A brief summary of the Bible’s message is that God is active in the world. Out of love, He desires to bless the inhabitants of the earth.
He calls people to Himself and invites them into a relationship with Him. In that relationship, He wants to use them to be a partner of His blessing.
What happens when the people who have been called to be a part of God’s blessing to the world disregard their relationship with God and fail to be a blessing on the earth? What is He to do?
This is the message of Amos to his people and us today.
Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities. (Amos 3.1-2)
God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and established a relationship with them. Their identity is rooted in this relationship.
God proclaims that He knows Israel. Regrettably, they have reached a point where they no longer know Him.
Hosea identified the problem. Notice what God’s people lacked in their relationship with Him.
Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel, for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty and no knowledge of God in the land.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge! Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me; and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children (Hosea 4.1 and 6).
God calls us into a relationship with Himself, and He expects us to be faithful and loyal to Him. He expects us to know Him because to know Him is the greatest privilege of all.
However, when we reject that knowledge because we choose our self-will, we fail in His purpose for our lives.
The tragic history of God’s people is that the very people who have been called to represent Him to the world take that blessing as a personal privilege and refuse to join God in His redemptive work.
This is true in Jewish history and has been true in the Christian church for centuries.
Seven Questions – One Important Conclusion
Many people think that God, once in a relationship with them, will protect them regardless of their actions.
The Israelites believed God would guard them, but they neglected to consider that their covenant with Him at Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 27-28) involved not only blessings but also curses if they broke their part of the agreement.
Like the excellent preacher he was, Amos used seven questions to bring home the point that, as the prophet, it was his duty to give them the bad news.
They had broken the covenant and God was bringing judgment upon the nation. The climax of Amos’ question revealed the prophet’s responsibility to proclaim this fact.
Surely the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy? (Amos 3.7-8)
In effect, Amos’ seventh question could be paraphrased, “Do you really think that God would never punish you, even if you deserve it?” or “When I prophesy disaster from God, am I not doing exactly what I ought?”
The true prophet cannot ignore God’s voice any more than sensible people can ignore the roar of a lion.
If God has spoken to someone, can that person be expected not to prophesy?
To be chosen is to be obliged to obey. The people had forgotten that point, but Amos certainly did not, nor should we.
A Challenge to Christians Today
When God called us to Himself, He did not give us a free ticket to heaven with no responsibilities. He didn’t call us to live like everybody else in the world and still be blessed with a mansion on a hilltop in the next life.
Instead, He called us to live with Him in a relationship, the most blessed relationship of all, and to help other people enter into that life as well.
He provided the Sermon on the Mount as a guide for behavior that contrasts with worldly ways. We cannot mimic worldly lifestyles and simultaneously expect God’s blessings.
We must take Amos’ message seriously and respond with complete commitment.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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