Amos Lesson four

Chapters 5-6

 

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but when a famous person dies, it seems that immediately the media has a ready-made obituary for them with all their accomplishments listed – just like it was already written, just waiting for them to die. And in fact, they do! In the case of our study, Israel’s obituary had already been written as well – it was just a matter of time before it would come to fruition unless there was a major change. So – what should they do? Make a change, of course! I’m sure that everyone here has heard of the Nobel Peace Prize – but do you know how it came to be? Alfred Nobel was a wealthy chemist who had invented dynamite. When his brother died, the newspaper mistakenly printed his obituary which said, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people died yesterday…” When he read that – at how he would be remembered – he was determined to make a change.

 

The Israelites weren’t so wise…

 

Chapter 5 continues Amos’ denouncement of Israel with his third proclamation of “Hear this word…”  (It would be good to have your Bibles open because I am going to refer to some of the scriptures without reading the verses.) We don’t know for sure but many commentators believe that the occasion may have been a religious festival taking place at Bethel. With the city full of worshipers, the scene would have had a carnival atmosphere about it. And into this gaiety stepped Amos, likely dressed as a mourner, with sackcloth and ashes pronouncing, in both word and cadence, a “funeral song” or “dirge” as some translations put it, directed against the house of Israel.

 

We’ve talked about it before, but it’s important to remember the national setting into which Amos spoke these words. Although he spoke of Israel as having already fallen to rise no more, the outward appearance of the nation portrayed an entirely different scene.

Israel, under Jeroboam II, was at the height of prosperity. Their future enemy, Assyria, was not a threat as she was currently busy with her own enemies. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was also enjoying peace and prosperity with Uzziah as king. And under Jeroboam II, Israel had extended its own territory both northward as well as down into the Eastern side of the Jordan River – called the “Transjordan”. With peace pervading the land and the economy booming, Amos’ words of death must have been as jarring as Alfred Nobel reading his own obituary.

 

Amos referred to Israel as “Virgin Israel” – which meant that she was a virgin to defeat. There had been battles that they had lost throughout their history, but they had never been defeated as a whole nation. Now they would be left with no one to save them. The predictions of losing ninety percent of their military might as we see in verse 3, wasn’t a hopeful word concerning the remnant. Instead it was a picture of the crushing military defeat. God’s words: “Seek Me that you may live”, provided a much needed hope in this dark hour. The hope would come, not only in proactively seeking God, but in choosing to eliminate the things which were contrary to His worship. “Bethel”, Gilgal, and “Beer-sheba” represented forms of false gods and idol worship in which the people of Israel participated. Sadly, each of these places had once been a place of true worship.

Abraham built an altar at Bethel, which means “house of God” (Genesis 12:8), but in Amos’ day, it had become nothing – the Hebrew word was “Beth-aven” meaning house of nothing. (We’ll see it called this in a later chapter). Gilgal, the place where the reproach of Israel was rolled away in Joshua 5:9, would, in a play on the Hebrew word find themselves being “rolled away” into captivity. And Beer-sheba, located in the Southern Kingdom, was where Abraham called upon the name of the Lord in Genesis 21:33, but the Israelites were calling upon the name of their ancestors, upon their “we’ve always done it this way” to save them instead of God.

 

And then for the second time, Amos called for them to “Seek the Lord that you may live”, but this time the implied message was “or else”.

 

He saw that the whole justice system in Israel had run amuck. Instead of its being hope and help for the weak and helpless, it had become as a poison. But before he continued with the condemnation, in an almost parenthetical thought, Amos reminded Israel who it was that was calling them to judgment; who it was that they should seek. It is the creator; the one who made the constellations, and the cycles of day and night, and of the water and the rain. His name, as he tells us in verse 8, is the LORD.

 

But the Lord did not simply fling the stars into the skies or wind up the cycles of life and let them go as many people believe today, the Lord has His hand in every affair of mankind. But just like our nation today, Israel hated anyone who (as the scripture puts it) “reproves him in the gates…” – anyone who speaks against what is being done. Amos then continued to denounce Israel’s oppression of the poor through the taxing of their grains (which we would call “an income tax”) and not only were they taxing them, they were using them as slave labor. The phrase in verse 11 of “well-hewn stone” indicates that “someone” was hewing them – or shaping them.

 

Amos predicted that they would not live in the houses they had built, nor drink the wine from the vineyards they had planted. These words are an exact opposite to the words of blessing in Joshua 24:13 where God says “I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.”

 

Then, for the third time Amos relates what they must do to live – “Seek good and not evil, that you may live” and if they do that “the Lord God of hosts [will actually] be with you [just like you think He is now].

 

In verses 10-12 he has basically said “don’t do this”

• don’t hate the one who tries to correct you
• don’t impose heavy rent on the poor
• don’t tax the poor
• don’t treat them like slave labor

 

“Instead” verses 14-15 says “do this!”

• hate evil
• love good
• and establish justice [back] in the courts

 

And if you do – perhaps – just perhaps, the Lord God of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. This statement was very disturbing to me… what this seems to indicate (and when I checked several commentaries they agreed) is that the dye had already been cast. Israel was going to be punished – the only thing left to be determined was how – by what method, which is what we’ll read about next week.

