A couple of weeks ago the Wall Street Journal carried an article titled “Hollywood Destroys the World” in which the authors describe how Hollywood producers are increasingly consumed with making “end of the world” movies. What’s interesting about most of these movies is that rather than most previous movies of the genre, which focus on trying to fend off the coming cataclysmic end of the world, they deal with the aftermath of the doomsday scenarios. That article contains this interesting paragraph which describes the impetus behind many of these projects:
Most of the storytellers say they are reacting to anxiety over real threats in uncertain times: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, two U.S. wars abroad, multiple pandemics, a global financial crisis and new attention to environmental perils.
One of the reasons that we’ve decided to take on the task of examining the Book of Revelation is to be an antidote to all these doomsday scenarios that both arise from a sense of hopelessness and end up leaving people with no sense of hope. As we’ve already pointed out several times. The Book of Revelation is not just an account of things to come, but also a guide for how to live our lives with hope right here and now in the face of that future reality.
This morning we’re going to continue our examination of passages from the Old Testament prophets dealing with the “Day of the Lord” in preparation for our study of the Book of Revelation. The last three weeks we examined the entire book of Joel and this morning we’ll move on to the Book of Amos. So go ahead and open your Bibles to Amos, which you will find immediately after the Book of Joel.
BACKGROUND
The opening verse of the book provides us with much of the background information that we’ll need in order to put the book in its proper context:
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds 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.
Amos 1:1 (ESV)
• Date: Around 760 BC
Unlike the situation we found ourselves in with Joel, we can narrow down the date of Amos’ prophecy based on information that he provides for us here in the opening verse. We know that his prophecy occurred during the reign of King Uzziah in Judah, the southern kingdom and King Jeroboam II in Israel, the northern kingdom. Since we can pretty accurately pinpoint the dates of their reigns and when the two reigns overlapped, we can narrow down the possible time of Amos’ ministry to about a 25 year period, between 775 and 750 BC.
Amos also writes that this prophecy was given two years before “the earthquake”. This obviously had to have been a well known earthquake. In fact, it is also referred to by Zechariah:
…And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah…
Zechariah 14:5 (ESV)
Archaeologists have discovered evidence of a major earthquake on northern Israel in a layer of material that they have dated to about a ten year period around 760 BC. In addition, other historical information in the book would support a date somewhere around 760 BC.
• Author: Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa
It’s interesting that Amos identifies himself not as a prophet, but rather as a shepherd. Later in the book, he gives us some more personal background. [Not on PowerPoint]
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. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Amos 7:14, 15 (ESV)
We’re going to draw an important application out of this verse a little later on, but for now I want you to notice how God used a humble shepherd to carry out His plans. Seems like I remember a few other times in Scripture where God did the very same thing.
We also find that Amos is from Tekoa, a town in the southern kingdom of Judah, about five miles south of Jerusalem.
• Audience: Israel (northern 10 tribes)
Although he was from Judah, God called Amos to go and preach to the northern kingdom of Israel. We see this in verse 1, where we find the words “which he saw concerning Israel.” I want you to keep in mind the idea that Amos “saw” these words. We’ll see that is going to be consistent with the other Old Testament prophets and also with John and the Book of Revelation. We’ll talk more about the significance of seeing the Word of God when we get to the Book of Revelation.
THE STRUCTURE OF CHAPTERS 1-2
This morning what I’d like us to do is to stand back and take a look at the big picture of the first two chapters of Amos without getting bogged down in all the details in those chapters. Although the details are certainly important, I’m convinced that what is even more important for us in laying the foundation for our study of Revelation is to look at the overall structure of this portion of the book.
I hope that you had a chance to read the entire book of Amos this week and that, in particular, you had a chance to look at these first two chapters to see if you could discern some patterns here.
Amos’ words in this section comprise a masterful literary composition and the structure, as we’ll see, actually helps to drive home the message. This message consists of eight judgments which are all built around the phrase that introduces each one:
• For three transgressions of…, and for four
This is an example of a common Hebrew literary construction that we find throughout the Old Testament, which is known as a:
o x/x+1 formula
This formula can be used for several different purposes. For instance, in our study of Ecclesiastes, we saw an example of how this formula was used to describe:
Abundance
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight…
Ecclesiastes 11:2 (ESV)
In that case, x=7 and x+1=8. Seven indicates completeness. Eight is even more. So, as we saw at the time we looked at that verse, the idea is that we are to give in abundance.
Emphasis
We find this frequently in the Proverbs. Here is one example:
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (ESV)
Here x=6 and x+1=7. You’ll notice that the list itself contains seven items, because it is the second number that is in focus, but the Hebrew parallelism is used for emphasis. This is the most common use of the formula in the Bible and the one that Amos’ audience would have been most familiar with.
