No One is Exempt!

Introduction: 

Today we will begin the book of Amos- Have any of you ever studied this book or can any of you tell me, with confidence, what this book is about?

Before we dive into today’s lesson, we need to understand what is going on in Israel during this time. As we know, the Israelites were God’s chosen people, His children- chosen to represent and spread His love. Through these chosen people would come the Son of God, Jesus Christ! However, the Jews were not living according to God’s purpose and instead they had allowed spiritual darkness to consume their lives.

We just wrapped up our study of Hosea where over and over again, God’s love for His people was put on display- even when they did not deserve it. As we move into the book of Amos, we will see a very similar theme.

Who is Amos?

So who is Amos? And why is His story important?

Amos was one of God’s chosen Prophets.

Occupation: Herdsman or Shepherd, he was a country boy!  Amos 1:1

Character: Humble and Obedient

Amos 7:14-15 “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, 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, and prophesy to my people Israel.”

God didn’t go after the spiritually elite but He picked an average Joe to do His work. The bible is full of stories where God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things because He wants the focus to be on the message-not on the man.

Why did Amos Prophesy?

1.)    Because God told him to go

2.)   Because God’s people needed an intervention

Israel is unaware of the sin they are living in. They have become consumed in their prosperity and have forgotten that these blessings came from the Lord. However, as we dive into Chapter one, it doesn’t initially begin to fault Israel, but instead in CH.1 and Ch.2 we see God punish the corruption of the surrounding countries- Israel’s enemies. Watching the punishment of others makes Israel feel even more entitled to their superior status- “God’s chosen people.”

Why is it that as human beings we love it when our enemies get picked on? When misfortune happens to someone else and not us?

–Example: Speeding Tickets- We all speed from time to time… and we have all also gotten away with it from time to time. Even after we have been given a warning, we may still continue to think we are exempt from the speed limit and when we see someone going 100 on the freeway, our initial reaction is “where is the cop now?” And when we see them pulled over 20 minutes later we are overjoyed that they got caught!

Similar thing happens in Amos 1 and 2 as we see other nations being reprimanded for their sins:

V. 3- “For the three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent.”

V. 6- “For the three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent.”

V. 9- “For the three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent.”

V. 11- “For the three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not relent.”

V. 13- “For the three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent.”

Ch. 2 V. 1- “For the three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent.”

Ch. 2 V.4- “For the three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent.”

And we see this trend the entire way through Chapter one and into Chapter two- it is like: “_ _ _ another one bites the dust.”

In this text, Amos uses a figure of speech to make his point. Seven, the sum of 3+4, is a number of completeness in the Bible. God patiently waited for people to change their ways but the sins of their nations had reached its limit and He had had enough.

Q: What causes God to lose patience with people today?

God will never give up on us. He will always pursue our hearts, no matter how deep in sin we become. But I do believe there is a point where God allows our poor choices to fail us. I am not a parent so I do not know what it must feel like to watch your child fail, but I believe there are times parents must let their child fall down so they can learn. Sometimes we need to mess up and receive our rightful punishment to recognize we were wrong. 

So as Israel hears about others punishment, I’m sure they were cheering…. “Yeah- Go get em Lord!” As if they are exempt from the law and had privilege over their enemies- because they had developed arrogance as the “chosen people” (we can often put ourselves in this category as Christians.)- Do we act like this at times?

Some of us live this way without realizing it (I am guilty of it too)- Like Israel, most of us are extremely comfortable and our lives are pretty great compared to most people in this world. Maybe we have also become too comfortable with our “Christian” title- just as Israel became too cozy as “God’s chosen people.” They lived as if they were superior and believed they were exempt from the Lord’s judgment. They forgot (as we often do) that it was the Lord who had blessed them- not because they deserved it, but simply because He loved them. Just as a parent loves their child.

Deuteronomy chapter 8: This chapter is titled “Do not forget the Lord.” In Deuteronomy 8, we are warned” do not forget the Lord when we see prosperity but instead, praise Him for the blessings. If we do not praise Him, then we will eventually forget that He is the one who has provided for us and this will cause us to be prideful.

