All We Can Do Now is Prepare (Amos 3:9–4:13)
When I was young, there used to be times when a preacher would come along and his messages would impress people and they would gather to listen to him, sometimes night after night. He seemed to address the hour, to call people to reflect on where they were, and call for a response. Then, after a while, he would go away. Did his words have a longterm effect? They always did have, although the effect might not always be positive. As Paul says, a sermon is either leading to life or leading to death.
Something like that happened with Amos. He appeared with a message for Israel and they did not know how long he would stay. Yet his sermons would have longterm effects and indeed he was aware of that as he spoke to the Israelites in the passage we shall think about together. Our approach will be to consider under several headings what he said to them, and then focus on some applications to ourselves.
Calling of witnesses to observe
No doubt, we all like an innovative preacher who stirs our imagination. Amos used several ways to alert his listeners to the importance of his message. We can see one of them in 3:9-12. In those verses God asks for people from other nations to verify his complaints against Israel. What people would God use? Surprisingly, he mentions the Philistines and the Egyptians; they were not known for their righteous acts. This does not mean that they literally assembled on the mountains around Samaria – the prophet is using them as an illustration. But if they had done so, what would they have seen from such a distinct viewpoint?
God, through Amos, tells readers the answer to that question. The witnesses would have seen violence, injustice, and oppression in the streets and homes of Samaria. The sins would be so obvious they could be seen from miles away. Therefore the inhabitants deserved the judgement that was coming when they would be overthrown by a powerful invader (vv. 11-12). All that will left of the capital city is illustrated from the remains of a sheep eaten by a lion – the items of furniture would be too small to be worth anything to anyone.
The sins of the merely religious
God calls on Amos to specify in more depth the sins of Israel that would bring about divine judgement. The first that he mentions is their religious practices at Bethel. It was there that the first King Jeroboam had set up a place of worship in order to prevent the Israelites at that time from going to the temple in Jerusalem. Overtime, the practices increased. He had set up one altar, but now there were several. The growth could never improve the situation because whatever worship took place at Bethel was offensive to the Lord.
The second sin that Amos mentions is the selfishness of the wealthy classes expressed in their luxurious living. It was customary for them to have houses at lower levels in the winter and at higher levels in the summer. The prophet mentions the abundance of ivory that was imported from abroad. Their homes were well-decorated. When the judgement came, those houses would disappear, destroyed by the invading army who would flatten everything.
The third sin that the prophet highlights is the behaviour of the prominent women of Samaria, here described as the ‘cows of Bashan’. We may wonder why women are highlighted. One suggestion is that normally women are more compassionate than men, but that was not the case with the women of Israel. Instead of helping the poor and needy, they participated in their oppression. Indeed, they seemed to have been consumed with pleasure, even ordering their husbands around, in order for them to obtain more drink. So the women were cruel and drunk.
The holy response of God
It is obvious from reading this account that the sins of Samaria would have been offensive to the Lord. We can see how offensive they were by his response described in verse 2. The Lord swears by his holiness that they will be led away into captivity (it was common for the Assyrians to link their prisoners together by a rope put through hooks inserted into their noses). The location of their exile is stated, a place called Harmon, which cannot be identified with certainty today.
What does it mean for God to swear by his holiness? It means that he puts all that he is into his oath. Holiness describes the perfection of God, and it will be an expression of his perfection to punish them for their imperfections. When God swears by himself, it means that he is determined to do it. The swearing is for the benefit of the people because it informed them that God was serious. And it is also a reminder that God does everything for his own glory.
The hollowness of mere religion (4:4-5)
Amos now mocks the religious practices that took place at Bethel and Gilgal. He mentions that their religious rituals and actions were not expressions of worship; instead they were transgressions, they were sins against God’s law. It did not matter how many services they attended or how many offerings they made; it did not matter what attention they received from others as they participated in them, it was all a sham. But it is amazing how religious some people like to be regarded, even in times of totally corrupt religion. Externals in themselves don’t really say very much in addition to indicating that a person is religious. Such activities often can be the expressions of a self-righteous heart practising a hollow religion.
The ignoring of divine providence (4:6-11)
Amos then lists several ways in which God had spoken to the people through his providence in recent times. These divine actions were all sent by him in order to cause the people to leave their sinful ways and to return to the Lord. What is mentioned in his list? Amos mentions famines (v. 6); droughts (vv. 7-8); destruction of harvests (v. 9); pestilence (v. 10); and sudden destruction (v. 11). They were designed to bring about repentance.
