Amos 5:1-17. This final “sermon” or message (though not the end of what Amos has to share with the Israelites) is longer than the first two (the first sermon or message was Chapter 3 and the second was chapter 4) and so we are going to divide it up over three days. Also this message covers both the actions of the Northern Kingdom at the time of Amos and looks at the bigger picture of the end of history and into eternity. If you read through Joel you might remember “the Day of the LORD”; that subject will come up here in Amos. That gives us more and different things to think about with this message, so it’s good to take it in steps. It is interesting that most of us think of a prophet as someone who tells the future but most of what a prophet is concerned about is here and now (see “What Profit?”). Prophets in the Old Testament did foretell the future with amazing accuracy (100% so far) but most of the talk about the future was to help the people in their day (and us too) think about eternity and their eternal relationship with God.
Amos starts this message out by saying he is in mourning, Israel is dying and he is sad. Obviously at the time Amos wrote Israel wasn’t “dead”, in fact they were living in a time of peace and wealth. But the cancer of their sin was alive and eating away at them, they looked health on the outside but they were sick on the inside and would soon be destroyed (by the Assyrians in 722 BC). After describing the decline of Israel in verses 1-3 we again see God calling the people to come back to him. In both verses 4 and 6 God calls them to “seek him and live”. God is always concerned with our well-being. But we need to come to God in his terms; in His way. They were told not to try to come to him by going to Gilgal and Bethel, their two places of false manmade worship. He also mentions Beersheba which was a place in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In their ancient history Jacob (Israel) made an offering there while on his way to Egypt (Genesis 46:1) and it appears from Amos that it was still used as a place to make offerings but it was not God’s approved place and no mater how close it was to Jerusalem it would still not do. In verse 6 when God asks them to look to him he mentions the “house of Joseph”. Joseph was one of Jacob’s (Israel’s) twelve sons. When the land was divided however his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh were each given a portion. This was because of a blessing that Jacob (Israel) had given these two grandsons before he died in Egypt. Ephraim and Manasseh were two of the ten Northern tribes. The “House of Joseph” is a way of referring to the Northern Kingdom. The fire is a symbol of God judging the Northern Kingdom and verse 6 tells us it is because of “Bethel”. God is very serious about true worship. Honoring God must be done according to his rules. Not to long ago I had a guy who was a Mormon ask me what kind of church I went to, when I told him it was an independent Christian church he said that he was Mormon and then said, “Same god, different place.” Wrong! Change much and you change the god you are honoring, this even went so far as the place of honoring God. Now, though, the place isn’t as much of a problem but who you are honoring is. A Samaritan woman asked Jesus about honoring God and mentioned this who idea of where. Jesus answered that now, because of who he is (God in Human form) the important thing was to honor God in fact (truth) (John 4:7-24). You need to be careful that you are living for the one true God. Verses 8-9 make it clear that we are dealing with the creator God of the universe; the one described in Genesis 1. Any substitute is an invitation for disaster.
Verses 6-7 also make it clear that part of true worship of God involves real justice (treating others with care, mercy, and respect) and living in a way that God would approve of (righteousness). This reminds me of Jesus answer to the lawyer who wanted to know which of the commandments that God originally gave to Moses was the greatest. Instead of one Jesus answered with two; love God and love your neighbor. You cannot love God without caring for those God cares about, and that is everyone.
Verses 10-13 continue the idea of not treating people well and the problem of selfishness. Amos also deals with how hard it is to stand up to these selfish rich people. In verse 10 he talks about how these selfish hate those who point out their selfish lifestyle. In verse 13 point out how people wind up keeping silent so they will not suffer at the hand of these powerful and selfish people. Acording to Amos it is an evil time. What a change from wht life was like when the creator God finished his work on day 6 of the creation week and declared that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
In verses 14-15 Amos encourages the people to turn away from their evil if they do God will return to them and be forgiving. In verses 16-17 God says that because of their continuing evil there is suffering in their land. God is in the land and because of their evil and his holiness there is trouble.
God is holy and if life is not lived his way there is trouble and there is going to be even more trouble in the future. That is because God is involved and cares. There is hope though, if we turn back to God and honor him properly he will forgive. But we must honor him in spirit (not just in a pretend way) and in truth (we cannot make up a pretend god according to our own plans).
God I am glad that you are open and honest with us. I am glad that you have made who you are and what you like clear. I am sad that I have not always honored you with my life. I am glad that you know that and have made a way for things to be right, Jesus. Because of Jesus all my failure is forgiven. Because I am forgiven your Spirit, the Holy Spirit, can now lie in my life alongside my spirit guiding me. Thank you for the help. Let me clearly know what pleases you and give me the courage to follow your Spirit. Let me turn to you in all I do and thank you for your patience and forgiveness when I fail.