May 21, 2001
Lesson for June 3
EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Amos was bold enough to proclaim God's truth
___Amos 1:1-2:16
___By Jeane Law
___First Baptist Church, Lubbock
___This week we begin a study of the book of Amos, another Old Testament book. It is classified in a division called the Minor Prophets. The last 12 books of the Old Testament fall into this category, as opposed to the Major Prophet books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Lamentations and Daniel. The difference between the major and minor prophets is not one of value but the amount of material written.
___We left David in 1 Samuel to reign as king and now have come 300 years farther through generations to the writings of Amos. The time is about 760-750 B.C.
___Amos was from the town of Tekoa in Judah. Tekoa was about six miles south of Bethlehem and about 17 miles west of the Dead Sea. He was a sheep herder and grew sycamore fig trees in the "Wilderness of Judea" when God called him. This is the same wilderness where God called David while tending sheep. Remember, God looks at the heart. He looked at Amos' and saw loyalty and enough courage to be God's spokesman.
___Amos was a rural man and a layman, not like the wealthy, religious scholars and educated people in the north where he was to prophesy. One writer says he was distinguished by a peculiar forcefulness and rural freshness.
___My husband grew up in the country on a dairy farm. When he began to be a salesman for his plumbing company, he was quite successful. He sold thousands of beautiful bathroom plumbing fixtures through the years. He told his customers he didn't have indoor plumbing until he was a junior in high school, so he thought they were pretty special. That communicated!
___Amos had a certain rugged frankness about him that was effective. He shot straight from the shoulder. He had no problen denouncing sin. He was not intimidated by the wealth or the position of his audience. He wasn't at all like the young preacher who was afraid of the influential members of his congregation and this was the way he soothed them, "You must repent, as it were, and be converted, so to speak, or you will be damned, to some extent."
___God had called Amos to prophesy to his people, and he unhesitatingly obeyed. God requires obedience, not education.
___We will not enjoy these lessons. Although Amos was written about 2,700 years ago, when we read our newspaper we read of the same kinds of sinful actions Amos condemned in Israel.
___Amos 1:1 gives us the time of his prophesy. Uzziah was king of Judah, the southern kingdom where Amos lived, and Jeroboam II was king of Israel, the northern kingdom where God sent Amos.
___He began by saying the Lord would strike like a roaring lion. If you had a map as you read, you could see he first denounced the sin in all the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. He singled them out, one by one, the nations of Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon and Moab. He used the same phrase over and over again with each nation. "This is what the Lord says: For three sins, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath," 1:3. The number three means the measure was full and four means more than full. In our language today, we would probably say, "You sinned one time too many." This is a warning that God can be patient with us for a long time, but we can also sin once too often! God determines which sin is that one.
___The people loved it while Amos was declaring the sins of the other nations. They were probably saying, "You tell 'em Amos. Preach on!" But then he began listing the sins of Judah and Israel, and the joy grew quiet.
___I hope you will read all of the first two chapters of Amos and see how clearly he describes the sins so displeasing to God. He tells of capturing people and selling them as slaves, of killings, of cutting open the stomachs of pregnant women, of being without compassion. He speaks of horrible crimes and promises God would send fire to destroy them, and fire was the most devastating element of all.
___In chapter 2 we read about Judah. She had rejected the law of the Lord and had not kept his decrees. They had been worshipping idols for generations. No wonder God said, "Enough!"
___Israel was condemned because she also ignored the law of God. The people were exploiting the poor, carrying out unlawful business dealings, engaging in perverse sexual sins and worshipping idols. "They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals," 2:6.
___In verses 2:10-12, God reminds them again of all he had done for them because they were his chosen people. They knew they were doing wrong, but they continued to disregard his rebukes, his warnings and his threats, so their time was up. "'Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain, ... the swift will not escape, ... the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,' declares the Lord," 2:13-16.
___We have much to consider in the weeks to come.
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