So when Amos begins each judgment with the phrase “For three transgressions of…, and for four…”
o Amos’ audience was expecting him to list four transgressions for each nation
But let’s see how that actually plays out:
Damascus (1:3-5) – one transgression
• Violence
Gaza (1:6-8) – one transgression
• Slave trade with Edom
Tyre (1:9-10) – one transgression
• Slave trade with Edom
By now, Amos’ audience was beginning to see that the x/x+1 formula didn’t apply to each nation, but to the overall message. Amos had begun by proclaiming judgment against three of Israel’s greatest enemies – Damascus to the north, Gaza to the south and Tyre to the west. So they anticipated that the fourth judgment, the one Amos was about to reveal, would be the climax of his prophecy. And sure enough, Edom fits right into the pattern.
.
Edom (1:11-12) – one transgression
• Violence against the Jews
Certainly this had to be the end of the judgments. Edom refers to the descendents of Esau, the brother of Jacob. They had settled in the area southwest of Israel. So when Amos speaks of Edom pursuing his brother, the people would have understood that he was speaking of the descendants of Jacob – all of the Jews. And although Edom was Israel’s most despised enemy, God is getting closer to home now because he is starting to deal with relatives, and not just complete strangers.
I can just see the people celebrating now. God was going to judge all of Israel’s enemies. In fact one could make the case that all four of the nations listed so far really had just one transgression in common – their hatred for and hostility toward Israel. And God was going to avenge that hatred.
But instead of stopping there, Amos continues with the judgments:
The next two groups that God directs his judgment against are also relatives. Both Ben-ammi, the father of the Ammonites and Moab were sons of Lot.
Ammon (1:13-15) – one transgression
• Violence in order to enlarge their borders
Moab (2:1-3) – one transgression
• Desecrating graves
By now, the audience has to be certain that the list of judgments is about to come to a close. Certainly the next judgment will be the seventh and final one. Perhaps that is what Amos meant by the phrase “For three transgressions of…, and for four”. And lo and behold the final judgment is against their own brothers to the south:
Judah (2:4-5)) – one transgression
Although God makes a number of statements against Judah, they all relate to one major sin:
• Rejecting God’s Word
By now Amos’ audience must be euphoric. Not only was God going to judge all the surrounding nations, He was also going to judge their own brothers to the south. And God had even brought one of their own, a shepherd from Tekoa, to announce that judgment. In their minds, they had at last been vindicated as the true children of God.
But to their surprise, Amos isn’t done yet. He continues with one last judgment. And this time, it really strikes close to home. In fact, as we sit back and take a look at the big picture, it is obvious that this has been the main target of Amos’ prophecy all along and that the seven judgments up to this point are really setting the stage for the eighth and final one.
Israel (2:6-16)
By adding an eighth judgment, God, through His prophet Amos, is making it clear that Israel is actually worse than all the other nations. In fact, we finally have what we’ve been expecting all along with the x/x+1 formula;
• Four transgressions
Amos hadn’t listed the expected four sins for each of the other nations because Israel was the main target of his message all along. But here we find four distinct sins of Israel described:
o Injustice (2:6-7a)
This is the primary sin that Amos deals with extensively throughout the entire book. Although Amos prophesied during a time of peace and prosperity, those who had benefited from that prosperity were taking advantage of the needy and the poor in their quest for even more riches.
From the second part of verse 7 through the end of verse 8, there are two related but separate sins that are occurring. Men are going to the pagan temples where they are engaging in immorality with the temple prostitutes. They have also taken garments in pledge, and not returned them before nightfall, as the law required. Instead they were taking them to the pagan temples where they drank wine they had purchased with fines that they had levied against the poor.
o Immorality (2:7b-8)
These men were engaging in immoral behavior with women who were not their wives as well as drunkenness.
o Idolatry (2:7b-8)
The even more grievous sin was their idolatry as they profaned God’s name by engaging in pagan rituals.
o Interference (2:12)
Not only had the people engaged in injustice, immorality and idolatry themselves, they had interfered with those who were trying to follow after God. They forced the Nazirites, who had made a vow not to drink wine to drink and they tried to keep the prophets from proclaiming God’s Word since they knew it would condemn their sin.
