A Grievous & Threatening Cry: The Danger of Theological Error & False Hopes
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In our text this morning Amos begins a series of Woe oracles or woe speech. Amos uses this important word, “WOE” once here at the end of chapter 5 and two more times in chapter 6.
The word WOE is a very important word. It sets the entire tone for our passage.
“Woe”- a grievous an threatening cry by the prophets. A warning of danger and death.
Example:
Prov 5 1-14
My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,
that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;
she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,
lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”
Solomon doesn’t use the word “WOE” but you hear the grievous cry of danger and death don’t you?
This is what Amos is doing for the people of Israel. He is crying out, he is warning them. And there is a threat behind his words. WOE! If you don’t heed my words there is death and destruction headed your way.
Amos is looking to correct some grave theological errors that instilled in Israel false hopes and that enabled the continuation of their sinful behavior.
We must be careful to correct our own theological errors so that we don’t have false hopes and so that we don’t continue in our sinful behavior.
What woes or warnings do we need to understand this morning in order to correct our own potentially erroneous theological errors?
WOE #1:
Woe to those who believe that privileged position will result in preferential treatment (vv. 18-20)
Woe to those who believe that privileged position will result in preferential treatment (vv. 18-20)
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah No Escape from the Day (5:19)
He challenged the popular understanding that (1) Israel’s covenant assured them of God’s presence, (2) their prosperity confirmed it, and (3) the day of the Lord would be solely a day of salvation for Israel.
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light,
WOE! DEATH! THREAT! To those of you Israelites who desire the day of the Lord!
What is the day of the Lord?
Complex idea: Past historical events are called the Day of the Lord- Locust plague in Joel, and the judgement of God on Israel and Judah by the foreign nations were also called the Day of the Lord. It was any day that God mightily worked to accomplish his plan and advance His kingdom.
Future events are called the Day of the Lord: Tribulation judgments and the coming kingdom are refereed to with this term.
Apparently the nation of Israel in Amos’ day had a good understanding of the coming day of the Lord. To them it meant deliverance, saftey, blessing, and victory.
Amos came on the scene to correct this theological error in their thinking.
The nation of Israel thought the coming day of the Lord would be solely a day of salvation or deliverance for Israel. Boy were they wrong!
Amos begins to correct their faulty thinking by stating that the day of the Lord is darkness and not light. He goes on.
as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Two illustrations: Both describe the incapability of disaster.
The first: imagine a man who is fleeing fro his life from a lion and as he runs in the other direction and begins to think he might make it to safety, instead he runs headlong into a bear. No matter what direction he runs he is doomed.
The second: imagine one who is ruining for his life. Where is the one place most people feel the safest? HOME. This persons flees to the safest place he knows. And as he bursts through the front door of his home and he places his hand on the wall to catch his breath a snake slithers out from a crack and bites him. Even in the safest place you can run to your doom is inescapable.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
Amos now throughly disillusions the people. They thought the day of the Lord would be what for them? Light, brightness, salvation, deliverance.
Amos says you are wrong. For you it is not light, there is no brightness, only darkness and gloom. “Pitch-black, without a ray of brightness.” The prophet describes only a situation of gloom and a hopeless future.
Now remember the prophet is correcting the theological error in the thinking of the people. What was the error of their thinking? Did they misunderstand the general characteristics of the day of the Lord?
Not at all- defeat of God’s enemies and blessing for God’s people were two central elements to the Day of the Lord.
“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,
So what was the error in their thinking then?
The nation of Israel failed to understand the characteristics of their relationship with the Lord.
How do you think the average Israelite in Amos’ day would have described their relationship with God? We are the chosen people, we are the one living in a covenant relationship with God. But, what was the problem? What did their lives look like?
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;
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.
“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
“Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;
offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord God.
O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.
This is why Amos corrects their thinking!
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light,
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
The Israelites thought that their privileged position as God’s covenant people would automatically result in preferential treatment.
How can we apply that to us today?
Do we sometimes act exactly like the Israelites of Amos’ day?
Is there a Day of the Lord that we look forward to? Do we think that because that day will bring God’s deliverance and victory that it doesn’t really matter what our lives look like here and now? If there is a little sin in my life, well big deal. There is a coming Day of the Lord and I’m in no matter what!
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
What happens to the ones who are asleep when the day of the Lord comes?
v. 10- where we are awake or asleep we might live with him! Thankful salvation is all God’s grace!
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
Are you a child of God?
If you are- do you think your privileged position will result in preferential treatment?
God wants to save you from sin, not just hell!
For those who stubbornly live in sin, who keep their lives for themselves there will be a loss of reward. And, here and now in this lifetime we can expect discipline from our heavenly Father and not His blessing.
But, if you will heed this woe of Amos, if you will repent from you sin and turn to the Lord there is overwhelming grace waiting for you!
Well done good and faithful servant!
WOE #2:
Woe to those who believe that excessive religious activity will result in a right relationship with God (vv. 21-27)
Woe to those who believe that excessive religious activity will result in a right relationship with God (vv. 21-27)
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves,
and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.