Taking Advantage - Amos 2:6-3:2

Introduction

Jesus saves some of his hardest words for those within his church who would distort and dilute his church. Speaking as the Great Prophet he says to the Church at Thyatira: Revelation 2:20-23 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” It’s hard to imagine a warning any more severe than this one, and it’s given by Jesus to a church who gathered every week to sing and to preach and to spend time with one another.

And, do you hear what it is that has so inflamed Christ? Jesus’ concern is not that people outside the church are worshiping the false gods. Jesus concern is that the people inside the church are accepting them. Jesus’ concern is not that sexual immorality is pervasive outside the church. His concern is that it’s pervasive inside the church. Jesus isn’t concerned that those outside the church are blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He’s concerned that everyone within his church is blown to and fro by every new teaching, new idea, new opinion that comes. Jesus’ concern with Thyatira is not that the world is living like they don’t know him. Of course, they are. Jesus’ concern is that his church is living like they don’t know him.

God’s Word

Amos’ message is similar. Amos wasn’t like most prophets. He wasn’t a prophet most of his life, and he wasn’t trained in the school of the Prophets. He was a common man, a shepherd. Someone who prepares the fruit of the poor of the Sycamore tree. And, he goes on business to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and what he sees is the people of God at an all-time high in terms of prosperity (Jeroboam II), but the morality of the people is at an all-time low. So, God speaks through Amos to a generation of his people who were indistinguishable from those who were not his people. This strikes a cord for us today, doesn’t it? How We Resemble the World (Headline):

We live to “get ahead.”

Amos 2:6 “Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—”

One day, a successful CEO approached Jesus. He had everything he could have right now, but he wanted eternal life, too. So, he asked Jesus: “How can I become immortal?” Jesus told him to obey the ten commandments, and the man, feeling ever more confident about himself said, “I’ve done all of this. I’m a good man.” Jesus then said, “One thing you’re missing to be a good man: “Sell everything that you have, give it to the poor, and trust me that your treasure is in heaven.” The man left disappointed. You see, that young man wanted what he already had plus Jesus. He was trying to diversify his portfolio. He didn’t want Jesus because he loved him; He wanted to Jesus to help him get further ahead because he loved himself.

That’s what’s happening with Israel here from the opposite perspective, but with the same motivation. They already have YHWH, but they want add to him what all of their neighbors have too. They want to become more cosmopolitan, more well-rounded — further ahead. So, Amos outlines the great sins of Israel’s neighbors, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, the Ammonites, and Moab. And, it makes sense they would do these things since they don’t know Him. But then, He gets to Judah and Israel, and He’s able to say the exact same things about them. It’s not just Tyre and Damscus that treat people unjustly; it’s God’s very own people. It’s not just Gaza and Edom are famous for their sexual immorality; it’s God’s people too! That is, the people inside the church were just like those outside the church.

You see, it’s not just outside the church, but inside the church that...

We “take advantage” of others.

Amos 2:6-7 “Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;”

Amos was prophesying during the reign of Jeroboam II, and Israel had regained all their losses since the time of Solomon. But, two things resulted: They developed both a thirst for more and an air of superiority. That is, they believed that their relationship with God both entitled them to more and made them more important than others. So, they’d sell out their neighbor for silver. They’d deprive the needy so they had more. They “trampled the head of the poor.” They enslaved their neighbors and oppressed them with high interest.

Why? Because they were self-important and self-indulgent. Whenever self-importance meets self-indulgence, injustice happens. You see, when your value is self-importance and your priority is self-indulgence, you treat some people well and some people poorly because for the same motivation: you want to get ahead. So, your kindness to the well-endowed or to your boss is for the purpose of attaining a better network and obtaining more of the opportunities and social advancements that you want. It’s driven by self-importance and self-indulgence, by “I want” and “I deserve.” When you treat a child or an employee or a cashier or a waitress differently than you would treat someone well-endowed it’s because they can’t help you attain a better network or obtain more of what you want. Spending time with them doesn’t help you meet your end goal. So, you treat one person better and one person worse because one helps you get ahead and the other doesn’t.

And, Amos’ point is that is how people live who don’t know God. But, like us, Israel didn’t see how bad their condition was. Because they were busy going to church. Amos 4 talks about all of the offerings they would give. They brought their tithes “every three days.” Amos 5 says they celebrated their feasts and had solemn assemblies. Chapter 6 says that they sang to God beautiful songs like the songs of David. But, their religion had tricked them. It made them think they were okay when they weren’t. That’s what we do.

We “trick ourselves” with religion.

Amos 2:7-8 “those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”

If we had seen the Church at Thyatira, we’d have likely been impressed by them. They were very busy with good deeds and religious activity. Jesus acknowledges that their “latter works exceeded the first.” But, though they were busy with religious activity, that was the only difference between them and those who don’t know God. Otherwise, their lifestyles, their immorality was the same. How often is that the case with us? Apart from attending worship a couple of Sundays per month, what is the actual difference between us and the world? What if we’re tricking ourselves with our religion?

That’s what Amos sees in Israel. That’s how “a man and his father go in to the same girl” on their way to the altar. And, that’s how they could treat people unjustly while at the same time worshipping God. That’s how “in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.” They had found a way to baptize their hypocrisy through religion activity. They had reinvented their faith so they could have what their neighbors had while having YHWH, too. That is, they reengineered their god into the form of popular culture so that he approved of them, blessed them, and let them do what they wanted. And, in that way, they stopped worshipping the true God, and started worshiping themselves. Religious activity is often camouflage for self-worship.

