12/9/2020 - Wednesday Bible Study
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Introduction
When I was around 7 years old I can remember going to the State Fair here in Virginia. I was with my Aunt & Cousin and we went into this little side show tent that had a sign which promised you would see a woman transform into a gorilla. Right before your very eyes you would see this happen. So, we went in & sure enough as I stood there in a crowd of about 20 people I saw this woman become a gorilla. Then the announcer gets frantic and starts screaming something went wrong and the gorilla jumps up from its seat and begins to shake the cage that it is in. Most people become frightened, me included.
I went and saw that show for a 2nd time that day. Sure enough I the exact same thing occured. I thought to myself why in the world would they keep doing this if they can’t control the woman when she becomes an animal. I looked closer this time when the gorilla jumped up and instead of become worried I just looked at the cage & chair. I could see that there were a couple of mirrors around this cage. Though I didn’t know how they performed this illusion I knew one thing was for sure - things were not what they seemed. Tonight we will talk about how things & also people are not always what they seem.
The Basket of Fruit
1 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
The previous visions the Lord gave Amos were much different from the one we read this evening. In weeks prior we looked at the vision of the locusts coming to devour Israel, we read of the vision of fire, & last week we discussed the plumbline. However, Amos is presented with a basket of fruit.
What comes to mind when you think of a basket of fruit. In modern times maybe you would send that to someone as a gift. We keep a basket of fruit on the counter in our kitchen especially during the summer months and a lot of fruit is in season. No matter what you associate with the phrase “a basket of fruit” I doubt it is anything that seems detrimental or off putting. Yet this is the vision God uses when He shares His intentions with Amos.
As Spurgeon points out, “There is a basket of fruit so ripe it has been gathered, and it is a sort of fruit—summer fruit—that will not keep until the winter but must be eaten at once. Amos sees at once that God’s purposes were now ripe with regard to his people, Israel...”
But what is it that Israel is ripe with? With God declaring that an end has come to His people there is really only one logical conclusion we can arrive at. Israel has become ripe with sin.
How quickly has that pleasant image of a basket of ripe summer fruit changed to a description of a time of mourning. Have you ever been at the grocery store and you are looking at the apples or peaches and see that one that looks perfect? You grab that little plastic bag and pick it up. But when you pick it up you notice the whole underside is rotten, severely discolored, not pleasant looking at all?
This is a reminder that appearances can be deceiving. Remember the elite of Israel that were wealthy, lived in palaces, and enjoyed lavish lifestyles that we discussed throughout our study of Amos? From an earthly perspective they had it all. Yet, from God’s perspective these people were ripened to the point they were ready for judgment. Even though they may have looked good, they were rotten to the core.
The Wailing
3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: There shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
We begin worship services at Grace, much like many other churches, with songs. Songs of praise are generally sung by either the congregation, the Worship Team, or a special singer.
This was common for Israel as well. In Exodus 15 we read about Israel singing when the were delivered out of the hands of Egypt. In 1 Samuel 18 we see singing when David & Saul wiped out the Philistines. 1 Chronicles 15 tells us how David chose 4,000 Levites to serve as musicians in the temple.
It was ordinary for their to be singing and praises lifted to the Lord in Old & New Testament times as well as modern day. Yet we are told that the singing would change. The singing would become howling which can be translated as wailing or weeping. Songs which lauded God would become songs of lament.
Why will the people be so stricken with grief? Verse 3 tells us. There will be man dead bodies or countless corpses everywhere. There would even be bodies in the very temple where the howlings were coming. We know the presence of dead bodies in the temple would defile it. Consider Ezekiel 9:7 which says, “And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.”
Change was going to come to Israel. The time of celebration and excess was coming to an end and this is how it would look once that transition had taken place. The outlook was grim to say the least.
The Sabbath
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, Even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? And the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, Making the ephah small, and the shekel great, And falsifying the balances by deceit? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of shoes; Yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
We have discussed in great detail about the sinfulness of Israel while going through the Book of Amos. But we see something that should really stand out to us in verses 5 & 6.
The people of Israel would want to know when the Sabbath is over. Why? They wanted to get back to business as normal. They wanted to go back to unfair business practices as the Bible tells us to falsify the balances of deceit. Do you think these people observed the Sabbath. Sure, a form of not doing shady business for a period of time. But they could not wait to get back to their “business as normal”.
What is the Sabbath supposed to look like? Leviticus 23:3 gives us that answer when it says, “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.”
In short, the Sabbath is day to rest & to worship God.
Did these people do that? No. As Matthew Henry touches on this subject he said, “They keep up a show & form of godliness...but they were soon weary of them, and had no affection at all to them, for their hearts were wholly set upon the world and the things of it.
Let that be a challenge for you & me. When we go to worship on Sundays do we do it just for show? Or do we do it because we have a genuine desire to worship God?
Israel had the appearance down, but failed because the intent of their heart was to get the day over with so they could go back to worldly things. Going to church does not absolve you of sin. Keeping the Sabbath does not directly put you in favor with God. Keeping the Sabbath is a fruit that is displayed when you are truly one of His. Keeping the Sabbath does nothing for the individual that disregards God’s Word or His will the rest of the week.
Conclusion
What can the Follower of Jesus Christ take from these 1st 6 verses of Amos Chapter 8. In one word, genuineness. Or in the case of Israel lack thereof. Are you an legitimate Christian? Does what you do day to day glorify God? Do you only do what you do to keep up appearances? If it is just for appearances then you will not find any comfort in prayer, you will not take anything away from sermons, you will not feel edified with the reading of scripture. But if you are the real thing, if you are a Follower of Jesus Christ then the fruit you show will not be rotten or ripened for judgement. The words written by the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit in Colossians apply to you.
4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
Let’s Pray
Spurgeon. (2017). The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes (p. 1210). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Eze 9:7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Le 23:3). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1516). Peabody: Hendrickson.