A Grievous & Threatening Cry: The Danger of a Proud Heart
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What do you hate? What you hate says a lot about you.
Do you hate being cut off on the freeway?
Do you hate filling and paying taxes?
Do you hate family gatherings?
Do you hate election years?
What is it that you hate?
In Amos 6 we find out one thing that God hates.
Amos 6:8 (ESV)
The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob …”
This verb has the idea of finding something repugnant, repulsive, or that which one loathes.
This particular verb is a Piel participle in the Hebrew, and often this particular Hebrew theme indicates an intensive idea. God abhors, he intensely loathes the pride of Jacob.
And for this reason God sent his prophet Amos, to speak the Word of the Lord, to the wealthy elite of the Northern kingdom of Israel. And the first word that Amos spoke on the subject of Israel’s pride was the word WOE!
Amos 6 is the final section of Amos’ woe oracles.
This theme of a grievous and a threatening cry, a warning of danger and death began all the way back in chapter 5.
Amos began with a lament or a funeral dirge. He warned Israel that certain death and destruction were coming unless they repented. Israel needed to turn, seek God and live. They needed to seek good and not evil that they might live. Or else God’s judgement would fall and it would be inescapable.
Then Amos cried out his first series of WOES.
Woe to those who thought their privileged position would result in preferential treatment.
Woe to those who compartmentalized their faith.
Woe to those who corrupted their worship.
And now in chapter 6 Amos cries out one more WOE to those who have have a proud heart.
Friends, God hates a proud heart. He doesn’t just hate it, he abhors it, it is an abomination to him.
Do you know some of the other sins that God calls an abomination in the OT?
Child sacrifice is an abomination to the Lord.
Pagan worship practices is an abomination to the Lord.
Homosexuality and transvestism is an abomination to the Lord.
Superficial worship is an abomination to the Lord.
And yet maybe at the top of the list of things that God loathes is a proud heart.
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
Guess what is top of the list?
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Here in our text in Amos 6 God saves the most serious offense, the most serious sin for the final WOE- Warning, Danger, Death- to the one who has a proud heart.
Amos was warning the Israelites that if they did not repent of their proud hearts they would be face the judgement of God.
Friends, if we are not careful to repent of our proud hearts we too will face the judgment of God.
Why is pride so serious to God? Why is this sin such a big deal to God?
What are some of the consequences of having a proud heart?
This morning I want to look at three consequences of having a proud heart:
I. A proud heart creates a false awareness of reality (vv. 1-3)
I. A proud heart creates a false awareness of reality (vv. 1-3)
Pride- an improper and excessive self-esteem, being high or exalted in attitude.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Pride is the exact opposite of humility. It is the idea of being puffed up or having an inflated opinion of oneself.
The idea is that one gives the impression of substance but is really filled only with air
Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
Pride is essentially a issue of the heart. It is a sinful attitude of the heart.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Psalm 131:1 (ESV)
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;
Although pride is a sin that begins in the realm of our hearts or our attitudes or our spirit, it never remains internalized. It works its way into our actions, our speech, the way we look at other people, and especially the way we treat other people.
This was exactly what was happening among the wealthy “elite” or the ruling class in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And this is the audience that Amos address his final WOE towards.
“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!
Notice the descriptions Amos uses of his target audience. Who is Amos preaching to?
WOE (parallel statements- each one intensifies and gives us a little more info about the audience Amos is preaching against)
1). To those who are at ease in Zion- to those who live complete at ease completely at their leisure in Zion. Who are the one’s living at ease in Zion?
2). Those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria. These individuals were trusting in Mount Samaria. Samaria’s topography made it a natural fortress. So these leaders who were living at ease, felt totally secure because of their position, because of their fortifications, and because of their military might. They felt safe. The object of their trust was not the Lord, but their own strength. Who exactly are these individuals?
3). Those who are the notable men of the first of the nations- the leaders of Israel who thought of themselves as the elite class of the first or the best nation. They are the ones to whom the rest of house of Israel comes. They are the elite ruling class, and the rest of the pitiable peons of Israel had to depend on these leaders.
Notice, that this verse describes the perception of these leaders of Amos’ day. These leaders thought they could live at ease, they thought they were secure, they thought they were notable men of the best nation. Amos’ message to these men is that their perception of reality couldn’t be farther from the truth.
By the way, are we ever guilty of trusting in government instead of God? Do we trust in the might of our nation’s military? Do we consider ourselves to be first of all the other nations? Do we value our earthly citizenship as superior to other nations of the world? Do we live in ease and feel secure? What do we trust in for these kinds of feelings? Is it God? Or something else? How do we know? Here is one test, what happens to your spirit after an election cycle where the person you voted for didn’t win the race?
