Mercy and faithfulness
Amos 9:1-15; 1/29/2023; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
This is the fifth and final vision of the prophet Amos, the final judgment and destruction. This also made me interested to see the prophet Isaiah, who served in the southern kingdom of Judah at the same time as Amos, said: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.(Isaiah 1:9)” This is also the core message of Amos. Let’s look at the first point:
Final judgment
The prophet Amos’ amazing announcement of the eventual destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. Doesn’t the telling of something that will happen in forty years still cause you to watch and pray? First, the altar of idols must be destroyed. Just imagine, 210 years ago, when Jeroboam established his country and built an idol worship altar in Bethel, when did he think of the end of destruction? He did not abide by the character of the Levites’ sacrificial rules, and instead formed his own way and made a fresh start to worship idols, which was betraying his outward godliness. Look! There are many unruly people in history, in order to pursue the so-called success and do everything possible to achieve their goals, the end must be destruction! The altar of the northern kingdom in Samaria, God will strike its capital and shake its threshold. The Israelites thought, are you a spy sent by the southern kingdom? Come here to lead the way and create fake news? The prophet’s heart was heavy, and he said, Didn’t God warn you already?
Secondly, there is nothing to hide but to face it. God said：“Do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. (Amos 5:5)” God’s word did not stop here, but continued: “Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it. (Amos 5:6)” The people of the Northland won’t listen! What is the nature of a sinner? Just don’t listen and run away, like Adam. Not only did he run, but he also hid, hiding under the fig tree that could not cover his body. Is that useful? The Prophet said: “Though they dig down to the depths below, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above, from there I will bring them down. (Amos 9:2)” People who have committed sins except to face God calmly, repent and turn to God, there is no other way to be saved, let alone a way out.
In the end, it is up to God to bring blessings and disasters. The Israelites in the time of the prophet Amos seemed to have a special liking for hiding, and they would hide when they encountered anything. They want to hide on top of mountains, under the sea, and even dig down to the depths below. David says: “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Psalm 139:8)” As the Israelites sinned more and more, the wrath of God accumulated more and more. God then proclaimed through the prophet, saying: “I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.” This is a kind of final and concluded judgment. Moses’ last words said: “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)” When people come to this point, “disasters but not blessings” will also come to God’s people. Let’s look at the second point:
Grace of praise
It seems easier for people to praise God when they are in good times, isn’t it? Learning patience in adversity seems to be a kind of helplessness, isn’t it? So what about under the curse? Can you still look up to God, praise God, and thank God? This is also the message that the prophet Amos wanted to convey. First, the praise of the valley is faith. At this moment, in such a situation, is it possible for the Israelites to praise God? The eyes of the Lord are no longer a sign of grace, and the arm of the Lord seems out of reach. Even the Prophet said: “The Lord, the Lord Almighty—he touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn; the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt; (Amos 9:5)” Even though it has been more than 300 years since the Israelites left Egypt, the memory of the rise and fall of the Nile River in Egypt is still fresh. This is also the starting point for the Israelites to choose to praise, a new life out of darkness and into light! Job’s family encountered unforeseen disasters within one day and had nowhere to complain, but he still chose to trust God. Very difficult, right?
Yes, the most important thing at this time is faith. Without faith, one cannot please God. Amos said: “he builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name. (Amos 9:6)”
Second, universal love is observation. We will say today that when we see Christ hanging on the cross, we know what love is. This is the commanding height of God’s revelation to the world! In the previous process of progressive revelation, Solomon declared to man the mystery of God’s general revelation: “ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)” “Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? (Amos 9:7)” Since God cares about the Gentiles in this way, let alone His chosen people, the Israelites!
Lastly, the retention of the elect is salvation. Prophets do not only speak words of curse, but also words of grace and mercy. He said: “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord. (Amos 9:8)” This is God’s grace, the grace proclaimed in the curse! In another forty years, the Israelites will be taken captive to the Assyrian Empire. However, God will keep a remnant among you so that you will not be completely wiped out! The Cushites mentioned above were Ethiopians, In the 30 years from 1984 to 2014, the Israeli government helped at least 160,000 “Cushites” return to Israel, which is a miracle! Let’s look at the third point:
Promise of reconstruction
After being disciplined by God, Job realizes that those who are chastened by God are blessed. For he broke and bound up. He strikes and heals with his hands. First, the house of Israel was scattered. God is not to be mocked! Even if you are God’s chosen people, you have to pay the price for worshiping idols. The Prophet said: “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. (Amos 9:9)” Jesus Christ came and explained this verse to Peter, saying: “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. (Luke 22:31)” Today’s antichrist regime persecutes the church, arrests God’s servants, and tortures God’s people, just like Satan uses a sieve to sift grain and wheat, and will not let a single one go. Some of us want to take advantage of loopholes, being a fence-sitter, secretly communicate with the antichrist, and flirt with each other while making dumplings together. Don’t worry, before God “no one can avoid, no one can escape.”
Second, restore the shelter and repair its broken walls. Do you still remember the 2013 movement to remove crosses and destroy churches in Wenzhou, Henan, Anhui and other places? Some people say that thousands of churches were destroyed in that round, but I don’t have the statistics. But I know that the church there was destroyed, the cross was torn down, and pastors Wang Yi and Cao Sanqiang were arrested and imprisoned. Christians all over the world are praying and weeping for this! Today, God comforts us through the prophet Amos: “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be. (Amos 9:11)” This breach also includes the breach in our spiritual life and the gap in our life testimony, and now God will come to restore it!
Finally, the captives of God’s people returned. In 722 BC, God really allowed the Assyrian Empire to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. In 586 BC, God sent the Babylonian Empire to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah. Moreover, they were all taken captive and scattered among the nations. Until May 13, 1948, Israel was restored. God has indeed fulfilled His prophecy: “and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. (Amos 9:14)”
Conclusion
Thank God! This time, no one can take them away again. For God said through the prophet: “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:15)” This is a sentence that moves you when you hear it, and tears when you read it! How great and deep is God’s mercy and faithfulness! His love is forever!
Let us pray……
Amos 9:1-15
1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape.
2 Though they dig down to the depths below, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above, from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. “I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—he touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn; the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt;
6 he builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name.
7 “Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord.
9 “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
