation of Edom and the nation of Ammon. The nation of Edom was south of Israel, just below the southern border of Judah actually. Now the nation of Edom was populated with the descendants of Israel.

And so if you remember going back in history, there was Jacob and Esau. And Jacob was the line that God chose to bless and to bring the Messiah through. But Esau also became a great nation. He became the Edomites. Well, you remember that Jacob kind of ripped off Esau and stole his birthright and stole the blessing and then he had to flee away. Well, the Edomites,

Edomites continued to harbor an anger and a bitterness over what had taken place and the stealing of the blessing that took place there with Jacob and Esau. And so God is addressing them for their sin, the three and the four, and abundance and excess of sin. But also he says, look, I'm bringing this punishment because you've held on to that hatred for Israel and Judah. And

And as a result of their hatred, they have been antagonistic against the nation of Israel and Judah. They've attacked them. They've taken them captive. They've bought their slaves. Later on, they'll go on to help Babylon, you know, capture the people who escape. They're just, you know, against the nation's

Very seriously. And so Edom is now going to be judged, God pronounces. Well, then you have Ammon. Ammon was to the east of the nation of Israel. It was across the Jordan River. And there to the east were the Ammonites.

And God says for three and for four, there's the same format, the same formula, this abundant transgression. But the specific one that he mentions is because they also attacked Gilead. They were kind of joining forces with the nation of Syria. And so they attack and took from the people of Israel the land that God had given to them.

But God also points out their cruelty. He says that they ripped open the women with child in Gilead. And so they didn't just conquer the land, but they went the extra mile. They were extra cruel in what they did, in the way that they behaved. And as a result, God is going to bring judgment upon them.

Well, as we head now into chapter 2, we'll see that same formula, that same format, and now he'll be addressing the nation of Moab as well as the nation of Judah. Verse 1 says, 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. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kiriath.

Verse 4, Verse 5,

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. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. So now God addresses Moab and Judah. Moab was south and east of the nation of Israel.

And he addresses them again because of their abundance of sin, but also points out their revenge that they took.

out upon Edom and how they took one of Edom's kings and burned it until it was lime. That is the idea of like they burned his body and burned his bones until it became a powder as a result of their wrath, as a result of their anger and their animosity towards Moab. And so they're taking vengeance into their own hands. Again, it's the idea of anger and bitterness that they were holding on to. And so God says punishment will come upon them as a result of

Well, then he focuses, he addresses the nation of Judah. Now, remember, Israel was divided into two kingdoms at this point. Amos' message primarily is to the northern kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, and that's where we'll spend the rest of our time. But here he shares a short pronouncement of judgment upon the nation of Judah, just like he has with all of the other nations. And so Judah, the southern kingdom, is divided into two kingdoms.

They have a multitude and abundance of sin as well. For three and for four transgressions they will be judged. But also he points out specifically that they have despised the law of the Lord. And so the nation of Judah has rejected the word of God. They've rejected the law of God. They have refused to be obedient to God.

Now we're not really dealing with the nation of Judah, but I think it's interesting, something Warren Wiersbe says, as we looked at all these surrounding nations and how God is bringing judgment upon them, and then now God is addressing His people, Warren Wiersbe says, if God judges lost people for their sins, what will He do to those who claim to know Him?

The nation of Israel, the nation of Judah were people who claimed to know God. And they were given much by God. And yet they were just like the other nations. They had an abundance of sin. They were in a continual, repetitious lifestyle of sin. And so Judah is going to experience judgment just like the other nations as a result of their rebellion against God in the same way that Israel is about to.

Now as we look at the verses we've read so far, we've seen all these different nations and kind of summing it up, here's some reasons that God has listed thus far for His judgment.

One reason is mistreating God's people. Another reason is holding on to hatred. Another reason is using cruelty to advance yourself. Another reason is revenge. Another reason is to despise the law of God. And as you consider these five reasons, these five things we've seen thus far, I would ask you this evening, are you in danger of judgment? You see, God hasn't changed. And He still does not...

favor or bless those who are practicing these things. Those who are living out mistreating God's people, holding on to hatred, using cruelty, advancing yourself, revenge and despising the law of God. Those who are practicing these things are still in that same place, that danger of judgment from God. Are you in danger of judgment?