Maybe its not government that you are trusting in, maybe it is your wealth or your riches.
Illustration: buying an island and a cruise ship during the pandemic. Going off grid, water, heat, electric, all self-sufficient. Is there anything inherently wrong with going off grid? No, the danger is that your feeling of security and ease can become dependent on these things. Well, if the whole world collapses I’ll be fine. What is the object of your trust? Is it God? Or something else?
Are we more like these Israelites than we want to think? How can we correct our thinking?
How does Amos begin to correct the wrong thinking of the wealthy elite?
Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,
In order to correct the false awareness of reality of the ruling class in Israel, who had an inflated opinion of themselves, who had an exalted attitude, who were puffed up, the “notable men of the first of nations”; Amos ordered these leaders to compare themselves with three near-by kingdoms.
Amos uses four imperatives- commands- to emphasize the urgency of the task: Pass over, see, go, go down. All imperatives.
Amos wanted them to visit, in their mind’s eye, three named cities.
Calneh and Hamath the great were Syrian city-states under Israel’s control. Gath was a Philistine city-state under Judah’s control.
Amos asks a rhetorical question about these nations- are you better than these kingdoms? Is your territory greater than theirs? The obvious answer was NO WAY!
These three city-states were, at one time, more secure, better defended, had a bigger army, had a larger boarder, and were generally much more impressive than either Israel or Judah. And yet they all fell.
Amos is using the Greater to a Lesser argument here. If they were greater than you, Israel, and they fell, what makes you so confident in your position? What was Amos doing? He was giving them a heavy dose of reality!
Why did they need a heavy dose of reality?
O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?
In their pride and their arrogance they felt secure, untouchable. As a result they lived a life of ease or luxury. What made possible that life of ease and luxury? Bringing near the seat of violence. What does that mean? Other translations put it this way, “You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.” How were the wealthy elite paying for their life of ease? By abusing the systems of justice, but perverting the courts. By taking advantage of the weak and the poor. Providing false witnesses and exacting unjust taxes. By selling the poor and needy into slavery and unjustly taking the possessions of others. In this way these wealthy elite were bring near the seat of violence. Rather than repenting of their sin and letting justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an every-flowing stream, they were instead doubling down on their reign of violence! Why would they do that?
Because of their proud hearts had created a false sense of reality- they put far away the day of disaster.
God won’t judge us, we are his chosen people. We have strong fortresses and mighty armies. We have winter and summer houses, the best food money can buy, and all the wine we can drink. Nothing bad can happen to us! We deserve all of this anyways! We are the notable men of the first of the nations, we are the ones to whom all the house of Israel comes! And because of their proud hearts they didn’t see things according to reality. Instead they hardened their hearts and pretended that the day of disaster was far away, and they deceived themselves into continuing in sin.
Friends, are we guilty of this?
Two texts:
Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
I’ve got time, I can repent later!
2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV)
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
I’m good enough that God will accept me!
He will render to each one according to his works:
to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
For God shows no partiality.
Bad News:
as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Good News:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Don’t be like the proud hearted elites in Israel. Don’t put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence!
2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV)
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.
So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.
But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,
so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’
But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?
Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Friends, has the pride in our hearts caused us to create a false sense of reality? Jesus won’t come back today. I can live my life today however I want.
“The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: ‘I did not have time.’” —Franklin Field
Don’t be like the proud hearted Israelites who put far away the day of disaster and instead brought near the seat of violence.
Repent, turn to God, and live.
Let’s look at the second consequence of a proud heart:
II. A proud heart produces an uncaring and self-indulgent lifestyle (vv. 4-6)
II. A proud heart produces an uncaring and self-indulgent lifestyle (vv. 4-6)
Remember, pride is essentially a issue of the heart. It is a sinful attitude of the heart. Although pride is a sin that begins in the realm of our hearts, it never remains internalized. It works its way into our actions, our speech, the way we look at other people, and especially the way we treat other people.
How did the internalized attitude of pride effect the external lives of elite class of Israel?
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,
How did their internal attitude of pride express itself externally?
These wealthy citizen’s slept of the best beds. It is more than just sleeping on the finest beds money could buy. Notice the verbs Amos chooses.
You “lie on beds of ivory” the idea here is one of reclining. Then notice the intensification of the parallel thought.
Not just reclining on beds of ivory, but more than than, stretching themselves out on their couches. This verb has the idea of lounging, sprawling, or hanging over. There is an implied laziness or drunkeness or both in this description.
How else did their proud hearts effect their lives?
They eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall.
