Amos 8:4-7

In Amos 8:4-7 we read, “Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail, Saying:When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit, That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works.”

It is in this passage that is tucked between the fourth and fifth vision of Amos, that we read of God’s displeasure with the behavior of Israel in their mistreatment of those in need among them. From what we see here, there is complaint among Israel as they are wishing the New Moon and the Sabbath would pass so they could return to cheating the poor to increase their profits. Now, this behavior is so deeply sinful that we read here that they are speaking of inflating pieces, manipulating the scales, and even buying the poor for silver and even as little as a pair of sandals. And it is this kind of behavior that God directly forbids in Deuteronomy 15:7-11 where we read, “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’”

So, in the midst of this mistreatment of the poor and needy, God says, “Surely, I will never forget any of their works.” And from this we learn that God is both aware of and concerned with the ailments of the needy around us. However, in the midst of this Old Testament story of the mistreatment of the needy and even the mistreatment of those in need around us, we lift our eyes to behold the heart of Christ. The One who extends His arms to the lowly and calls them to come to Him, the One whose heart was so touched by the hungry masses that followed Him that He would not turn them away but fed the thousands of them with five loaves of bread and two fish. This is also the Christ who looked at us when we were bankrupt of righteousness and said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”And in so doing He gifted us with the abundant riches of His own righteousness, did He not? It is this work on our behalf that James argues should motivate us in our behavior towards the needy as he writes, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

With this said, here are two quick applications for us tonight: First is a negative implication of refusing this truth which is found in Jeremiah 22 where we once again read of the rebellious heart of Israel as they violate God’s command. We read, beginning in verse 3, “Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this house shall become a desolation.” and in verse 8-9 we read, “And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.” What is taken from this is that the forsaking of those in need is considered idolatrous and so it reveals the condition of our heart.

Second, when we care for the needy, we show the love of God to others. Psalm 68:4-5 says, “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.” Do you see how that sounds a lot like the true religion James taught us about? In that case, we should be a people who are eager to help the needy so that we may both show and tell them of the love of God. In regards to the work of the Alamance Rescue Mission, or other local Christian efforts, we may use that organization as an arm to show the love of God to the hurting in our community and pray that through that effort, we might have opportunities to see sinners saved by the gospel of grace.