For Three Transgressions, and for Four: The powerful ROAR of the Lord (Pt 2)
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The broad message of Amos centers on the idea that God roars like a mighty lion in judgement because of sin.
How do we take sin as seriously as God does?
We must feel the powerful roaring of God’s voice because of sin!
After a brief introduction to the prophet Amos in v. 1, right away in v. 2 God intends for us to feel His voice!
Amos 1:2 (ESV)
And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”
The force of the voice of the LORD is so powerful that pastures morn / wilt and the top of Carmel withers / or dries up.
Pasture lands (flat and prosperous) and upward to the top of Carmel (high and prosperous)—the effect is and everything in between.
In short the effect of the force of God’s voice is devastation.
And God wants the people of the northern kingdom of Israel to feel His voice. God wants them to wake up and pay attention and to take sin as seriously as He does.
Friends, we too must feel the powerful roaring of God’s voice because of sin!
How? How can we feel the Lord’s voice? How can we wake up and see sin as God sees it?
Amos masterfully uses three forms of rhetoric to help us feel the powerful roaring of God’s voice because of sin!
I. The Rhetoric of Entrapment (1:3-2:8)
I. The Rhetoric of Entrapment (1:3-2:8)
Amos 1:3 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
First off- we have to take note of this repeated phrase throughout our text.
“Thus says the Lord” occurs 8 x’s
“says the Lord” occurs 4 x’s
“declares the Lord” occurs 2 x’s
If we include the idea of the voice of the Lord roaring and thundering from Amos 1:2 that means 16 x’s in just two chapters or 31 verses, the idea that the Lord is speaking is highlighted for us by the prophet.
For the one who is paying attention you cannot help but feel the voice of the Lord in Amos!
Amos 1:3 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
Second, we must pay attention to this repeated numerical formula. In every single indictment that follows Amos uses this exact formula. For three transgressions and for four. Why does Amos use this specific formula? What is its intended purpose?
“for three transgressions… and for four” is a poetic device of intensification used to demonstrate the completeness or extent of the topic. In Amos, the topic is sin.
Amos now preaches a message of sin and judgement against the nations. He begins with three foreign enemies.
Amos 1:3 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
Amos 1:6 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom.
Amos 1:9 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
Amos is luring the Israelites into a trap. After each pronouncement of sin and judgement certainly the rapt attention of the Israelite audience would offer their agreement and applaud Amos’ message. Yes, these nations were sinful. Yes, these nations deserved God’s judgement. Not realizing that this was exactly the point of the prophets sermon.
Now Amos moves on from denouncing foreigners to blood relatives
Amos 1:11 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.
Amos 1:13 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.
Amos 2:1 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.
And then, Amos turned to Israel’s southern brothers:
Amos 2:4 (ESV)
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.
Now how many nations has Amos thus far pronounced judgement upon? 7. What is significant about the number 7? It is the number of what? Completion.
Not only that but look geographically at what Amos has been doing.
Entrapment Map: Crisscross intentional.
Perhaps Israel was getting nervous as Amos crisscrossed its boarders and then marched steadily onward towards its cities in judgment.
But, then Amos got to the number 7 and everyone would have expected the sermon to end here.
“Whew, you had us nervous for a second there Amos. Alright kids, pack up the lawn chairs we are heading home.”
Amos, now has them right were he wants them!
Amos 2:6 (ESV)
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—
Shockingly he turns his attention to Israel!
Notice the same formula that Amos has used throughout his sermon: For three transgressions and for four. But what is different now?
How many actual offences did Amos list above? ONE. How many do you think he will list now that he has finally gotten to Israel?
(1) oppressing the innocent/poor (2:6b–7a)
(2) engaging in pagan religious practices (2:7b)
(3) abusing the system of pledges and fines (2:8)
The fourth accusation is in v. 12 / we will look at that one in just a moment.
(4) showing lack of respect for God’s special servants ( 2:12)
What is the rhetorical effect of all of this?
Israel, you are the worst rebel of all. Just a moment ago you were cheering along when I pronounced doom upon your surrounding enemies. If judgement is certain and coming for them, that means doom, not deliverance, is coming for you, Israel, for you are the chief of sinners.
Point for us?
“The sins of the church are far more offensive to God than the sins of the nations.” --George Whitefield
What is the point for us?
How can we feel the Lord’s voice? How can we wake up and see sin as God sees it?
Amos would have us fall fully under a sense of the guilt of our sin
Amos would have us fall fully under a sense of the guilt of our sin
How do you know?
Do you point out the faults of others more often than you see the sins of your own heart? Do you have a critical spirit?
