Speak Up!
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Introduction
Introduction
At a Ligonier conference recently during the Q&A session that happens at conferences like this, the following question was posed to the panel
Since God is slow to anger and patient, then why when man first sinned was His wrath and punishment so severe and long-lasting?
R.C. Sproul called a time out and then he said this in answer to the question
That God’s punishment for Adam was so severe. This creature from the dirt defied the everlasting Holy God, after God had said the day that you shall eat of it you shall surely die. And instead of dying that day, he lived another day, was clothed in his nakedness by pure grace, and had the consequences of a curse applied for quite some time, but the worst curse would come upon the one who seduced him, who’s head would be crushed by the Seed of the woman, and the punishment was too severe? What is wrong with you people? I’m serious. I mean this is what’s wrong with the Christian church today. We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are. The question is why wasn’t it infinitely more severe. If we have any understanding of our sin and any understanding of who God is - that’s the question.
The beginning of this prophetic book contains 8 judgement oracles against various nations culminating in the judgement pronounced against Israel - the longest of all the judgements
Now whether this book was written down chronologically or not - whether tonights sermon from Amos followed immediately after the 8 judgments against the nations - we don’t know but tonight’s passage builds on and defends what Amos had to say to the Israelites.
The Israelites had forgotten who they were and who God was
They were under the mistaken impression that because all was peace and prosperity in their nations that it would always be so
In tonight’s text Amos is going to, in effect, ask the same question that Dr. Sproul did - what’s wrong with you people?
We’re going to see Amos build his case as to not only why the Israelites shouldn’t be surprised at the prophecy of disaster brought on by their choices but also why he must speak out
We’re going to see in verses 1 and 2 that the Israelites were chosen but that doesn’t mean they’re teflon
Then Amos is going to ask a series of rhetorical questions in verses 3-6 that build to the last question
And then in verses 7-8 we’re going to see him defend the necessity of his speaking up
Chosen not Teflon
Chosen not Teflon
Amos 3:1-2; Leviticus 11:45; Leviticus 26:12-13; Micah 6:4; Deuteronomy 7:6; Psalm 33:12; Isaiah 43:10; 1 Peter 2:9; Deuteronomy 28:7
Hear this word - listen up. Pay attention.
against the entire family of Israel - this was not just for the Northern tribes but also for the southern tribes in Judah
God had delivered all of them from Egypt
Throughout the Old Testament, reminders of the exodus deliverance serve as reminders of Israel’s covenantal relationship to God. Israel is who she is because of the exodus.
For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’ ”
I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
“Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt
And ransomed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
You only have I chosen
Israel was God’s chosen nation
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.
They were chosen for a purpose
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
Israel was supposed to be a witness to the nations and to demonstrate for them God’s kindness and grace
Yet they repeatedly failed to do either - instead falling in line with the nations around them with regards to religion and social practices
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
But I will still punish you
It is important to note that the punishment is not simply because Israel is God’s chosen nation and not because of their sins. The covenant between the Lord and Israel contained both promises of prosperity and curse Deuteronomy 28 lays out both the promises for their obedience and curses for their disobedience
“The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.
The blessings run from verses 1-14 and then the curses run the rest of the chapter (another 54 verses) and yet Israel still couldn’t grasp that their disobedience and failures was bringing discipline down upon them
They had the misconception that because they were God’s chosen people that He would only bless them and never allow harm to come to them
Amos had to work to correct this misconception that because of their disobedience God must discipline them
The Lord does it?
The Lord does it?
Amos 3:3-6; Judges 7:19-20; Isaiah 45:7; Job 1:12: Luke 13:1-5
Amos is going to ask 7 rhetorical questions - with the expected answer to each being a “no”
He’s going to build to the last question using illustrative points that his listeners will understand
Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?