Well, as we go on now in verses 6 through 12, he's now addressing the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom. And he begins with a similar format, but now he expands it because this is the primary subject of the message that God has given to him.

Verse 6 says, 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. They pant after the dust of the earth, which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile my holy name.

Verse 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. 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 Amorites. I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazarites,

Here is God now addresses the nation of Israel. He starts out the same way. For three transgressions and for four, He will not turn away their punishment.

indicating that in the nation of Israel there is an excess, there's an abounding, there's a repetitious lifestyle of sin and rebellion against God. But this time as he addresses the nation of Israel, he lists some more specifics about some of the things that they're practicing. The first thing he says is that they sell the righteous and the poor.

In the nation of Israel, as Amos is prophesying, it seems that it was a time of prosperity and there was great wealth and everything looked good from the outside. There was lots of luxury. But there was a big contrast. So those who had wealth and resources, they were really wealthy. But there was a big contrast.

But those who didn't have wealth, they were very poor. And there was this big contrast that existed. Much like we see around the world today, there's those nations that have the really rich and the really poor, but really not much in between. There's no middle class. Well, in Israel in those days, the really wealthy, the well-off, those who had power, they were really rich. And so they would sell the righteous and the poor. They would sell their brethren,

Into slavery, into fortitude or bondage. Or servitude is rather the word I meant to say. They would sell them into slavery. And so perhaps they're even part of the selling to the Philistines and selling to Edom. I mean, they're the ones who are practicing this. They're taking advantage of the poor and oppressing the poor as well as the righteous. Well, the second thing he says is that they pervert the way of the humble.

So, those who are righteous, those who are poor, they're selling them, they're putting them to slavery. Those who are humble, those who are trying to walk with God, those who want to know God, they're perverting. They're trying to get them away from the things of God. They're also practicing, he mentions, some pretty gross sexual immorality.

So that a dad and a son are having a sexual relationship with the same woman. It's a sexual immorality that is forbidden in God's law. But then he also describes the idolatry there in verse 8.

They're lying down by these altars on clothes that they've taken and pledged. And so they've disregarded God's word because he told them, if you take a garment and pledge, then give it back in the evening so that they have something warm to keep themselves warm. But they're holding on to them. They're laying down on them. They're drinking wine that's been in the house of the God that is condemned. And so they're just all out, full on, rebelling against God.

And so again, I would ask you as you look at these things of the nation of Israel, are you in danger of judgment? Have you been involved in oppressing the righteous and the poor? Or perverting, causing those who are humble, those who are walking with God, to fall into sin? Have you been involved in sexual immorality or idolatry? Removing God and placing other gods, other things in your life as more important. Are you in danger of judgment? In verses 9-12, God says...

But it was me. I mean, you've rebelled against me, but it was me who brought you here. It was me who did all of this for you. I gave you victory. You remember the Amorites? They were big. They were strong. That's why Israel didn't want to go in there in the first place. Remember, they were there on the border and they sent in the spies and the spies said, Oh, no, they're too big. They're too strong. Only Joshua and Caleb said, God can do it.

They were freaked out by the inhabitants of the land, but God took them in. He conquered the land for them. God says, it was me, it was I. I brought you here. I gave you victory. I blessed you. I spoke to you. And yet you've turned against me. You've rebelled against me in this way. In verse 12, he talks about giving the Nazarites wine to drink. Now, in Nazarite, there was something, you can check it out in Numbers chapter 6, called the Nazarite vow.

And the Nazarite vow was a vow of dedication to God. It was you saying to God, God, I'm going to set myself apart for you. I'm going to be devoted to you. I'm not going to be involved in things that are not of you. And so there was a ceremony, there was a process that went along with this Nazarite vow. And one of the requirements of the vow was that for this duration of time that you set apart for God, that you did not partake of anything of the vine, that you didn't partake of anything.

alcoholic beverages or grape juice. And so what he says here is, you gave the Nazarites wine to drink.

