Amos 3:7-8: revelation and roars
For 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.
Israel tried to silence the prophets. Amos 2:11-12 indicted Israel for shutting them up. Now we discover why. At first glance it looks like the prophets are the most important part of this situation. It looks like God really values the prophets, therefore Israel should not shut them up. But there is something more, as this passage shows us. The prophets are, truly, important. But the reason they are important is that they speak the word of God. It is the word of God that must be protected, spoken, and given freedom. God is angry about Israel shutting up his prophets because God is passionate about his word being spoken. Shutting up the prophets wasn’t just a mean thing to do to nice prophets; it was silencing the word of God. Don’t try to do that to God. He doesn’t take well to it. I would do well to remember Psalm 138:2: I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
God does nothing without using his prophets to speak his word. That is a strong statement. It would have been enough – I would think – for him to say that he usually uses his prophets or that he sometimes uses his prophets. But God clearly says that he always speaks through his prophets. He does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. It is one of those exclusive-type statements, like John 5:19: Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” Or the exclusivity of the classic words of Jesus in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” These exclusively worded passages of Scripture are meant to be just that – exclusive, highlighting an essential truth, pointing to a jarring reality, making me stop and really think through the exclusive language. God does nothing without using his prophets to speak his word.
Though God always speaks through his prophets that does not mean that God only speaks to his prophets. Other passages of Scripture make this clear. Proverbs 3:32 says that the upright, the righteous are in his confidence. Those who are righteous get in on some of these secrets; they are in the trusted circle of God’s revelation. Psalm 25:14 is another beautiful passage that says the friendship of the Lord belongs to those who fear him. And friendship includes the secret counsel, the inner thoughts, the plans of God. God says he reveals to them his covenant. Among other things, this means I should highly esteem and value what God speaks through his prophets – like preachers today. But I must not neglect my own personal pursuit of hearing from God.
God’s prophets are also his servants. They are not merely mouthpieces who live as they wish. Their lives are characterized as lives of servants, slaves, and men under authority. A prophet is a servant of God, speaking what God commands him to speak.
God’s final thrust of duh goes like this: The lion has roared; who will not fear? As Amos shares these very words of God with Israel, he knows that God is highlighting his role as one who speaks the words of God. God is telling Israel that they should listen to Amos and their own prophets. God has spoken! And the language he uses to describe his speaking should make them shudder in fear. He doesn’t say that he encoded the message in a secret script. He doesn’t say he has been giving little hints here and there. He doesn’t say he has been whispering quietly. Instead, he says he has roared his word like a lion sends out his anger. Which immediately sends me back to 3:4:
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
And it hearkens back to how the entirety of Amos’ prophecy began:
The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers. Amos 1:2.
The second line of Amos 3:8 is another “duh” question: The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy? When God speaks, his prophets can’t help by prophesy his words to his people. The roar of the Lord drives them and mandates their speaking. God’s prophets are his servants who do his bidding and speak his words.
Time is up, Israel. That is what God is saying. His last 2 “duh” questions should shake Israel into listening. How tragic that they can not hear even the roar of God. How tragic that they have lost the fear of God so much that they can not recognize his word. How tragic that God must quake their reality so they can return to him. I have a feeling that the next few pages of Amos aren’t going to be pretty. From reading ahead, God’s words get sharper and more pointed. The roar has been loud so far in Amos; now it will get cutting, too.
Amos 3:3-6: Duh
Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? Amos 3:3-6.
The purpose of these questions are to point out the obvious: Israel should have seen their judgment coming. The questions are all redundant questions – the answer is obvious. And they all point to highlight the truths of Amos 3:7-8: “For 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?”
The way these questions are used are fascinating. There is so much more to these questions than I initially saw in the first read through. God is weaving his message even into seemingly random questions. We will take them one at a time.
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to meet? The obvious answer is, “No. They don’t. They at least implicitly agree to walk next to each other.” God’s point is made with the simple answer. But he is also getting at something more here. He is pointing out to Israel that they have chosen to not walk with him. He is using a basic image to highlight their hearts’ choice to not walk with him. He is saying he can not walk with them, unless they agree to it. They repeatedly ignore him, neglect him, and push him away. Therefore, Israel does not need to try to fool themselves by thinking they are still religious or still faithful to God. He just told them they aren’t.
Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? The obvious answer is, “No. The lion roars when he has found his prey, sprung upon them, and gets to eat.” But Israel would hear this and connect the lion’s roar to Amos’ sermons that he is preaching to them. If Israel has any sense to them at all, they would be realizing that God is claiming to be roaring through Amos (as 3:8 later explicitly points out). If you connect the dots, God’s roar means God has a prey. He is clamping down on his prey. He is now calling Israel to account, and his destruction is imminent.
Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? The obvious answer is, “No. The young lion roars when he has something to eat, brought to him by his mom.” A wise Israel would hear this and think of even the small warning they had received, the “young lion” roars. The little things along the way where God showed them their sins. They have had plenty of warning.
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Of course not. A bird can’t be trapped unless an actual trap is out there to catch it. And this questions is connected to the next: Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Of course not. A trap is set to spring up and catch whenever the trigger is stepped upon. If the trigger is not set off, the trap won’t close. What God is making obvious is that Israel both set its own trap and then walked right into it. How? Through their sins! They are stuck in their sinful ways; they can’t get out. But it was themselves who set the trap in the first place. God is telling them to not be surprised that they are stuck. They walked right into the trap themselves through their rebellion, their suppressing of the poor, their blatant disregard for the law of God, their false worship of other gods, their sexual revolution, their pride, and their other sins.
Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Nope. When the sirens go off the people run for cover. The idea is that some sort of destruction is coming to the city, so an alarm is sounded…but no one does antying they keep right on. For example: A huge tornado is fast approaching our city, tearing up everything in its path. So the city turns on the sirens. But all the people keep right on with their picnics and swimming and walking outside. They stay on the top floors. They don’t turn on the radio. They don’t run for cover. The idea is ludicrous. Which is God’s point. He has given them warning. He has sounded the siren, but Israel is doing nothing. They are still hanging out, pretending like nothing is wrong. They should be afraid, very afraid.
Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? Of course God has done it. God is all-sovereign and all-governing. He sends the disaster and the pain so that his children might respond in repentance. His heart is loving, but he certainly will discipline his children (as 3:1-2 reminded us). This question gets more to the heart of theology. It isn’t quite a street-level, practical as the other questions. But the answer should remain just as obvious. God was setting Israel up, preparing them for this blow.
These questions are scary-funny. By scary, I mean that they deal with very serious, painful things that Israel will have to endure. By funny, I mean that they are so obvious. God is highlighting Israel’s ditzy-ness and stupidity. An example of such a question for today might be: Does a person throw himself in front of an oncoming 18-wheeler? First, the funny part. The question itself is so silly, so obvious. No way, any person in their right mind does not throw themselves in front of the oncoming 18-wheeler. That would be so stupid. It is comical to even think of a right-minded person to do that. But, second, the scary part. When you stop to actually consider the image, it is downright scary. It is a serious matter. You would plead with that person to not do it, you would grab hold of that person and pull them back off of the highway shoulder. You would be terrified if you saw the after-effects of that person’s foolish decision. It is scary.
My belief is that is exactly the emotions the Israelites would have felt when they heard God’s questions in Amos 3:3-6. The answers were so obvious and funny that it was truly scary. And it led perfectly into the truths of Amos 3:7-8: For 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 3:1-2: Intimacy and Responsibility
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.
The transition into Chapter 3 of Amos is a section transition. Most experts and commentators put a section break between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. The reason is that Amos is now getting more and more personal, more and more focused on the nation of Israel. The next few chapters are all words of prophecy for Israel. The first 2 chapters were short words of prophecy for all the nations, including Israel. Now God is zeroing in on his chosen people.
He begins by describing them as “the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt.” God mentioned this in Chapter 2, also (v. 10). Throughout the Old Testament God reminds Israel that He delivered them out of Egypt. The process of living in Egypt, becoming slaves in Egypt, experiencing God’s power through the plagues in Egypt, being delivered from Egypt, and wondering in the desert massively shaped who Israel was and is. God’s main point is for them to know that He did it. He was the one orchestrating the entire sequence of events. He was the one shaping, softening, and hardening the hearts of key leaders in the story. He was the one bringing things about. He did it.
There are certain experiences in life that shape who I am. There’s those snapshots of history from junior high or high school or college that shaped me and changed me. There are seasons of life in ministry and marriage and parenting that had a lasting impact on me. When I look at those snapshots and seasons I can just think about the circumstances, the happenings, what went down. Or I can look to God who orchestrated those circumstances. And he even orchestrated the painful ones. When God tells the Israelites he brought them out of Egypt, he isn’t just talking about sending jet liners in there to sneak them out without a fight. He is talking about a huge process that included pain (increased slave labor), confusion (why isn’t this happening yet?), disappointment (we should have just stayed there!), and even death of all the firstborn who were not covered by the blood of a lamb on the doorpost. In my life, too, God has orchestrated the embarrasing junior high moments, the glorious spiritual victories of late high school, the confusing times of dating and courtship, the beautiful coming-together with Whitney, the painful concussions and broken arms, the taking-forever family decision to move to Omaha. It wasn’t just happenstance; it wasn’t just circumstance. God did this. God did this for our family. God did this to know me and for me to know him. God did this.
God goes on to shock Israel in Chapter 3:2. He says, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore…” What an amazing privilege Israel received. Of all the families – the people groups – of the earth, God knew them. Of all the families of the earth that needed deliverance from tyranny, God delivered them. Of all the families of the earth that needed a land to call their own, God gave it to them. In his sovereignty and kindness God knew Israel in a deeper, more loving, more ruling, more intimate way than any other nation.
The Hebrew word for know in this verse is yada. It can convey so many different meanings. God knew the Israelites. He was acquainted with their ways. He perceived, saw, and understood them. He was skillful, wise, and knowledgeable in his relationship with them. And he revealed himself to them. He was known by them, perceived by them, understood by them. It wasn’t a one-way knowing – God only knowing them. It was a two-way knowing – God causing them to know him, too. This word is used to describe how Adam knew Eve and they conceived a child (Genesis 4:1), Cain knew his wife and they conceived a child (Genesis 4:17), and Adam knew Even again and conceived another child (Genesis 4:25). There is a very intimate knowledge being shown here – not only passing knowledge. But just a few chapters later it is used to refer to Noah knowing the flood waters had receded because the dove brought a branch back (Genesis 8:11). This is more of a practical, surface-level knowledge. The point is that yada is a very broad knowledge, both intimate and surface-y, both detailed and general, both deep and wide, both heart-level and cerebral. God knew Israel in this way.
