Let Justice Roll: The Pathway to Christ in Amos

Introduction: Perspectives are funny things. ‌Perhaps you have seen this cartoon of two people looking at the same number from two different angles. ‌Or maybe you’ve seen this illustration of the two guys looking at a few sticks… ‌Or this one of 6 different people blindfolded & each given a part of an elephant to touch then decide what it is they are holding- each one has a different idea.

‌‌It’s highly unlikely that we can approach any idea or issue without bias. So, how do we know if we are looking at things from the right perspective? For the Christian, the right perspective is God’s perspective, & that is in His Word.

Amos gives us God’s perspective on a hot topic in the culture & church- justice. The issue of social justice is a multi-faceted problem that has as many perspectives as there are people. The Christian needs to be concerned with the one perspective that is above all others- the LORD’s. What does He have to say about social justice? What does He want to show us about social justice? What will we do about it after we get God’s perspective on it?

‌Amos 5. I want to start with chapter 5 because it is at the heart of the book- 4 chapters before it, 4 chapters after it, & the only passage that offers hope.

‌Amos 5:1–7, Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: 2 The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. 3For thus says the Lord God: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, and that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

‌ 4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; 5 But do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. 6 Seek the Lord and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel— 7 You who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” Let’s pray.

1. ‌THE PROSECUTION OF ISRAEL, chapters 1-4.

1:1-2, The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.

When you think of Amos, picture a hayseed plough boy turned big city lawyer. Amos was a shepherd from Tekoa, a town in the southern kingdom of Judah, & God sent him to the northern kingdom of Israel to deliver a prophetic message against them. We learn later (7:14) not only was Amos not a prophet, his daddy wasn’t either, & besides being a shepherd, Amos was also a farmer- he tended sycamore trees. “Amos” means “burdensome” or “burden-bearer,” a picture of Jesus who “bore our griefs & carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4).

Amos is structured with 8 judgments (1-2) 3 messages (3-6); & 5 visions (7-9). Each judgment begins “for 3 transgressions and for 4, I will not turn away its punishment.” This formula represents an increasing but indefinite number of offenses. On a map, this series has a spiral shape, and it ends at the nation of Israel. ILL: Like a target with rings, & a bullseye = Israel (2:6-16).

From Israel’s perspective everything was hunky-dory. They were politically influential, militarily victorious, & economically prosperous. From their perspective, Israel was flourishing. But God had a different perspective.

2:6-8, For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. 7 They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name. 8 They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

In 5:1-3, this lamentation was due to their impending destruction. The prosecution had rested, they were guilty, sentencing was about to occur.

2. IMPENDING DESTRUCTION, chapters 6-9

After the 3rd message, there are 2 “woes” & 5 visions. The 1st “woe to you” (5:18-27) was for those who longed for the Day of the LORD. The day of the Lord will be a time of vindication for God’s people & victory over His enemies.

Israel longed for that day, but didn’t understand that because of their unrighteousness & injustice, the day of the Lord would be a day of disaster for them- like a man fleeing from a lion, to be met by a bear, or to escape into the house, lean against the wall, & be bitten by a snake, there would be no escape.

The 2nd “woe to you” (ch. 6) is for the leaders that were complacent because of a false sense of security. Prosperity often brings false security. Abundance often breeds false assurance. God assured them that He was raising up a nation to destroy them & the nobility would be the 1st of the captives.

5 Visions- each of these visions begin with “Thus the LORD God showed me...” 1) locusts (7:1-3); 2) fire, (7:4-6). In the locusts & firevisions, Amos interceded & God relented- “it shall not be.”

3) a plumb line (7:7-9); 4) a basket of summer fruit (8:1-3). A plumb line is a string with a weight attached to the end to determine whether a wall is straight or not. Israel was crooked. The Summer Fruit meant Israel was ripe for judgment. In these visions, God said He would not pass by them anymore.

5) The LORD standing by the altar (9:1-10). Strike the doorposts (e.g., the temple at Bethel?), & break them from top to bottom. They can’t dig into hell or climb up to heaven, hide themselves on the mountain, or swim to the bottom of the sea. Even in captivity God says He will command the sword to slay them. 9:4, I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good… 10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.” The case had been made; the sentence had been passed; their destruction was pending. It would be complete. In less than 40 years this northern kingdom of Israel would be totally wiped out & dispersed.

