Amos 4-6

Resources:

• Amos 4-6 Reading Guide
• Amos 4-6 Teaching Notes
• Amos 4-6 Video

Overview:

• Amos chapter 4 emphasizes the consequences of the people’s choices and the importance of true repentance. God had intervened multiple times to guide the people back to Him, but their actions did not reflect genuine repentance. Instead of performing rituals, true repentance involves a heart transformation, seeking justice, and showing compassion to the oppressed.

• Amos chapter 5 focuses on the importance of justice and righteousness over religious rituals. It begins with a lament for Israel’s fall, predicting that the nation will be severely diminished, with only a small fraction of its people surviving the coming judgment.

• Amos chapter 6 is directed at those who are at ease and secure in Zion and Samaria. It criticizes the wealthy and powerful for their complacency, luxury, and lack of compassion for the poor and oppressed.

Notes on the video:

• Amos 4
  • v1: Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria,you women who oppress the poorand crush the needy,and who are always calling to your husbands,‘Bring us another drink!’
  • v2: The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness:‘The time will come when you will be led away with hooks in your noses.Every last one of you will be dragged away like a fish on a hook!
  • v3: You will be led out through the ruins of the wall;you will be thrown from your fortresses, ‘says the Lord.
  • v4: ‘Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel.Keep on disobeying at Gilgal.Offer sacrifices each morning,and bring your tithes every three days.
  • v5: Present your bread made with yeastas an offering of thanksgiving.Then give your extra voluntary offeringsso you can brag about it everywhere!This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,’says the Sovereign Lord.
  • v6: ‘I brought hunger to every cityand famine to every town.But still you would not return to me,’says the Lord.
  • v7: ‘I kept the rain from fallingwhen your crops needed it the most.I sent rain on one townbut withheld it from another.Rain fell on one field,while another field withered away.
  • v8: People staggered from town to town looking for water,but there was never enough.But still you would not return to me,’says the Lord.
  • v9: ‘I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew.Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees.But still you would not return to me,’says the Lord.
  • v10: ‘I sent plagues on youlike the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago.I killed your young men in warand led all your horses away.The stench of death filled the air!But still you would not return to me,’says the Lord.
  • v11: ‘I destroyed some of your cities,as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.Those of you who survivedwere like charred sticks pulled from a fire.But still you would not return to me,’says the Lord.
  • v12: ‘Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!’
  • v13: For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.He turns the light of dawn into darknessand treads on the heights of the earth.The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
• Amos 5
  • v1: Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing:
  • v2: ‘The virgin Israel has fallen,never to rise again!She lies abandoned on the ground,with no one to help her up.’
  • v3: The Sovereign Lord says: ‘When a city sends a thousand men to battle,only a hundred will return.When a town sends a hundred,only ten will come back alive.’
  • v4: Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: ‘Come back to me and live!
  • v5: Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.’
  • v6: Come back to the Lord and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire,devouring you completely.Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.
    • Judgement is coming and fire will consume everything because they haven’t been obeying God’s commands.
    • We should seek Christ and live so that we will have eternal life – it is the only way to experience God’s goodness. It’s also the only way to avoid going to hell. This is something that isn’t talked about much these days.
    • God’s judgement is righteous judgement. We can avoid punishment for our sins by seeking Christ.
  • v7: You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.You treat the righteous like dirt.
  • v8: It is the Lord who created the stars,the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!
  • v9: With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong,crushing all their defenses.
  • v10: How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!
    • They hate the one who convicts the guilty and despise the one who speaks with integrity.
  • v11: You trample the poor,stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses,you will never live in them.Though you plant lush vineyards,you will never drink wine from them.
  • v12: For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions.You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
  • v13: So those who are smart keep their mouths shut,for it is an evil time.
  • v14: Do what is good and run from evilso that you may live!Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,just as you have claimed.
  • v15: Hate evil and love what is good;turn your courts into true halls of justice.Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.
  • v16: Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says: ‘There will be crying in all the public squares and mourning in every street. Call for the farmers to weep with you,and summon professional mourners to wail.
    • Everyone is being asked to mourn – even hired hands.
  • v17: There will be wailing in every vineyard,for I will destroy them all,’ says the Lord.
    • This reminds us of the Passover that occurred in Exodus.
  • v18: What sorrow awaits you who say, ‘If only the day of the Lord were here!’You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light.
  • v19: In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion —only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house — and he’s bitten by a snake.
  • v20: Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,without a ray of joy or hope.
  • v21: ‘I hate all your show and pretense — the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
    • God is fed up with the falseness of their religious practices because they refused to follow his commands.
  • v22: I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
  • v23: Away with your noisy hymns of praise!I will not listen to the music of your harps.
  • v24: Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.
  • v25: Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? 
  • v26: No, you served your pagan gods — Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god — the images you made for yourselves. 
    • These are false gods they worshipped when the should have been worshipping the Lord.
  • v27: So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus, ‘ says the Lord, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies.
• Amos 6
  • v1: What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem,and you who feel secure in Samaria!You are famous and popular in Israel,and people go to you for help.
  • v2: But go over to Calnehand see what happened there.Then go to the great city of Hamathand down to the Philistine city of Gath.You are no better than they were,and look at how they were destroyed.
  • v3: You push away every thought of coming disaster,but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
  • v4: How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds and lounge on your couches,eating the meat of tender lambs from the flockand of choice calves fattened in the stall.
  • v5: You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David.
  • v6: You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions.You care nothing about the ruin of your nation.
  • v7: Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives.Suddenly, all your parties will end.
  • v8: The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says: ‘I despise the arrogance of Israel, and I hate their fortresses.I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies.’
  • v9: (If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. 
  • v10: And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ When the person begins to swear, ‘No, by . . . ,’ he will interrupt and say, ‘Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the Lord.’)
  • v11: When the Lord gives the command, homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces.
  • v12: Can horses gallop over boulders?Can oxen be used to plow them?But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poisonand the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
  • v13: And you brag about your conquest of Lo-debar.You boast, ‘Didn’t we take Karnaim by our own strength?’
  • v14: ‘O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you,’says the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.‘They will oppress you throughout your land —from Lebo-hamath in the north to the Arabah Valley in the south.’