A popular comedy motif in film a few years ago was that of a road trip in which the main character picks up a random stranger and hilarity ensues
Think Something about Mary where Ben Stiller’s character picks up a stranger who turns out to be a serial killer
But this wouldn’t have happened in Amos’ day because they wouldn’t have traveled with a stranger because travel was more dangerous then - only upon making an agreement would two men travel together
Amos’s listeners would easily recognize this question and answer no
Next Amos turns to several examples from nature - the first being that of a lion on the hunt
Have you ever watched a nature show and watched a lion on the hunt?
A lion isn’t loud when it hunts - it’s not roaring at that moment. It is only after it has it’s prey in hand that it lets out a roar of triumph.
Amos also reaches back to Amos 1:2 where he says “The Lord roars from Zion”
And then he says that a young lion growls from his den unless he has captured something
The second being that of trapping and the nature of traps
No prey is ever going to walk into a trap without proper bait
And no trap springs shut unless something trips it
Each of these illustrations could be stretched to have a theological component but I think it best to take them at face value, as illustrations that help Amos build to his main point
Amos now moves from the country to the city
If a trumpet is blown in the city will not the people tremble?
Trumpets were used as an early warning system in the event of attack
They were also used to marshal the troops or to give commands on the battlefield
Gideon used trumpets to great effect in executing God’s plan for the defeat of the Midianites
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
All of these questions have been asked to build to Amos main point
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?
This may sound hard to hear but God is sovereign over all - and if He doesn’t create calamity He at least allows it
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these.
God either brings it or allows it
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.
This is a particularly important concept to grasp in light of the last month and a half in our nation
Hurricanes - it’s not the false myth of global warming - God sends them
Earthquakes - it’s not fracking that takes place thousands of miles away - God sends them
Maniac shooters that kill 50+ people for no reason - it’s not ISIS - God doesn’t send him but He does permit him
Jesus gave us a clue as to why events like this happen
Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
It is important for us to understand this because the world doesn’t get it - just like the Israelites in Amos day didn’t get it
I listened to one newscaster yesterday following the tragic events of Sunday evening and all he could say was why would this happen - and he had no answers to his questions
When the calamities that the Lord would bring on the Israelites befell them some would wonder why - life was so good, how could a good God bring this disaster upon us....
God brings calamities on people for a couple of reasons
To shake them up - maybe they are wandering away and God sends a calamity into their life to bring them back in line with His plans and purposes for their lives
To wake them up - for the heathens this is to wake them up to their need for Him and His grace
To wake us up - for the church to start following the primary command that He has given us…to speak up
Can I do anything but speak?
Can I do anything but speak?
Amos 3:7-8; Act 4:19-20; Jeremiah 20:9; 1 Corinthians 9:16
Amos defends his right to prophesy on behalf of God
The Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets...
This is not to beholden the Lord to share what He is doing in advance - it is not to say that He cannot move without revealing what He is going to do - it is to say that the prophets carry a message that is not their own
God always gives a warning - like a patient parent - to let His children know that
And Amos even alleviates himself of responsibility for the message saying he’s only speaking what God has given him
Rejection of Amos’ prophecies meant rejection of Yahweh. If people were offended by what Amos preached, he was not to be blamed. His reaction to Yahweh’s revelation was inevitable and proper: he repeated it. Amos’ hard words were not his own, but Yahweh’s through him.
Now I’m not saying that each of us is a prophet in the Old Testament sense where we see visions or make predictions
Even those who “prophesy” that way will admit that upwards of 80% of their prophecies are wrong
But look at what Amos says in these two verses
The Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets....
We have His secret counsel revealed to us in the pages of Scripture....
He’s told us what He’s going to do
And even given us a commission to go and tell it
The Apostles in Acts 4:19-20
But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard
We cannot stop speaking about what we have believed
But if I say, “I will not remember Him
Or speak anymore in His name,”
Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And I cannot endure it.
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.
We have the answers that the world is looking for - the answers to these calamities
Conclusion and Application
Conclusion and Application
Hebrews 1:1-2; Colossians 1:26-27;
Men, Amos had the answers for the Israelites - and he told them in advance
We have the answers that the world needs and everything has already been revealed.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Lion is roaring....how can we not speak up?