Therefore…
One would first think that since God knows Israel in this way, therefore…he will love them and be patient. Or, therefore…he will let them off the hook because he knows their weaknesses. Or, therefore…he won’t say anything about it because he is so loving and forgiving. Or, therefore…Israel doesn’t need to worry about things because God is on their side. But God says none of that. He says quite the opposite. He says, “Therefore, I will punish you for all your transgressions.” To paraphrase, “Because I know you better than any others, because I love you, because of our intimacy, because of my revelation to you, I will punish you. Because we are intimate, I will hold you responsible. Because we are friends, I will call you out for your sins.” It is not the other way around. To put it in extremely broad terms, “Intimacy leads to responsibility.”
The writer of Hebrews picks this up, saying, “God disciplines those he loves.” The discipline of God in my life shows that I am his son, that he cares for me, that he does know me. For a moment, discipline is painful, but it yields peaceful fruit (Hebrews 12:3-11). As a dad, I hope to do the same thing with my children, as the author of Hebrews points out. An earthly dad – like me – disciplines his children precisely because he loves them. Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, learned this, too. “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24). “Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death” (Proverbs 19:18). “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die” (Proverbs 23:13). All of these show that love leads to discipline. All of these show that the state of being a child leads to discipline.
It is not the other way around. I can’t wish that into being as a child of God. And my children can’t wish that into being as my children. But I can be thankful that God has dealt with my sins, disciplined my sins, punished my sins, and and paid for my sins…in Jesus. And God has dealth with me (the sinner!), disciplined me, punished me, and paid for me…in Jesus. The Israel Amos was talking to took a painful beating from the wrath of God because of all their iniquities. A nation destroyed them and their land. By God’s grace, Jesus took my painful beating from the wrath of God for all of my iniquities. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. If I look upon this lightly and treat this kindness of God with fickleness, I better watch out, though. Or I, too, would be proving that I have not understood the grossness of my sin, the depth of my depravity, the height of my rebellion, and the infinitude of God’s grace. The knowledge of the cross of Jesus does not give me license to sin more. Instead, the intimacy that comes from seeing Jesus on the cross, and the relationship that is birthed from seeing Jesus emerge from the dead, should spur on in me more responsibility, more faithfulness, more deep desire for Jesus himself. May it never be the opposite.
against Israel: the consequences
“Behold, I will press you down in your place (OR: Behold, I am pressed under you), as a cart full of sheaves presses down. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the LORD. Amos 2:13-16.
This is only the beginning of the consequences of Israel’s sins. There are 7 more chapters of consequences and dialogue from God after this. But this is God’s first response to their sins. It can be summed up in one word: weakness. The people will be made weak, the swift are made weak, the strong are made weak, the skilled warriors are made weak, the horses are made weak, the courageous are made weak. Weakness.
The very first line of Amos 2:13 can be translated 2 different ways. It can say, “Behold, I [God] will press you [Israel] down in your place as a cart full of sheaves presses down.” The idea is of a very rudimentary cart (maybe like this?) weighed down with stuff. I think of the times when I’ve loaded up a wheel barrow. At first it is light; then it becomes tough to push. Then, after a while, it is downright impossible to make it do anything. Its purpose has been defeated because it is too weighed down. In this sense, God is saying that he will see to it that his full weight is placed on Israel in such a way that they are stuck. They wouldn’t be able to roll away. They wouldn’t be able to escape any impending danger.
The first line of Amos 2:13 can also be translated as, “Behold, I [God] am pressed under by you [Israel] as a cart full of sheaves presses down.” This translation is scary – not because it is a wrong translation; it probably is an accurate one. This translation is scary because it portrays the Sovereign King of the world being weighed down by something. God created this world (Genesis 1). God rules this world (Psalm 115:3). God governs this world. God sustains everything in this world by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). He shouldn’t get weary, and he should not feel weighed down. But, for some reason, he expresses himself here in what almost looks like a weakened state. The sins of Israel have become a burden to him, a weight that he must carry, a weight so heavy it is like a wheelbarrow overloaded that can’t roll. In Isaiah 1:14, God says, “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates (did you see that word? Hates); they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.” God is worn out with their fake religion. He is sick and tired of it. He is weary of putting up with them. The same messages rings out again in Amos 5:21-23 when God says, “I hate, I despise your feasts (there is that word again; hate), and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.”
God’s weariness of Israel’s sins is a death blow to religion. I think I like religion too much. I like Sunday mornings and big crowds and worship experiences a little too much. I like people helping out in the church, pitching in to do their part, bringing their offerings, and making their sacrifices. Yet here is God saying that he is weighed down by these very things. Why is he weighed down? He commanded them to make sacrifices. Why is he now hating the sacrifices they bring? Or, as Isaiah poses the question, “Why have we fasted, and [God] sees it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and [God] takes no knowledge of it?”
Because they neglect justice (Amos 2:6-8; Amos 5:24; Isaiah 1:16-17; Isaiah 58:6-12).
Here, God, is your sacrifice (that I got from the hands of the poor). Here, God, is your tithes and offerings (that I would never hand to the poor). Here, God, is your sacrificial leadership (that is suffocating the weak of our community). Here, God, is your song (as I trample the head of the poor into the dust). Here, God, is my sacrifice (as I secretly love my precious sins).
