The Values Of A Nation Series

Series: Social Justice [#1]

THE VALUES OF A NATION

Amos 1:1

Introduction:

I have been praying and wrestling with God over our next study. The topics from the Book of Amos are not popular. Amos is a very relevant and practical Book of the Bible. Amos wrote this during a time like ours- A time of difficult social and cultural conditions in his Nation. A common theme we hear about in our Nation is “Social justice”. According to Google, “Social justice refers to the fair division of resources, opportunities, and privileges in society. It emphasizes fairness in how society divides its social resources”. I have been advised by other Pastors to avoid this subject; but God has brought us here.

Amos preached his messages somewhere between 760 B.C. and 650 B.C. His contemporaries were Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. Amos came from the little town of Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem on the edge of the desert. It was hard to make a living in Tekoa. The land was barren and the soil unproductive. There are not many more desolate places to live than Amos’ hometown.

Amos 7:14

Amos picked fruit from Sycamore trees and was a shepherd. While working his jobs, he became aware of the conditions of his day because he lived on a very traveled route. Caravans would travel through Tekoa.

At this time, there were 2 divisions of Israel- The Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin made up the Southern Kingdom of Judah; and the other 10 Tribes of Israel made up the Northern Kingdom. During this time, Egypt and Assyria were always fighting for World supremacy. When 1 Nation became strong, it would attack the other. Judah and Israel were highways for the conquering armies from the south and north. When Amos started preaching, the fighting had stopped.

Amos was from Judah; but God sent him to preach to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This was a serious challenge because those from the North would not be happy with a shepherd from Judah telling them anything. There were times of peace and prosperity between the armies of Egypt and Assyria. Wealth abounded- People either were very rich or very poor. The Judiciary was dishonest, and the Government was corrupt. There was evidence everywhere of extortion, riots, violence, and class hatred.

The religious conditions followed the same pattern- Outwardly religion thrived in Israel. Attendance was high and the finances were great. Inwardly, there was sickness. The Priests were robbing everyone, and righteousness meant nothing. In this period’s relative peace, instead of being grateful to God for peace and prosperity that He’d given, people used the time to go more deeply into sin. Can you see the parallel?

At Bethel, there was an idolatrous priest named Amaziah. Amaziah told King Jeroboam that Amos had conspired against him and the house of Israel and that they did not need to hear his word. What had Amos done? He told the truth. Amos preached that Jeroboam would die by the sword, and Israel would be led away captive out of their own land. Amaziah ordered Amos to go back to where he had come from to prophesy. The greatest threat to the Message of God is in the religious community.

Amos 1:1

The values of a Nation are based upon…

1. Their view of the authority of God’s Word.

When the Bible says, “This is what the Lord says:” (Amos 1:3); you either believe or not. There are many Churches across our Country which do not preach from the Bible. No wonder there are no values in the U.S.A. today. You can disagree with what a Preacher says; but not what God says. If a Nation, or a family, or a congregation, does not believe in the authority of God’s Word; they will fail. You either believe all of the Bible or none of it. If you do not believe all of the Bible is true, which parts are not? Base your life on the authority of God’s Word.

The values of a Nation are based upon…

2. The nature of God’s character.

There are 4 characteristics of God in the Book of Amos we must catch if we are to understand the message as it was delivered.

A characteristic of God is…

* His holiness.

God is not like us- He is set apart from us. God says that Christians are to be holy because He is holy. We must be different than the World. Holiness means He is separate from us, not like us, we are sinful- God is holy. God’s holiness needs to be proclaimed. His holiness includes His love and grace. Because He is holy, He moves to provide that which we can’t provide. We can’t be holy, our very best is as filthy rags; but in Christ we can be perfect.