Amos 8

Slide 1: 

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2—Central Baptist Church Text for the year

Slide 4: 

29 "Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it [is near, right at the door. Matthew 24

Slide 5: 

Amos

Slide 6: 

1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I answered. Then the LORD said to me, "The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 3 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies--flung everywhere! Silence!" 4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,5 saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"-- skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales,6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”

Slide 7: 

7 The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done. 8 "Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. 9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.

Slide 8: 

11 "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. 13 "In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. 14 They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, `As surely as your god lives, O Dan,‘ or, `As surely as the god of Beersheba lives'-- they will fall, never to rise again."

From Prophetic to prophetic : 

Chapters 1-6 contains Amos Preaching, words of chastisement for the people of Israel (& Judah) – warning the nations of the Lions Roar (1&2) “Hear this word” (3:1, 4:1, 5:1) & two “woe”s (5:18 & 6:1). Chapters 7-9 contains 5 visions given to Amos, that explores the judgement that is to come on people of Israel & Judah. From Prophetic to prophetic

What does God see?, v1-3 : 

What does God see?, v1-3 A Holy & Righteous (v4) God can not help but see the imperfections.

Slide 12: 

The silence God commanded in 5:23 will be evidence in the temple that the day of the Lord (5:18-27) has come.

WHY the end is coming, v4-6 : 

WHY the end is coming, v4-6 There is absolutely no room for YHWH in the essential process of making money!

4 images are then used to describe HOW the end will come (v7-14) : 

4 images are then used to describe HOW the end will come (v7-14) Eclipse, 763BC Isaiah 13:9-10 Joel 2:30-31 Of God’s living word - Deut 8:3, (MT & LK 4:4) Funeral… ..the end of a family name and line!

E A R T H Q U A K E , v8 (1:1) : 

E A R T H Q U A K E , v8 (1:1) The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. As a result of Amos’ preaching we have already received an idea of just how extensive the judgement was to be, but here God provides Amos with a definitive image of the destruction that is to come. ….You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Zechariah 14:5

So what should this mean to me tomorrow? : 

So what should this mean to me tomorrow? God never forgets what he doesn’t forgive – We only have ‘a hope in hell’ because of God’s mercy expressed in the cross. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”. Jeremiah 31:34 Why judgment – we have to remember that Righteousness & Justice are the same thing, but Jesus & mammon are not!!! How Judgment – the succession of events will be used by God to bring about the end of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians (27,280) and the Samaritans were created. V17, “they will fail, never to rise again” – Amos is being presented with what God was about to do, but the last chapter does contain some hope…