Today we continue our Roar of Justice series, as we take a three-week dive into the book of Amos.
God chose Amos to go to the kings and religious leaders and give them a simple but specific warning – either repent of their sins and return to God or suffer the consequences. God gave Amos a burden for his people in his day. He saw their activity as blatant disrespect for God and, in many cases, outright blasphemy, and he knew God would not tolerate their rebellion forever!
As you remember from last week, God is speaking judgment on the countries around Israel, and the last mentioned is Israel. Almost as a target that centers on Israel. Today we are going to focus on Israel specifically and its leaders.
Let’s start by reading Amos Chapter 3
A Message Of Explanation
“How can our God send judgment upon us?” the people asked. “Are we not His chosen people?” But that was the very reason for the judgment. Where there is a privilege, there must also be responsibility. Verses 1–2 make this clear.
Amos then begins using an argument from cause and effect.
If two people are walking together, they must have made an appointment.
If a lion roars, he has prey
If a bird is in the trap, somebody sets the trap.
If the trumpet sounds, calamity is near.
If the prophet is preaching, then God must have sent him
Amos then announces that the Assyrians are coming to destroy the nation, and their lovely services at Bethel will not hold them back. The Lord had called Amos to speak to the people so they would come to their senses and repent, yet he seems not to have made an impression on them because most of them had failed to mend their ways. So Israel continued to live under the delusion that because God had chosen and loved them, he would protect them to the end of their days—regardless of their behavior.
Verse 3 spoke about a person’s ‘walk.’ This term is often used in the Bible to describe someone’s whole manner of life—their desires and actions. Christians should be people who delight in ‘walking with God.’ They ought to have a close and continuous relationship with their Lord. They should love him and his words and be eager to obey his commands.
Because Amos was a true prophet of the Lord, he could not keep silent, even though his message was not easy. He had to prophesy because he revered God’s word, but he also had a deep concern for the people.
‘The lion has roared’ (v. 8); can Israel not hear the sound of approaching danger? Will they not repent of their sins and turn again to the Lord and seek his forgiveness? And surely anyone who perceives the approach of an invading enemy would want to plead with those who have stopped their ears to the warnings that have been uttered
Now let’s move into Amos 4 (ESV)
A Message Of Accusation
The fearless prophet “starts meddling” now and names sins, calling the women living in careless luxury “fat cows of Bashan.” Amos is not impressed with the religion at Bethel; to him, it is just another sin on their records. God had sent his warnings to them (verses 6–11), but they would not listen.
I’ve found that most people are not too upset when you preach against sin in general…but when you start preaching against specific sins…then people get uncomfortable. When we talk of sin in general terms…we don’t see how ugly it is…it becomes very sterile and impersonal.
However, we find Amos referring to well-off women in a different tone of voice. He calls them ‘you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria.’ These women were utterly materialistic; ‘they never stopped chewing the cud of luxury.’
Furthermore, they failed to accept any responsibility to care for those who were less privileged than themselves. On the contrary, they ‘oppressed the poor and crushed the needy.’ It seems that their sole aim was to live a lavish lifestyle.
In the back half of chapter 4, we see God had sent his warnings to them, but they would not listen. But now, God would no longer use natural calamities. Now He would come Himself (v. 12). “Prepare to meet your God.”
A Message Of Lamentation
For time’s sake, I am going to just summarize the ideas coming from Chapters 5 and 6.
Amos weeps as he contemplates the judgments coming to his nation. Something you will find as you have or when you read the passage is the repetition of the word “seek.”
Seek me and live, but do not seek Bethel
Seek good and not evil
“Don’t seek religious services; seek the Lord!”
Amos is trying to get the people to turn their eyes back to God still. It might be too late for the nation, but it is not too late for the family. Some in the nation said, “The day of the Lord will come, and then God will deliver us” (5:18–20). However, they did not realize that the Day of the Lord would be a time of judgment for them and their enemies.
They are like Christians today who “long for” the return of Christ, yet may not be prepared to meet the Lord. Then we arrive at the passage that I started this series with…
It is the very idea that we pulled from Galatians. It is about your faith and obedience that will save you, not your actions and business. We must seek God’s justice and righteousness. And we need to be willing to lay down what we think God’s justice and righteousness are and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t want to pour out judgment; He wants Justice and righteousness to flow and pour out.
Church, I don’t want us to be at ease in Zion. I don’t want us living off the past. But aggressively pushing into the future that God has for us. A future that shows the pouring out of Love, Grace, Justice, and righteousness.
Want to study this topic deeper? Then watch the full message on YouTube!