And so here's someone who's dedicated themselves to the Lord and said, yes, I want to follow the Lord. I've given this time set aside for the things of God to draw near to God. And the people of Israel are like, hey, have a drink. Hey, have a drink. Here, come on, drink this. Oh, come on, it'll be fine. Hey, don't worry about it. It's just one drink. You'll be fine. They gave the Nazarites. They perverted the way of the humble. They caused them to stumble in their vow that they had made.

But then he also says that they silenced the prophets. And so the prophets were speaking forth on behalf of God and they're saying, ah, be quiet. We don't want to listen to you. Stop talking. We don't want to hear what you have to say. And so they're shutting down the things of God and discouraging the people who are faithful to God. Have you ever been around people who try to make you fall because they know you're a Christian? Have you ever experienced that? That's what was happening there for the Nazarites.

You know that they're trying to cause them to stumble trying to set them up You know it's just kind of like a fun game to them Let's see if we can make this guy and you know when I when I was working in

Pretty much everywhere I've worked. At Walmart, at First Financial, at Paychex. There's always been people who've been... said things even to the point that, you know, like, hey, we're going to try to get this guy. You know, we're going to try to get you to go our way. We're going to try to distort you or, you know, get you perverted. And they would...

seek to, they would try to, you know, engage me in those things. That's what was happening there in the nation of Israel. That's what the nation was like. And so for a righteous person, it was tough because there was all this traps that were being set for them continually. And then those who are wanting to speak on behalf of God,

They were telling them to be quiet. Have you ever been around someone who's tried to keep you quiet because they know you're a Christian and they don't want to hear what you have to say? They don't want to hear what the Bible says. They don't want to hear from God. In the same way, that's what was happening in the nation of Israel.

And so these are God's people though. And so you could understand as God is coming against them, they're involved in this terrible sin, but they're also forcing their sinfulness upon those who are wanting to walk with God, wanting to do what's right. And so God is bringing some severe judgment against them.

We're going on to verse 13. It says,

The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day, says the Lord. Here in verses 13 through 15, we have some fun reversals that kind of are fun to consider. He says that, therefore, flight shall perish from the swift. So here's the person who's really fast. I mean, this is an Olympic athlete.

He's fast. And he thinks, hey, when the time comes, I can outrun an enemy. They won't catch me. I don't have to worry about that. I can flee. I can run. God says, those who are swift, those who can run, their flight will perish.

They won't be able to run. They won't be able to escape. They won't be able to get away. God is saying, "I'm reversing their strengths." So that the strong, who rely upon their strength, who think, "I'm fine. I'm okay. I've got it under control. I can handle it because I'm strong." He says, "When this judgment comes, they will have no strength. They will have no ability to defend themselves, to take care of themselves."

He reverses it as well with the courageous. You think about the courageous, you know, it's those who kind of lead people into the battle. But those who are courageous, those who are brave, those who lead into battle, they're going to run away naked. They're going to be so freaked out and so scared, they're going to run away naked. You see this reversal, you see this contrast that God is saying, that the things that they rely upon will fade away.

And so they think they can handle their sin. They think they can handle their rebellion. They think they don't have to worry about these other nations around them and the judgment that God's pronouncing. They think they've outsmarted God. They think they can outrun God and His judgment. And God says, the things that you trust in will fail. Heading on into chapter 3 verse 1 says,

Verse 1.

Can two walk together unless they are agreed? 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? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth when there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all? 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? Verse 7. Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy? Here in chapter 3 now, Amos goes on to ask some rhetorical questions. He starts out by God pronouncing to them,

You're the only nation that I've known. Now, of course, God knows, that is, He knows of all the nations. But the nation of Israel was special. They were God's chosen people. He says, look, of all the nations of the earth, you're the only nation that I've chosen, that I've set apart, that I've called my own. And so He says, therefore, I will punish you. There in verse 2.

