Abuse of Covenant Privileges
Amos 3:1-15; 11/27/2022; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
If it wasn’t for God’s selection of Israel, we would not understand the nature of God’s covenant with man. In fact, God has made a covenant with man since Adam. This is the first covenant between God and man, which we call the Covenant of the Patriarchs, including Covenant of housekeeping, covenant of food, covenant of trial, covenant of life and death, covenant of childbirth, covenant of hard work, covenant of husband and wife. Unfortunately, Adam defaulted. This is the starting point of Amos’ message, revisiting the concept of the covenant. Let’s look at the first point:
Both kindness and majesty
The covenant was originally a matter between the two parties, but the covenant between God and man is based on grace. First, recall the Mosaic covenant. God said to the Israelites through Moses: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine. (Exodus 19:5)” you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:6) The Mosaic covenant is a conditional covenant, that is, the Israelites must obey God’s words. Why? Amos said, just by: “the whole family I brought up out of Egypt. (Amos 3:1)” This is the same reason any of us should magnify the Lord, Nehemiah said: “You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (Nehemiah 9:6)” Therefore, we have no reason to disobey God!
Second, breaches of covenant should have consequences. God said that he would attack us and punish us for all our sins. That is a reason for love! Only those who belong to God can understand it, right? God said, you only have I chosen of all the families of the earth! Knowing in the Old Testament means loving each other! God is saying, I love you, but you betray Me, how embarrassing is this! The consequence is that God is expressing His anger, His pain, His righteousness, and His holiness! God did not say that he would punish sins at the time of Amos, but he said it long ago: “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:15)” Cursed shall be our cities, our country, our food, our breeding, our livestock, our going in and out, and everything we do!
Finally, is it possible to have one heart with God? What God has done, of course, also includes things that are closely related to us today: “The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. (deuteronomy 28:21)” Ever wonder why God is like this? Amos gives the answer in chapter 3, verse 3, which is: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” God has positioned Him as our companion, will you? The original text of this scripture is: “If two people do not agree, how can they walk together?” Do you not feel it? Then God would strike, hit, and even give you a sharp warning! Are you awake? God is sending us an invitation: Are you willing to walk with God? When I heard God say, “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth”, I burst into tears! Dear brothers and sisters, what about you? Is it possible to have one heart with God? Let’s look at the second point:
Prophetic warning
The warning of the prophet Amos is very interesting, he uses the law of cause and effect. It means that what a man sows, he reaps. First of all, don’t be surprised by cause and effect. The Bible is full of laws of cause and effect, and God speaks clearly. He said to us through Moses: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)” It is the nature of a lion to hunt for food and capture other animals, otherwise it wouldn’t be roaring in the forest! How can a bird be caught in a snare if there is no threshold? In the same way, how can a snare be turned up from the ground if it finds nothing? The same is true for human beings. People would want to be the early bird in order to gain the profit, and it is probably the survival logic of the world. Do you agree? If people do not respond to temptation, how can sin become your bondage? God said to Cain: If you do well, will you not be accepted by God? Neither God’s chosen people nor New Testament believers have anything to boast about, even in front of Gentiles.
Second, God is sovereign and we should be vigilant. It’s always easy to be self-righteous, right? However, God said: “Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.” (Amos 3:9)” Ashdod is one of the five cities of the Philistines. Together with Egypt, they watched from a higher mountain than Samaria, and found that the evil deeds of Samaria were similar to their own, and there was no difference. Even more than that, can you imagine? We must remember that when people are doing it, God is watching us in heaven! Amos reminds those who plunder by violence and store up in their own homes that they do not know how to do what is right. Thinking God doesn’t know? I’m sorry, God knows it all, because this is what the Lord said. He reigns, He rules, and He is in control! Therefore, be alert!
Finally, guilt is not innocent. What will happen if God warns and exhorts you over and over again, but you still don’t understand, don’t want to, don’t repent, don’t confess your sins, and don’t really believe in the Lord? Do you think that you can not repent, and you will be indifferent to what God says? Then Amos prophesied, saying: “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.” (Amos 3:11)” After Amos said this, more than thirty years later, this prophecy was fulfilled. God used the Assyrian Empire to besiege Samaria for three years. As a result, the Israelites were taken captive to Assyria, and they were placed in Harab, by the Harab River in Gosan, (2 Kings 17:6) and in the cities of the Medes. Let’s look at the third point:
Judgment comes
We may think, why do God’s chosen people suffer such severe judgment? First, how can we be saved by relying on others? Second Kings 17:7-8 says: “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. (2 Kings 17:7-8)” This is the main reason why man is cursed by God, from the beginning to the present. But people always want to use humanistic methods to save themselves, right? The same is true for the Israelites, always looking for a balance between the Egyptians and the Assyrians, seeking a pacifism that no one can offend. Looking at the just-concluded 20-nation conference and the Apec conference, everyone is looking for opportunities, and everyone is playing balance. May I ask, who is relying on God alone?
Second, the wages of sin is death. “This is what the Lord says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.” ” When one has already committed a sin, and still wants to save himself by snatching back two legs of lamb or half an ear, is it possible? Life has been broken, but still lying on the corner of the bed or on the couch covered with embroidered blankets. Taking lying down as an escape, taking vanity as a boast, of course all that awaits him is death! When Amos said this, the judgment had not yet come, and the Israelites still had a chance to repent. But even if Amos said it, would you listen? “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty. (Amos 3:13)
Finally, the righteousness of God is not to be taken lightly. The pitiful thing about people is that they can’t hear what they hear, and even if they hear it, they have no ability to repent. God said, whoever has ears to hear, let him hear! May I ask who has no ears? They have all, but they refuse to listen to God’s word! God said: “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. (Amos 3:14)” Even the horns of the altar have been cut off, there is no place to hide, no chance of salvation. Back then, Adonijah wanted to seize Solomon’s throne, but after being discovered by King Solomon, he grabbed the horn of the altar and was saved. Now, the horns of this altar have also been cut off, and the way for the Israelites to be saved by themselves has been blocked. God said: “ I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,” declares the Lord. (Amos 3:15)”
Conclusion
Well, that’s all for today’s sermon on “abuse of covenant privileges”. The covenant is a portrayal of the relationship between God and man, expressing the essence of the relationship between God and man. The Israelites failed so badly that they were taken into captivity. How should we live out our created intentions today? I believe that living a life of covenant with God is the expectation of all God’s children. Do you want to?
Let us pray……
Amos 3:1-15
1 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken—who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.”
13 “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,” declares the Lord.
