ADMONITIONS FROM AMOS:
When the Lord Reacts (Amos: 5:16-9:15)
When the Lord Reacts (Amos: 5:16-9:15)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2000
People who live in close contact are often aware of others' vulnerabilities. Kids, for example, know how to tease their siblings. They know just what button to push to get a reaction. My brother was particularly adept at this with our younger sister. At the dinner table, he had only to glance in her direction, and she would invariably whine: "Mom, he's lookin' at me. Tell him to stop." This ability to get a rise out of others is not confined to families but is also possible with total strangers.
The prophets' books are generally compressed accounts of their work, with little indication of how often they actually spoke or of how long they ministered.1 Amos opens with a call for Israel to repent, warning of dire consequences if the people exceed the limit of God's patience. Does the first half of Amos represent a day, a week, or a month of prophetic activity? How many people did his message reach? Amos probably did not present the material in a single session but spread it out over several days in order to reach as large an audience as possible. This gave his listeners opportunities to ask questions and to discuss his warnings. It also gave opponents the chance to argue against him.
At some point, however, the time for repentance runs out and, in the second half of the book, Amos relates a change in God's attitude as the people continue to reject God's appeal, so that...
I. When the LORD reacts, it means the people have sinned.
The fundamental reason for God's displeasure remains the same...
The prophet targets three groups in Israel and paints an increasingly dire picture of what they face. First, there is...
For those who are corrupt or complacent, the woe emphasizes the seriousness of their condition. For the third group, Amos introduces his critique with a different form: an oath. The words, "I promise," flow easily from some people's lips, without any serious consideration of whether or not the speaker will be able to keep his word. God warns against making frivolous commitments.2 In this case, it is God who makes the promise and, unlike us, He has no difficulty keeping His word.3 Third, there is...
However deserving of judgment the corrupt, the complacent, and the conceited in Israel may be, Amos does not want to witness the demise of the Northern Kingdom. Nevertheless, they leave God little choice, for...
Most believers do not speak about social ills outside their own Christian enclave.7 Toleration is the watchword today: Live and let live. Should we adopt the same relaxed attitude? ...While we must not draw too close a parallel between Ancient Israel and the United States, God still expects us to exert a positive influence on our culture—as Jesus says, to be "the salt of the earth" (Matt 5:13). Moreover, the qualities God expected of His people in the eighth century B.C. are the same qualities He values today:
As Amos concludes his prophecy, he may have felt somewhat disheartened. God has given him nine chapters of gloom: To no one's surprise, the prophet's message has not received rave reviews. It is little wonder, of course. Who likes to hear only bad news? Still, that is how it is: When the LORD reacts, it means the people have sinned. Is there nothing he can offer Israel that is the least bit hopeful?9 Indeed, there is one other occasion of divine activity, and Amos devotes the final verses of his book to showing that...
II. When the LORD reacts, it means the people are saved.
Amos gives no reason for the change in God's attitude. Whatever will happen...
Amos is describing God's plan for the nation,10 the completion of which is yet future.11 Those who go into exile will not see restoration in their lifetime.12 Only their descendants will experience the fulfillment of the promise. Nevertheless, the commitment God has to keeping His word to the nation is an assurance we can apply to the promises He makes to individual believers—promises to abide with us, to provide for us, to answer our prayers, to keep us from evil. Whatever pledge He has made to us, we can be sure He will fulfill it. Even when a situation looks hopeless, God can overcome the obstacles and keep His word.
When the Lord Reacts, it is in response to the condition of His people. They have continued to sin, have failed to heed the prophet's warning, and now face the inevitability of God's judgment. Despite the negative tone of these chapters, though, God offers His people a glimmer of hope. It is too late to repent and avoid the Assyrian invasion. Nevertheless, He will restore the nation in keeping with His promise, and His promise to you is equally reliable.
While Bill and Tom were drinking coffee in an all-night café, they got into a discussion about the difference between irritation, aggravation, and frustration. At about one a.m., Bill said to Tom, "I'll show you an example of irritation." He went to the pay phone, put in a coin, and dialed a number at random. It rang several times. Finally, a sleepy voice answered, and Bill said, "I'd like to speak to Jones." "There's no one here named Jones," the disgruntled man replied and hung up the phone. "That," Bill said to Tom, "is a man who is irritated." An hour later, at two a.m., Bill dialed the same number and let it ring. Eventually, the same sleepy voice answered. "May I please speak with Jones?" Bill asked. "There's no one here named Jones!" the man replied angrily and a bit louder as he hung up. "That," Bill said to Tom, "is a man who is aggravated." An hour later, at three a.m., Bill said, "Now I'll show you an example of frustration." He dialed the same number again and let it ring. When the sleepy man answered, Bill said, "Hi, this is Jones.... Have there been any calls for me?" (Adapted from Wright 1985:27)To some extent, the prophets use a similar strategy to get a rise out of their audience, to make them pay attention to the message, as Amos does in describing When the Lord Reacts.