Because you're my special people, I will punish you for your iniquity. Sometimes Christians think, I'm God's special person, so God won't punish me. But that's not the reality. God says, look, you've been given much, much is required of you. To whom much is given, much is required. We are accountable for more. Sometimes when you talk to unbelievers about sin,

the gospel message. Sometimes they'll bring up that one guy in Africa. And there's always, you know, everybody who refers to that one guy in Africa who never heard the gospel and how will he be judged? Well, the reality is he will be accountable for what God revealed to him, what God showed to him. But the bigger concern is you. Because you've been given much. It's not so much that guy out there who never heard. You've heard. You have the word of God. You and I

Here in our society, we've been given much. And so we can't think, well, God won't judge us because we're so blessed. We're His people. Those who are practicing, those who are living in sin, who know better, God says, therefore, I will punish you because you're My child. I will bring discipline. I will bring chastening. I will bring judgment because you're Mine. Because you know Me. Because you have My Word. Because you know the truth.

Well then he goes on to ask all these rhetorical questions. Can two walk together unless they're agreed? You know, if you're going in the same direction, two people, there has to be that agreement between them. Lions roar because of the prey that they've caught, that they've found. Birds fall into a snare because there's a trap. If there's no trap, it doesn't fall into the snare. And the snare doesn't spring up, right, if it's caught nothing.

It doesn't just spring up for the fun of it. If it springs up, it's because something has triggered it. That's the point that God's making. There in verse 6, He says, If there's calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? When the trap is sprung, it's because something sprung it. When there's calamity in a city, it's because the Lord did it. God's telling the nation of Israel, This is My doing. I'm bringing this judgment.

I'm bringing this punishment. This is me. They were convinced we're God's special people. We don't have to worry about judgment. God says, no, it's because you're my special people that I'm bringing this judgment and I want you to know it's me bringing the judgment. I want you to know it's not just bad luck. It's not just bad fortune. I want you to know it's me bringing the judgment. And so he's announcing to them, he's making sure

There in verse 7 he says, Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals the secret to His prophets. The prophets are announcing it ahead of time so that the people know this is God's doing. Now as we look at our lives today, as I've often shared, not every bad thing that happens in our life is a warning from God or a judgment from God. And yet at the same time I would say sometimes...

Those things happen in our life because it is a warning or a judgment from God. Every bad thing is not a warning or judgment from God. But sometimes it is. And so whether or not it is, we often don't know, but it's a good opportunity for us to check our heart. But here's the thing. When God announces it ahead of time, you can be sure it's a warning or a judgment from God. So sometimes...

We don't have the announcement ahead of time. God hasn't told us that He's going to bring the judgment. And then things start happening. It's a good opportunity to check our heart. It may be a warning from God. It might not. It doesn't mean that somebody has sinned because bad things happen in their life. But when God announces ahead of time,

This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to bring judgment. And then judgment happens. Then calamity takes place. He says, look, it's because I want you to know it's me doing it. It's because you're my special people. It's because I love you. But I'm bringing this judgment upon you. Verse 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. For they do not know to do right, says the Lord, who store violence and robbery in their palaces.

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. 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. Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts.

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. 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. Here as we finish up chapter 3.

God is basically saying, Israel is going to be devoured. They've wandered so far from the Lord. In verse 10 He says, they don't know to do right. They don't even know how to walk with God anymore.

And so he says he's going to surround them. There in verse 11 he talks about the enemy, the adversary being around them. And that takes place with the nation of Assyria. Assyria comes against Israel and ultimately conquers Israel and leads all of the survivors away captive. The destruction is so much that he describes it in verse 12. He gives the picture of a shepherd rescuing two legs out of the mouth of a lion.

So you can see the animal has already been devoured but the shepherd went and got the two legs or got the piece of ear that was left. Now a shepherd would do that in those days because a shepherd usually was not the owner of the sheep and so he would take the pieces of the sheep back to the owner to prove that the animal was devoured and to basically say, look I didn't steal your sheep, it was devoured by this wild animal.