Not only did they have the best beds money could buy, they also ate the best food available to them. Probably the poor only ate meat three times a year at the annual religious festivals. But, the wealthy elite would eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall. They wouldn’t wait until the animals were fully grown, and thus had the most meat possible. They wanted their meat to be tender. We would call this “veal” nowadays. Back then it was a delicacy, it was truly food that only the wealthy could afford.
Illustration: Wagyu beef can range anywhere from $50 dollars per pound to upwards of $2000 per lb.
What other external effects did their proud hearts have?
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah Preeminent in Leaving (6:7)
The leading citizens of Israel had the luxury of a leisurely lifestyle. They could lounge around eating, drinking, and making up songs, imagining themselves to be little Davids
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
They consumed alcohol in bowls!
This calls our attention back to Amos 4, where the prophet condemned the wealthy women, the cows of Bashan, who were upon the mountain of Samaria, who would command their husbands, “Bring, that we may drink!”
Here in Amos 6 we discover it was not just the women who were living this lifestyle. Amos 6 is addressed to the notable men of the first of nations.
The indictment here is against extreme indulgence, overindulging in whatever their hearts desired.
They would also anoint themselves with the finest of oils. Oils could be astronomically expensive. Do you remember when Mary took a pound of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus? And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume? Do you remember what Judas said about her gesture? “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and what? given to the poor? How much was a denarii? About a day’s labor. Almost a years salary for one pound of ointment.
The wealthy elite were living extremely self-indulgent lives!
Excursus: Thinking Biblically about Social Justice
Excursus: Thinking Biblically about Social Justice
Verses like Amos 6:1-7 and others have been used by some people to promote the idea of social justice. How should you and I think biblically about this topic?
One of the biggest problems in this discussion is a definition of terms. You hear the phrase “social justice” thrown around all the time in our culture. The problem is that is a very fuzzy term. People rarely understand what it means.
When you use the term social justice it, most of the time, encompasses things like racism, hunger relief, serving the poor, immigration, or combating human trafficking. But it can also be included in debates on health care, minimum wage increases, or climate change.
It is made to be a fuzzy term, often times, in order to shame people into accepting a certain position on a complex issue. If I call an issue a matter of “social justice,” then no one can oppose my argument and not come out looking like an uncaring hateful individual.
In Kevin DeYoung’s article, A Modest Proposal he attempts to define social justice in meaningful terms. He beings by using Thomas Sowell’s definition, in his book, A Conflict of Visions. He talks about two different views on justice.
The first view is called the unconstrained view.
Unconstrained View: justice is a result so that wherever people don’t get “their fair share” or don’t have as much as others there is injustice.
This idea includes not only equal opportunities for all people, but also equitable distribution of resources or equal outcomes for all people.
When people in our culture think about justice today, they assume this is the social justice we are talking about. DeYoung says this, “In the unconstrained vision, the society has a lump of resources and if they are not shared roughly equally, then we do not have social justice.” In the unconstrained view in order to have justice there must be a equitable distribution of all resources. Or, not just equal opportunity, but equal outcomes.
The second view of justice is called the constrained view.
Constrained View: justice is a process where people are treated fairly.
On this view DeYoung states, “The goal here is not forced redistribution; no one distributed the resources in the first place and no one is wise enough to allocate them for the good of everyone. Justice, in this vision, is upheld through the rule of law, a fair court system, and equitable treatment of all persons regardless of natural diversity.”
Now, as believers, who want to think biblically about this topic, the question is, “Which view best fits the biblical definition of justice?”
Let’s look at Amos 6 as a test case:
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Doesn’t this text suggest that it is wrong for people to have beds of ivory? or expensive cuts of meat for food? or have so much income they can sit around doing nothing, or spend wastefully on the finest oils or the most expensive beverages? Is Amos saying that it is a sin for people to have nice things? Should the rich redistribute the wealth so that everyone has an equal share? Is that what Amos is preaching against?
While Amos is certain preaching against the sin of the ruling class, namely the sin of a proud heart, he is not primarily preaching against some people having more wealth than others. His point is how the wealth was acquired.
Notice the end of v. 6
Amos 6:6 (ESV)
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
What does this phrase mean? Joseph is another term used to describe the nation of Israel. Amos is saying that Israel, the nation with all of it ordinary people, was in ruin. Why was the nation in ruin?
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—
Where did the wealthy elite get the money to support their opulent lifestyle? How did they pay for the beds of ivory, the veal steaks, the bowls of wine, and the bottles of perfume? The money came from ordinary people of the nation. But, most significant to Amos’ point, the money was obtained unjustly.
