Israel in Exile

No Hope (v. 18-20)

Expectation vs. Reality (v. 18)

Have you ever wanted something only to be disappointed when you actually got it?

Internet shopping has filled all of us with heavy dose of buyers remorse from time to time.

When it shows up it is missing pieces or its the wrong size.

Often the item was totally misrepresented in the description.

In v. 18 Amos tells the people of Israel that the thing that they are wishing for isn’t what they think it is.

The Day of the Lord

A phrase found throughout prophetic scripture.

A day of judgment

A day of salvation

A day, in the Old Testament, that is both near and far.

A day that culminates in the return of Jesus Christ.

They believe that:

the “Day of the Lord” is when Yahweh is going to swoop in and destroy all of Israel’s enemies.

the day when God will take away all their pain and suffering and work.

the day when all the world will finally know that they are God’s chosen people.

Amos corrects their expectations

“Woe” - some authors refer to this type of passage as a “woe oracle”. It contains both the ideas and tones of warning and lament.

Amos is warning and lamenting the people of Israel because they desire the “Day of the Lord.”

It is the farthest thing from their minds that they could possibly be included in the judgment of the Day of the Lord.

Amos asks the obvious question.

Why would you have the day of the Lord?

Why would you want this?

Clearly you don’t know what the day of the Lord will bring.

Ironic Illustration (v. 18b, 19)

You think it is light when it is really darkness.

Your like a man who escapes from a lion only to run into a bear.

Or a man who thinks he is safe in his house only to lean against the wall and be bitten by snake.

You couldn’t be more wrong.

Rhetorical Question (v. 20)

“Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”

You have heard the prophecies.

You know that the Day of the Lord is a day of judgment.

Israel: “yeah, but not for us.”

The Wrong Path

Israel believed that being God’s chosen people was a get out of judgment free card.

This may sound ridiculous but they treated the grace of God like a coupon.

Listen God, I know that I am a miserable, wicked wretch, but I have a coupon here for one free entry into heaven.

The same is true for us. Anyone who treats the free gift of God’s grace in salvation as a license to sin has clearly not been impacted by the very grace they are imposing upon.

They clearly haven’t seen the reality of their sin, and so Amos says to them “woe to you.”

When Isaiah saw the reality of his sin what did he say? “Woe is me for I am undone.”

No Atonement (v. 21-23)

Expectations Subverted (v. 21,22)

No we see another wrong path or expectation when it comes to the grace of God.

Some people have the expectation that their coupon will get them into heaven, but others believe they can buy their way into God’s favor.

Amos lists some of the ways they tried to buy their way in:

Feasts

Assemblies

Burnt Offerings

Grain Offerings

Peace Offerings - of the best fattened animals.

God’s response:

I hate

I despise

I take no delight

I will not accept them

I will not look upon them

But this is exactly what God told us to bring! You got the what, but you totally missed the why. You treated my grace as a means to do whatever you wanted when it in reality it was the means to live in the purpose for which I created you.

Worship Rejected (v. 23)

“Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.”

Our concept of worship is fundamentally flawed when we believe that we can worship in spirit and truth while harboring known, unrepentant sin.

It doesn’t matter what your sin is whether it is apathy, pride or pornography it takes your worship which should be a sweet smelling savor to Him and turns into a stench of death and decay.

No wonder God says “take it away!”

No Escape (v. 24-27)

The River of Justice (v. 24)

There are few things more powerful than a flooded river.

Trees are uprooted

Buildings destroyed

The landscape of the earth can be reshaped by a strong flood.

This is the picture Amos chooses to use to picture God’s justice and righteousness.

What are you in the face of such fury? You cannot escape God’s justice.

The Exodus Remembered (v. 25)

Amos 5:25 ““Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?”

There are a lot of translation and interpretive questions about this verse.

The most likely interpretation is that Amos is asking whether the central aspect of Israel’s relationship to God is based only on their sacrifices.

Can any meaningful relationship be boiled down to one thing? Example: “well I know I have a good marriage because I buy my wife flowers once a month.”

The Exile Declared (v. 26,27)

Amos 5:26–27 “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.”

You want to worship Assyrian gods? How about you worship them in Assyria?

Over and over Amos reminds them of the God they offended and abandoned through the use of the names for God He chooses.

No Excuse (Application)

The Day of the Lord is coming.

Jesus is coming again.

This is a central aspect of our belief and practice. It is a part of the irreducible minimum to call our theology “Christian”.

Because Jesus is coming again the most illogical thing anyone can do is simply write Him off.

God hates hypocritical worship.

Do you feel an aversion to ever putting the words “God” and “hate” in the same sentence?

It is terribly offensive to try to come to God in worship while harboring unrepentant sin.

So often our expectation of God is that He shouldn’t care.

Did you forget that His Son died for your sins?

Example: Song - Come, now is the time to worship, Come, now is the time, To give your heart, Come, just as you are to worship, Come, just as you are, Before your God, Come

Beware of false confidence

God does care about your sin.

Good News: He is eager to forgive, and restore true worship.