God would simply say, “Stop trampling the head of the poor into dust. Stop doing evil and learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s cause. Loose the bonds of wickedness. Undo the straps of the yoke. Let the oppressed go free. Break all of the yokes! Share your bread with the hungry; welcome the homeless into your home. Clothe your naked friends. Let justice roll like a river! Let righeousness flow like a never-ending stream!”
This is hard for me. Really hard. Because church work is a little more natural, a little more cleaned up, a little more organized, or at least a little more something. Justice work is dirty, dangerous, barely rewarding (if at all), hard, wearisome, tiring, and confusing. Justice work demands personal sacrifice. It demands heart sacrifce. But church work often times just demands religious sacrifice (way easier!). And, truly, church work should be justice work. So, may I cling to God’s promise of Isaiah 58:8-12: God will let our light break forth like the dawn. He will sustain us. And he will even satisfy us.
The consequences for Israel beyond these 2 (that is, of them being weighed down and of them seeing their God weighed down by their sins) is weakness, weakness, and more weakness. The swift won’t be able to sneak away. The fast won’t be able to run away. The strong won’t be able to break away. The warrior won’t be able to fight his way out of this one. The horse won’t be able to be mounted and spring away. The courageous won’t be able to find his heart. Weakness. If anybody does manage to leave town before the bad guys show up, they will leave so quickly that they are going to forget their clothes. Weakness.
In conclusion, I thank God for the Gospel of Jesus. The truth is that Jesus was weighed down by my sins. They overwhelmed him. He couldn’t stand up, he couldn’t keep breathing, he couldn’t carry the weight, and he couldn’t keep living. My sins weighed so heavy that he did under the blow. The wrath of God for my sins was so strong that it killed Jesus when he absorbed it. But thanks be to God: Jesus has absorbed the wrath of God on my behalf! He has! He really, really has. And, furthermore, he has risen, resurrected! His light shines forth like the dawn. He was satisfied in the worst of deserts – death. Jesus bore all of my injustice, all of my religious pride, all of my oppression of the poor. And Jesus made many rich that way. Now – oh, please, Jesus – may I make many rich through your Gospel, too. Thank You, Jesus.
against Israel: silenced prophets
“And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’” Amos 2:11-12.
I like prophets…as long as they are talking to someone else. Prophets have this thing about them where they say things just a little too sharply and their edge is just a little too pointed. And prophets have this tendency to point out what it wrong and where I am sinning. I think this is fun…as long as it is directed at someone else.
And I like Jesus freaks…as long as I don’t have to hang out with them too much. Jesus freaks have this things about them where they are always talking about Jesus and His Bible. Sometimes they even sound like prophets. Jesus freaks tend to commit to more than is asked of them. They know they are saved by grace through faith. They know their works add nothing to their salvation (Ephesians 2:8). But, still, they take on additional oaths for the sake of purity and single-mindedness. This is great, just as long as I don’t have to hang around them too much.
Prophets make things socially awkward, and Jesus freaks make you feel way too unholy. My heart is entirely too addicted to social comfort and personal ease to enjoy prophets or put up with Jesus freaks. That’s me.
God’s people, Israel, responded to these feelings by silencing those prophets (whew, now we don’t have to worry about our sins!). And they responded to the Jesus freaks by giving them something to drink (goodness, take the edge off of that guy; let’s just have some fun).
Lest I respond to prophets and Jesus freaks the same way, I need to take heed to God’s word in Amos 2. God said he raised up prophets from among the young men. Prophets are spokesmen, the guys with mouths, the ones that can say the hard things that are so good, yet so hard to hear. God has used prophets throughout redemptive history, dating all the way back to Abraham (Genesis 20:7). One of the most famous prophets was Samuel (1 Samuel 3). Samuel, like the men referred to by Amos, was raised up as a youth. In his kindness God called Samuel from an early age, setting him apart for Himself. God has done the same for Israel now. Most people would think that young men are most useful for fighting a war, doing heavy labor to build a city, or working hard in the harvest fields. But God, in his wisdom, picked out some of those young men and set them aside as prophets.
Furthermore, God raised up Nazirites from among the young men. Nazirites were men (or women; cf. Numbers 6:2) who – though they did not have to do so – took on additional oaths for the sake of displaying the holiness of God and denying themselves certain privileges. They would not drink wine; they would not cut their hair; they would not go near a dead body; and they would offer special sacrifices (Numbers 6). You knew when you were around a Nazirites (long hair, no drink that night), and I am sure it could ruffle your feathers, especially when your heart was far from God. Nazirites were a reminder of God’s holiness, a testimony to God’s uniqueness.
The Israelites were sick and tired of the Nazirites. These Israelites are the ones who are oppressing the poor, walking on their faces, stomping them in the dirt. These Israelites were sharing temple prostitutes with their sons. They were worshiping false gods with clothes stolen from homeless persons. They would not have been able to put up with a living, breathing testimony to God’s holiness and purity. It would have been despicable to them. The mere sight of a Nazirite would have been a mirror of their black, dull, dirty, stained hearts that were far from God. So they made them drink some wine. They made them break oath. They forced them to break their promise. It was lawful to drink wine; God did not forbid it. (And it is lawful today, too.) But what Israel could not stand was the living, breathing testimony to God’s holiness. So they forced them to stop testifying.
