Amos Part 1
Notes
Transcript
And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
Theme: Because God is just, to protect His Name, He will punish sin.
Personal information
Amos lived 16ks south of Jerusalem and 10ks south of Bethlehem.
Amos worked with sheep and harvested figs.
Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
Sycamore figs are less sweet and smaller than the figs most people enjoy today. They were a cheaper alternative.
Amos and other Prophets.
According to the KJV Bible Commentary, Amos may have known Jonah who was passing off the scene as Amos was beginning his prophetic ministry. Amos and Hosea were co-workers and may even have gone on preaching tours through the land together, although Hosea continued his work after Amos passed off the scene. Isaiah and Micah followed Amos’ ministry and may have heard him preach when they were young lads.
The name Amos means burden. Historically, Oracles were called burdens when they were negative in nature.
I do not think Amos is negative. When you know how to help people but keep quiet, you are saying that it is fine for them to have a lower quality of life. Repentance and turning from sin to God is better!
The time and place of His ministry.
Because we know the dates of the two kings mentioned in Amos 1.1 we have a broad time frame.
We can narrow down the ministry even further with the extra information he gives in 1.1 and archaeological research. It is known that the big earthquake of this time frame was in 760AD. This again, like the locust of Joel, reminds us that God uses nature to get people’s attention.
Reading through the book we see that, while he had some words for the southern Kingdom, his focus was mainly to the Northern Kingdom.
According to 7.10 much of Amos’ prophecy was issued in the city of Bethel - the seat of idolatry and pride in the north.
2.Judgment on surrounding nations (1.2-2.3)
We know God is trying to get their attention because He roars. (1.2)
And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
Amos also uses poetic form to write about serious matters!
English Standard Version Chapter 1
For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four
Throughout the book he repeats the phrase, “The LORD is His name”
7 times. It is a central theme. We repent because God knows best. We follow after what God wants, because a life spent with Him is always better.
English Standard Version Chapter 1
I will not revoke the punishment
“I will send fire...”
“I will break...”
“I will cut off...”
He begins by preaching against people they love to hate.
Amos begins with Syria (1:3–5) and accuses them of awful cruelty in war
Then he points to Philistia (Gaza, 1:6–8) and condemns them for the sin of slavery.
(Tyrus, 1:9–10), and they are also judged for cruel slavery.
Edom is accused of not showing pity but maintaining a constant hatred (1:11–12).
Ammon is judged for bitter cruelty and selfish greed (1:13–15)
Moab for cruelty to Edom (2:1–3)
Judah for rejecting the Law of God (2:4–5).
Israel fell into the trap of cheering for bad things to happen to people they did not like.
God does not approve of this behaviour either.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
The euphoria changes when Amos points out the sins of Israel’s northern kingdom.
the prophet names the sins of the people: bribery, greed, adultery, immorality, selfishness, ingratitude, drunkenness (even forcing the Nazarites to drink), and rejecting God’s revelation.
Even when everyone around lives evil lives, God leads His people.
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
I get it! Some people think they can turn their backs on God and still benefit. Sometimes, and especially during prosperity, it seems that moral behaviour is more work than what it is worth.
However, this is never God’s view!
He has been there for us!
He is there for us!
He will continue to be there for us!
Conclusion: Because God is just, to protect His name, He will call out and then punish unrepentant sinners.
While God did not give His law to the gentile nations, He still held them accountable for their sins against humanity. the Nations had sinned against their “inner law,” their conscience (Rom. 2:12–16) and agains other people who are created in the image of God.
God’s justice eventually caught up with them. God is long-suffering, but He is also holy.
If God remains just with “lost” people for their sins, we know that He will do the same for those who claim to know Him!
1.Do we know God well enough to identify sin?
2.Since we know God is just, how do our lives show the world the benefit of a relationship with Him?