Amos #11: an exposition of Amos 9:1-10. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, July 27, 2014.
Intro:
The northern kingdom of Israel came into existence in 931 bc when Jereboam I led the 10 northern tribes in revolt against the reign of Rehoboam. After breaking away Jereboam, in fear the people would be drawn back to Judah if allowed to worship in Jerusalem, established a rival religion in the north. He formed 2 golden calves and said, “Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” He set one up in Bethel and the other in Dan. On the 15th day of the 8th month, Jereboam declared a festival and he went up to the altar at Bethel to make sacrifice. Suddenly a prophet from Judah appeared and pronounced judgment on the newly formed nation and it’s false religious system. Fast forward 180 years and another prophet from Judah has come to Bethel. He too pronounces God’s judgment. His name is Amos and he delivers a message of devastating judgment in Amos chapter 9.
Text: Amos 9:1-10
The prophet received a series of visions:
- A swarm of desert locusts
- A great raging fire
- A plumb line
- A basket of summer fruit (ripe for judgment/final judgment)
Now Amos is given a 5th and final vision.
“I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: ‘Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people…’”
180 years earlier king Jereboam I stood by the altar and heard a message of judgment from God’s prophet. Now the Lord God of hosts (5) stands by that same altar and declares the destruction of the nation in the presence of another Jereboam! You will note that through the past few months as we have been working our way through this prophecy we’ve seen the same themes over and over. The point is repeatedly driven home, “You have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; God has graciously called you to repentance; you refused; you will be judged and it that judgment will be unrelenting.”
This is not just the message of Amos to the nation of Israel, it is the message of Paul to the Romans. Just as Paul in Romans speaks of the certainty of judgment and the promise of deliverance, Amos does the same in our text.
Amos 9 reminds us that…
Thesis: Our only hope before a Holy God is to turn from our sin and plead His mercy and grace.
I want to point out three things as we work through this text.
- Our God forcefully decrees an end to spiritual pretenders. (9:1-4)
- God’s sovereign character demands such a judgment. (9:5-6)
- God’s judgment will destroy the wicked yet preserve the righteous. (9:7-10)