BLENDING IN (AMOS 2:6-8)
1.
1. The book of Amos begins by condemning six different nations.
2.
Three of these nations could be called
3. After Amos finished condemning the pagans he turned to God’s people.
4. Not only had the heathens made God angry, the Israelites had committed terrible sins.
5.
It has been previously noted that Amos was commissioned
to preach to northern
6.
Thus, even though he mentioned
7.
Here is what he said to those in northern
THE SINS THAT ARE LISTED MAY BE CLASSIFIED UNDER ONE OF FOUR HEADINGS: GREED, IMMORALITY, CALLOUSNESS, AND HYPOCRISY.
A. Most have heard the old expression “survival of the fittest.”
B. In
C. These people took advantage of the poor and needy.
D. God’s people conned and swindled those who were broke and poverty stricken.
E. The people who attended church deceived the less fortunate.
F. It is bad enough to cheat people, but what do we think of someone who cheats the poor?
G. At times we see examples of this.
I). There are car dealers who supposedly sell cars at a bargain.
II). What the buyers don’t know is that they are being cheated by a high interest rate.
III). Or, the car was wrecked and the value is a lot less than the selling price.
IV). Or, the car is just a few miles away from needing major repairs.
V). Many who are poor are tricked by unscrupulous dealers.
VI). Older homeowners on a fixed income have been conned by home improvement people.
VII). There have always been people who are willing to cheat the poor and take from the unsuspecting.
2. The Hebrews were so bad and greedy that justice was perverted for a pair of shoes (2:6).
A. This seems to describe judges who took bribes.
B. If a court case came before a judge, and the poor person should have won the case,
C. The rich would pay the judge a small fee (as small as a new set of shoes) to bribe the judges.
D. In the days of Amos, money talked.
E. If you knew the right people and had enough money, the truth didn’t matter.
F. Money and connections (power) were what the courts used.
G. An alternative explanation to the “shoes” is debtor’s prison.
H. Some think the poor needed money and people gave them loans.
I. However, when the poor could not repay the loans (even small loans for something like shoes),
J. The debtors were forced into slavery and sold.
K. If this is the right explanation God’s people were somewhat akin to loan sharks.
L. Compare this behavior to what the law said (Deut. 15:7-11).
M. These people had written law but they didn’t follow it.
N. They had clear guidance from God but they didn’t care.
VIII). The rich were so godless they panted after the dust on the heads of the poor, verse 2:7a.
IX). This is an interesting expression, though we are not 100% sure what it means.
X). It may be a figurative expression that means the poor were treated like dirt.
XI). It
could mean the poor were treated so badly they put dirt on their heads to
mourn, 2 Sam. 1:2.
XII). Church going people cheated the poor and this angered God.
3. THOSE WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOD’S PEOPLE DIDN’T STOP WITH GREED. THEY WERE SEXUALLY IMMORAL.
A. A father and son were with the same woman, Amos 2:7.
B. One
of the Ten Commandments was, “Thou shall not commit adultery”, Ex.
C. The people didn’t keep that law.
D. Amos indicted the south (verse 4) for not keeping God’s statutes.”
E. Religious people were aware of God’s law but they turned their back on it.
F. They wanted a religious faith that pleased them, or had laws they liked.
G. They were so intent on doing things their own way they willfully disobeyed God.
4. In the second chapter of this book there is a reference to a piece of clothing (a “cloak”, KJV, v. 8).
A. These cloaks were taken when the poor took out a loan.
B. In our society a loan officer may not require collateral on a small loan.
C. Some loans only require a signature if we have good credit.
D. Other loans require collateral. The banker wants something of value before we get the money.
E. The people who were lending money when Amos preached wanted collateral.
F. Under the Old Testament system God had some rules about collateral.
G. Moses wrote that some things were not to be taken for collateral.
H. Millstones were not to be taken (Deut. 24:6).
I. Moses said these were a man’s “life.”
J. People were dependent upon this tool to make food.
K. Thus, the law said that those who lent money could not take this as security.
L. The people who were poor could give their cloak as collateral, but this was to be returned.
M. Cloaks were not to be kept overnight.
N. Two passages that deal with this matter are Ex. 22:26-27 and Deut. 24:10-13.
O. Since these passages are not identical I want to read them both.
P. This information is very serious.
Q.
Ex. 22:26-27.
R. Deut. 24:10-13.
S. If a cloak were taken as collateral it needed to be returned before the sun went down.
T. If it were not returned God would “hear” the poor man’s “cry.”
U. Deut. 24:12 said, “Do not sleep with this man’s pledge” (his cloak).
V. What did the people in the days of Amos do?
W. They explicitly violated God’s commandment.
XIII). We sometimes deal with people who are in open rebellion to God’s instructions.
