Amos: Let Justice Roll Down

Introduction

Amos 1:1 ESV

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Amos 5:24 ESV

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 9:11–15 ESV

“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

Amos was a fig tree farmer and shepherd. Some commentators believe that he was a supervisor of fig tree farmers, so he was rather some sort of agricultural consultant - although he wouldn’t have used that terminology.

Jereboam II was was the king of Northern Israel. While Jereboam II was a great military leader and surmounted much wealth for Israel, he was disobedient to God.

Under his reign, Israel’s riches caused them to become spiritually complacent.

They succumbed to much idolatry.

They oppressed the poor.

Amos got to the point that he couldn’t take the sinfulness anymore. So he went to Bethel and started preaching to the people. Amos means, “to carry.” It was a fitting name, because he carried a message of God to the people. The book of Amos is a collection of his sermons.

In Ch. 1-2, Amos’s messages are to the Israel and the surrounding nations.

In Ch 3-6, Amos’s messages are to Israel and its leadership.

In Ch. 7-9, Amos shares the visions given to him by God.

Explanation

A. God’s pronouncement against Isreal and the surrounding nations. (1-2)

God places the bullseye on Israel.

Amos begins to speak against the other nations and their sinfulness, and as he begins, they are far away from Isreal. Gaza, Tyre, and Edom.

The farther Amos goes, the closer to Isreal they get. (Ammonites and Moabites were just across the Jordan River.

Finally, Amos speaks, in detail, about the sins of Israel.

As the oldest sibling, my parents would always get onto my sister first, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t getting in trouble. It meant that I was getting in more trouble, because I knew better.

Israel knew better, and their rebuke was the worse.

What has Israel done? (Amos 2:6-8)

The rich are oppressing the poor. They poor do not have enough money to live, and Israel has allowed them to go into slave-debt without any legal representation. God responds, “Were you not all slaves in Egypt? Is your memory so short to forget that I brought you out of Egypt into this promised land? How could you oppress people in this way while knowing your history?

Israel has fallen into idolatry, and their worship of the Lord is not true.

Have you taken advantage of others? Have you favored people for their economic status over others? Have you been unscrupulous in your business dealings? If so, you share in the sins of the Israelites.

B. God confronts Israel and Israel’s leadership. (3-5)

God said, Israel, I called you to be a blessing for others. You were to be light, an example, a help to the other nations.

I am holding your leadership responsible for how they led you.

I am also holding you responsible for how you loved/did not love the people around you.

Tim Mackie said it best, Great Calling + Great Responsibility = Great Consequences.

Isreal has chosen profit over goodness. They have chosen to worship false idols over God. They have chosen evil over righteousness. They have chosen corruption over justice.

Amos Response is a famous verse, because it became a staple of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech: Amos 5:24 “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” We often fail to read that verse in its context.

Amos 5:21-24 ““I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

The people of Israel will taste what they have made others endure. Nearly 40 years after Amos’s prophecy, the Assyrian Empire (one of the cruelest) would invade and overtake Israel.

I fear church, that God’s judgment is not just coming for America, but it is coming for us, His church. God’s covenant people are not immune to judgment when they have disobeyed God.

We have given ourselves to idols.

We have squandered our wealth on lesser things.

We have neglected the poor.

In an age where we have more wealth than any nation at any time in the history of the world ever, we are less effective, less evangelistic, and less caring about the poor, hurting, and dying than ever.

C. Amos describes his visions from God. May we see how these visions apply to us.

Each of these visions depict “the Day of the Lord” that we talked about last week.

a. A locust swarm signifies a breaking of the covenant.

b. A scorching fire calls to mind the day of the Lord.

c. The plumb line (a cord with a weight on one end) held straight so that one could see if a building was build correctly.

d. One final VISION: The overripe fruit. What does overripe fruit represent? What does it mean when you look at the fruit on your counter and something is overly ripe? You missed an opportunity.

i. Overripe fruit is a missed opportunity.

ii. Your ignoring of the poor is a missed opportunity for love. What could have been great joy, peace, and life - lined up with my calling for you - you missed.

Have you missed an opportunity to love the people around you? Do you feel like God has give up on you?

Invitation

Amos 9:11-15 ““In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

God sent Jesus of the lineage of David. In Chrsit, salvation will come.

Isreal will be rebuilt.

God will revisit them.

He will live among them.

They will not have to worry about being removed.

How do we respond today?

Begin treating people like you worship the God who loves all people. Treat others with respect and grace.

Do not allow your wealth to dull your senses to what God wants you to do.

God will not tolerate idolatry. He will, by his grace, destroy idolatry in us.

The lineage of David, the Christ, will make all things right.