And the Israelites were sick and tired of the prophets. When you are trampling the poor into the mud of the ground, you don’t want to hear from some young, punk prophet what God thinks of what you are doing. Shut that kid up! When you are committing adultery and rationalizing it as religion, you don’t want to hear some prophet remind you of the 10 Commandments. Put a muzzle on him! When you steal from the poor to make yourself richer, you don’t want to be reminded of God’s righteous requirements. Stop it now! So Israel made them stop. They commanded the prophets when usually it was the other way around. They made the prophets shut up. Israel had a whole batch of young, faithful prophets who were now…silenced.
These were their young men. It wasn’t the youth-gone-wrong who were telling the old farts to stop being so strict. It was the older, more experienced sinners telling the younger ones to lighten up. Stop being so passionate. This zeal will wear off eventually. You might as well start drinking now to make the days go by faster and make the pain less acute. Oh, God, protect me and keep me from silencing the prophets, especially when they are young. Keep me back from shutting down the zealous young men and women pressing themselves on toward holiness. Instead, silence my mouth, if that be necessary. Or, better yet, give me a heart that overflows encouragement to the young prophets and fresh zealots. Give me wisdom to walk the journey of passion with them, learn from them, and experience You together with them.
against Israel: yet it was I
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the LORD. Amos 2:9-11.
This paragraph is God’s immediate follow up to the blatant sins of Israel outlined in Amos 2:6-8. Here is what strikes me after a few initial reads:
(1) God said, “It was I…” – not the false gods you are now chasing after. God distinguishes himself from the impotent idols Israel now serves.
(2) God said, “It was I…” – not yourselves. God reminds Israel of the overwhelming powers that were against them, powers they could have never overcome.
(3) God said, “It was I…” who did many miracles on your behalf. The grandeur of what God did for Israel speaks for itself.
(4) God said, “It was I…” who sought out a great future for you. God raised up sons and prophets for his people so that his word and his people would endure well.
First: It was God – not another god. It wasn’t fake, wooden idols who rescued Israel. It wasn’t sensuous, lust-filled gods who drove out the Amorites. It wasn’t mute, dumb, deaf, powerless things created by human hands that did all this. It was God. The first 2 of the 10 Commandments should be reason enough to avoid these idols. God said, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:3-4). God also knows there will be idols of the people of the land that Israel takes over. So he says, “Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:4). All of these worthless idols, all of these false gods should bow in worship to the one LORD, the one God (Psalm 97:7).
Second: It was God – not the Israelites themselves. The language in Amos 2:9-10 repeatedly gives all of the credit for victory, all of the credit for good fighting, all of the credit for deliverance, and all of the credit for possessing the land…to God. No credit is given to Israel. In this 2 verse summary of redemptve history from Exodus through Judges, the only role Israel has to play is the weak, needy people of the almighty, fully-conquering, over-powering God. Though the people of Israel wielded their swords, it was God who gave the victory. Though the people of Israel stormed the cities, it was God who won the battle. Though the people of Israel fled Egypt when the opportunity came, it was God who brought them out. And it was God who led them for 40 years in a desert wilderness, keeping them alive, giving them food, not letting their clothes wear out, sustaining the millions of people, giving them order and structure. The actual stories themselves show this truth, too. The battle of Jericho is set up in such a way that only God could get the glory. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is set up in such a way that only God could get the glory (Exodus 14:4, 17). There is no hint of the power of man making this stuff happen. And story after story after story shows it.
Third: What God did was absolutely miraculous. I remember the story of the 12 spies sent to check out the land of the Amorites. Only Jacob and Caleb had the gall to recommend actually taking the land. The other 10 saw what God describes here in Amos 2. They saw the Amorite “whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks.” In high school I remember really tall kids who were also really weak because they were so skinny. I also remember really short kids who were thick but they couldn’t run to save their lives. The Amorites had the best of both options: they were tall and thick. The 12 spies probably looked over a hill top and saw a sea of Goliaths, a plethora of giants. God, in his wisdom, lined up his people who had been wandering in a desert for 40 years against these thousands of giants who had been living comfortably in their own land. Any normal person would know who wins this war.
Furthermore, God’s deliverance from Egypt was noting short of dozens of miracles strung together for the wildest ride of an adventure anyone has ever known. A burning bush, a repentant murderer, a staff, plague after plague, millions of people leaving a city in a night, a dry path through an expansive sea, an army drowned in moments, water from a rock, food from heaven, the never-ending pairs of shoes, a cloud, a pillar of fire, and on and on the miracles roll out. God led the people of Israel quite well. There is no one among the people of Israel who should question whether God is the right leader for them. He is!
Finally, fourth: God sought a good future for his people by raising up sons for prophets. He didn’t just throw them into new territory and flee the scene. He stuck with them. He poured his Spirit into their young men. He made them into prophets who could share the word of God with them. And he raised up other young men to be Nazirites, set apart for the Lord, as a preservation and reminder of God’s holiness. In essence, God did not leave them without a testimony, without a reminder. There is no good reason why Israel forgot God, neglected God, turned away from God, or shunned God. They had the law from Moses; they had the conquest stories from Joshua and Caleb; they had their sons right there with him speaking God’s words; they had their sons displaying to them the holy nature of God. There were pointers to God everywhere! God is wholly justified in asking, “It is not indeed so, O people of Israel?” Have they totally missed it? Have they covered their eyes and wandered like blind men? Have they shut their ears and heard only sweet nothings from false gods? Have they hardened their hearts so that a display of God’s holiness is irrelevant to them?
