Amos 3:1-15. Chapter three contains the next message or sermon by Amos.  Again remember what we have here a shepherd from the Southern kingdom in the Northern kingdom.  Paul instructed Timothy a young pastor to not let his congregation “look down on his youthfulness” (1 Timothy 4:12).  I wonder if Amos got a similar vibe from the Northerners.  The book started out with Amos boldly stating the source of his message, Yahweh in Jerusalem, a message for Israel (the Northern Kingdom).  The first sermon stated out fine with proclamations against enemies of Israel and Judah but then turned to injustice and sin between non-Israelite (Gentile) nations.  But then Amos condemned actions of both Judah and finally Israel.  This second sermon starts our very abruptly too; “hear what Yahweh has spoken against you Israel”.

It seems that this reference to Israel could include Judah too, since Amos says, “against the entire family which I brought up out of Egypt.”  This would be a reference to the whole Moses/Pharaoh/Red Sea story in the book of Exodus.  (Actually Exodus and Joshua.  See “The Old Testament Connection” for a little of this history).  In verse 2 we see that with privilege comes responsibility.  The Israelites were chosen by God to be an example to the world (see “The Old Testament Connection”) but that meant that they were also responsible to live for God.  They had the rules and needed to obey them, but they weren’t.  That is the point verses 3-6.  In those verses Amos asks several questions which people would answer by saying, “Of course not!”  Of course two men to not have a meeting unless they have planned it, of course a lion does not roar if he hasn’t taken down the zebra, and so on.  Verse 7 makes this point very clear, “God has spoken to Amos and Amos has to pass it on.”  The cool think about verse 7 is that God does not leave us guessing.  God has been very clear with mankind from the beginning, but we still seem to ignore what he has told us.

Ashdod was a major city in the area where Philistines lived (enemies of the Israelites) and Egypt was a major power to their south.  In verse 9 Amos is basically saying, “Pull up a chair and what what is going to happen in Samaria.”  Samaria was the capital city of the Northern kingdom and here refers probably to the whole kingdom.  In verse 10 this world audience is told that the people of Samaria don’t know how to do what is right.  By the way a citadel is a fortress or castle usually on a high place.  The audience is told that the Northern kingdom has stored up violence and destruction in their fortress.  It is ironic that the audience is described as Egypt and the Philistines since both of these groups were known for their own violence and brutality.  Amos probably did not literally send his message to these foreigners (though they would eventually become aware of any trouble that Isreal suffered) so part of what is going on here is that Amos is trying to get the Israelites to listen; in a way he is comparing the Israelite’s actions to those of their enemies.

In verses 11-15 Amos tells the people of the Northern Kingdom that they will be “snatched” from the land, that their place of false worship, Bethel, is gong to be destroyed, and that their easy life was going to be no more.

What I like most about this whole chapter is that God is very clear with us.  God does not leave us guessing.  We have his word and we have his warning.  I also like how aware God is, he used good examples when chose the “audience” to watch; those example would have made the Israelites really think about what they were doing; or should have.  God is clear to us too, we have the Bible and we have history and archaeology to back it up, but often we do not take the time to read and study and learn what it has to say to us.  We can close our eyes but that won’t save us from the judgment of God.  Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to God except through me.”  We need to open our eyes and see the great love God has for us and let him help us live for him before the disaster comes.

God thank you for loving me.  Thank you for dying to pay for my sins.  Thank yo for cleaning me up and making me a suitable place for your Spirit to live.  Thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps me do what I could never do on my own, honor you with my life.  You have spoken, help me listen.

Amos 2:1-16.  Today we continue the “oracles’ we started yesterday.  These are mini-messages within Amos’ first sermon or talk that he gave to the Northern tribes.

The next oracle, the sixth in this set, is about Moab.  We have already seen God proclaim that he is going to judge the Philistines and the people of Tyre along the coast, Syria to the  north, and both Edom and Ammon to the east for the way they have treat the Israelites.  Now the warning of judgment is going to another group of people to the east, the Moabites.  Moab was located east of the southern half of the Dead Sea just above the territory of Edom.  The interesting thing about this proclamation is that Moab is being condemned for actions against Edom not against any of the Israelites.  As we saw in our recent reading in Joel God is concerned with all people and is gong to deal with the sins (disobedience and rebellion) of all men.  God’s judgment and love apply to all people.

The next oracle is about Judah.  Wait a minute; back up the bus, Judah?  They are Israelites, you know, God’s chosen people.  So we see that God will judge even his chosen people.  Now I’m sure the people in the Northern Kingdom didn’t object to this too much but they should have felt the heat being turned up.  Notice that Judah is being condemned not for how they treated others but for their attitude toward God and his rules.  I just read a little thing on the internet this morning about how certain celebrities have spoken out about homosexuality in the recent past.  The interesting thing is there were two distinct groups; those who pointed out that God is not in favor of it and another group who were rude and disgusting in their remarks about homosexual people.  On the other side people want to paint homosexuality in a good light, “It’s just their way of loving each other.”  The problem is God’s rules are God’s rules and breaking them is wrong, that goes for homosexuality but it also goes for lying, adultery, stealing, fornication, hatred, disobeying parents.  The list goes on and by the end we all find that we have failed.  That doesn’t mean that we can forget about it.  We need help, help to live lives which honor God and that is where Jesus comes in and, as we saw in Joel, the Holy Spirit.

The eighth and final oracle in this set is against Israel.  No surprise there.  Their current disobedient lifestyle is condemned and involves oppression of the others and some of the sins mentioned above.  Verses 9-16 may be an extension of this oracle but in them God reminds the Northern Israelites of the great things he has done for Israel (the whole nation).  He displaced a strong people who had lived in the land so they could live there, he brought them out of slavery in Egypt to live in the land, he took care of them for forty years in the desert even as they were being punished for their rebellion.  He also gave them prophets to keep them on track and showed them how to put aside their personal desires to live special dedicated lives for a time (that’s what Nazirites were about, Numbers 6;1-21).  Instead of honoring those who were trying to honor God they pushed them around and made fun of them.  That sort of sounds like the people who are making fun of and worse, those people I mentioned above who are standing up for God and his standards.  Notice God’s response in verse 13, he is weighed down.  It’s not that God is not strong; he is indicating that it makes him sad.  But God’s sadness will not divert him from doing what is right, sin has consequence and in this case the people will suffer for their disobedience.

I think it is important to think back to the first oracle in today’s reading as we look at the end of this chapter.  God hates sin and will punish it, that is what al of these oracles are about, but God loves sinners, that is what Jesus is all about.  Notice that the “sin” of Moab was disrespect for a king of Edom.  I think we need to respect God and his Law (remember that is what Judah was condemned for not doing) but we also need to show respect for others.  It is wrong for people to be rude and disrespectful of others and it is also wrong not to honor God with our lives and the things we say.  We need to be clear about the things that please and displease God but we need to do it in a respectful way.  God gives each human being a chance and a choice.  Heaven is open for all and as Paul taught in Romans (3:23) none of us deserves it.  But the other side of the coin is that not all will go to Heaven, there is judgment for those who reject God offer of peace.  We need to be careful that we do not cloud the message of divine love and divine judgment by our personal actions.

God help me not be “self-righteous”.  Let me be clear about sin and it’s effects, first in my own life and by example and words help me help others see their need for Jesus.  Let me be an ambassador of your love and righteousness not of my own hatred and self-righteousness.