This is such an important message for all of us here in the United States, and in particular those of us here in this country that claim to be Christians. Like the nation of Israel in Amos’ time we’ve been so focused on the sins of others that we’ve gotten complacent about our own sin. We’ve come to think that somehow we’re blessed by God and therefore immune to His judgment. Amos’ words are a reminder of what Peter wrote in the New Testament:
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God…
1 Peter 4:17 (ESV)
APPLICATION
It really wasn’t difficult at all to come up with some practical applications for us from this passage. The greater challenge was trying to limit it to just the few most essential ones. Let me share with you the three most significant applications that I find in this passage:
1. God requires more from those to whom He has given more
When we come to the list of sins of Israel in this passage, they don’t really seem quite as bad as those of the other nations. After all those other nations were going to war, ripping open pregnant women and selling people into slavery. That doesn’t seem nearly as bad as injustice and a little sexual immorality. But there is a sense in which Israel’s sins were worse because they should have known better. They had a covenant relationship with God in which He had given them His Word as a guide for the way they were to live their lives in community. In fact, in 2:9-11, Amos reminds the people of Israel of how God has blessed them so richly in the past. Because God has given them so much, they have an even greater responsibility to obey His commands and live lives that are pleasing to Him.
Not only that, but the sins of Israel, unlike the sins of the surrounding nations, reflected poorly upon God Himself and robbed Him of His glory. Of course, we don’t have to worry about that today do we? We’ve never seen the lifestyle of someone who claims to be a Christian cause people to turn away from God have we?
As followers of Jesus, we have been given a tremendous gift, not only for ourselves, but a gift that we are to share and pass on to others. And as a result of that great gift, we also have a great responsibility to live in such a way that we don’t squander that gift or become a stumbling block to others. Here’s what Jesus had to say about this principle:
…Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Luke 12:48 (ESV)
It is clear from our passage in Amos that one day God will judge the sins of those who don’t know Him. But there is an even greater judgment that awaits those who clam to know Him, but whose lives don’t reflect any evidence of that relationship. Once again, let’s listen to the Words of Jesus:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)
2. God is more concerned that we confront our own sin than He is about us confronting the sins in others
There is a tendency for us to look at our culture and to think about how bad other people are. And that is true. We live in a culture that is full of sin – murder, lying, deceit, stealing – and that’s just our government officials. And what is even more disconcerting to me is the way that our society now embraces and even flaunts those things that the Bible clearly identifies as sin: abortion, sexual immorality of all kinds, greed, lust – and the list goes on and on.
But the reality is that we shouldn’t expect those who are not followers of Jesus to live as if they are. Unfortunately, however, we’re not all that different than the people of Israel in Amos’ day who were so busy pointing out the sins of others that they failed to recognize their own sin. Again, Jesus spoke about this very issue:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:41, 42 (ESV)
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised at how we’ve seen this demonstrated so clearly in our day. How many preachers and politicians have we seen who have spent much of their time and effort pointing out the faults in others and working to address those issues through the political process, only to find that they have personally been engaged in the behaviors that they have been campaigning against.
As I’ve clearly pointed out before, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be involved in the political process or that we can’t support candidates and causes that share our Biblical world view. But what this passage shows is that we ought to be spending a whole lot more of our time and energy developing our own character and dealing with our own sins that we do pointing out the sins in others and trying to address them.
3. God can use anyone to carry out His will
Amos is the very last person that we would have expected God to use to take this message to the people of Israel. First of all, he was from Judah. And ever since the split of the kingdom following the reign of King Solomon, Israel, the northern 10 tribes, and Judah, the southern two tribes, weren’t exactly the best of friends. In fact, I’m convinced that Amos had to use the structure he did just to get the people to listen at all. Had he merely started proclaiming judgment against Israel, nobody would have listened. But by the time he pronounced judgment against his own people, Judah, he had sparked the interest of his audience.
Not only that, Amos was merely a shepherd, a herdsman and a farmer. He didn’t come from a long line of preachers. He never went to seminary or Bible college or a seminar on how to be an effective preacher. His main qualifications were that he was available and obedient.
And Amos is certainly not the only one in the Bible that God was able to use in spite of their lowly background:
• He uses a guy with a speech impediment, Moses, to lead His people out of Egypt
• David, another shepherd, becomes the King of Israel and Jesus comes from his lineage
• Mary, a teenage girl, becomes the mother of Jesus
• When Jesus ascends to His father, He leaves behind a group of uneducated fishermen and tax collectors to carry on His ministry
• Paul goes from being a persecutor of Christians to the most proficient church planter in history.
No matter what your background or your position in life, no matter how educated or uneducated you might be, no matter what you may have done in the past, God can use you as long as you’re willing to be available and obedient.
Perhaps God has been calling you to serve Him in some way, but you’ve resisted that call because you somehow feel you’re inadequate for the task. The fact is that you are inadequate, just like Amos was. But if you’re willing to be available and obedient God can use you anyway and He’ll give you everything you need to do whatever he is calling you to do. That was Paul’s testimony:
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
So my question for you this morning is this: What is God calling you to do? Teach a Bible class, serve in the nursery, care for a family member or neighbor, sing in the choir or play in the chime choir, help out at the Gospel Rescue mission, visit someone in the hospital…? Are you willing to be available and obedient to God and begin to serve Him wherever He has called you to serve?