Do you excuse your sin or blame your sin on the actions or attitudes of others?
Do you rarely cry out for God’s mercy? Do you have a hard time humbling yourself? Do you see little or no need for cleansing from sin on a regular basis?
If so you may have a hardened heart. You have not fallen under a sense of the guilt of your sin, and you need God! The first step away from such a precarious position, away from such a hardened heart is a step toward humility.
This is what such a heart sounds like.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
How can we feel the Lord’s voice? How can we wake up and see sin as God sees it?
II. The Rhetoric of Impenitence (2:9-12)
II. The Rhetoric of Impenitence (2:9-12)
“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.
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.
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.
What is Amos doing here? He is reminding the Israelites of the grace of God. He is reminding them of how God gracious worked in their past.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
And how did the Israelites respond to God’s grace?
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.
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
Amos is reminding them of the grace of God that He has showered upon them. And how did they respond to such grace? With sin!
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
John Owen:
"How shall we, that are dead?" The emphasis is on the word "we." How shall we do it, who, as he afterward describes it, have received grace from Christ to the contrary? We, doubtless, are more evil than any, if we do it. I shall not insist on the special aggravations of the sins of such persons, -- how they sin against more love, mercy, grace, assistance, relief, means, and deliverances than others. But let this consideration abide in your mind, -- there is inconceivably more evil and guilt in the evil of your heart that does remain, than there would be in so much sin if you hadst no grace at all.”
Owen continues and warns about a heart that allows sin to go unchecked. Eventually that heart will harden to a point that he calls “sermon-proof and sickness-proof.”
“Sin will grow a light thing to you; you wilt pass it by as a thing of nought; this it will grow to. And what will be the end of such a condition? Can a sadder thing befall you? Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble, to think of being brought into that estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of grace, of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that your lust is working towards, -- the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding of the mind, stupifying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole soul.”
How can we feel the Lord’s voice? How can we wake up and see sin as God sees it?
Amos would have our hearts tremble over the potential hardening of our hearts because of sin
Amos would have our hearts tremble over the potential hardening of our hearts because of sin
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Christians, those of you who know the grace of God, those who have experienced his mercy, the precious benefits of the blood of Christ, those who know the wonders of His grace, how can you continue to sin? How can you take advantage of the riches of God’s kindness? Will you seek to try God’s patience to the breaking point? Does the reality of your sin in the face of God’s goodness not move you? Has your heart grown so hard?
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
How can you feel God’s voice roaring in judgment over sin? We must tremble over the potential hardening of our hearts because of sin.
III. The Rhetoric of Escalation (2:13-16)
III. The Rhetoric of Escalation (2:13-16)
Amos 2:13–16 (ESV)
“Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life;
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;
and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the Lord.
Compare the description of Israel’s judgment with the judgment of the nations. Here Amos delivers seven descriptive statements of God’s judgement.
If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,
if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
Temporal correction vs Eternal destruction
Though God should not utterly cast you off for this abomination that lies in your heart, yet he will visit you with the rod; though he pardon and forgive, he will take vengeance of your inventions. O remember David and all his troubles! look on him flying into the wilderness, and consider the hand of God upon him. Is it nothing to you that God should kill your child in anger, ruin your estate in anger, break your bones in anger, suffer you to be a scandal and reproach in anger, kill you, destroy you, make you lie down in darkness, in anger? Is it nothing that he should punish, ruin, and undo others for your sake? Let me not be mistaken. I do not mean that God does send all these things always on his in anger; God forbid! but this I say, that when he does so deal with you, and your conscience bears witness with him what your provocations have been, you will find his dealings full of bitterness to your soul. If you fear not these things, I fear you art under hardness.
Owen, John. The Mortification of Sin (p. 63). Kindle Edition.
How can we feel the Lord’s voice? How can we wake up and see sin as God sees it?
Amos would have us fear the potential consequences if we continue in our sin
Amos would have us fear the potential consequences if we continue in our sin
We must feel the Lord roaring in judgement over sin! How can we wake up and see sin as God’s sees it?
Conclusion:
1). We must fall fully under the guilt of our sin.
2). We must tremble over the potential hardening of our hearts because of sin.
3). We must fear the potential consequences if we continue in sin.
Good News!
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
How do we access this grace?
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
God sent the prophet Amos 30-40 years before the nation’s destruction. This sermon of harsh judgment was meant by God to shock his people awake so that they would turn from their sin. God was giving them every chance to repent!
Friends, we must feel the powerful roaring of God’s voice because of sin!
But, we must also feel the grace that is available for those who turn to God and draw near.