Jul. 19, 2023

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

H ILLTOP LAKES CHAPEL

J ULY 19, 2023

Amos 2:4-16

Part 1

4 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have rejected the law of the LORD,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

those after which their fathers walked.

5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

6 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals—

7 those who trample the head of the poor into the

dust of the earth

and turn aside the way of the afflicted;

a man and his father go in to the same girl,

so that my holy name is profaned;

8 they lay themselves down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge,

and in the house of their God they drink

the wine of those who have been fined.

9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before

them,

whose height was like the height of the cedars

and who was as strong as the oaks;

I destroyed his fruit above

and his roots beneath.

10 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land

of Egypt

and led you forty years in the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite.

11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”

declares the LORD.

12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

and commanded the prophets,

saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’

13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,

as a cart full of sheaves presses down.

14 Flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong shall not retain his strength,

nor shall the mighty save his life;

15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,

and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,

nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;

16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty

shall flee away naked in that day,”

declares the LORD.

_______________________

v 4 – The LORD

Yahweh (Jehovah—KJV)

Yhvh

“For three transgressions of Judah, and for four...”

A rhetorical phrase

“You have sinned, and you have continued to sin...”

“I will not revoke the punishment...”

Also rhetorical—an even stronger statement than “I will punish”

2

“because they have rejected the law of the

LORD...”

law – torah – law, instruction, teaching

“rejected the law of Yahweh”

This was and is a direct affront, a

personal affront, to Yahweh

The law was the embodiment of

righteous living—living that is pleasing to God, living that is how God intended life to be

The law has not been abolished by Christ, it is fulfilled in Christ

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.—John 1:17

To reject the law—and now, to reject Christ—is to reject God himself. It is a rejection of the person and

authority of God.

“but their lies have led them astray...”

Then and now, people are led astray with their own lies or lies that they have adopted.

We are responsible for what we “buy into” and whom we follow.

“those after which their fathers walked”

This is by way of observation—not excuse.

v 5 – “So I will send a fire upon Judah...”

God’s judgment. “I will send...”

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”—Galatians 6:7

In this case, there was a specific fulfillment (the earthquake, 1:1) and there is a general principle with

ongoing fulfillments

“and it shall devour...”

Even the sacred spaces and the citadels of the city of David, Jerusalem, will not be spared the judgment

of God.

And the judgment is because of lifestyle!

vv 6-7a – “Thus says the LORD...”

Israel – the northern 10 tribes

The abuse of the poor

cf. James 2:1-7, on showing partiality, and 5:1-6 warning against the rich

cf. 1 John 3:17-18

Jesus taught constantly about use of possessions, the rich, the poor, ...

Treating people as commodities

Using money (against need) to dominate, even to own, other people

Usuary was forbidden in Israel (among Jews), and the law placed time limits on debts; not record that

this was ever faithfully observed, although it may have been for a while

People were sold into slavery—righteous people—for small debts of silver or a pair of sandals

No doubt these practices were “legal.” But they were abusive and condemned by God.

those who “trample the head of the poor” – a more lit. “those who pant after the dust on the head of the

poor” – they are so greedy that they want even the dust on the head of the poor

“and turn aside the way of the afflicted”

“afflicted” – anav – more often, “humble”

they pervert, they control the way of the humble, forcing him into paths for their own benefit, not

his

Parallelism

“because they have rejected the law of the L ORD,

and have not kept his statutes”

An example of parallelism, highly characteristic of

Hebrew poetry: two lines that complement each other on

the same truth or thought.

3

We recognize that many things have and will be advocated in the name of “economic justice” that are

also, themselves, evil , unjust, and oppressive. But rejecting these equally abusive things does not

take away our responsibilities regarding use of possessions and treatment of others that the Bible

teaches throughout its pages.

Our situation is further complicated because of a global economy. Most of us would not buy a can

opener if it was manufactured right down the road by avowed and aggressive atheists using slave

labor. But if that ownership and slave labor is out of sight, far away, in another country...

v 7b – “a man and his father go in to the same girl...”

Material wealth and greed was combined with flagrant immorality (what a shock)

“girl,” not “woman”

This was a part of the “worship” of foreign idols, which was common. It was still common in NT times.

“my holy name” – these were the so-called people of God who were doing these things, defiling God’s

name

v 8 — combines recognition of both kinds of sins in cutting irony

“they lay themselves down beside every altar”—the sin identified above

“on garments taken in pledge”—on garments, taken from a poor person as pledge on a loan, a garment

the poor person needs

“and in the house of their God”—idol worship

“they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”—they enjoy wine paid for from fines imposed upon

the needy