The Israelites knew that their Lord was the God of providence, therefore they would have recognised that there was a message to them in what was happening to them in the affairs of life. It would not have been difficult for them to work that out. The message was that they should return to the Lord, which of course indicates that they had departed from him, and gone a long distance from him. They would not have seen things that way. Nevertheless, the troubles that Amos listed were God’s calls to his people to reform their ways and to re-dedicate themselves to him. But they did not so. One of these events should have been enough to bring about repentance, but not even a string of them brought that response. We can see that while the divine actions were expressions of his anger, they were also expressions of his desire that they would turn back to him.
The call to prepare to meet God (4:12-13)
God says to them that the previous events in providence were reminders that he acts in judgement, and even as he sent those earlier troubles, so would he send the invading army of Assyria to take them into captivity. Yet he also informed them that they would meet more than the Assyrians because they also would meet God himself. Their priority is not to focus on the Assyrians and their likely actions. Instead their concern should be about meeting the great God of heaven.
What is this great God like? Amos mentions five details about him. First, he is the Creator, the one who builds what we cannot (mountains) and creates what we cannot (the winds). He displays his great power. Second, he announces what people think in their hearts – he is the searcher of hearts, he knows everything about everyone. Third, he can disrupt the course of everyday life, even changing the occasions of light and darkness. Fourth, he walks sovereignly where we cannot – the tops of mountains. Fifth, he has a wonderful name. Here Amos reminds the Israelites that their God is Yahweh, the One who show grace and mercy to those in covenant with him. He is also the God of hosts, the One who has a heavenly army.
The issue they faced was to ensure that that despite their sins and rebellions they should meet with God personally in peace. Nationally, they were finished, but individually there was the possibility of meeting him in grace.
Application
The first application is connected to God’s announcement through Amos that he was going to call on some people to witness what was taking place. It was a means of drawing attention and not an actual observation. But it does allow us to imagine what witnesses would see if they looked at us from a suitable vantage point. We might be surprised as to what they would mention. Of course, in reality, there already are people who watching us.
Second, we should consider what effect the holiness of God should have on us. We are familiar with two Bible characters who experienced meeting a divine Person in this way. One is Isaiah and the other is Simon Peter after Jesus performed a miracle and gave him a huge catch of fish. Isaiah had his experience within a religious location and Peter had his while engaged in activities connected to his employment.
The effect on both of them was that each became aware of their sinfulness. Isaiah exclaimed, ‘Woe is me because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips.’ Peter pleaded with Jesus to depart from him, while falling at his feet. Both were conscious that they were defiling the divine presence. They both wondered how they could remain there.
Although they thought in that way, each discovered that the Holy One intended to use them in his service. Isaiah was given a symbolic depiction of cleansing while Peter was beside the One who was on his journey to the cross to provide the cleansing. It is sinners who serve the Lord in spreading the gospel and witnessing to his grace and mercy.
Third, there is the issue of reality in religion. We have seen that the Israelites had a form of religion that was full of ritual and which was popular with the people. Yet it was an empty religion because the Lord was not involved. What is a key marker in true religion? The answer to this important question is heart repentance. There has to be godly sorrow. Where does that come from? We receive it from the Spirit who works in our hearts to produce it. Why should we have it? The main reason is that we are sinners who are liable to grieve the Spirit. Expressions of our love for God include repentance. There can be joy and sorrow simultaneously when we think of Jesus and when we think of the forgiveness of our sins. They are not contradictions in the life of believers. Rather, they are complementary, evidences of a balanced Christian life.
Fourth, there is the call mentioned by Amos to his listeners, but which also applies to us. The call is, ‘Prepare to meet your God.’ Perhaps we have a tendency to assume that such verses are only for those who are not believers. Obviously, such an exhortation is for them. But it is also a call to those who profess to be Christians. We too are destined to meet with God. It will be great to hear his welcome. Yet we are told by Peter to make our calling and election sure. How do we do that? We search ourselves to see that we have the marks of those who will be safe in the great day. And we hide ourselves in Jesus, the place of security, acknowledging that he alone is the One we trust in.
What is our security as we prepare to meet God? Amos had reminded them of God’s great name as it was known at that time. Our security too is in the name of the Lord. We know much more about his name than they did. We know about Jesus, the One whom God sent to be the Saviour.
Preached on Sunday, 31st May, 2020