And so it was something that was familiar to Amos because he was a sheep breeder. And so he would, you know, go and get the pieces from the wild animal to show that it was a wild animal that took it. Well, that same idea, though, that there's only pieces left, there's just little bits left.

of an animal is the same picture that he uses for the nation that when the nation of Assyria conquers them there's just going to be a tiny remnant left just going to be a piece of an ear a couple legs but not that much in verse 15 he talks about their great prosperity he says look they have a winter house they have a summer house they have houses of ivory and they have great houses

They've got just an abundance. Remember, the rich are really rich and the poor are really poor. And the really rich people are trusting in their wealth and their riches and God says, it's going to come to an end. It's going to come crashing down and they're going to have nothing left at all. Chapter 4.

Verse 1 says, Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, you 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. Verse 1 says,

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. You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast into harmone, says the Lord.

Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal, multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. 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. Here in chapter 4, he now begins to address the cows of Bashan. Now he's not talking about cattle on hills. He's talking about the ladies.

And he doesn't mean it as a compliment. He's talking about the ladies, talking to the ladies. He said, hey, get your husbands, or you who say to your husbands, you know, get the wine, let us drink. He's addressing the ladies there in the nation of Israel. The idea of the cows of Bashan refers to their luxury, their indulgence. And so he's speaking to them, and he says, this is what's going to happen to you. You're going to be led away by fish hooks.

Now, I want to point out, I want to make sure we understand that money, that wealth, that even luxury isn't wrong by itself. But here's the situation, here's what makes it wrong. There in verse 1, he addresses the cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy. So they're obtaining and they're maintaining their luxury by taking advantage of the poor and the needy. And that's the issue.

So it's not so much, you know, hey, if God blesses you, God blesses you, and you don't necessarily got to feel guilty about that. But when you're taking advantage of the poor and the needy, when you're living out that luxury in rebellion against God, taking advantage of others, well, then you better watch out because God will defend the poor and the needy.

Well, he says they're going to be led away by fishhooks. Now, the Assyrians had a practice. When they conquered a land, they would take the inhabitants of the land somewhere else. The survivors, they would take them somewhere else and disperse them, and they would be servants of the nation there in another place. Geographically, they would move them, and then they would take people from a different place that they conquered and take them into the land that was conquered.

And so Israel was conquered, the inhabitants were taken out, and then other inhabitants from other places were taken and populated into Israel. And they would do this as a way of causing the people to be submitted to the nation.

But when they led them from the land, it would be a humiliating process because they would actually use something like a fish hook and they would pierce the bottom lip of all the people that they were leading away and they would attach them all together. They would have a line between all the people that's attached to all, everybody's bottom lip is all tied together and then they would lead them away from the land.

Can you imagine? Just try to think that or picture that for just a moment. You know, walking hundreds of miles attached to all the people with you that were there when you were conquered by your bottom lips. Just humbling, just humiliated. When you got there, you would have nothing. You would have nothing left. No pride, no arrogance, just completely shattered, beaten. God says, that's what's coming, ladies.

For living in your luxury, for oppressing the poor and the needy, that's what's coming. Verse 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. 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.

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.

Verse 1.

I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning yet you've not returned to me says the Lord. Here in verses 6-11 over and over you see that phrase yet you've not returned to the Lord. God says look I sent warnings before this judgment that is coming. I sent hunger. He refers to it as cleanness of teeth.

I don't know about you, but I like having something in my teeth. You know, a little bit of reminder of the meal I had earlier. He says, I sent you cleanness of teeth. You didn't have that reminder because you didn't have anything to eat. You were hungry. Yet you've not returned to me even though you've been hungry. I sent you thirst and famine, but you've not returned. And so rain came in certain places and not in other places. And the cisterns weren't full all over. There was thirst, but you've not returned to me.

I sent you blight and mildew. These are things that would destroy crops. So I've destroyed your food. And yet, you've not returned to me. I sent you locusts. And yet, still you've not returned to me. God says all these terrible things that took place, they were warnings. They were to call you to return to me. Now again, I would like to say, not every bad thing is a warning and a judgment from God. But sometimes it is.