When Amos talks about justice or social justice, what he means is justice that is upheld through the rule of law, he means a fair court system, he means equitable treatment of all persons regardless of their social status or natural diversity.
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;
These wealthy elites were perverting the court system. They were bribing witnesses, creating unjust laws, and using every ounce of power they had to ensure an unjust legal system. And why were they doing all of this?
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.
Notice the two phrases, “garments taken in pledge” and “wine of those who have been fined.” The wealthy elite were perverting what was supposed to be a fair court system that provided equitable treatment for all persons, into an unjust system that trampled the heads of the poor into the dust and turned aside the way of the afflicted so that the wealthy elite could finance there self-indulgent lifestyle.
And the worst part was, because of the pride of their hearts, these wealthy elites thought nothing of it! They kept right on offering God worship, and believing that they were safe and secure in their fortresses.
“God is on our side!” is what they thought. Amos came on the scene to tell them that their situation with God could not have been worse!
Justice, and we could add social justice, according to Amos was not the fact that a certain class of people had more wealth than another class of people. Social justice to Amos meant a proper rule of law, a fair court system, and equitable treatment for all persons.
Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
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.
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
What did Amos mean by seeking good?
Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Now having said all of that, I want to add- we should still care about the poor! We should still seek to help people who are struggling through life.
Caring for the poor is a matter of grace not law.
Redistribution of the resources that God has given you to steward is a matter of grace not law.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—
and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
V. 9 is a quote from Psalm 112:9, and if we really what to understand Paul’s point here we must understand Psalm 112:9 in its original context. Paul always quotes the OT in a contextual manner. In other words, the author’s of the NT never make the OT say what it did not mean in its original context.
So let’s go back and read Ps 112. Now, remember Amos 6 was dealing with rich and wealthy people. Ps 112 is dealing with rich and wealthy people. Having wealth and riches is not inherently sinful. However, notice the difference between wealthy people who have a proud heart and wealthy people who fear the Lord!
Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
Caring for the poor is a matter of grace not law.
Caring for the poor should never be disconnected from the gospel.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:18-19 are often used by people to twist the biblical idea of social justice.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
They will say- see Jesus came to help the poor, to free those in captivity, to undo the effects of slavery and oppression. This is why Jesus came. This is what social justice means- equal outcomes for everyone, redistribution of all resources in a fair manner.
But I want you to pay close attention to the text.
Luke 4:18–19 (ESV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The emphasis here is on proclamation. And what did Jesus proclaim? The GOOD NEWS! The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus primarily so that He could proclaim the good news of the gospel.
Also, we assume that when Jesus uses the words poor, captives, blind, and oppressed He is talking about the economically poor, the physically captive and blind, and the humanly oppressed. However, this is not the case.
Jesus is quoting an OT text. Just like we did for Paul, we need to go back to the text Jesus is quoting and see how it is used in its context.
Jesus is reading from the scroll of Isaiah.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Now I would argue that Jesus is talking about the spiritually poor, those in captivity to sin, the spiritually blind and oppressed.
Notice the parallels in Isaiah 61.
Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isaiah 61:2 (ESV)
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Isaiah 61:3 (ESV)
to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
So the poor, the captives, those who are bound are equated with the brokenhearted, and those who mourn. This is a condition of the heart.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
This fits so well with Jesus primary ministry of proclamation of the good news.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Did Jesus care for the economically poor? Did he have compassion on those who were struggling through life? Was Jesus generous and kind toward those who were suffering and at a disadvantage? Jesus displayed great amounts of compassion, charity, and love.
But, always at the forefront of Jesus’ mission was the proclamation of the good news. He never disconnected his care and compassion for people from the proclamation of the gospel and neither should we.
Coming back to our text in Amos 6- a proud heart produces and uncaring and self-indulgent lifestyle. A grace filled heart, a heart that fears the Lord, produces justice- that is one who upholds the rule of law, a fair court system, and equitable treatment of all persons.
A grace filled heart produces a Christlike care and compassion for the poor and those who are struggling. It causes us to be content with less and less of this earthly temporal world, and frees us to be generous, to distribute freely and give to others out of the abundance of what God has given us.
A grace filled heart follows the example of Christ and intertwines the proclamation of the good news with being generous and compassionate to those less fortunate than ourselves.
Friends, do you have a proud heart or a grace filled heart? If pride has led you to be come uncaring and self-centered Amos has a word for you, WOE!
Let’s look at the third consequence of a proud heart.
III. A proud heart results in arrogance and judgement (vv. 7-14)
III. A proud heart results in arrogance and judgement (vv. 7-14)
Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
For behold, the Lord commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits.
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
“For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts; “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”