Messiah in the Minor Prophets Pt 2

1 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.

The prophet Amos minister just before the time of Hosea, somewhere between 760-755 BC. He also primarily preached to the northern kingdom of Israel just before its destruction and exile in 722 BC.

He was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore figs. He ministered during the “Silver Age” of Israel’s history. It was a time of prosperity and relative safety. Amos warned Isreal that she was guilty of sinning again and again and even forgetting how to do right. Thus, Isreal was ripe for divine judgement!

The primary message of the prophet Amos was that God judges and holds all nations accountable for their sins.

Before we get to Amos’ message of hope in the Messiah, we must first understand his primary mission of preaching judgement and repentance to Israel.

A. God roars like a mighty lion in judgement because of sin

Video of Lion roaring!

Amos 1:2 (ESV)

2 “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem;

Illustration: The other day we took the kids to the Madison zoo. When we got to the lion enclosure all of the lions were out of sight. They were in the back area inside some covered cages. We couldn’t see them and the kids were disappointed, but then one of the lions started to roar. We couldn’t see the lion, but we could feel the power of his roar. His roar shook the zoo.

Look at what the Lord’s roar does:

Amos 1:2 ESV

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.”

When God roars in judgement over sin the pasture land and all its inhabitants cower and mourn, and the top of the mountains wither!

Why does Amos begin his prophetic message this way? There was a fundamental misunderstanding of the person and character of God and this misunderstanding lead to wickedness and sin throughout the land of Israel.

What was this misunderstanding?

Amos 6:1 (ESV)

1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria

There was a false sense of security. Remember Amos is preaching during the “silver age” of Israel. There was relative peace and abundant prosperity. Because of these favorable conditions the people of Israel came to believe that they were in a state of security. It did not matter how they lived their life, they were the people of God and God was obligated to bless them. Amos pronounces a woe of this notion. Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria...

Amos 6:2 ESV

2 Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,

Amos, Obadiah, Jonah Preeminent in Leadership (6:1–3)

Calneh and Hamath were Syrian city-states under Israel’s influence. Gath was a Philistine city-state under Judah’s control.

The answer Amos is after is no- Isreal is not better than these kingdoms. If they were conquered, what makes Israel feel so secure?

Amos 6:3 ESV

3 O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?

Israel was putting far away the day of disaster- they did not recognize that judgement for their sin was possible and immanent. They thought that the day of disaster by God was only for the enemies of God. How wrong they were. They fundamentally misconstrued God.

Illustration: Modern day example of a misconception of God: Chelsea Smith, wife of Juda Smith who is the pastor of a mega church called Churchhome. He is also the personal spiritual advisor of Justin Bieber and his wife. Chelsea is also a “pastor” at Churchhome. Recently she was on a discussion panel talking about abortion. And Ps. 139:13 was brought up in the discussion.

Psalm 139:13 ESV

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Chelsea was asked how Christians can basically ignore the teaching of Psalm 139:13 and instead empathize with women that are hurting. She says this, “It’s also taking one verse and making that as black and white as the verses of the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ. It is one verse, verses thousands and thousands of verses that are in the Bible. And we have a conviction that as we look at the Bible we put the emphasis where God puts the emphasis. And He puts the emphasis on love. He puts the emphasis on forgiveness. He puts the emphasis on compassion. And so as a follower of Jesus wouldn’t I put the emphasis there?”

Now it is true that God is a god of forgiveness, and love, and compassion. But God is also a lion who roars in judgement for sin.

Amos 3:8 ESV

8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”

God roars against the sins of the nations and the mountains melt! In fact look at one of the sins that God roars against.

Amos 2:6 ESV

6 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—

“They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals” (2:6). Israel was selling human beings for a price. This most likely is speaking of corrupt judges or jurors who were willing to accept bribes, even a ridiculously low payment (a pair of sandals), in order to take advantage of the innocent (righteous) and the poor (needy). Amos is highlighting the low value that Israel’s elite was placing on human life. Many great atrocities throughout history have their roots in the devaluing of human life (e.g. the holocaust or abortion).