And so we need to take heed. And you better check your heart. When things are going crazy in your life and the roof is falling out and the floor is falling out and the tire is blowing out and the fridge is going out. When it's all just falling apart, you better take heed. That not necessarily is a judgment or a warning from God, but it's a good opportunity to check your heart. It's a good opportunity to check and see, Lord, is there something wrong? Do I need to turn and repent?

Well, He also says in verse 10, He sent them a plague like He sent to Egypt. He sent them a sword. The horses have been put to death. They've still not returned. He defeated them there in verse 11. They've been overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet still they've not returned. Not every bad thing is a warning or judgment from God, but sometimes it is. And God continued to send these warnings.

You know, for us as a nation, this coming Sunday is the anniversary of September 11th. And when that took place, everybody was asking, is this a judgment from God? Well, we can't say with clarity or with definitely that it is, because, well, you can see here with Amos, God's announcing the judgments ahead of time. But at the very least, certainly it is a warning, because there's a lot of, well, there's a lot of sin in our nation. There's a lot of rebellion against God.

As a society, as a whole, we've turned against God. And so the disasters and the things that we experience, God hasn't announced them ahead of time, so I can't say for certain this is a judgment of God, but I can say for certain these are warnings. These are wake-up calls that we need to repent, that we need to turn, that we need to get right with God. For us personally, I would encourage you to challenge yourself as things are falling apart.

God may be sending you some warnings. Will you return to Him? I really like what David Guzik says in this portion. He says that God starts His chastisement slow and increases it incrementally so He can use the smallest amount of discipline necessary to turn our hearts back to Him. And so He starts out with a little bit of hunger.

And then he adds on to that thirst. Now if they had returned to him, then they wouldn't have experienced all the rest. And so as a result, God's using the least amount of discipline necessary to bring them to repentance. Now in the case of Israel, he used all the warnings, he kept increasing, he kept increasing, it kept getting worse and worse, and then finally they're conquered and dispersed because they would not return to God. They wouldn't listen to the warnings. They wouldn't come back.

But you and I, we don't have to follow their pattern. We don't have to follow their example. We can turn at the slightest hint. We can turn as God speaks to us in His Word and says, that's wrong. You need to repent. You need to stop and turn and get right with me. Let's finish it up in verse 12 and 13.

It says, Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. 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. Again, God points out, it's me. I'm doing this to you.

This is not Assyria, this is not luck, it's not happenstance, it's not just bad fortune. You're not sinning against a man or a community or a nation. He says, look, you're sinning against the one who formed the mountains. You're rebelling against the one who knows everything, who knows your heart. You're rebelling against the one who keeps the world turning.

You're rebelling against your Creator. It's impossible to escape or outrun or outsmart Him. What He has declared will take place. And so He says something very, very heavy. He says, prepare to meet your God. Prepare to meet your Maker. That's biblical. Are you ready to meet your Maker? Are you ready to meet your God? That's the question we wind up with this evening. Are you ready? Because we're God's disciples,

special people, because we're Christians, because we go to church, because we sit in service, because we read the Bible. That is not a reason for us to be thinking that our sin will go unpunished, that our rebellion will not result in chastisement. In fact, it's the opposite. That's true. Because we know better, we need to behave accordingly. Are you ready to meet your Maker? Are you ready to stand before the Lord?

God says, you better get ready because you can't run from me and you cannot smart me. And so as we continue on in our service this evening, we want to take some time to prepare to meet God. So let's spend some time in worship. And as we worship, I want to encourage you, prepare to meet God. Get ready. You don't know if you have tomorrow. You don't know what time you have left.

It's not time to mess around. We can see by our nation. We can see by the things that are going on. Time is short. Time is drawing near. It's time for us to pay attention to the warnings that God's been bringing and to get ready to meet our God. So if there's sin in your life, it's time to repent. If there's issues that are going on, you need to deal with those issues and surrender them to God. And so as we worship the Lord together, take this time.

Get ready to meet your God.