Bible Study for Texas for 6_29_51903

Posted: 5/19/03
June 29 Lesson

Amos 9

Eyes wide open to the future

By Bill Shiell

Many people claiming to be prophets have attempted to see things in their day as signs apocalyptic events were near. In the 1800's, William Miller predicted Christ would return on Oct. 22, 1844. In 1988, Edgar Whisenant published “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will be in 1988.” From Hal Lindsey to Tim LaHaye and other modern-day prognosticators, the doomsday theorists abound hoping to read the tea leaves and be the first to show that the end of time is coming.

Amos, however, was not that kind of a prophet. He was less concerned with foretelling future events than forthtelling (telling forth) truths from the daily experiences of life in 8th century B.C. Israel. He could see a "day of the Lord" was imminent, but he was less concerned with setting specific dates. He was not a magical prognosticator; through the inspiration of the

Lord, he knew the people were bringing incredible consequences upon themselves if they continued down this path.

In ancient Israel, the prophet was one of the few people in society tuned in to the natural progression (or destruction) of society. Each one played a significant role in helping the king and/or the people to understand their relationship with God better.

Some such as Elijah, Elisha and Isaiah focused mainly on the king, his court and the destruction he caused in the region. Amos' role as prophet was unique because he had an audience with the king, the priest and the people. He was able to speak directly to individuals who could go around the king and hopefully protect themselves from God's judgment.

In fact, the land was so peaceful at the time, Amaziah, the ruling priest, and Jeroboam II, one of the reigning kings might have thought he was crazy to predict doom and gloom.

Amos concentrated more on the actions of the people: Whether or not judgment comes, do the people's activities match their covenant responsibilities? Amos was able to take the common images from nature such as earthquakes, drought and fire and send warning signals to get the people to change their ethical behavior.

The last chapter of Amos provides a new day that dawns for the people of Israel who would be carried into exile following Amos' prophecies. Indeed, what Amos said did come true; but they were given hope for the future.

God rebuilds

The book of Amos opens with a series of three dramatic events–an earthquake (1:1) that shook the foundations of the buildings, a roll of thunder (1:2) to warn the people of the onslaught that was coming and a fire to purify their lives (1:4).

In chapter 5, God cursed the people, reinforcing the destruction of the opening chapters: "Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine."

Each event in nature corresponded to an aspect of God's power. The earthquake, which would become so pivotal to the date of the book and the ministry of Amos, spoke to the need for the people to understand they were not in control of the affairs of their own lives. Their hubris created a false security. They formed alliances with foreign deities and powers. The earthquake shook up their senses to see that God desired for them to be dependent on him.

The tendency of some during times of disaster, as one writer has noted, is to get in touch with how we feel and how our emotions are handling things. For Amos, times of disaster were designed to help people reach out to God in dependence on him, rather than being too concerned with the self.

Amos used thunder to show the sound they were hearing in his preaching was like a distant warning from on high. Just as thunder warned lightning was near, so his preaching sounded an alarm that God's judgment was near. Positively, the thunder also reminded them God's presence was near. In his righteous love, God was not seeking to zap the people from on high but to nudge them with physical reminders of his never-failing love, just as Amos showed them in chapter 9.

Fire reminded the people of his holiness. Just as he had done to Moses through a burning bush, the Israelites through a pillar of fire, Elijah and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel and Isaiah in the temple, so through Amos' words, God revealed his holy presence through fire. Fire would consume the land so that the highest peak in Israel, Mount Carmel, to the lowest part of the country, would be purified.

Amazingly and graciously, in 9:11-15 of the focal text, everything is reversed. God promises to restore what he has torn down; he promises to replant a land that was wiped out. His first step was to rebuild. Clearly, the devastation brought by the attacking Assyrian army in 722 B.C. would have been overwhelming to the people.

The first group taken into exile was led off by the very person Israel had attempted to pacify, Tiglath-Pileser of the Assyrians. These ancient peoples were known for their heinous acts of torture. When they took another tribe out of their homeland, the Assyrians intended to enforce punishment down to the lowest level of society. Families would be torn apart, women would be raped. Only the lowest class, the most ignorant of the people, remained in Israel. No one remained who could mount resistance to their puppet government. The most educated and wealthiest were the ones taken away and scattered throughout the region.

