Amos and Us

The Thursday morning men are on a journey through the Bible which started in 2002 and are currently in Amos.  The past couple of weeks we have been working in Amos 2:9-16 which is printed here:

Amos 2:9-10, “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.”

11-12, “I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazirites.  Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’”

13-16, “Behold, I am weighed down by you, as a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, the strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow, the swift of foot shall not escape, nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day,” says the LORD.

Now let me give you some points:

1. 2:9, God’s people had faced a great presence in the land promised them by God.  The inhabitants were giants with mighty cities and the spies felt like grasshoppers (Numbers 13:32).  BUT GOD! God picked their high fruit (leaders and glories) and withered their roots (armies and government).
2. 2:10, God reminded them (history) that He had defeated a greater enemy that had held them as slaves with NO hope.  God sent in one man, just one man, and freed them.  Then He destroyed the greatest mechanized army in the world – the 600 chariot army of Egypt.  Furthermore, God had led and cared for them through a wilderness that would have been impossible except for Him.  Then He gave them fortified cities and strong peoples.  God had shown them great victories!
3. 2:11, Then God gave them spiritual leaders/teachers and spiritual models (Nazarites) that they might know of Him so to trust and walk with Him.
4. 2:11b, God asked, “Is this not true?”   Think about us as a country. 

BUT 

5. 2:12, The people didn’t like those who had a higher standard and enticed them to lower their standards.  They didn’t like those who set Sunday aside or abstained from all alcohol or home-schooled their children.  Also, they didn’t like the preachers teaching on Hell and divorce and separation.  Rather,  they told them to tone it down or be still or talk about love and social justice.
6. 2:13, So God!  God was not amused.  Rather, He promised to crush them as when a wagon is overloaded and collapses.  The load:  COVID, China, police issues, riots, debt, socialism, murders, statues destroyed, burnings/vandalism, unemployment, fear, anger, doubt, hackings, Iran, and evil.
7. 2:14-16 (NIV) The swift will not escape – computers hacked, intel confused, decisions slowed
   – the strong will not muster their strength – military, diplomacy, and the dollar weakened
   – and the warrior will not save his life – first responders will be vulnerable
   – The archer will not stand his ground – the strong will be fearful
   – the fleet-footed soldier will not get away – escapes/rescues blocked
   – and the horseman will not save his life – equipment will fail to deliver
   – Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day – the unthinkable will happen

            That which they trusted failed them.  God became their enemy.

8. 2:16, “says the LORD” – declares the great I AM – the God of the burning bush!

So what is to be learned by us from this?