MANS NEED FOR GOD (AMOS 2:9-12)
1. Many of us get tired of the people who repeatedly use the pronoun “I.”
2. Some use this personal pronoun in just about every sentence they utter.
3. Those who study the Old Testament are often surprised by the pronoun “I.”
4. In the Old Testament the ASV uses the pronoun “I” well over 5,000 times.
5. In many of these passages the “I” refers to God.
6. Again and again God said “I….”.
7. The first example of this comes from Gen. 1:29.
8. God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth.
9. I know that the scripture from Amos 2 has already been read.
10. Let’s take a look at the verses one more time and this time look for the pronoun “I”.
11. We will start in verse 9 and stop with verse 12. Read.
12. In four verses the pronoun “I” occurs four times.
A. God said, “I destroyed the Amorite.”
B. I destroyed “his fruit from above and his roots from beneath” (the destruction was thorough).
C. I
brought you up out of the
D. I raised up from your sons prophets and Nazirites.
13. What God did were things that the Hebrews could not have done on their own.
A. Previous generations of the Israelites had been in Egyptian bondage.
B. This nation at an earlier time in history had been enslaved for 400 years.
C. These
people were in captivity longer than
D. On their own the Hebrew people had no chance of escaping
from
E. God intervened and did what the Jews could not do.
F. God delivered this nation and thus claimed in Amos 2 and elsewhere, “I delivered you.”
G. God said He didn’t stop with getting the Hebrew people out slavery.
H. Those who were freed needed a system of religion and government.
I. God said, “I gave that to you as well.”
J. “I gave you prophets and Nazirites.”
K. He also said, “I was the one who led you for 40 years in the wilderness.”
L. If God had wanted to be more detailed He could have said,
M. “I was the one who cared for an entire nation, each day, for a 40 year period.”
N. After this period ended God did something else.
O. He said, “I was the one who gave you the land of the Amorite.”
P. The
word Amorite seems to be a general description for the people who lived in
Q. God said, “I gave you a land.”
R. All of these “I’s” show who did the work.
14. THOUGH AMOS HAS BEEN GONE FOR A LONG TIME, THE LESSONS FOUND IN THE PRONOUN “I” ARE STILL SIGNIFICANT AND NEED TO BE TAUGHT.
A. God is still the one who is solely in charge for certain things.
B. Let’s draw some comparisons between the two testaments.
C. God said to the Hebrews, “I am the one who delivered you out of Egyptian bondage.”
D. Is there any type of bondage today? Yes. We call it sin.
E. Rom. 6:6 (ASV) specifically states that sin is bondage.
F. Who delivers us from sin? The answer is God.
G. Sometimes those in the church are charged with believing that we work our way to salvation.
H. Some outside the church even assert we believe in earning our salvation.
I. The Hebrews didn’t earn salvation. Neither did they work their way out of Egypt.
J. God said, “I delivered the Hebrew people. It was me who delivered them.”
K. The deliverance of Christians must also be attributed to God.
L. Though many say, “I became a Christian,” what about “God saved me”?
M. Put the emphasis on God.
N. When unsaved people are delivered from sin God is still entitled to say “I delivered them.”
O. The fact that God delivers us does not remove our need to be obedient.
P. God delivered the Hebrews but did the Jews sit back and do nothing?
Q. Were the Jews completely inactive when it came time to be freed from captivity?
R. The book of Exodus says the Hebrew people had some responsibilities.
S. According to Ex. 12:7 blood was to be placed on the doorposts.
T. God was responsible for the deliverance, but the people had to obey.
U. The same is true for us. God delivers us when we comply with His word.
V. Faith, repentance, confession, and baptism does not mean we earn salvation.
W. As Christians must be always be mindful of God’s role in our life and world.
I). He is the one who has saved and redeemed us from sin.
II). He is the one who gives us life each day.
III). He is the one who allows us to function.