Continuing into chapter 9 of Deuteronomy, which is titled- “Not because of Israel’s Righteousness.” In this chapter, God blesses the Israelites with the land he had promised to their forefathers. But this blessing was received as a gift from the Lord’s grace and not from anything Israel had done.

Deuteronomy 9:1-6

Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. ² The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” ³ But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

⁴ After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁶ Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

So often we let the title of “Christian” go to our head and we feel that we deserve something from our title. Just as the Israelites misunderstood their responsibility as “God’s Chosen people,” we fail to understand our responsibility once we claim to be a Christian: we are not exempt. 

Amos 3:2- “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

The Lord tells Israel that because I have chosen you, I am going to punish you! With greater titles come greater privileges but also greater accountability.

This in a way relates to the Parable of the Talents- Matthew 25: 14-30

We are all given a different starting position.  Some of us are born into abundance (five talents).  Others are born into scarcity (one talent).  But what we are given is not what matters; what matters is what we do with it.  The Lord recognizes that life is not always fair, however; our starting conditions are irrelevant.  One person produces five talents, another only produces two, but they are equally praised for achieving a 100% gain. (I want to know where they invested their money!)

But the Man, who hid his one talent, because he feared losing it, was punished for failing to use what the Lord had given him.

Exodus 19:5-6 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you^[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Here we see that there is a condition and that condition is to obey Him. It says the whole earth is His but His treasured possessions are the ones who follow Him. When we fail in our mission, in our purpose (to love and serve God alone) we fall out from under His protection- we are no longer living as the chosen people.

Exodus 22:21- 23:9

·         -Do not mistreat a foreigner

·         -Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless

·         -If you lend money to one of my people who is needy, do not  treat it like a business deal and charge interest

·         -Do not eat meat of an animal torn by beasts

·         -Do not spread false reports

·         -Do not help a guilty person

·         -Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong

·         -If you come across an enemy’s ox or donkey wondering off, be sure to return it.

You may be thinking: “That is the most random list of things I have ever heard!” It lists things as common as false reports (lies) to what to do when you stumble across a run away donkey?

If we are living a true Christian life that honors the Lord, it should be evident in bizarre ways…. True Spirituality is not just about “church” things- but true faith works its way into all of your life, not just in interacts with other believers- but also when interacting with an enemy or stranger.  A Christian should love their enemies and realize they are not exempt or superior to anyone.

Naïve- That is the word to describe my Christian life growing up. I was raised in a Christian home; I went to a private Christian school and went to Second Baptist church. In my world it was the “cool” thing to say you were a Christian. Still, in my grown up life- it is more times than not, the “cool” thing to be a Christian. (Maybe because I am in Houston, Texas and my social scene is often with my church buddies) Yet still, it is unfortunate, that many people who claim to be Christians are repeatedly doing things they shouldn’t. (Myself included) In our culture/ generation- especially those of us raised in a church home- can develop a naïve faith. We think since we have said the prayer of salvation and because we show up on Sunday mornings (most of the time) that we are taken care of. We think we are saved and now free to continue on with our lives.

This is exactly what Amos saw the Israelites doing: They were involving themselves in religious activities but at the same time partaking in sinful activities.  God’s people had failed to understand that they were not exempt, just like we are not exempt.

If we continue to live as if we are exempt, eventually we will not even be able to determine what is right. Amos 3:10- They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.” This is the nature of sin- you think you can kind of do a little bit of it and what starts under your control eventually controls you. Sin takes over our lives and changes our view of what is right vs. what is wrong.

            And here In Amos, God warns us that this way of living will ultimately destroys what we have built up and we will have nothing left.

Amos 3:12 “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric^[a] from a couch.^[b]”

Amos 3:15  “I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,”
declares the Lord.

So as we close, ask yourself, do I seek out God’s word or am I like the people of Israel, comfortable in my ways- seeking after the things of the world? What am I seeking? Do I believe I was chosen to glorify myself, or the Lord- and which does my life reflect?

Seek the Lord and not ________! Do not allow anything to become an obstacle to what the Lord has created you to do.