God roars like a mighty lion in judgement for the sin of devaluing human life. And to portray God as only a god of love, forgiveness, and compassion is to fundamentally misunderstand Him!

Exodus 34:6–7 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

It is with this thought that we turn our attention to Amos 9.

This is the context you must understand as Amos finishes his message.

When the lion finally roars in judgement for sin, what will that judgment look like?

Amos 9:1 ESV

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: “Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.

We are not told what altar this is, but Amos is preaching to the nothern kingdom of Israel who had set up their own altars, false altars of worship. God commands for the capitols or the support pillars to be stuck until the foundations shake and the entire temple collapses in on itself.

Why does God want this? To shatter the support pillars on the head of all the people and crush them to death.

Then those who are left, who escape the collapse of the temple God will have them killed with the sword. NOT ONE of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.

I think this is foretelling of the day when Assyria conquered Samaria and took Isreal into captivity. The day when God roared!

Listen to the hyperbole of the poetry God uses to describe this day of judgement.

Amos 9:2–4 ESV

2 “If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. 3 If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. 4 And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.”

Who is the one who brings this judgment? What is the lion who roars like? “He is not a tame lion!”

Amos 9:5–6 ESV

5 The Lord God of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt; 6 who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name.

How can God do this to His chosen people? Isn’t that what Isreal thought? We are the people of God, he can’t judge us! What does God say about that?

Amos 9:7–8 ESV

7 “Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord.

God judges and holds all nations accountable for their sins.

Amos 9:9–10 ESV

9 “For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

God roars like a mighty lion in judgment for sin.

Application: Is this your understanding of God? Do you view God as only a god of love, forgiveness, and compassion? Do you understand that God is also a righteous and justice God who roars in judgment over sin? What about your sin? How does God view your sin? Do we have the same attitude as the Israelites did? “Oh, sin is no big deal. I can sin and sin and God’s grace is greater than all my sin.” Or maybe you might say, “I don’t want to repent of my sins right now and turn to Christ. I want to live it up first and have fun with my sin and then I will turn to Christ.”

Romans 2:4–5 ESV

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

This morning I invite you to see God as a might lion roaring in judgement for sin. Turn from you sin in repentance before it is too late.

B. God offers hope of restoration to even the smallest remnant of His people

At the tale end of Amos’ message, after foretelling of Israel's destruction for their sin, Amos gives a message of hope to the small remnant centered around the coming Messiah.

If God is going to judge Israel so harshly for her sin so that he will destroy it from the surface of the ground, then why offer any message of hope at all?

Amos not only preached a message of God’s judgment for sin, he also preached a message of repentance.

Amos 5:4 ESV

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;

Amos 5:6 ESV

6 Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

Amos 5:14–15 ESV

14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. 15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Even though Israel had commited horrible sins, if she was willing to turn from her sins in repentance God was ready to forgive. Most of the people of Israel did not repent (722 BC happened!), but apparently a small remnant of people obeyed Amos’ message of repentance! And not matter how small the remnant God always leaves his people with a message of hope.

God was going to judge Israel for her sin. God was going to hold the nations accountable for their sin.

Yet, as the prophet finishes uttering his words of judgement, “I will destroy it from the surface of the ground.” He follows it up with a message of hope, “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.”

And central to that hope is the coming Messiah, the one who will restore the kingdom of David.

Amos 9:11 ESV

11 “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,

“In that day” - a reference to the coming Day of the Lord.

“I will raise up the booth of David”- the word “booth” refers to a makeshift kind of dwelling similar to a tent.

In Leviticus 23 God commanded the Israelites to keep the feast of booths (same word).

Here God makes reference to the booth or the tent of David. This likely speaks of David’s dynasty. At one time David ruled as a mighty king over a strong house. Now is Amos’ day that strong house was tottering and in need of repair. It was merely a tent. And it was a tent that had fallen and had many breaches. It was in ruins and needed rebuilding. The king and the kingdom had become a shadow of its former glory.

