CROSSING The THRESHOLD-II—Amos 1:1-2
Attention:
A Threshold is a crossover or transition zone or optimal use zone. Where the upper limit or end of effectiveness is reached.
Every house has many thresholds, the front door is placed in the transition zone from indoor to outdoor. Things are very different on either side of the threshold. Inside a door may be placed to define differing living spaces(bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc.). A threshold also separates flooring types(carpet, wood, tile, cement, etc.).
When the threshold is reached, of God’s toleration of sin in the world & His people, His wrath takes over & He approaches them in a very different way.
God used (His servant)Amos to declare God’s new relationship with His people.
Amos declared God’s strained relationship with His people.
An amiable/good relationship between God & His people can be so changed that it invites God’s wrath.
What does a failed relationship with God evoke/prompt?
OR--
What results from God’s Crossing His Threshold?
God is Longsuffering—
Rom. 2:4—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
Neh. 9:17—“They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious & merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.”
BUT...
God can Reach/Cross His Threshold & we discover that
A failed relationship with God evokes/prompts...
1. PUBLIC REVELATION(:1a)
2—A failed relationship with God evokes/prompts...
TIMELY/Available OPPORTUNITY(:1b)
Explanation:(:1b) A Time for Remembrance/Recognition/Recall/Historical Significance/Significant application
:1—“The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, & in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
“in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, & in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
TIME MARKERS Referenced:
“Uzziah”[AKA Azariah]—A king of Judah from 783-742? BC. (cf.-2Chron. 26:1-23)He became king at 16 yrs & reigned 52? yrs. in Jerusalem(2Kgs. 15:2). He held a co-regency with his father Amaziah until Amaziah’s death in 767BC. Likewise, from 759BC on, Jotham(Uzziah’s son) served as co-regent(2Kgs. 15:5; 2Chron. 26:21). Uzziah is the king whose heart was lifted up so much so that he took it upon himself to enter the temple to burn incense & as a result, God made him become leprous(2Chron. 26:16-21).
“Jeroboam”(Jeroboam II)—A king of Israel(northern kingdom) for 41 yrs.(2Kgs. 14:23), from 786(5)-746(5) BC. His father Joash(AKA Jehoash), was also a king of Israel. Jeroboam’s reign included a co-regency with Joash(his father) for 10 yrs.
2Kgs. 14:23-27—“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, & reigned forty-one years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher. For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; & whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel. And the LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.””
“The northern nation of Israel saw nothing but a succession of wicked kings. Jeroboam(II) the son of Joash was one of the better kings among these wicked men - especially in a political & military sense - but he was still an ungodly man (2 Kings 14:23-29).”—David Guzik
“For most of its history, the northern kingdom of Israel struggled against Syria - her neighbor to the north. But around the year 800, the mighty Assyrian Empire defeated Syria, & neutralized this power that hindered Israel's expansion & prosperity. With Syria in check, Israel enjoyed great prosperity during the reign of Jeroboam II.”—D. Guzik
DATING:
“The overlapping regnal years of Uzziah of Judah & Jeroboam[II] of Israel are 767-753BC.”—Thomas Finley in WEC.
“two years before the earthquake.”
The “earthquake” is also mentioned in Zech. 14:5(>2 centuries later), & was the means for dating Amos’ ministry very precisely for its original audience. Unfortunately the record of “the earthquake” is lost to antiquity, the biblical references being the only certain extant record. There is evidence of an earthquake at Hazor dated to between 765 & 760BC, with corroborating evidence from Beersheba.—Thomas Finley
The precise dating of “two years before the earthquake” in association with Amos’ prophecy seems to suggest a short ministry period for Amos.—Duane Garrett in Explore The Bible Adult Commentary, Winter 2012-2013—or it may simply be a statement regarding its beginning & or ending. Minimally Amos’ prophecies were compiled after 2 yrs.
It may be surmised that Amos does not mention Amaziah(Uzziah’s father, with whom he had held coregency) because Amaziah was already dead(d.767BC).