Making it personal, now, I must ask myself the same questions. I have more than the law; I have the fulfillment of the law: Jesus. I have more than conquest stories; I have the conqueror himself: Jesus. I have more than earthly men who speak the words of God; I have the Word Himself: Jesus. I have more than an imperfect, humanly-structured, earthly display of God’s holiness; I have the very image of God Himself: Jesus.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:1-3.
And it was this very Son of God, Jesus Christ, who warned that prophecies like Amos’ and Isaiah’s were not just for the people of that day. Their prophecies spoke of many generations who would come after them. Their prophecies very well might speak of anybody – even today – who hear but do not understand, who see but do not perceive, because of their dull hearts (Matthew 13:14-15). Yet, praise be to God! This same Jesus – who showed us God, who was and is God, who warned us of our dull hearts – also reveals himself. He grants to all who desire the eyes to see him and the ears to hear him (Matthew 13:16-17).
Jesus, please give me eyes to see you and ears to hear you. I don’t want to miss you. I don’t want to blind myself to your radiance. I don’t want to plug up my ears to your word. I don’t want to forget your conquest of my sin, my folly, my weakness, my black and scarlet stain. I don’t want to forget your perfect fulfillment of the Father’s righteousness. Jesus, please give me eyes to see you and ears to hear you, lest I become like the Israel you had to chastise in Amos 2. Jesus, please give me an alive heart to love you and love the poor.
modern day slavery is a booming industry
In the past I have mentioned slavery in a couple of posts (Against Israel: Their Sins, Part 02 and Take Away From Leadership Summit, Day 01). In both of those posts I recommended Not For Sale by David Batstone.
This morning I noticed John Piper posted about slavery in Haiti, which is an area Batstone did not address. In the post, Piper points to another great resource concerning modern day slavery: A Crime So Monstrous.
May God grant that slavery might come to an end in Haiti because of the loving Gospel of Jesus changing hearts and lives throughout the nation.
against Israel: their sins, Part 03
They lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. Amos 2:8.
This is strike #3 for Israel. God has already highlighted their sins of injustice, especially towards the poor and defenseless. He has already shown them their sin of abominable sexual perversion. Now he is turning to their self-filled, greed-driven false form of worship. Make no mistake: Israel was worshiping. We all are worshiping, whether we worship Jesus or we worship ourselves or we worship cows or we worship the latest fashion trends. We are all worshiping.
In light of this verse, there seems to be 2 truths of us humans:
(1) Every man craves a god. We long for something greater than ourselves, more knowledgeable than ourselves, more transcendent than ourselves. We want to enjoy something more beautiful than ourselves. There is something in us humans that knows we are not the final end of life. One example would be the motive for millions of people going to the Grand Canyon each year. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to think about themselves, pull out their mirror and gaze intensely at the reflection. We go to the Grand Canyon and something inside of us is drawn into the way-bigger, more-majestic aspect of the canyon. Every man craves a god. Everyone craves a bigger-than-me something.
(2) But every man also craves a god they can control. It must be a god of their own creation, their own governing. The law is something greater and broader than just one man, but the law is at least a little control-able to us humans. Or, to take the Grand Canyon example, we can at least walk away and ignore its beauty whenever we want. And we don’t have to feel guilty about it. We are in control of our god that we crave.
I draw these truths from Amos 2:6-8. Even when Israel is grossly unjust and greatly oppressing the poor, even when they are drowning in sexual immorality, even when they are light years’ distance from their Creator, they still worship. Amos is getting at something here.
Israel is indicted for reclining on garments taken in pledge. God’s law was very clear about this. If someone borrows a coat or garment or jacket from someone, they must return it by sundown. For most people that is their only garment that can actually keep them warm at night (Exodus 22:25-27). When this law is re-stated in Deuteronomy, it is shown to be especially for the poor (Deuteronomy 24:12-13). What are the rich leaders of Israel doing? They are stealing from the poor – directly from the poor. They are relaxing in luxury, laying down to eat their feasts right on top of the poor man’s only chance of warmth. And, as though that were not enough, they are doing it right next to the altar. They are so immersed in injustice that it is now an integral part of their religious identity. In a twisted attempt to justify their oppression of the poor, they offer what they have stolen as an appeasement to their gods. (Some of them might still even be thinking it will appease God – the one, true God.)
Israel is also indicted for drinking wine that is purchased with fines against the poor. This must be especially directed at judges and leaders in Israel. They would level outrageous, unjust fines against the poor so that they could take that money and drink wine. The luxury of the rich is purchased with the injustice of the poor. If the poor have even one more penny, the rich seize the opportunity to gain more luxury. This is incredibly self-centered, self-focused, deeply-rooted greed. And, again, to make matters worse, the leaders and judges of Israel are committing this crime in their temples. The injustice has been woven right into the fabric of their false worship. Or, as Matthew Henry puts it, “They add idolatry to their injustice, and then think to atone for their injustice with their idolatry.”