3. PROMISE OF RESTORATION, 9:11-15

Amos ends with the promise of an ideal future when Israel is restored & their broken relationship with God repaired. It will happen on the Day of the Lord- a day of judgment for God’s enemies but a day of blessing for His people. These promises point us to the hope of salvation in Jesus & the restoration of all things at His return. There are 5 promises:

11, The Tabernacle of David is repaired, raised, & rebuilt. Israel rejected the Davidic kingship, but Jesus is the rightful heir to that throne.

12, The spread of the promise to the Gentiles. We see this through the Gospel & in the early church.

13, The blessing of the renewed creation in the kingdom will produce astonishing fruitfulness.

14, The Lord’s people will be brought back & receive the reward of blessing.

15, God will plant them in their land & they will never be pulled up again.

The fulfillment of this promise has already started. Through Jesus, the Kingdom of God has already been inaugurated. When Jesus returns, the Kingdom of God will be consummated, all things will be made right.

4. AN INVITATION TO REPENT, 5:1-14.

Israel was guilty of great crimes- (7) ‌Turn justice into wormwood (bitter plant to taste, dangerous to consume); ‌& lay righteousness to rest (death & burial).

‌God is a God of justice & righteousness. Psalm 89:14, Righteousness & justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy & truth go before Your face.

‌Justice is God’s way of making right what is wrong, & He expects His people to be just & righteous. Amos- 5:24, But let justice run down like water, & righteousness like a mighty stream.

Justice is the decisions & actions of God’s people that carry out God’s will, God’s way. Justice can be punitive (e.g., legal decision that brings about punishment for crimes), or protective (e.g., acting on behalf of the needy & vulnerable). Righteousness is the state of being that produces justice.

God called Abraham “to do righteousness and justice.” Gen 18:19, For I have known him, in order that he may command his children & his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

God commanded Israel to be righteous & just; to protect the vulnerable- strangers, widows, orphans, & the poor (Exodus 22:21-27). They didn’t do that.

When Jesus returns as King, He will say to His sheep: Matt 25:34–36, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry & you gave Me food; I was thirsty & you gave Me drink; I was a stranger & you took Me in; 36 I was naked & you clothed Me; I was sick & you visited Me; I was in prison & you came to Me.

Being in a relationship with God, means we have a responsibility to do righteousness & justice. Israel was guilty of injustice & unrighteousness, & when I look at the track record of the American church, we are guilty too. We may not be actively pursuing injustice & unrighteousness; but passive complicity doesn’t mean we are innocent, just uninterested & uninvolved.

ILL: Martin Luther King Jr’s, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”- There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Wherever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed & immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" & "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven" & had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide & gladiatorial contest.

Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's often vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, & be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I meet young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust.

For those who wonder why so many young people are leaving the church, the church’s quiet complicity is one of the reasons why. The church has been, to quote King again, “more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.” God help us!Judgment is not coming, it is here. 1 Peter 4:17, for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

The heart of Amos reveals the heart of God- an invitation to repent. “Seek Me and live… Seek the Lord and live… How do you do that?

1, Turn to Jesus- justice & righteousness of God met at the cross of Jesus Christ

2, Establish Justice. Read Amos 5:14-15, 14Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. 15Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Not everything called social justice is a matter of biblical justice, but the things that God has said are unjust, we should do something about. There are real, vulnerable people- strangers, widows, fatherless, & poor; the hungry/thirsty, homeless/helpless, sick/imprisoned. From God’s perspective, being in relationship with Him means having a social responsibility to engage in Gospel-centered activism for vulnerable people.

4 Ways you can do something: 1st, our food drive to help Waxahachie Care.

2nd, serve Waxahachie Care, or 1st Look, become a foster parent at TBHC.

3rd, prison care ministry, Behind the Walls ministry is coming up on Nov 4th.

4th, Friendsgiving thanksgiving meal for the poor or don’t have a place to go.