AMOS- THE NOT A PROPHET PROPHET
March 30, 2003 PM
Sermon Outline
Amos 7:14-17
INTRO: The little book of Amos is one from which come some verses you will recognize even if you do not remember that they are from this Old Testament book bearing the prophets name. Amos was not a man of the school of the prophets. He was a shepherd and a farmer. He lived in a little town about twelve miles south of Jerusalem, but God had called him to a ministry in Israel (the northern kingdom). So, he would have been considered an outsider by the religious establishment of Israel. Amos did not mince any words in his message to the apostate people of God. In fact, his message was so direct, so blunt, so challenging that he was invited to leave Israel and go back home!
I. SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE BOOK OF AMOS
A. Amos 7:14,15 - Amos makes it clear that he was not a professional prophet
1. he was a shepherd; he was a tender of sycomore trees (fig like fruit)
2. he notes that the Lord took me while he was actually engaged in shepherding
3. this man of Judah (southern kingdom) was to prophesy unto ... Israel
B. Amos 1:3,6,9,11,13, etc. - Amos recognized the Lord as God of all nations!
1. the typical view of that world was that gods were national gods - localized
2. but Amos knew better than that ... Jehovah is the God of gods!
3. there is not one god for the east and one for the west ... there is Jehovah!
C. Amos 2:4,5 - And Amos had a prophetic word for his own people!
1. while the Lord sent him specifically to Israel, Judah would not be exempted
2. long before the ultimate Babylonian destruction and captivity, Amos noted that the Lord would send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem
3. why? they despised the law of the Lord - they did not keep His commandments
D. Amos 2:6-8 - The prophetic work of Amos was primarily to Israel
1. from Amos 3:1,2 we can see that Amos does have concern for all of Israel ... the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt...
2. but notice Amos 4:1 & 6:1 - references to the mountain of Samaria tells us that Amos is directing his words toward the northern kingdom
3. ethical, moral, spiritual failures were rampant in Israel!
E.. Amos 5:27 - Amos tells Israel clearly of its ultimate captivity
1. and this captivity is unmistakably the work of God - Therefore will I cause...
2. the Assyrian captivity is yet 200+ years in the future
3. from Amos 7:7-9 comes the imagery of the plumbline - the plumbline is the standard, and Israel has not lived by the standard ... so, the plumbline becomes the symbol of Gods judgment on the house of Jeroboam
II. SOME TEXTS NEEDING OUR CONSIDERATION?
A. Amos 3:3 - Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
1. this may have been a startling question - they would have represented themselves to be in agreement with God
2. they fact is, they were not - they were idolatrous, unfaithful people
3. this question can certainly be instructive to you and me
4. Jer 6:16 - can we walk with God and be walking in a path other than His?
5. 2 Jno 6 - we walk after his commandments - unless we walk in His commandments (no matter what we think or feel), we are not walking in agreement with God
B. Amos 4:11 - ...prepare to meet thy God...
1. for many years I have seen signs along the highways with this cryptic message
2. well, here is the Biblical text from which that message comes
3. it is a word of warning; it is a word of judgment
4. to Israel it was the prophets word in view of impenitence - and perhaps the greatest tragedy of it is that Her own history should have told Her that judgment would follow impenitence (note Amos 4:10)
5. but the message needs to be preached and heard even today - you and I will meet God in the judgment ... will we be prepared
C. Amos 8:11-13 - ...a famine in the land...
1. but this was no ordinary famine
2. this would be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord
3. interestingly, they appeared to be seeking the word of the Lord - why, then, could they not find it?
4. the answer is in v. 14 - they were looking in the wrong places!
5. I wonder if this famine may not be affecting our own land? there are so many religious people ... but they stumble in ignorance of Gods word - do we?
CLOSE: Amidst all the doom and gloom of the book of Amos is Amos 9:11,12 - a word of prophecy about the Messiah and His kingdom which would even encompass all of the heathen. You and I are privileged to be called by His name!
Cecil A. Hutson
30 March 2003