15. Even in the creation this idea of “I” is seen.
A. God said, “I will make a help meet for man,” Gen. 2:18.
B. Gen. 3:11 God said, “I commanded that this tree not be eaten from.”
C. The pain of childbirth exists because God said, “I commanded it”, Gen. 3:16.
D. The flood came (Gen. 6:17) because God said, “I commanded it.”
E. According to Gen. 9:5 when people commit murder God says, “I require their blood.”
F. Later in Gen. 9:13 God said, “I set the rainbow in the sky.”
16. All of these “I’s” are significant.
A. They affirm that God is sovereign.
B. He is in absolute control of the world and its inhabitants.
C. For modern man this may be a difficult concept to appreciate.
D. Most of us have some difficulty in understanding full authority.
IV). We see people with power but we know they also have some limitations.
V). They may be able to tell us what to do some of the time but not all of the time.
VI). They may be important, but they are not the ruler of our life.
VII). The thousands of I’s that occur in scripture are like giant red letters in the Bible.
VIII). God says He is the one who is responsible for all things.
IX). Since He is responsible for all He insists that people honor, respect, and obey Him.
X). At the present time this teaching is not too popular.
XI). Many want to “be their own person.”
XII). We are told that people “have their own way of doing things” or,
XIII). “This is my life.”
XIV). God says, “No. I am the creator and I own you.”
XV). In Ex. 20:5 and 34:14 God said, “I am a jealous God.”
17. God does not tolerate the worship of other beings or the rejection of His authority.
18. He responds very negatively towards those who fail to recognize his sovereignty.
19. Notice Lk. 12:17-20—the “I’s” were all on the wrong person and God said, “Thou fool.”
A. God did several things for the Hebrew people.
B. He said again and again He was responsible.
C. The people didn’t care.
D. Many of us at some point in our lives have done something to help someone else.
E. The project we did was done just by us.
F. Though people should have cared and appreciated what we did, they didn’t.
G. We did something and people either didn’t care about it or rejected it.
H. How did we feel? We probably thought, “Those ungrateful and thoughtless people.”
I. Imagine how God views things.
J. With the Hebrews God did what the people were unable to do.
K. These people then failed to express appreciation.
L. In fact, they actually thumbed their nose at God.
M. The people took the Nazirites and gave them wine to drink.
N. For the Nazirites drinking wine was specifically prohibited under the Old Testament.
O. The Hebrew people also told their prophets to not prophesy.
P. The things God did were turned aside or repudiated and this made God angry.
Q. Notice the punishment described in verses 13-16.
R. The image is that of a cart which is fully loaded (it’s heavy).
S. This cart sinks down into the ground.
T. Have you ever seen a truck sink into the mud?
U. This is what God said He would do to the Hebrew people.
V. He was squash them into the ground.
W. The “swift” people would not be able to flee; the strong would lose his strength.
X. The “mighty” would not be able to find safety and refuge.
Y. The archers (verse 15) would fail as would those who were fast runners.
Z. Even the horsemen would be punished.
AA. The courageous soldiers (verse 16) would flee “naked.”
BB. They would be stripped of their armor and protective gear.
20. When people fail to acknowledge God, or what He has done, God becomes very angry.
21. We must always remember who God is & this is very easy to do with the pronoun “I.”
22. Remembering who God is promotes humility and decreases pride.
23. It keeps us focused on God.
24. It furthers our appreciation and gratitude.
25. It makes us submissive and most importantly, it pleases God.
A. In prayers sometimes people speak of God as the creator of the heavens and the earth.
B. Others describe Him as the ruler and sustainer of all things.
C. These descriptions give appropriate credit to God.
D. The same is true of those who speak of God’s saving us.
E. The Old Testament teaches that we need to acknowledge God’s supremacy and sovereignty.
F. Even the New Testament makes this point.
G. “I” am the door (Jn. 10:7, 9)—Jesus.
H. “I” am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11)—Jesus.
I. “I” an the resurrection (Jn. 11:25).
J. “I” am the way, truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6).
K. “I” am the vine (Jn. 15:1).
L. Those who do not do this are finally forced to acknowledge it at a time that is too late.