XIV). We wonder how people can do what they do when the Bible is so plain.
XV). The book of Amos says that some are openly rebellious to God.
XVI). Some know what is right and what God wants, but they still go their own way.
XVII). Some have little to no concern for God’s statutes.
XVIII). The book of Amos says that this approach to life leads to destruction.
5. The
people of
A. The last sin cited by the prophet is found in 8b.
B. The people “drank wine.”
C. They drank wine “in the house of their God.”
D. Notice the words “their God”. The god worshipped by the north was not Jehovah.
E. Their god was immorality, man made worship, and dishonesty.
F. When it came time to worship, their worship was a drinking party.
G. Did you happen to notice how these people paid for their liquor? Look at the text.
H. The drunken “fined” (spell the word) people.
I. Most suspect the fines were levied against the poor.
J. If we pay a fine perhaps it goes into a road improvement fund or the educational system.
K. When these people paid fines it went into a fund that paid for the liquor drank in worship.
6. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S PEOPLE IN AMOS 2 THE QUESTIONS THAT ARISE ARE WHY AND HOW? HOW COULD GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE SUNK SO LOW? HOW COULD THEY CHEAT THE POOR, COMMIT IMMORALITY, ABUSE THE IMPOVERISHED, AND SO CORRUPT WORSHIP THAT THEY DRANK ALCOHOL IN THE HOUSE OF GOD?
A. The Hebrews allowed themselves to be influenced by the world.
B. J.B. Philips offered an interesting translation of Rom. 12:2.
C. The translations we normally use say something like,
XIX). “And be not fashioned according to this world.”
D. Philips translated this, “Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
E. This is a helpful translation because the word “fashion” means “mold.”
F. The world has a mold that it uses to shape people.
G. Some people are so soft and pliable they are shaped in a short period of time.
H. I remember a close high school friend who had a brilliant mind.
I. He was a good person, though he was not a Christian.
J. This man entered the service about the same time I did and he took a different path.
K. He became a drunk.
L. It only took a few months for the world to mold this young man into its ways.
M. For others the process takes longer.
N. Sometimes a Christian is drawn into the world after several years.
O. Whether the process is slow or fast the end result is the same.
P. People are conformed to the image of the world and this results in spiritual death.
Q. The Hebrews had been squeezed into the world’s mold.
R. They learned about dishonesty, immorality, callousness, and hypocrisy.
S. They then practiced these sins with zeal and skill.
T. The Bible says in Rom. 12 that we must be “transformed.”
U. Last Friday I read a lengthy article about Freak Dancing.
V. The article was entitled, “Why Freak Dancing Freaks Out Schools.”
XX). I must be getting old because I had not heard of “freak dancing.”
XXI). However, the description of this dancing was not new.
XXII). Freak dancing may be described as the bump and grind kind of dancing.
XXIII). It has become so prevalent that a suburban Philadelphia High school has said,
XXIV). “Crotch to crotch dance moves are prohibited.”
XXV). In
Riverview, MI, students who want to dance must pass a test on acceptable
dancing
behavior.
XXVI). In
Milwaukee a school has posted dance rules at the door & chaperones prowl
the dance
floor with walkie talkies.
XXVII). Dozens of schools have canceled some dances because of the current trend.
XXVIII). The part of this article which most intrigued me was this (and I am quoting):
XXIX). “”Freak dancing is ‘just normal,’…’It’s just the way everybody dances.’”
XXX). “Honor roll kids do it. Church going kids do it.”
XXXI). The message from the world is, “Come on—conform. Be part of the group.”
7. Some in the schools have retained at least a little sense and said “no. Conforming is wrong.”
8. “This type of thing is intolerable and we will not allow it.”
9. This is the message from the book of Amos 2. Conforming to the world is wrong.
A. This week, next week, and throughout our lives the world will wiggle its finger at us.
B. It says “Come on. The part is over here. Conform. Be part of the group. Join us.”
C. Many eventually give into that invitation.
D. Israel did. The south accepted the invitation as did the north.
E. When the Israelites conformed they blew it. They made a terrible mistake.
F. The Bible tells us to learn from the mistakes of others.
G. What has been recorded about the past has been recorded to help us.
H. Tonight the message is, “Do not conform to the world no matter what it offers.
I. No matter how frequent and persistent the invitations, turn a deaf ear to the wrong way.
J. The Israelites conformed and “profaned God’s holy name” (7b).
K. If anyone here has become a Christian but has started to life a live that profanes the name of God,
L. Or you have been listening to the world too long, that can be changed.