This is scary to me. It is quite possible that oppressing the poor has been so woven into the fabric of my life that I don’t realize it. Or, to make matters worse, oppressing the poor is woven into my worship of God. As I seek to worship God through Jesus Christ, as I seek to live out all that Jesus has commanded (Matthew 28:20), as I seek to share Jesus through an overflowing delight in him…I might be unknowingly oppressing the poor through injustice. The shirts I wear to dress up nice and pretty on Sunday mornings might be made by the hands of the poor experiencing injustice. The car I drive to gather with God’s people might be produced by a system of unfair employment and unjust wages. The lights and technology we casually thank God for on Sunday mornings might be the product of neglecting the poor. I don’t know; maybe they are not. But the point I am feeling in my soul is that I don’t know when I should know. If God is indicting Israel for justifying their injustice through idolatry, I think I should at least be careful to not try to worship the one true God through Jesus while using stuff built on injustice to the poor.
against Israel: their sins, Part 02
…a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned. Amos 2:7b.
God is in the middle of showing Israel’s sins to Israel. He is calling them to account for their sins. The first sin he pointed out to them was their injustice, especially to the poor. And, in many ways, the root of that injustice was greed. Now God turns to their lusts. After this, he turns to their boastful, self-centered, greedy religion. John was right in his letter when he said: All that is in the world – the desires of the flesh (greed!), the desires of the eyes (lust!), and pride in possessions (clueless boasting!) – is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16. Here we see Israel saturated in the three main passions of the world, proving their distance from their Father.
Israel has fallen to an unthinkable low. A man and his dad end up sharing the same temple prostitute, having sex with the same woman, giving themselves over to the same sex slave. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that such an act is even detestable among Gentiles, those who had nto received the law of God or the circumcision of God (1 Corinthians 5:1). The situation in Israel during the time of Amos was a little different, but not too far gone. These men in Israel were taking advantage of temple prostitutes. The man and his dad could go make sacrifices to false gods, get their religious shot in the arm, and have licentious sex all at the same time.
One commentator says this: “They were licentious to the uttermost abomination; for in their idol feasts, where young women prostituted themselves publicly in honor of Astarte, the father and son entered into impure connections with the same female.” To honor false gods, women would publicly prostitute themselves. Let that sink in. Here are the people of God, who have had so many experiences with the Almighty, received so much from the Almighty, and seen so much of the Almighty. And now they have become a people that prostitute themselves in the name of their new religion. It is incest, fornication, adultery, masturbation, and all sorts of other sexual immorality rolled together, tied up with a bow, and called religion. Many wonder what the Bible would say about incest. Well, here is one thing it says.
One might ask, “Who is Astarte?” Astarte was a goddess connected with fertility and sexuality (not surprisingly). The Hebrew translation of Astarte is Ashtoreth. That name sounds familiar to me. And she later was called Aphrodite by the Greeks. Solomon chased this goddess (1 Kings 11:5). In fact it was probably Solomon who introduced Ashtoreth to the people of God through all of his foreign wives and concubines. Because of his infidelity, God tore the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and gave 10 of the tribes to Jereboam (1 Kings 11:26-40). But somehow the abominable acts and practices associated with Ashtoreth stuck with the northern kingdom, too, as we now see in Amos.
The true God refers to these false gods like Ashtoreth – and there were others – as abominations (2 Kings 23:13). They are absolutely detestable to God. He abhors them. They are filthy, dirty, nasty, despicable in his eyes. And he makes this very clear, again, to Israel through Amos’ prophecy. God says that these men who are sharing a temple prostitute are profaning the name of God. These men might think they are fulfilling some twisted form of worship; they might rationalize it away as only natural; or they might even think it is their duty to this goddess. God doesn’t pull any punches. He says his people are profaning his name. They are defiling God’s perfect name; they are polluting God’s pure name; they are desecrating God’s righteous name; they are dishonoring God’s honorable name; they are profaning God’s holy name.
He doesn’t come right out and say it, but it would probably be safe to say: God hates this. He despises what his people are doing. Why? God hates this sin because he values his name. That is the flow of thought God gives. He is showing his anger and promising his punishment…because Israel has profaned his name. God hates sin because he loves his name. At first that might sound self-centered, but I am sure the precious girl who has been forced to be a temple prostitute would gladly receive God’s passion for his own name, especially since it means judgment on the dozens of men who take advantage of her daily. God’s radical passion for his own name is not selfish. It is the most loving thing our holy Father does for us. Because of his love for his name he will bring justice to these men, to his people who profane his name.
* God restores our souls (don’t you know the temple prostitute longed for this kind of healing), and God leads us in paths of righteousness…for his name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).
* God pardons our guilt (don’t you know the men of Israel needed this)…for his name’s sake (Psalm 25:11).
* God leads us and guides us…for his name’s sake (Psalm 31:3).
* God deals with injustice on behalf of the oppressed…for his name’s sake (Psalm 109:21).
* God preserves out lives, bringing our souls out of trouble and despair…for his name’s sake (Psalm 143:11).
This love of God for his holy name is good for us, good to us.
I would be remiss if I didn’t remind my self that this sort of stuff still happens today. There are women forced into prostitution around the world (including the US). There are men who buy little girls for the night. There are fathers and sons who share sex slaves. The unbridled, despicable lusts of the people of Israel have not gone away, yet. For the longest, I never thought about something like this (and, to be honest, I didn’t want to; see Post 01 on Israel’s sins). Then I read Not For Sale, a book about modern day slavery. It changed me, and I thank God for that book. I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to see poverty, see slavery, see forced prostitution with the hopes of their hearts being broken like God’s is. And, finally, I thank God for organizations like International Justice Mission who serve such women and bring justice to such men. They are worth learning about and praying for.
against Israel: their sins, Part 01
Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals – those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. Amos 2:6-8.