God has a way, however, of getting his point across to the people who threatened his chosen ones. He still had hope for the Israelites. We should recall the events that unfolded after the Assyrian conquest.

Babylon, a new empire, rose up conquering Assyria and eventually Judah in 586 B.C. The Babylonians were then conquered by the Persians. One of the most heathen rulers of all time, a non-believer named Cyrus, understood the plight of these Jews and granted them permission to go back home. In the middle of the exile, God began to rebuild through the work of an earthly Persian king.

We should review these lessons from the exile, because God always has the intent to rebuild what individuals destroy. While many of the people were victims of the destruction brought by Jeroboam II and Amaziah, God would not forget his precious chosen ones.

I remember being in Germany a year after the Berlin wall fell. We would walk around from town to town and see bullet holes still remaining from World War II imbedded in walls. Churches such as the old Berlin Cathedral and other buildings still were lying in ruins because they never had finances to rebuild. But when freedom dawned in that land, the construction process began to take place; people found hope, new jobs, new freedoms and took pride in their construction again. Even churches like the Berlin Cathedral reopened as marvelous houses of worship.

God replants people

Amos shows us in this text as well that God replants his people. Through the mouth of his prophet, God shows us he is not trying to punish the people for punishment's sake. Rather, this is only a transitional phase in the lives of the Israelites. In the end, the once dry agricultural harvest will be watered and restored by God; the same God who brought judgment would bring renewal. In 9:14, the reversal of destruction has been completed. Now the exiled people are back; they are able to build again; their vineyards are fruitful; and their gardens are alive.

Instead of a day of judgment and wrath like the day of the Lord, a new day is dawning full of hope and promise for these restored people. This time, the people do not think that they have rights to the land and the government and the social systems; the focus in this text is on their dependence on God. God is the one who gives them the land; he is the one who plants them. They understand they are contingent people and learn to trust the Lord even better.

God opens our eyes

Amos' eyes were opened by a sovereign God to see the natural progression of the choices the people were making. God did not send earthquakes, drought, fire and destruction so the people could be punished. They set themselves up for their own failure. Amos was able to use the events in life as analogies for the decay on the inside of their lives. He was able to speak a word of hope when the imminent doom and destruction were coming. Amos' message was a sign of love that God still desired for the people to be near him, even though they continually rejected him.

In the world today, people still debate whether or not God actively sends destruction for the purposes of punishing people. From a New Testament perspective of grace, we say, "No." God is able, however, to open our eyes to the world around us, alerting us to the need for dependence on the Lord who is in control.

When the space shuttle Columbia exploded over the skies of Texas, many of us literally watched in stunned amazement. One of those people was a local man named Richard who had been visiting our church with his girlfriend.

From what little I knew about Richard, he had been running from the Lord for a long time. When he saw the shuttle disaster, he sought out his girlfriend's father, a fellow minister in our community. That morning, Richard trusted the Lord as his personal Savior. He joined our church the next day and was baptized a month later.

Even though God did not send the astronauts of the Columbia to this horrible death, through this terrible experience, Richard's eyes were opened to a God who loved him very much and had been seeking him for a long time. Amos was hoping the same could happen to many in Israel in 760 B.C.

Questions for discussion

In the end, Israel's restoration comes from a remnant of people allowed to go back and restore everything that was lost. How did these events play out in the life of Nehemiah?

Describe a natural disaster where your eyes were opened to your need for dependence upon God.

There is a natural temptation to see destruction in nature and life as God's condemnation on certain people. How do we avoid that dangerous interpretation of Scripture yet keep our eyes open to God's messages to us through the significant events in life?

Other ancient near eastern cultures thought their gods tricked people and even willfully destroyed them. How did Amos' message differ from the myths of other gods during his time? How did Amos show the true God's power and love at the same time?

What are some of the distractions in the modern world that deceive us into thinking we are actually in control of our destinies? What role do technological advances, consumerism and wealth play in your life? Is it hard to remain dependent upon God while putting faith in other areas of society?

The last word of Amos is one of hope. How can we be ambassadors of hope to those experiencing disaster around us?

How does Amos contrast with modern-day figures who try to predict the return of Jesus Christ? What would Amos say to them? What should we focus on in our lives while anticipating the coming day of the Lord?

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.