AMOS X
Notes
Transcript
Punishment of Self-Indulgent lifestyle (Pride)
Punishment of Self-Indulgent lifestyle (Pride)
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
and everything in it.”
9 If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash the great house into pieces
and the small house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”
Breakdown
6:8-11 Coming destruction
6:12-13 Punishment
6:14 Coming defeat
It seems the announcement of punishment is getting severe.
What God hates, detests and will punish are obvious.
In the previous chapters and verses of Amos, God’s announcement was mainly targeted towards possessions and the actions of the Israelites.
It says in
18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
Now, God is targeting the heart, very core and centre of the issue.
When Jesus taught what I just read in Matthews, what we say and what we do begins from our heart.
What have long been in the hearts of Israelites, have been manifested in their life-style, and their actions. What is deeply rooted is their hearts have controlled their lives and led to judgment and punishment!
FRUIT of PRIDE
Spiritual blindness
Hard heart
Malicious spirit
Injustice
Oppression
Contempt for God
Lebo Hamath - Northmost boundary
Arabah - Southmost boundary
And those who bear the fruit of the pride will face hostility, judgment, punishment and destruction by the hands of those who GOD will stir up. Starting from Arabah all the way up to Lebo
One thing we need to note here is God referring Israel as Jacob.
Jacob
Jacob
Not only in Amos, also in other parts of the bible, two names are used in parallel.
Life of Jacob
Jacob, in his life have been protected and provided by God in many different ways.
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.
Almost every time he really needed help, God will provide and protect every path of his life. Even when he was in great fear, God had already prepared his path. Not once, not twice but numerous times. Even at times when he wasn’t aware of GOD continual work.
It even says in
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Despite reassurance of God’s continued protection, Jacob never overcame the fear and anxiety.
There are many occasions in the bible that give an honest portrait of Jacob as a deceiver who thought he could succeed through trickery and human calculations - very heart that God is JUDGING the ISRAELITES for in todays bible verse - also the very fruit of the PRIDE.
In the social structure of his time his aim was to receive Blessings of the firstborn.
But the paradox of Jacobs life was that his schemes and efforts appeared to be effective. He did receive the blessings of the firstborn, his hard work and scheming in Laban’s household did win him prosperity, and most decisively his apparent victory over God at Peniel resulted in God’s blessing and the symbolic change of his name to Israel.
Jacob could be regarded or seen as a hero of the faith attesting to God’s faithfulness and grace. But as shared earlier, he was a person who always had issues TRUSTing and RELYing on GOD alone.
Jacob, as ancestor of the nation of ISRAEL, which also is Jacobs new name, BECAME THE PROTOTYPE of his descendants. Indeed of the entire nation of Israel frequently displayed the same MIXTURE OF FAULTS AND FAITH.
Our PRIDE and our FAITH
Our PRIDE and our FAITH
Its this unfaithfulness, especially their arrogant dependence on their own strength, the fortress and the army.
The principle at work in their arrogance is from their pride in national accomplishment.
We all, somewhere in our own hearts, struggle with similar or same mind, heart, and same self indulgent lifestyle, that is derived from our own sense of accomplishment and pride.
Israel’s pride was the wealth they accumulated.
Israel’s pride was their fortification and military success.
Israel’s pride was the source, or should we say SEED that was planted in Israel’s heart to NO LONGER RELY and TRUST GOD.
What are some seeds of PRIDE that is in your HEART that causes you no longer SEEK GOD, no longer TRUST GOD and no longer RELY ON GOD? or to think that with you own power, own might, own will and strength CAN ACCOMPLISH AND FULFIL your?
Career?
Wealth?
Relationship: Friends, Family
Your personal desires and life goal?
What are some STRONGHOLDS in your life that God is ready to punish and destroy?
Pride: Accompanied by temporary prosperity
Pride: Accompanied by temporary prosperity
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
This is very thing we all observe.
The sinful who are deceiving, cunning and crafty accumulating wealth. They get to do everything they wish and hope for for their lives.
All the wealth, all that they posses, and all that they accomplished will be meaningless with out GOD.
Ecclesiastes says “Meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless”
Those prideful who have accumulated wealth, or have evil and ungodly heart will SOON be PUNISHED!
Pride: Will be PUNISHED
Pride: Will be PUNISHED
5 The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
and everything in it.”
God absolutely hates the PRIDE.
God absolutely detests the fortresses and the wealth one possesses outside GOD and his provision.
God will SURELY punish the pride!
Overcoming PRIDE
Overcoming PRIDE
RID: False belief of your self
RID: False belief of your self
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Don’t think you have power to CONTROL every part of your life.
Don’t think you have power to CONTROL your destiny.
God will humble the proud
God will humble the proud
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Ask God to humble you!
TURN away from WICKEDNESS
TURN away from WICKEDNESS
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
After you have ask GOD’s help, and as he continues to provide, protect and also warn you with all the danger signs, commit to TURN AWAY AND RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, AWAY FROM THE TEMPTATIONS OF PRIDE SEEPING in to your hearts.
You do that in FAITH
You do that in TRUST
You do that in JOY
You do that seeking face of the LORD
CONCLUSION