Here we go. Amos – the backwoods prophet from small-town Judah – is now beginning to prophesy against Israel, a larger, more successful, richer nation. It is as though God has made his rounds, circling the perimeter. Now he is settling down at the center, Israel. And he does settle down – to the degree that most of the rest of Amos’ prophecy is concerning Israel.
The first thing that stands out to me is this: God’s way of wording things. I haven’t really noticed it in Amos until now. God uniquely and powerfully constructs his words. His words are rich with meaning, word images, specific examples. His words seem somewhat poetic, drawing the listener in – to some degree – just by their construction and rhythm and flow. In Amos 2:6-8 God could have succinctly said, “Israel has sinned a lot. They have committed injustice, especially against the poor. They have done abominable acts. And they are rich while still trying to appease me.” That covers most everything. Yet God chooses to poetically and powerfully reveal their sins to them. This is amazing.
Instead of saying, “Israel has sinned a lot,” God says, “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment.” In his words, God does highlight that Israel has sinned a lot, but he also is saying that he knows their sins. He has counted them; he has felt each of them. There are way more than four sins, but the fact that God brings out numbers shows that he knows each of them.
Instead of saying, “Israel is unjust, especially against the poor,” God strategically (yet poetically) points out their folly to them through specific examples, each one getting more and more sharp at its point, puncturing the listener. The flow of the words is astounding. He first says they sell the righteous for silver. God starts with something that might be a little more accepted among people. Selling the righteous for silver – in the minds of Israel – might be a small offense. If someone needs money really bad, and they have a servant to trade to someone else, then why not sell the servant – even if he is one of their best. Surely that isn’t a big deal. Just in his flow of words, God begins to open Israel up to expose (to Israel!) their own sins.
Then God moves on to say they sell the needy for a pair of sandals. This is a little more serious. To sell the righteous for silver might be OK (so Israel might think), but to sell a poor servant, a needy man for just some shoes, that isn’t so cool. This might be a little too much materialism, a little too much concern for stuff, a little too little concern for human life and well being. Maybe they should stop being so worried about their material possessions and walk-in closets and 4-car garages. Maybe they should care about people a little more.
But God makes his point even sharper. He says Israel tramples the head of the poor into the dust of the earth. The puncture is made. And, because of God’s wisdom in words, the puncture is made at just the right place and time. Israel, by now, is beginning to acknowledge they may have done wrong. But they probably don’t think it is really, really wrong. But after hearing God’s way of expressing their sins in that last line, they have been punctured through with their own sin. The image is absolutely sick and despicable. It is nasty to think of Israel – as a mass – running over the poor, ignoring them to the degree that their heads are pounded into the earth. Israel doesn’t care to protect the poor; they want to trample the poor.
God’s words here are so rich in meaning. In the original Hebrew, God very well might be saying 2 things to make his puncture-wound point. The word rendered “trample” in the ESV has two meanings: (1) to pant after, to gasp for. For a positive example, see Psalm 119:31 (rendered “cling” in the ESV). But it also means (2) to trample, to crush, as the ESV rendered it here in Amos. So when you consider these 2 meanings of the Hebrew word, combined with the rest of the words in the line, you could render this verse…
(1) you trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth (as the ESV has done)…or…
(2) you pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor (as the KJV has done). In this sense, you see the people of Israel longing for gold, silver, and precious metals – that is, the dust of the earth – in such a way that the don’t even realize they are pushing the poor down. The people of Israel are so hungry for material wealth that they don’t realize they are getting it at the expense of the poor.
Either way, God’s words are brilliant and devastating at the same time. They are brilliant because of his construction and use of each individual word in such a way as to make his sharp (very sharp) point. They are devastating because I, too, might be guilty of the same sin. Just as God brilliantly and devastatingly showed Israel their sin, he is brilliantly and devastatingly showing me my own sin. For instance, I can not count the number of times I have been going on my merry way to get stuff (at the store, a nice restaurant, a fast food joint), passing by the poor without giving them a thought, a prayer, and definitely not a penny. My mind and heart are so concerned with getting my stuff, my material possessions, that I completely ignore the poor.
God finishes his description of Israel’s first group of sins by saying they turn aside the way of the afflicted. Israel, in order to not have to worry about the life of the poor, puts it out of their minds. They thrust it out of the picture, getting it far from their thoughts. If they don’t see it, they don’t have to feel the guilt of their conscience. It would look like a man walking to work, going out of his way to not walk down the block that has the beggars. It would look like a city government shifting their homeless to a part of the city that tourists don’t visit. And it would look like me trying to not go down 14th Street by the Public Library so I don’t have to see the teenagers who don’t have a place to sleep at night. I am turning aside, thrusting out of my way the lifestyle of the afflicted, the poor, the meek, the needy. And I need God’s mercy so that I don’t become a man who tramples the poor into the ground while I go buy a nice new pair of shoes. God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I far too easily trample the poor so I can have a new pair of shoes.
Today, I only discussed the first sin that God points out about Israel. There are 2 others just within Amos 2:6-8. There is still their abominable acts (like a father and son having illicit sex with the same temple prostitute) and their puffed up, fake religion based on greed. Lord-willing, that discussion will be forthcoming.