The prophets' books are generally compressed accounts of their work, with little indication of how often they actually spoke or of how long they ministered.1 Amos opens with a call for Israel to repent, warning of dire consequences if the people exceed the limit of God's patience. Does the first half of Amos represent a day, a week, or a month of prophetic activity? How many people did his message reach? Amos probably did not present the material in a single session but spread it out over several days in order to reach as large an audience as possible. This gave his listeners opportunities to ask questions and to discuss his warnings. It also gave opponents the chance to argue against him.
At some point, however, the time for repentance runs out and, in the second half of the book, Amos relates a change in God's attitude as the people continue to reject God's appeal, so that...
I. When the LORD reacts, it means the people have sinned.
The fundamental reason for God's displeasure remains the same...
A. The chosen have rejected His precepts.Because they have heard this before, Amos varies the way he talks about the problem. He uses the "woe". This is not a familiar form to us. Today, when someone says, "Woe is me," it is to elicit sympathy for an unfortunate turn of events. Woe is me...
- I lost my job.
- The car died.
- My girlfriend dumped me.
- I lost my job because I kept slacking off.
- The car died because I never checked the oil.
- My girlfriend dumped me because I was dating her sister on the side.
The prophet targets three groups in Israel and paints an increasingly dire picture of what they face. First, there is...
1. A woe to the corrupt: God will despise you. (Amos 5:18-27)
These are individuals who occupy positions of authority but who abuse that trust. Their influence enables them to shape society, to promote the qualities that characterize God's reign—justice and righteousness—or to subvert those qualities for their own gratification and gain. Their regular attendance at the sanctuary makes them appear pious, but it is a sham. To them Amos says, "God will despise you." Second, there is..."Woe to you.... I despise your religious feasts...your assemblies...your offerings...your songs! ...But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
2. A woe to the complacent: God will deport you. (Amos 6:1-7)
These are individuals who care chiefly for the pleasures of life. As long as they are comfortable, what happens in the rest of society is of no concern. They are oblivious to the moral decline around them. The purpose of their existence, their goal, is to have a good time. From their perspective, the worst that could happen is for the party to end, which is precisely what Amos predicts: When the Assyrians conquer the land, "God will deport you.""Woe to you.... You lie on expensive beds.... You dine on choice lambs.... You strum on musical instruments.... You put on fine lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile...
For those who are corrupt or complacent, the woe emphasizes the seriousness of their condition. For the third group, Amos introduces his critique with a different form: an oath. The words, "I promise," flow easily from some people's lips, without any serious consideration of whether or not the speaker will be able to keep his word. God warns against making frivolous commitments.2 In this case, it is God who makes the promise and, unlike us, He has no difficulty keeping His word.3 Third, there is...
3. An oath to the conceited: God will destroy you. (Amos 6:8-14)
For those who think they are immune to calamity, the woe exposes their vanity. Israel's fortified cities are a source of national pride, able to withstand hostile forces from any of the neighboring countries, so there is little need to depend on God's protection.4 Their arrogance is an insult to the One who protected them numerous times in the past and will, in fact, spell their doom. He will use Assyria, the superpower whose military might crushes all resistance, to remove the façade of Israel's invulnerability. Having ignored Amos's call to repent, the people have lost their opportunity to avoid this calamity. "The invasion is certain, Amos says, "guaranteed by the divine oath. God will destroy you."The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself... "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."
However deserving of judgment the corrupt, the complacent, and the conceited in Israel may be, Amos does not want to witness the demise of the Northern Kingdom. Nevertheless, they leave God little choice, for...
B. The chosen have rejected His prophet.Amos relates his own struggle with a series of three vision reports, descriptions of Israel's future as God revealed it to him. In the prophet's first vision report...
