Judgment on Judah
Notes
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Intro:
A woman attended an evangelistic meeting and was delighted when she learned that the preacher would talk about sin. When he preached against strong drink, she cried, “Preach it, brother!” When he decried against tobacco, she shouted, “Amen!” The minister’s third point was a condemnation of gossip, and she leaned over to her neighbor and said, “Now he’s not preachin’; he’s meddlin’.”
That’s probably a good picture of what was taking place in the preaching service at Bethel as Amos finally hit home. He had denounced the nations surrounding Israel and God’s judgment upon their sin. But now he’s meddling in the affairs of his own people! See Judah and Israel were politically secure but had become so spiritually smug that they had no clue how bad off in sin they really were. But Amos is fixing to reveal their sin.
Text; Amos 2:4-5
4 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.
5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
1. God shows no Partiality; 4
1. God shows no Partiality; 4
Amos has brought the message of God’s judgment upon the nations who have sinned against Him and Israel. And now God, being a just and holy God, must bring His message of judgment to His very own.
God shows no partiality! God judges all sin!
19 Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands.
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
God does not show partiality toward them because of their position of privilege. Being “God’s people” does not create immunity to the judgment of God but in fact increases accountability, because we know better!
2. They Despised God’s Law; 4
2. They Despised God’s Law; 4
The previous 6 nations were judged by the “everlasting law/moral law” given to Noah by God;
5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
Every sin of the other nations was against humanity
Turn to the Book of Romans [Rom. 1:18-20, 2;11-16], God has placed within the conscience of man the ability to know the difference between right and wrong!
But the nation of Israel [Judah/Israel] had been privileged to receive the Mosiac Covenant/Law, so they are unquestionably without excuse in their sin!!
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
Despise- to feel contempt towards, disgust with, not valuable
Let me give you a summary of the Bible
God’s word is written first of all that man can by faith enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. [justification]
Secondly it is written so the believer can have life abundant in Christ here and now [sanctification]
Thirdly it is written so the believer can live with hope of Christs’ return to reward His own eternally in heaven [glorification]
Now, why would anyone who had been given this privilege, and accepted these blessing on God’s terms, despise that? Selfishness, which leads to disobedience.
And when someone despises what they have been blessed with in Christ, shouldn’t they be held to a higher standard than others who do not believe? Yes!!
48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
When the natural man sins, its because thats what he knows. When a Christian sins, its because he despises the Word of God!
3. Led Astray by Lies; 4
3. Led Astray by Lies; 4
James Montgomery Boice says (1) if you reject the Bible, you will reject the Bible’s God, and (2) if you reject the Bible’s God, other gods, idols, will come in to take the true God’s place.
[4b] Lies- false gods, to deceive, leading someone away from the truth
These lies had led Judah to believe that they would find their religion to be more satisfying if they worshipped a god that they could see with their own eyes.
Aaron makes a golden calf, Israel asked for a king [Saul] like other nations, carved images and idols became competitors for the worship of Jehovah God.
They walked by sight instead of by faith!
In like manner there are competitors for our heart/worship today and we are led astray by them.
Athletics/Recreation- we would rather see our child win a trophy that can be broken or tarnished, than to see them accept Christ as their Savior and receive an eternal reward in heaven.
Materialism- we put our faith in material things whose only concern is money, which is temporary. Can you buy love? Can you by happiness? Can you buy Forgiveness? Can you buy Eternal Life?
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Religion- we come to church to be seen and heard but not to serve. We sing songs without meaningful worship and pray without sincerity. We give our tithes grudgingly or not at all instead of with a devoted heart. We have access to the Gospel that can change the World, but we haven’t even allowed it to change our own lives. We are content to play church instead of being the church!
12 My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.
[4c] Led astray by previous generations - the influence of parents and grandparents brought about the fall of Judah. Instead of looking at the former generations mistakes as warnings they took them as a pattern for their lives and changed the truth of God to a lie.
Our kids today either come to love the Lord or the world primarily through what they see in us!
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
7 “The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;
9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Close;
Judah was punished for their sin in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, slaughtered the royal family, burned the temple, the palace, and all houses in the city, and carried almost the entire population of Judah to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1–12).
Do you know Christ this morning?
Have your sins been forgiven?
Are you walking in righteousness?
If not then you are despising God’s law and your sin will be judged!