A Grievous & Threatening Cry: The Danger of Theological Error & False Hopes (Part 2)
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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.
This particular Hebrew word is used 50x’s in the OT and at least 29 of those occurences have the sense of a warning of danger and death.
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!
“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages,
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.
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,
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,
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.
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?
WOE #2:
Woe to those who compartmentalize their faith (vv. 21-27)
Woe to those who compartmentalize their faith (vv. 21-27)
What does it mean to compartmentalize our faith? It means we begin to live our lives according to two different sets of rules. It means we try to have our cake and eat it too. We try to have things both ways. How? By compartmentalizing our faith. On Sundays we live according one set of rules—God’s rules. But, come Monday we follow a very different set of rules—the world’s.
Kennith Boa, in his book Conformed to His Image, warns of the danger of dividing our lives into categories: spiritual and secular. He states it can lead to “substantial disparities between belief and behavior and an amazing ability to overlook these inconsistencies.” When we compartmentalize our faith we can become like an imposter when our profession and our practice disagree.
This is exactly what was happening in the Northern kingdom of Israel. Sometimes, when we stray from the Lord we want nothing to do with religious practices. Strangely, sometimes we can become the most involved in religion, in church, in ministry, and yet our lives from Mon-Sat could not be farther from the Lord.
When we compartmentalize our lives, and there is no connection between our faith and our living, the disparity between 10:30 am Sunday morning me, and 10:30 am Monday morning me can be vast and shocking. If you are living this kind of life, Amos has a word for you. WOE!
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
First or all notice the style shift that begins in v. 21. Amos begins to speak in what some commentators call the first-person divine speech. Amos the prophet is speaking, but he is speaking in the first person as a divine mouth peace for the Lord.
Also, some commentators believe that Amos may be preaching this message at place a religious importance for the Northern kingdom. Perhaps Amos was at Bethel, one of the false places of worship set up when the kingdom divided. Perhaps, this is even the royal sanctuary during an important religious festival or assembly.
You can almost picture Amos blasting onto the scene can’t you. There is a great religious festival going including all of the rich elite and ruling class of Israel. And in the middle of this important event, Amos interrupts with a loud commanding voice, as he speaks the very words of the Lord.
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Notice the words, HATE and DESPISE.
Now look at v. 10
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
Same Hebrew words in v. 10. The Israelites hated justice and they despised truth. So, God speaks to them and says, “I hate” “I despise” your false worship.
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Notice what God is rejecting through the message of Amos: The Lord tells the people of Israel that He hates and despises their feasts and their solemn assemblies. Feasts and solemn assemblies were the important religious festivals that were held on an annual basis.
In the OT law these pilgrim feasts were designated as the Feast of Unleavened bread or passover, the feast of Harvest or Weeks, and the feast of Ingathering or Festivals. These were the important pilgrim festivals that were the most sacred of religious events. It would be like our Christmas or Easter services. Christmas gets a whole month. Easter gets at least a week. They are our significant religious events, if you want to call it that.
So Amos isn’t just blasting one of the daily sacrifices or offerings. He is going after Israel’s most sacred religious events. And God says I hate, I despise your feasts and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
The verb “take no delight” literally means to “smell” or “enjoy the smell” of something. And it is usually used when God evaluates an offering of some kind.
And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.
Look at the CSB translation of Amos 5:21.
I hate, I despise, your feasts! I can’t stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
The most sacred of religious events that the Northern Kingdom had to offer to the Lord was like a foul odor to God.
Illustration— riding past road kill while on a bike ride. That is what these feasts and solemn assemblies were to the Lord.
Why? Hang on to that question because Amos is just warming up.
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.
Now the Lord changes topic from the religious festivals to the sacrifices. God says even if you offer to me burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings, I will not accept them.
In Leviticus 1-7 God gives instruction for five main offerings that were part of the OT worship. The first three of those five is what Amos highlights in v. 22. These three are sometimes called the “please-aroma offerings” because of the phrase that would occur with them.
but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Then Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord’s.
How ironic that the very offerings that were supposed to be a pleasing aroma to the Lord were instead unacceptable.
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.
Not only were they unacceptable, Amos said that the Lord would not even look upon them! Remember the description of the Lord’s disfavor in v. 21? God said he could stand the stench of their festivals? Now God says, I cannot even look upon your offerings. What’s next?
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
Here God rejects the noise of their songs and the melody of their harps. What songs do you suppose they are singing? If I had to guess they are probably singing the Psalms. Maybe not, but it would not surprise me if they were singing the same songs that their fathers learned when the kingdom was under the rule of David and Solomon. In other words it is not the songs themselves that is the reason God is refusing to listen.
They were offering sacrifices according to the book of Leviticus. It is not the sacrifices themselves that God turned away his eyes from looking upon. They were hold religious festivals, something God told His people to do, the festivals themselves were probably not the reason that God shut his nostrils.
