Sermons on Amos (Page 2)

Sermons on Amos (Page 2)

Selfishness Brings Judgment (Amos 4:1-3)

Well fed cows Amos calls the women of Israel “Cows of Bashan.” Bashan was a place known for its fine beef; all the cattle there were well fed. Amos is not making fat jokes; instead Amos is pointing out the luxurious lifestyle they lived at the expense of the poor. These well fed women were surrounded by starving masses of poor people. The issue with their gluttony was that they only cared about themselves. Like the Rich Man they ate…

God’s Judgment is Devastating (Amos 3:9-15)

God’s judgment is public The sins of Israel are public. The surrounding nations all know of Israel’s sins. God calls even the heathen nations to sit in judgment against Israel. This call to the heathen indicates several things. First, Israel is no longer ashamed of her sin; she publically displays her sin for the whole world to see (Jeremiah 6:15.) Second, even heathens condemn what Israel is doing. The people of God have become worse than the surrounding nations (1…

God’s Judgment is Certain (Amos 3:1-8)

Amos brings out a point that is counter to what we would expect from God: He begins His judgment with His people. This is what Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 5 and what Peter tells us as well. The reason for this is found in Hebrews 13, God disciplines His own children. We cannot believe that we will escape God’s judgment because of who we are. If we are His children we should expect His judgment and correction. God’s judgment…

Sinning Against a Good God (Amos 2:9-16)

God’s care for Israel God now recounts His dealings with the nation of Israel. He tells how He delivered them from slavery and brought them out of Egypt. He tells how He guided them and brought them into the Promise Land. He tells how He defeated their enemies and gave them their land. God’s grace towards Israel’s children God did not just care for their forefathers, and He didn’t just care for them. He bestowed tremendous honor upon their children.…

Profaning God’s Name (Amos 2:7-8)

The next few sins Amos addresses all have one thing in common: the Israelites are trying to gain God’s favor by religious deeds not obedience. In doing so they are profaning God’s name. Sexual immorality The sexual immortality in Israel was out of control. Amos only cites one thing, but it is used as an example of how far into sexual perversion the whole nation had gone. The nation was so far gone that incest and orgies were common place.…

The Sin of Israel (Amos 2:4-5)

Amos spends the next seven chapters exposing the sins of Israel. Money Over Morality The children of Israel became greedy. All they cared about was money. Judges would receive bribes and condemn people who were in the right. However, this goes far deeper. The people no longer cared about what was right and wrong, they only cared about what was profitable. Success was not defined as faithfulness to God and His commands; success was defined by wealth. Clothing Over Compassion…

The Sin of Judah (Amos 2:4-5)

Amos now turns his attention to the people of God. As Amos addresses the sin of Judah he shows a natural progression back through the stages of Judah’s backsliding into sin. Despising God’s Law There are many ways that God describes sin, and there are many reasons that we sin. Perhaps the worst reason for sin is an absolute hatred for God’s commands. It was not just that the children of Judah did not keep God’s commands, they hated them.…

The Sin of Moab (Amos 2:1-3)

Amos now turns his attention to the people of Moab. Burning the bones of the King of Edom Edom formed a natural border between Moab and Israel. In 2 Kings 3 we read of Edom breaking their covenant with Moab and joining Israel in an attack against them. They gave Israel passage through their land and joined them in an assault on Moab. This enraged the King of Moab. He was so angry with the King of Edom that he…

The Sin of Ammon (Amos 1:13-15)

Amos now turns his attention to the people of Ammon. Ripping apart pregnant women The people of Ammon were Israel’s neighbors to the southeast. They bordered the region of Israel known as Gilead, the territory east of the Jordan river. They would invade Gilead and rip open pregnant women in order to kill their unborn children; obviously most of the women died as well. Enlarging their territory The reason for this barbaric practice was simple; the Ammonites wanted to enlarge…

The Sin of Edom (Amos 1:11-12)

As we have looked at the sins of the surrounding nations Edom has kept surfacing. The Philistines sold Jews to the Edomites as slaves. The people of Tyre sold runaway slaves back to Edom. Edom was the central figure in this horrid slave trade that God repeatedly condemned. You would expect God to address the slave trade when He rebukes Edom, but He does not. Pursuit with the sword When the Israelites were coming out of Egypt the most direct…

The Sin of Tyre (Amos 1:9-10)

This week we look at the sin of Tyrus, also called Tyre. Trye was a seaport to the north of Israel. Because of its location much of the trade in the Middle East passed through Tyre. This trade also included a good volume of slaves. In 1 Kings 5:12 we read of Israel and Tyre entering into a covenant or political alliance. This takes place under Solomon and Hiram. In 1 Kings 9:13 Hiram refers to Solomon as his brother…

The Sin of Gaza (Amos 1:6-8)

Amos now turns his attention to Gaza, one of the chief cities of the Philistines The Sin of Gaza The Philistines made many raids on the outer villages and towns of Israel and Judah. On one such raid they even made it as far as Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 21:16-17.) During these raids they would kidnap everyone they could, old and young, male and female. They would then sell the people that they kidnapped to be slaves for the Edomites. The…