Group Discussion:

• Again, it’s a shame that they are moving so fast through the Minor prophets in the videos.
• God gave the Israelites multiple opportunities to seek Him. We can take hope and be thankful that God is the Restorer and He always looks to restore.
• Jeremiah asks why his pain is unending – God reminds Jeremiah the pain is happening because he is not seeking God.
• Amos 5:6 is the original “hellfire and brimstone” preaching. We talk a lot about the goodness of following Jesus but not about the fact that Jesus serves as our advocate and clears our sins, helping us avoid the punishment of going to hell.
• The group reviewed Praise and Prayer requests.
  • I am thankful for:
    • my relationship with my wife, kids, and my Canadian family
    • my health
    • our Bible study group and our ongoing meetings
    • having the resources to do things like wine tasting and going to the movies
  • I am praying for:
    • our countries and its leaders
    • my children – to keep them healthy, safe, and successful and to surround them with positive influences
    • my wife to sleep better and for the volume of work she’s facing to be more manageable for her team
    • the Christians in Seattle that were recently persecuted by a crowd of AntiFa bullies, for the city to better defend religious freedoms, and for the members of Seattle AntiFa to reconsider their actions and avoid acting like this in the future
    • the homeless in our countries
    • the opportunity to locate a full-time job or some other form of steady income so that I might better provide for my wife, children, church, and my community

Amos 1-3

Resources:

• Amos 1-3 Reading Guide
• Amos 1-3 Teaching Notes
• Amos 1-3 Video

Overview:

• Amos was a shepherd and farmer who lived near the border between northern Israel and southern Judah. Israel was ruled by Jeroboam II who was one of Israel’s worst kings. Jeroboam’s kingdom permitted  allowed idol worship which led to injustice and neglect of the poor.

• Amos got fed up with seeing his country and people fall apart because they had turned away from the Lord. Amos journeyed to Bethel to share God’s word with the people. Amos is a collection of his sermons, poems, and visions that he shared over the years.

Notes on the video:

• Amos 1
  • v3-5: judgement comes against Syria for three crimes: they beat the people of Gilead, selling them as slaves into Edom.  They broke a treaty of brotherhood with Israel by selling these slaves (v6-10). They also attacked people with swords (v11-12).
  • God tells Amos to warn people that punishment is coming to them for committing such violent crimes (v13-15).
• Amos 2
  • v1-3: punishment coming due to injustice
  • v4-5: punishment is coming to Judah (the northern kingdom) for turning away from the Lord and despising His laws
  • v6-16: Judgement comes against Israel
• Amos 3
  • v1-2: the Lord emphasizes that Israel is His chosen people and they need to listen to His message, explaining why they must be punished
  • v4-6: since the people of Israel cannot agree to follow the Lord’s laws they will be punished – they must agree to follow the Lord’s laws to avoid punishment
  • v7: the Lord will reveal His plans to the prophets, warning His people
  • v9-10: the Lord is angry by their disagreement – they have become incapable of doing what is right
  • v11-12: the enemies of Israel will no longer be held back from Israel – they will invade the country and loot it of its valuables
  • v13-15: Israel will be punished for refusing to follow the Lord’s law – the wealthy will lose everything due to their misuse of wealth

Group Discussion:

• It’s a shame that they are moving so fast through the Minor prophets. There are some deep, direct warnings in these books that people have accused the Jews of going back and writing into the Book of Amos to make it so accurate. These prophesies were so accurate people thought Amos may have been written prior to the attacks on Israel (it wasn’t).
• God doesn’t play around – His warnings are to be taken seriously. God loves us but He cannot abide sin. God has every reason to judge us and hold us accountable.
• When God is warning that judgement is coming He always enables people to have some hope. For example, before God kicked Adam and Eve out of Eden He sent a promised one to crush Satan and enable restoration. There is always a hope and promise despite judgement. This shows how much God loves His people despite them turning away from Him and His laws.
• People think the God of the Old Testament is all about wrath and punishment but the God of the New Testament is all about love and forgiveness. These people overlook the fact that the bloodiest  book in the Bible is in the New Testament and has no forgiveness for those being punished (Revelations).
• The meeting ended with prayer requests.
  • I gave thanks for all of the blessings I’ve had and forgiveness for those I take for granted. My heart is very full.
  • I asked for prayers for our countries, its leaders, the homeless, and our families.