Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20100613.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Amos: Heeding The Word Of The God Of The Whole World
Part IX: Our Need To Submit To God's Word Versus Heeding Our Own Views
(Amos 5:1-17)
  1. Introduction
    1. Though we rear our children to "think on your own" as responsible adults, just the opposite needs to be true in the spiritual realm where we are to heed God's revelation versus relying on our own ideas.
    2. This truth is clarified in Amos 5:1-17, and we view it for our insight and edification as follows:
  2. Our Need To Submit To God's Word Versus Heeding Our Own Views, Amos 5:1-17.
    1. God called his prophet, Amos to perform a lamentation over the nation Israel in Amos 5:1a.
    2. That lamentation voiced grief over Israel's future fall, ceasing to be a "virgin" as a nation in that, though she had never been invaded, invaders would come and devastate her with none to help, Amos 5:1b-2.
    3. Indeed, ninety per cent of the nation would be destroyed, with only a tenth remaining alive, Amos 5:3.
    4. <+@>The cause for such devastation would be God's judgment on the nation for going her own unbiblical way in her thoughts and deeds versus submitting to Almighty God and His Word, Amos 5:4-17 (as follows):
      1. God had wanted Israel to seek Him and live -- NOT to seek Bethel or to enter Gilgal or cross over into Beersheba in keeping with her own ideas, Amos 5:4-5a. To explain, (a) Bethel was once the place where patriarch Jacob met God (Gen. 28:10-19), but Jeroboam had turned it into a place of syncretistic worship (1 Kings 12:26-29); (b) Gilgal had been the place where Israel first worshiped God in entering Canaan (Jos. 4-5), but some still worshiped there after God directed them to worship Him in Jerusalem (Hos. 12:11; Deut. 12:1-12; 1 Kings 9:1-3); (c) some in Israel had apparently even made pilgrimages far south into Beersheba, a place made famous by the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac, to seek a blessing in worshiping there (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1439), but this also violated God's Word!
      2. The Lord indicated that such unbiblical, false religiosity would not be blessed by Him, Amos 5:5b,c:
        1. God predicted that Gilgal where Israel entered Canaan would be where she would go into exile, 5:5.
        2. God predicted Bethel, the "house of God," would be reduced to aven, "grief, wickedness," 5:5d.
      3. Instead of following her own ideas, God required Israel to seek Him and live, or He would sweep through the house of Joseph (referring to the Northern Kingdom of Israel whose capital was in Samaria of Ephraim, the chief tribe of Joseph) as an unquenchable fire, and destroy her by invaders, Amos 5:6.
      4. In addition, the nation turned healing justice into poisonous wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground in heeding her lusts, Amos 5:7 (Ibid.), and this activity is explained in Amos 5:10-13:
        1. The people were so twisted in following their own thoughts and lusts that they actually hated those judges who reproved evil in court and despised those witnesses who told the truth, Amos 5:10.
        2. Indeed, the people so oppressed the upright and took bribes to deprive the vulnerable of justice in their courts that prudent men though it sensible to stay quiet there to protect themselves, 5:12b-13.
        3. This twisted form of justice arose since the people were bent on using the courts to oppress the poor for their grain in order to build up their rich stone mansions and lush vineyards; nevertheless, God would not let these abusers live in their mansions or drink the wine of their vineyards, for He knew how many and great were their sins, Amos 5:11-12a.
      5. Israel had neglected to revere the Sovereign Creator God of the constellations, Pleiades and Orion that pagan men [and apostate Hebrews] viewed for direction and prophecy, Who turned the night into dawn and the day into night, Who called for the seas' waters to be poured over the land in great storms, Who flashed destruction down from the sky like lightening over strongholds to bring fortified cities to ruin, Amos 5:8-9; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Amos 5:8.
      6. Thus, Israel was to seek good, not evil, that she might live under God Almighty's blessing, Amos 5:14. If she hated evil and loved good, maintaining justice in her courts, God might show mercy, Amos 5:15.
      7. However, if the current status remained, Israel would experience devastation and grief, Amos 5:16-17.
Lesson: The Sovereign Lord of creation did not tolerate Israel's following her own religious ideas and lusts versus humbly heeding Him, so He warned of Israel's need to repent or suffer His great wrath!

Application: May we DARE NOT HEED our OWN IDEAS, but HUMBLY FOLLOW GOD'S WORD!