Thereby Amos’ prophecy should best be placed sometime before 760BC, 767-755BC but more probably in the early 760’s—Thomas McComiskey in EBC; David Hubbard in TOTC; Billy Smith & Frank Page in NAC; Duane Garrett. 760-753BC—Nelson’s Complete Book Of Bible Maps & Charts
“Most researchers date the ministry of Amos somewhere between 760 B.C. & 750 B.C.”—David Guzik
During this time, Israel(in general) had become religiously devoted to Baal & other idol worship as the accepted standard. Such a national standard is that to which God spoke thru Amos.
By 722 BC(~40yrs. in Amos’ future) the northern kingdom of Israel would be exiled by Assyria.
*Obviously TIME & timing is of great importance to this prophecy(& all others)!
Argumentation:
Lk. 12:16-21—“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ “So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns & build greater, & there I will store all my crops & my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, & be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, & is not rich toward God.””
Mat. 12:41-42—““The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation & condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; & indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation & condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; & indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”
Mat. 24:35-39—““Heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day & hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating & drinking, marrying & giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, & did not know until the flood came & took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Gal. 3:28-4:10—There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, & heirs according to the promise. Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians & stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, & if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak & beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days & months & seasons & years.”
Eph. 1:3-14—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom & prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven & which are on earth--in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Col. 4:1-6—“Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
2Thes. 2:1-5—“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ & our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, & the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes & exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”
Rev. 3:1-6—“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God & the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, & strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received & heard; hold fast & repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, & you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; & they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, & I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father & before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
1Cor. 6:20—“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Eph. 5:8-17—“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, & truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
2Cor. 5:20-6:2—“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Heb. 3:8-4:10—“Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; & again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, & those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”
2Pet. 1:8-15—“For if these things are yours & abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, & has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call & election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know & are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”
Illustration:
Coupons represent—‘A limited time offer’!...
My wife & I went on a date in Tallahassee, FL(July 28, 2018)/On our way back home we needed to run some errands & we stopped in at the Lifeway Store/They were having a celebration of some sort & I thought I might catch a commentary or two on sale/We walked in the door & the Chick-Fil-A ‘Cow’ mascot was there!/They offered us free tea & lemonade/They also gave us a shot at spinning a wheel to win Chick-Fil-A prizes/My wife won a free Waffle Fries or a small soft-drink & I won a free Chick-Fil-A Sandwich or nuggets!/If we had come on a different day or at a different time on Saturday we would have missed out entirely/TIMELY-Available OPPORTUNITY
‘Everbridge’ App/Those who have the app receive notifications of dangerous weather conditions—hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, etc./Warnings of evacuations/If you don’t have the app, there are traditional means of contact/The information is available/If you fail to heed the warnings, it’s your own fault!/TIMELY-Available OPPORTUNITY
Some remember exactly where they were when...The Germans surrendered(1945), President John F. Kennedy was assassinated(1963), Chernobyl melted down(1986), The Berlin Wall came down(1989), The Twin Towers were attacked(2001), Tsunami hit SE Asia[Indian Ocean coastline](Dec. 2004), Earthquake & Tsunami hit NE Japan, etc(2011)....Why don’t we remember the Cross?/TIMELY-Available OPPORTUNITY to reconsider the significance of your life.
How many of us were saved unexpectedly? We may have been searching for something & were totally taken aback by God's desire for us! In this world if you die without the absolute certainty that you will go to heaven(by means of the blood of Christ Jesus), then you will ‘die in your sin’, i.e. you have taken it upon yourself to be responsible for your own sin, which makes you deserving of (eternal)death—
Application:
?You Recognized as authoritative, God’s TIMELY/Available OPPORTUNITY?
?How will you respond to God’s Crossing the Threshold?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Thresholds in a house, Transitions to a different level of approach & appreciation.
Action:
A failed relationship with God evokes/prompts...
2. TIMELY/Available OPPORTUNITY(:1b)
1. PUBLIC REVELATION(:1a)
Presented 07/29/2018pm
FBC Cbelle(G-A-D sermon)
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