But, God promises his people that one day He would restore the kingdom of David to its former glory. He would rebuild the house of David. He would repair its breaches and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old. How would God do this? By raising up the Messiah to sit on David’s throne. By establishing Messiah’s kingdom and causing Him to become King with glory as in the days of old.

Notice who will get to share in this glory!

Amos 9:12 ESV

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.

The restored Davidic Kingdom, with Messiah sitting on David’s throne will include “the remnant of Edom” and “all the nation who are called by my name.” Do you know who that is referring to?

C.F.

Acts 15:13–17 ESV

13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

Clearly, James applies Amos 9:12 to include Gentiles. That means we get to be part of Messiah’s kingdom as well! And it was foretold in the OT!

What will that kingdom be like one day?

Amos 9:13 ESV

13 “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.

“The plowman shall overtake the reaper.” This pictures a harvest so abundant that the gathering of one crop will not be finished before time to plant the next crop takes place!

“The treader of grapes him who sows the seed.” The harvest of grapes will be so abundant that the workers who press the grapes into juice will not be able to finish harvesting before it is time to sow new seeds.

The harvest will be so great that the mountains will drip with sweet wine and all the hills flow with it!

Illustration: I love to plant a garden. This year my garden is doing very well. One of the veggies we always plant is cucumbers. Typically, I wait until labor day to plan the cucumbers. And if I am careful and take really good care of them they will last until the first frost, around September or October. Then there is a gap from October until next year at the end of May when I replant my cucumbers. Apparently, when Jesus comes back and establishes his kingdom, I am going to plant my cucumbers in May and in a year’s time when I go to plant my cucumbers again, I am still going to be harvesting the cucumbers from the first year’s planting. In other words there will be an abundance unparalleled to anything we have ever seen. Empty grocery store shelves will be a thing of the past.

Not only that but the quality will be unparalleled. We also love to plant lettuce. The best lettuce is the first growth of lettuce- the first harvest. It is tender and sweet and so yummy. If you cut lettuce correctly you can harvest it three or four times. But, the more you harvest and it regrows the more bitter it gets until you can’t really eat it any longer. Not so when Jesus comes to reign. The mountains will drip with sweet wine and the fills will flow with it. The produce will be in abundance and the quality of that produce will be like nothing we have tasted before.

When Messiah comes it will be a time of great restoration to the creation. And we will be part of that kingdom!

Amos 9:14–15 ESV

14 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. 15 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.

Messiah was a great hope to the people of Isreal for future restoration!

C. Jesus is our hope for restoration and redemption

This same hope of restoration and redemption is given to us as church age saints because of Jesus our Savior.

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Here we see our current situation- sufferings of this present time. But Jesus is our hope and one day He will come again and bring with Him GLORY!

Romans 8:19–22 ESV

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

We too have the hope of seeing the created world set free from the bondage of the curse of sin. We will be part of the that future kingdom where Christ restores the world to its former glory! How marvelous that will be! What a hope we have to look forward to!

But our hope is not only centered on the created order.

Romans 8:23–25 ESV

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Just as Jesus will bring restoration to His creation one day, so he will also bring redemption to us, his disciples! We will be given glorified bodies free from the corruption of sin, fully restored to their originally intended glory. It is for this hope we were saved. We have much to hope for and look forward to.

Our hope for restoration and redemption is centered in Jesus!

Application: Is that your hope? Will you be part of the kingdom? (born again!) Do you long from the coming restoration in the Kingdom? Do you live for the day when the tent of David will be restored? And we the Gentile nations will seek the Lord?

Is the restoration that Jesus will bring one day your constant source of joy and hope?

One error: It is so easy to become earthly minded. It is so easy to place our hope in government, or in our jobs, or in our family.

Second error: So heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.

As Christians, our true living hope is in the coming restoration that Jesus, the Messiah will bring!

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