1. Amos prays and God complies. (Amos 7:1-6)
Amos sees God's hand in what most would assume are natural calamities: locusts and fires that threaten to consume Israel's crops, leaving the people without food. In both cases, Amos prays and God complies, limiting the damage and sparing Israel from the threat of famine....5 In the prophet's second vision report...The Sovereign LORD showed me... swarms of locusts.... I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive?" ...So the LORD relented.... The Sovereign LORD showed me...judgment by fire.... I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive?" ...So the LORD relented.
2. Amos prophesies because God compels. (Amos 7:7-8:14)
Amos sees the Lord holding a plumb line, a builder's tool that measures the straightness of a wall. What God has Amos tell the people is that their lives are not plumb—not in line—with God's law. The priest at Bethel takes offense at this characterization and at the dire consequences Amos predicts. He tells the prophet to take his unwelcome message home to Judah. The people of Israel do not want him there.6 Amos is not easily dissuaded. He did not travel north to enter a prophets popularity contest. In fact, this is not even his real job. He is a farmer, but God gave him this assignment. How could he refuse? Amos prophesies because God compels him.... In the prophet's third vision report...The Sovereign LORD showed me... a plumb line....
"I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' Now then, hear the word of the LORD."
3. Amos proclaims that God condemns. (Amos 9:1-10)
In the third of these visions, Amos sees "the Lord standing by the altar" at Bethel when the Assyrian army invades, commanding the enemy troops to destroy the sanctuary and to let none of the people escape. It is a bleak picture of Israel's fate as Amos proclaims that God condemns them.I saw.... "Though they dig down.... Though they climb up.... Though they hide themselves.... I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."
Most believers do not speak about social ills outside their own Christian enclave.7 Toleration is the watchword today: Live and let live. Should we adopt the same relaxed attitude? ...While we must not draw too close a parallel between Ancient Israel and the United States, God still expects us to exert a positive influence on our culture—as Jesus says, to be "the salt of the earth" (Matt 5:13). Moreover, the qualities God expected of His people in the eighth century B.C. are the same qualities He values today:
- Stressing justice and righteousness in dealing with others,
- Desiring personal morality more than materialism,
- Depending on God's sufficiency,
- Heeding the words of God's spokesmen, and
- Conforming to the plumb line of God's law.
As Amos concludes his prophecy, he may have felt somewhat disheartened. God has given him nine chapters of gloom: To no one's surprise, the prophet's message has not received rave reviews. It is little wonder, of course. Who likes to hear only bad news? Still, that is how it is: When the LORD reacts, it means the people have sinned. Is there nothing he can offer Israel that is the least bit hopeful?9 Indeed, there is one other occasion of divine activity, and Amos devotes the final verses of his book to showing that...
II. When the LORD reacts, it means the people are saved.
Amos gives no reason for the change in God's attitude. Whatever will happen...
- The chosen will realize His promise.
1. Israel will be prominent. (Amos 9:11-12)
The restoration God has in store for His people will not just return the Northern Kingdom to its former glory. God plans to bring north and south back together as they were in the United Kingdom under David. A descendant of his will rule, and the reconstituted nation will be a focal point of international attention. Israel will be prominent.... The second change in the end is that..."In that day I will restore David's fallen tent....so that they may possess...all the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD, who will do these things.
2. Israel will be prosperous. (Amos 9:13-15)
There will be no threats to the nation's food supply—not from locusts, not from fire, not from invasion. On the contrary, agricultural production will be so high that harvesting and planting cycles will overlap. Farmers will barely have finished gathering in their current crop when it will time to start a new crop. Israel will be prosperous."The days are coming... when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes.... I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.
Amos is describing God's plan for the nation,10 the completion of which is yet future.11 Those who go into exile will not see restoration in their lifetime.12 Only their descendants will experience the fulfillment of the promise. Nevertheless, the commitment God has to keeping His word to the nation is an assurance we can apply to the promises He makes to individual believers—promises to abide with us, to provide for us, to answer our prayers, to keep us from evil. Whatever pledge He has made to us, we can be sure He will fulfill it. Even when a situation looks hopeless, God can overcome the obstacles and keep His word.
When the Lord Reacts, it is in response to the condition of His people. They have continued to sin, have failed to heed the prophet's warning, and now face the inevitability of God's judgment. Despite the negative tone of these chapters, though, God offers His people a glimmer of hope. It is too late to repent and avoid the Assyrian invasion. Nevertheless, He will restore the nation in keeping with His promise, and His promise to you is equally reliable.
For a pdf including Bibliography and Endnotes see here.
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Jim Skaggs