So why did God reject their worship? Why did God shut his nostrils, close his eyes, and plug his ears to their worship?
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
God could not have been more clear about His rejection of their false worship.
“I hate, I despise” “I cant’ stand the stench of” “I will not accept” “I will not look upon” “Take away from me” “I will not listen.”
God clearly rejected their worship. Why?
One commentator said it like this:
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah Feasts (5:21)
They were inundating him with rivers of religiosity when he wanted rivers of righteousness and justice
What was the main problem? Compartmentalized spirituality. Their relationship to God was only a component of their life instead of the center of their life.
There was a disconnect between their faith and their living, between their belief and their character, between their profession and their practice.
What do I mean?
How could the Jews of the Northern Kingdom of Isreal, especially the wealthy ruling class, put on annual religious feasts, offering sacrifices and offerings, and sing songs and make melodies of worship to the Lord and yet care so little about justice and righteousness in their day-to-day living?
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.”
“that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.
I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares the Lord.
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.
And so God says to these Jews who had so compartmentalized their faith that on the one hand they were offering songs and melodies of worship and on the other hand they were trampling the poor, living in extravagant luxury from ill gotten gain, and selling the needy for a pair of sandals.
So God rightly says about their worship: “I hate, I despise” “I cant’ stand the stench of” “I will not accept” “I will not look upon” “Take away from me” “I will not listen.”
Instead God says this,
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Israel was guilty of compartmentalizing their faith:
What about us? Are we guilty of this exact same thing?
How could we be guilty of such a horrendous thing?
Example:
Perhaps you view your spiritual life this way. Perhaps you view your spiritual life as a spiritual compartment. Christ is a part of your life, but you have lots of other parts as well. The Christ part may grow bigger or smaller, but He is just a part of your life.
If this is the way you view your spirituality then you will tend to think like this: My spiritual life is limited to my...
personal devotions
spiritual exercises
church activities
Bible studies
Times of prayer
Times when I witness or disciple
Those are the times when I am spiritual. Every other part of my day, that is the ordinary, the secular, the mundane. I don’t think about the ordinary parts of my life as part of my spirituality.
That is exactly what the nation of Israel was doing. On Saturday (Sabbath) they were offering sacrifices, holding religious festivals, and singing and making melody of worship to the Lord. Then on Monday those same people were selling the upright and the needy for a pair of sandals.
And then they thought that their worship to the Lord was fine, it was good, God would accept it.
I am reminded of what the prophet Malachi said about this kind of worship.
Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
Friends is Jesus a component of your life or is Jesus your life?
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Do you have a compartmentalized view of your spiritual life? Or is Christ central to every detail of your life?
How do you know?
Are you actions on a Sunday different from your actions on a Monday?
Is there a disconnect between your faith and your behavior?
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
When we compartmentalize our lives, and there is no connection between our faith and our living, the disparity between 10:30 am Sunday morning me, and 10:30 am Monday morning me can be vast and shocking. If you are living this kind of life, Amos has a word for you. WOE!
God’s solution for you is:
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Do you have a compartmentalized view of your spiritual life? Or is Christ central to every detail of your life?
How do you know?
2. How do you see the ordinary parts of your life?
There is a false dichotomy that we tend to buy into between the sacred and the secular. Do you view parts of your life as sacred and other parts as secular?
Who has the greater opportunity to bring God glory? The stay at home mom, who has to change the messy diapers, make supper, home school the kids, and do the laundry or the missionary that flies half-way around the world and wins five people to Christ per week? Which is more spiritual? Which has more opportunity to bring God glory? We know the right answer, but do we really think that way about our lives?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
What could be more mundane that eating and drinking? And yet, even in those mundane activities of our lives we have the opportunity to bring God glory. The stay at home mom has just as much opportunity to bring God glory as does the internationally acclaimed missionary.
When Jesus becomes central to our whole life and not just a part of our lives, then our faith and our practice will be entirely transformed.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
We will act justly in all our dealings in life. We will grow in practical righteousness and Christlikeness in every area of our lives. We will stop living life as imposters. For us to live will be Christ. He will be central and every thing will flow out of Him. Both our worship and our daily living will flow out of Christ, be transformed by Christ, and come to resemble Christ in every way.
I cannot tell you how many unsaved people I have talked to that are completely turned off to Christianity because of the hypocrisy they have seen in religion. Most unsaved people leverage the hypocrisy as a weapon for why Christianity is such a joke. They hate the church, they hate the bible, they hate anything religious because so many times they have seen people come to church and act one way, and then live like imposters the rest of the week.
Friends, they are not the only ones who hate that kind of religion.
God Himself says, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and take no delight in your solemn assemblies.”
“I will not accept your offerings. I won’t even look upon them.”
“Take away from me the noise of your songs; the melody of your harps for I will not listen.”
Friends, if God had pricked your heart this morning about compartmentalized spirituality I invited you to repent and confess of your sin and return to the Lord.
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.