"Famous Amos"
What can we learn from this shepherd and fig-tender - turned - prophet?
Given at Glorious King Jesus (GKJ), March 13, 2011
Sterling C. Franklin
Text: Amos 5:1-27
(Read Text)
Opening Prayer
This is a very serious message from Amos! What were the people doing?
We see here in the text:
Amos 5:12 - For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
Elsewhere:
Amos 8:5 - They were using dishonest scales to take advantage of every cent of the poor and needy.
Remember that dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD. The LORD desires honesty, even in settings in which people are often dishonest!
Proverbs 11:1 - Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.
They also were unreceptive to the LORD's message when it was spoken to them --
Amos 7:10-13 - Amaziah the priest and Jeroboam the king (of Israel) tell Amos to leave, because they don't like his message.
Amos 7:10-13
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 shall surely be led away captive From their own land.' "
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: "Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy.
13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king's sanctuary, And it is the royal residence."
Walkthrough
5:1-3 - Things are really bleak. This message is literally a 'lamentation', as Amos points out. At this point, as this prophecy suggests, the people of Israel have fallen and can't get up! They are without hope.
5:4, 5:6 - Seek Him and Live!
- God desires for His people to thrive
- He is the only source of spiritual prosperity, as well as the source of life itself
5:8 - He is Creator
5:11-12 - People are treading upon the poor
- God is concerned with our actions
Our actions -> God's response
Regardless of what you do, and how well off you think you're making yourself, you're desolate in God's sight if your heart is not right with Him.
This is true then, as well as true come Judgment Day!
5:14 - Seek right action…
Verse 15 is very clear -- hate evil and love good!
As a result of this evil, the LORD says that the people will be carried off into exile. The people of Israel would fall in 722 BC to the Assyrian empire, so it was clear that the people did not repent.
Imagine the reaction of the people to God's message:
Amos 5:21-23
21 "I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments."
The LORD desires mercy and not sacrifice...
God would rather see His people following His ways with a right heart than to see them doing everything to the letter without a transformed heart.
We will never be perfect. For that reason (and especially for the reason of God desiring us to be merciful), our duty is never condemnation. Our duty IS to be God's representatives.
Many today would see Amos' 'negative' message and call it 'judgmental,' yet God's message was indeed one of judgment. Amos was obedient, and the people had hardened hearts toward the message that God actually had for them.
It is our duty to be responsible in obeying God. It is also our duty to be obedient and confident in speaking His truth. It is also our duty to be humble in approaching those who are found to be sinning (cf. Galatians 6). We all have sinned and still stumble, and we are all able to fall into any sin. God desires for us to proclaim His way of mercy.
The LORD cares nothing for mere ritual...
In verses 22-23, even with sacrifices and songs of worship, we see that God won't accept from people who act corruptly out of a wicked heart. The people were acting wickedly and their heart was far from them. Yet what many would look at as what the LORD wanted -- sacrifices, feast observances, assemblies, etc. is what the LORD did not consider due to the condition of the people's hearts!
Good practice is fine, but if it's done from a stance of hypocrisy, God is aware of it.
God can indeed hate what we do...
The LORD is not detached from us. He looks for those who honor Him. He cares deeply for our current conduct as well as our eternal destiny. We have the responsibility to act in a way that's pleasing to Him. In all of our decisions, He needs to be central!
"…in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6)
It's so important! We can dishonor Him with our actions -- it is a definite possibility! Out of love for Him, let's act in a way pleasing to Him from a transformed heart!
As far as our eternal destiny, the Father has provided His Son for us. We are forgiven only through Him, and we only have hope through Him. If you want right conduct, the right place to start is knowing Jesus and following after Him.
5:24 - One of the most famous verses in Amos…
24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
The LORD's message to His people: CHANGE YOUR CONDUCT!
5:26 - The people were not only taking advantage of the poor -- they were sacrificing to other gods as well (even though they sacrificed to the LORD in the wilderness, they also allowed ties with other false idols to remain)...
Moloch - Phoenician god, likely referred to as 'the king' (same root letters), though this was an idol set up for huge and useless sacrifices.
The LORD commanded that none of His people make offerings to this false god.
Leviticus 18:21 - 'And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
'Pass through the fire' - Literal child sacrifice.
Many people were so fascinated with this mysterious 'Moloch' that they created tales about him in their fictional works.
Examples:
John Milton: Paradise Lost (strong warrior, fallen angel)
Bertrand Russell: A Free Man's Worship (brutal religion)
Karel Capek (Czech writer): War with the Newts (A false god made to look like a Newt)
Allen Ginsberg: Howl (source of fear, judgment, war, and torment, though this was likely a parallel to capitalism -- note that Ginsberg spent most of his life as a Beat poet and spoke out against materialism in any way possible)
Giovanni Pastrone: Cabiria (the main character is rescued from being sacrificed to the false god Molech)
Chiun or Kaiwan - Literally, 'pillar' or 'image', possibly a statue of the Assyrian-Babylonian god of the planet Saturn.
The people were worshipping false gods and had a wicked heart from which wicked works were flowing, despite their ritual of sacrifices to YHVH and songs of praise. God cannot be mocked -- He knows what we're doing against Him and knows our hearts. Even Adam and Eve tried to hide their sin initially, and while we still try to cover our own shame and hide it from God's knowledge, our guilt still remains and is utterly visible to God.
5:27 - Result: Punishment/chastisement
Remember Jonah? The people of Nineveh repented, and even then, God showed mercy to them. The LORD's own people were hardhearted and would not repent. This is just part of the sad events during Amos' time, but what can we take from what happened here?
A Few Applications from Amos
(1) Seek the LORD in all things and do so authentically. Don't just 'go through the motions' of ritual. Serve God because of who He is and what He's done, and pray for transformation!
(2) Hate evil, love good.
What did the LORD want?
- Seek me and you will live (5:4)
- Seek good and not evil (5:14)
- Hate evil, love good (5:15)
- Establish equity (5:15)
- Promote justice and righteousness (5:24)
(3) Treat the poor with compassion.
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
(4) Be humble to a word from a prophet (though do test the word as per 1 John 4:1) – compare with Amaziah’s response in Amos 7.
(5) Just as Amos, if the LORD calls you to something different, drop everything and follow Him (just as various Disciples did in Luke 5, as well)!
Closing Prayer
