“Still, I am not a writer. Still, I don’t know where to begin. But Noah was not a ship-builder. Moses was not a leader of men. David was not a prince. Mary was only a child. None of them knew where to begin, but they trusted God to work in and through them. So that is where I am today…”Amos did not make excuses for his lack of training. He was not afraid that no one would listen to him, but he was willing to be obedient to God in a time when others were not, so God used him in mighty ways. He was even included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:10)!
Amos preached the message of God
to both Israel (the northern kingdom) and to Judah (the southern kingdom), but
he also spoke to the surrounding nations of Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom,
Ammon, and Moab. God’s message to all
these peoples was one of judgment. As He
addressed each nation in the first two chapters of Amos, He used the phrase, “Because
of three great sins, no four…I’m not putting up with her (them, in the case of
Judah and Israel) any longer.” These
first two chapters are God’s indictment against the nations. He assures them that He is not blind to their
ways and that He will not tolerate their sin any longer. He reminds Judah and Israel that it was He
who brought them out of slavery in Egypt and blessed them with protection from
their enemies, with prosperity, and with wisdom. But He says He is fed up with their
disobedience and will punish them in order to bring them back to Himself.
“In contrast, I was always on your side. I
destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great
cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I
destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from
Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years and then handed
you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up
some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training
in holiness. Isn’t this so, Israel?” God’s Decree. But you made the
youth-in-training break training, and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t
prophesy!’ You’re too much for me. I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point. I’m
like a wagon piled high and overloaded, creaking and groaning.” (Amos 2:9-13)
Was God being unreasonable? Of course not! He loved His people, but He knew that the
only way to save them from themselves was to punish their disobedience.
“Out of all the families on earth, I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling, I’m holding you responsible for all
your sins.” (Amos 3:2)
And God gave them plenty of warning.
“The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing without
first telling his prophets the whole story.” (Amos 3:7)
Even though God said He was going to judge the
nations, including His own people, He promised that there would be a remnant
left to carry on the covenant He made with Abraham.
God’s Message:
“In the same way that a shepherd trying to save a lamb from a lion manages to recover just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear, so will little
be saved of the Israelites who live in Samaria—a couple of old chairs at most, the
broken leg of a table.” (Amos 3:12)
And then He reminds His people, once again, of
all the wonderful things He had done for them, but most of all, He reminds them
of Who He Is – The Creator, God of Angel Armies!
“All this I have done to you, Israel, and this
is why I have done it. Time’s up, O Israel! Prepare to meet your God!” Look
who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker! He laid out the whole plot before
Adam. He brings everything out of nothing, like dawn out of darkness. He
strides across the alpine ridges. His name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
(Amos 4:12-13)
God said He was sifting His people, just like a
baker sifts flour. All the sin would be
sifted out, leaving only righteousness.
The sinful ones who thought they were safe, those who would not listen
to God’s indictments and repent, would be destroyed.
“I’m still giving the orders around here.
I’m throwing Israel into a sieve among all the nations and shaking them good,
shaking out all the sin, all the sinners. No real grain will be lost, but all
the sinners will be sifted out and thrown away, the people who say, ‘Nothing
bad will ever happen in our lifetime. It won’t even come close.’” (Amos 9:9-10)
But God did not leave the righteous without
hope. He assured them that the remnant
He promised would one day see His Kingdom.
This is a promise to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well
as those of us who have been adopted into His family through the redemption of
Jesus Christ. One day soon, I believe,
Jesus Christ will come again in victory over sin and death and all the world’s
powers. He will set up His Kingdom where
He will rule and reign in peace and righteousness forevermore.
“But also on that Judgment Day I will restore
David’s house that has fallen to pieces. I’ll repair the holes in the roof,
replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David’s people will be strong
again and seize what’s left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my
sovereign judgment.” God’s Decree. He will do this. Yes indeed, it won’t be
long now.” God’s Decree. Things are going to happen so fast your head will
swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up.
Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings!
Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I’ll make everything
right again for my people Israel: They’ll
rebuild their ruined cities. They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine. They’ll
work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables. And I’ll plant them, plant them on
their own land. They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them.”
God, your God, says so. (Amos 9:11-15)
What does all this mean to us today? This is another reason I love the book of
Amos so much. The people to whom Amos
prophesied are not much different than us, so we need to hear what God was
saying through Amos:
- The people were “at ease.” They were self-reliant, not God reliant -- just like we are. We trust in our money, our government, even our religion. God is not impressed with that. He wants us to trust only in Him, The God of Angel Armies:
“The city that marches out with a thousand will
end up with a hundred. The city that marches out with a hundred will end up
with ten. Oh, family of Israel!” (Amos 5:3)
- The people had a false sense of optimism. They thought that the Day of Judgment would never come in their lifetimes. So it is today. No one wants to think that God might judge this world in our lifetime.
Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent
to the fate of others! (Amos 6:4)
- They were absorbed with pleasure and personal beauty.
Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think
life is a party held just for them! Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life
without pain! Those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles! They
could not care less about their country going to ruin. (Amos 6:5-6)
- They had a perverted sense of justice.
Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar and
stomp righteousness into the mud. . . Justice is a lost cause. Evil is
epidemic. Decent people throw up their hands. Protest and rebuke are useless, a
waste of breath. (Amos 5:7, 13)
- Even their so-called worship had become ritualistic, dedicated to programs to make themselves feel good, and their music had become more like the music of the world than praise to God.
“I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed
up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your
religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your
fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I
can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? (Amos
5:21-22)
So what about you? Are you living your life in obedience to The God
of Angel Armies? Even if you are “just a
(fill in the blank)” – a sheep herder, a tree trimmer, a fig gatherer like Amos
– are you allowing God to use you today?
Are you telling people about the soon coming Kingdom of God?
I hope that today you will call out to The God
of Angel Armies, along with me, in this prayer for forgiveness, just as Amos
did in chapter 7, verses 2 and 5:
God, My Master, please forgive me and my nation! What is going to happen to us, since we are so small compared to you?
All scripture from The Message
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