Amos 9_1-15

Secular:

God who loves…
Odd text to talk about it…
But God has made promises to those who follow him faithfully…
Gen 15… Abraham…. God to take punishment
Exodus 20… Moses…. God to be responsible for both sides
Jesus on the cross….
God’s holiness demands judgement
God’s love invites to relationship
God’s mercy commits him to pay the price

Biblical:

Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape. 2 "Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down. 3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them. 4 "And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good." 5 The Lord GOD of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt; 6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name. 7 "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? 8 "Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD. 9 "For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a kernel will fall to the ground. 10 "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.' 11 "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name," Declares the LORD who does this. 13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved. 14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 "I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them," Says the LORD your God.

Personal:

Bribing our kids…
You behave and I’ll…. Take you to DQ for a shake
Do all your homework and try hard and you’ll do well in this class
Pour into your relationship… invest well… and you will have something to cherish…
We know that if they not behave they don’t get the treat
Don’t do the homework…. Don’t do well
Failure to invest in your relationship… your standing on sinking sand…
Scripture talks of blessings and curses…
Apart from God we have curses
In line with God we receive blessing…
It really is a relationship issue

Bridge:

God speaks of a relationship with him that is blessed…

Living to the glory of God
Lives set apart
Loving whom and what He Loves
Love and serve Him

The northern Kingdom… and soon the Southern would fall as well….
God speaks of a relationship with him that is cursed…

Living to the glory of self
Lives set inter-mingled with the world
Failing to love whom and what He Loves
Failing to love and serve Him

God is a jealous God….
He wants to shower you with his Love, grace, mercy, kindness…
He wants you to live eternally sold out for his glory….

Body:

I. I am Warning You

Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.

Lord vs Lord
Identified wrong worship….

And will bring all the alters down….
This was widespread… Jerusalem, Bethel, Gilgal….
And none will escape…
The crime… perverting the religion of Yahweh
Claim to be a believer… and live for the world…
Wrong heart…

2 "Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.

There is no where to hide…
From the heights of heaven to the depths of Sheol (realm of the dead)….
There is no where outside God’s reach…

Comfort to those who follow…
Horror to those who will be judged…
Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains

And there is no one to save you apart from God….
The helplessness curses….

Deuteronomy 28:29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you.
Deuteronomy 32:39 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them.

Now Geographical extremities… protection from humans… not from God
From Carmel… a high and densely forested peak…
To the very depths of the sea….

You are never beyond God’s reach…

Comforting and horrifying

4 "And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good."

Even going into exile will provide inadequate cover….

Another land, another king….
“I will set my eye”… a phrase that mocks their claimed status as “children of God”

Amos breaks into an old Yahwistic hymn…

5 The Lord GOD of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt; 6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name.

Amos is using an old hymn to show that God, because He is holy and just…. Would not just use his power for Israel… but when justified… use it against them!
Yahweh has control of over creation….
It is a reflection too of the Lord vs Lord in v. 4….
Because this right and this power is attributed to the personal name of God… The LORD is His name.

7 "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

In this verse… Amos points them back to say… the rise and the fall of the Nile is the work of God… and Ethiopia is as subject to the power of God….

Israel is not exempt from God’s power

And even more shocking!

The Exodus event… so pivotal in Jewish faith…
God says… I provided an exodus for the Philistines from Caphtor AND
I provided an exodus for the Arameans from Kir!

The Message…. apart from a genuine relationship to God O’Israel… You are just like the neighbours you hate!
Matthew 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

8 "Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD.

"Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD…” same construct as verse 4… expected the phrase to be used in the positive…
Hammering home the point…

Religion doesn’t save!
Religion leads to destruction
Doing without being….

But God made a covenant with Israel…

Those who live for God
Will be redeemed by God
That He would face their punishment
Gen 15…
Exodus 20…
Ministry of Christ

9 "For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a kernel will fall to the ground. 10 "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'

Here’s that promise…

The grain will be shaken…
The House of Israel… those claiming to be children of God…
And they will be sifted…
And those who are apart from the saving grace of God… those doing it in their own strength… the religious ones…. Will perish…
But not a kernel will fall to the ground… But I will not loose one of my genuine children’
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

V. 10 “All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'… it won’t happen to us…

II. Everlasting Promise

Restoration…

11 "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name," Declares the LORD who does this.

Because there are faithful people…
Because God can use this to glorify his name
He says I will rebuild… “the fallen booth… represented the military stronghold”… you will be strong again
I am faithful… even as many of you have not been
David was a powerful and well loved king…
It was the hey-day of Israel… and that will be restored...

Because there are those who are faithful…
And because God promised…

Implication?

Religion in our day
Faithlessness
False hope…
Syncretistic faith…
But God doesn’t abandon!

Blessing…

13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved.

There will be a day when the harvest is so plentiful… you will harvest even before you plant
You will be pressing grapes even before you plant them…
Leviticus 26:5 'Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.”
It points to an eschatological…

When the harvest will be so great…
Hard to notice….

With all the religion around us
That the harvest is massive…
The church is expanding…
That God is at work…

His promises are being fulfilled even in this age

Implication?

Be strong in His strength
Be part of the Harvest
See God at work
Be amazed… pray for His crop here in Squamish
Pray that in rooting out religion… people would see Jesus Christ

14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 "I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them," Says the LORD your God.

God is the God of second chances…
It has become evident…
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
To Israel who went off the deep end… living a religion of works and personal gratification…
This promise is great hope…
To the broken… lost… and wondering in our age…. This is great hope
No matter our sin…
No matter how “unlovable”

Even for those who have persued religion… and soiled God’s name…
Even those who have given their life to God and continue to fail…
When we genuine “put off” religion and “put on faith” He will build in us a relationship against which the gates of hell will not prevail.
Israel has never taken all the land God gave them…
Israel has never seen the full measure of God’s promise
But they day will come….

When religion will be seen for the shallow works it is…
And Jesus Christ will reign in perfection over all his children…
God’s glory will be clear…
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

In a world set apart form God…
Amos is a message of hope…
That things apart form God will fail…
And those who trust will be redeemed…