 

And with this Amos continues on with his funeral song. There would be wailing in all the plazas, in all the streets, and in all the vineyards. There would be no place to get away from it. Then it says all this wailing will happen because “‘I will pass through your midst’, says the Lord”. Can you remember hearing that phrase somewhere else?  That’s the very same words that God used in Exodus 12:12. The death angel had passed over them in Egypt – but now it would pass through them…

 

Then from chapter 5:18-6:4 we are given a series of “woe” statements. Sometimes the word “woe” only shows up in the KJV.

• The first one is in 5:18, “Woe to you who are longing for the Day of the Lord”.

This is spoken against those who desired a day of destruction and victory over their enemies, but instead Amos tells them to be careful what they wish for – that instead, it will be a time when things go from bad to worse for them.

• Then in 6:1, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria”

This is against those in Judah as well as those in Israel who are living a life of false security. He says – go take a look at these other places that either have been, or will be destroyed, too. Do you think you are any better than they are?

• And then in 6:4-6, “Woe to those who recline on beds of ivory” and it goes on to speak of, as one writer put it (Yates – Small book on Amos) “excessive indulgence and gross indifference”

This was against laziness, gluttony and drunkenness of the wealthy. Now, let me be quick to note that these things –  the “lying on beds of ivory”, the “eating lambs” or “making music” were not in themselves, sin – but taken as a whole with the attitudes of the people – they became symptoms of a greater sin. The people were so wrapped up in their own pleasures that they didn’t grieve over the coming destruction of their own nation.

 

The rest of chapter 6 continues with more detail of what was going to happen to them. Verses 9-10, which seem a little hard to understand can be explained this way – have you ever heard someone say, “Don’t pray for patience, because God will surely put you in a place where yours will grow?” Or – have you heard anyone (or maybe you’ve said) “Things are so bad that I’m afraid to ask what else could happen?” (One time I was actually praying “When’s it ever going to let up!”) Amos told them that it would be so bad that they would say, “Shhh, don’t mention God’s name and maybe He won’t know were here, and won’t send anything else!” And chapter 6 ends with God saying, “I am going to raise up a nation against you O house of Israel, that will afflict you from Hamath to the valley of the Arabah!” This from the northern most point of the kingdom to the southern most point. It’d be like us saying “From Maine to Texas” or “From sea to shining sea”. It would encompass the whole nation.

 

Next week’s lesson on chapters 7-8 will talk about how the judgment will come – but there’s a couple of things that I want us to take away from this lesson.

 

The first one comes in chapter 5, verse 18, “Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord.” Amos is the first prophet to use the phrase “The Day of the Lord” as a term of judgment in Israel. Joel had used it in Judah as both judgment and salvation, and Obadiah had used it concerning Edom, and so it is likely Israel was familiar with the phrase as one of judgment – but against other people, of course! Just like the Pharisees would be in Jesus’ time, they were all for that! The second part of verse 18 says, “For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?” And that’s our question – What do we think of when we think of “The day of the Lord?” Are you longing for it? I have a friend that signs her e-mails with, “Come quickly Lord Jesus and get us out of this mess!” And that’s how we want to use it – we want the rapture to come and get us out of this mess… but have you ever stopped to think what will be left when Christians leave? And for that matter – we must be very careful because we’re not really sure when the rapture will occur. I believe that it will come before the tribulation – but those who believe in mid-trib or post-trip theology are equally sure of their beliefs and of their Biblical sources to prove it. So – we don’t really know for sure. But even if it does come before the Great Tribulation – and even if we’re sure we will be raptured – still – I’m sure you know and love someone who won’t be… So… are we really longing for the “Day of the Lord” as much as we thought we were?

 

The second thing I want to leave with you is from chapter 5, verse 27 God said, “Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus”. Think about this – What would “captivity” or “exile” mean to you? For them, it was not only taken away from the land, but also taken away from God. We’re not given much detail about the Israelites’ captivity. All we have is found in 2 Kings 17. Verses 23-24 basically tells us that they were scattered and taken into several different places and that captives from other places were brought to Israel. I’ve always called it “fruit basket turnover.” But what is most devastating to me is found in 2 Kings 17, verse 20 “And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.” “Out of His sight” doesn’t merely mean they were put somewhere where God couldn’t see them – because of course, God can see everything. This meant they were taken “away from His face”. Remember how Moses longed to see God’s face? It represented God’s presence. One of the greatest blessings God gave Moses to give to the people said, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance (which is the same Hebrew word as face) the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”  Nothing could be worse than to be taken away from the face or the presence of God.

 

Now, we’ve all had times that we didn’t feel so close to God, but for the Christian – once you have received Christ as your Saviour, and received His Holy Spirit – He will never leave you. You can never be discarded by God, but you still have to confess your sins, because what unconfessed sin does is destroy the fellowship you have with God. And that for the Christian – is worse than captivity because it is a self-imposed exile. But as 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And that restores us once again.