Amos was there to tell them they weren’t as clever as they thought. And, they weren’t as in control as they thought. They were trying to seize control of their lives, but they were, in essence, rejecting grace.

Too often, trying to get ahead...

We choose “control” over “grace.”

Grace and control cannot coexist. You either need God to do it for you, or you can do it yourself. That’s why Paul explains that receiving grace is predicated upon ceding control of our lives by faith to Christ.

So, then what does it say about us that we keep choosing control instead?

We “misunderstand” grace.

Amos 3:1-2 “Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

You can say that Amos 3:2 is the main verse or theme of the book, and it gets to the heart of the issue. God had chosen them out of all the nations of the earth, and they’ve fundamentally misunderstood what that means. God saved them so they might live on a higher plane as a testimony of his goodness to the nations. They believed he saved them so they were free to do whatever they wanted to do. They understood God’s grace like a spoiled child: “Dad gives me whatever I want. Dad will fix whatever I mess up. Dad won’t ever say a harsh word to me.” That is, their taking advantage of others begins with their taking advantage of grace. Their hypocritical religion is built upon a belief that grace gives them a free pass.

That is, they believed that grace gives them the ability to have control of their lives without having to face consequences of their decisions. But, salvation/election isn’t a divine favoritism that enables God’s people to live however they want with his seal of approval and a get-out-jail-free-card. Grace is you being taken off the streets, given the new last name of your adopted Father by his choice, and then living the rest of your life in such a way that honors the new name, new life, and new inheritance that you’ve been given. Grace doesn’t absolve your sin and then send you back to live like everyone else. Grace changes your name, your nature, and your future, and then calls you forward to an uncommon life on a higher plane.

The issue front and center in Amos and Thyatira and for many of us is that we misunderstand grace and are living in contradiction to our adoption, and that’s why God “will punish you for all your iniquities.” They’re supposed to be in God’s family as God’s children, but they don’t look anything like God’s Son. Why? Because rather than appreciating God’s grace, they trample it. That’s what we do.

We “trample” grace.

Amos 4:6-11 ““I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorr…”

Good fathers don’t let their children run into the street without yelling for them to stop. Good fathers don’t let their children drink poison without intervening for their good. Good fathers intervene in the lives of their children with discipline because they love them. In Amos 4, God explains that he’s tried every way imaginable to get his children’s attention. But, five different times he says: “Yet you did not return to me.” He had shown them grace by trying to get their attention, but they had trampled it! They had stiffened their necks, hardened their hearts, and they did what they wanted to do any way. They made sure they maintained control.

Good parents intervene, but it’s up to the child to respond! In fact, what Amos is explaining to Israel and what Jesus is explaining to Thyatira is that your response to God’s discipline reveals your status as God’s child. You’ll reveal who you want to be in control. Your Father, or you. Not everyone in Israel is God’s child, but there will be remnant. Those who hear God’s voice and turn to him. Not everyone in Thyatira, or in any church for that matter, is a member of Jesus’ flock, but those who hear His voice and turn.

That’s the question that faces us this morning. How will we respond to our Father’s voice? Will you hear his voice and turn? Or will you keep going, keep control, and trample his grace?

We must be “raised up.”

Ephesians 2:1 says that you are dead in your trespasses and sins. That is, when we’re born, we’re born as sinners who are dead in our sin. And, when we’re dead, we live like dead people doing whatever we can to feel alive. We try to buy more and make more and have more and do more. We just want to feel alive. But, when Christ comes to us, He gives us life, and we don’t have to try all this stuff to feel alive any more. We are alive. So, when we get back to trying to be in control, when we get back to trying to get ahead, it’s like a living person choosing to be like a dead person. And, God will allow us to once again taste the flavor of death so that we might once more remember the life we have. That’s what He’s doing here with Isreal. That’s what Christ is doing with Thyatira. He’s lowering them and letting them taste the flavor of death, but they’re not dead, and He won’t leave that taste in our mouth forever.

That’s the ‘later’ part of this message. God will raise up his people again. He will raise up the remnant who were truly his. And, they would find everything they had been looking for.

Amos 9:11-15 ““In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

You see, God’s judgement was going to so fall on Israel that it would be put to death. In fact, there is never again a northern Kingdom after Assyria comes like there is in Amos. They would die beneath his judgement. But, a day was coming in which the tent of David would be “raised up.” Oh, that’s resurrection language, isn’t it? That is, God would send a new David to establish a New Israel from the ruins of his judgement. In fact, his full judgement would fall upon this Son of David so that He appeared destroyed, but He would be raised up in victory over the ruins. And then, all they had been cheating for, all they had been lying for, all they had been faking their religion for would be their’s forever. They want to be rich? “I will restore the fortunes of my people.” They’ll still be raking in the harvest when the time of planting has come. They want to be secure? “I’ll plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted.” They’re immovable. Oh, they could’ve trusted him the whole time, couldn’t they?

Y’all, this is what Christ has accomplished. This is what Christ is returning to consummate. And, this is what you can trust right now! You don’t need to get ahead. You don’t need to be in control. You can rest. You can enjoy. You can really worship. It’s already offered to you in Christ. Come to him!