September 22 Sermon Bones (just the skeleton of the message)

·         Scriptures: Amos 3:1-2 and Leviticus 19:1-14

·         Message/Theme: The High Calling of God’s Chosen People

Introduction: Recap of last week - the Nature of Prophets and Prophecy

·         The nature of being a Prophet is strict obedience so as to deliver God's Word purely.

·         The nature of prophecy is to assert God's sovereignty and reinstate Covenantal relationship, thus restoring our relationship to God.

·         The prophetic ministry is a direct and unapologetic assault upon worldly values and powers.

·         Moses is our archetypal prophet. God used him in a very specific and new way to relate to God's people and the world.  You can see in his life where strict obedience was a must in order to defeat Egypt and free Israel.  This God did in fulfillment of His promises (represented by the Covenant).

I) AMOS / Background

·         Amos brought the first word of a time of judgment against the Israel in the form of exile to Assyria.  Dates: Amos 760 BC, Exile 721 BC.  His career as a prophet might have only lasted a year.

·         Israel was experiencing a rich and growing economy in the 8th century, but it was a sort of prosperity that widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

·         We know from excavations of certain towns that in the 10th century BC all the houses were the same size - indicating that everyone had about equal wealth.  But two centuries later (8th century BC) 25% of the houses were very large and luxurious and 25% were exceedingly small -- indicating a huge gap had grown between the rich and the poor.

·         Religion flourished but it was superficial.  Worship became elaborate practices characterized by arrogance on the part of the people that promoted class segregation. 

·         Amos is preaching to the Northern Kingdom but he comes from the Southern Kingdom (Tekoa).  He was a shepherd and dresser of fig/sycamore trees.  Often this is taken to mean that he is rather uncultured and uneducated.  The actual words used to describe him meant 'Sheep-breeder' thus he was probably the owner and ran the business, giving oversight to many shepherds.  And he probably owned the orchards as well.

·         Amos doesn't speak as one of the poorest crying "foul" to the rich, he is definitely middle-class and yet has kept himself right with God.  He has not been spoiled by economic prosperity.  He is walking in right relationship with God and with those around him - which is the point and end goal of the message he has to share. 

II) Amos' Message

·         Amos has a favorite word pair that he uses throughout the book: ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’.  These two words describe how we relate to others – justice, and how we relate to God – righteousness.

·         Both of these relationships are represented in Leviticus 19 (which is itself a summation of the Ten Commandments) and  reminder that the law was all about helping us keep Covenant with God.

·         Exodus 19:4-6 says that Israel’s purpose was to “be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation,” set apart (which is the definition of Holiness) for God’s purposes alone. To communicate/mediate/model the knowledge of God to the rest of the world (the role of a priest).

·         Amos points out that the Northern Kingdom (Israel) was not keeping the Covenant commands thus forsaking what made them special and became like all the other nations.

III) No Justice

·         Israel’s new upper class got wealth at the expense of the poor. They traded people's lives as though they were commodities. The poor had no advocates or legal representation.

·         Technically, because of debt laws, the rich may have been within their rights. But is that what God wanted?

·         The Leviticus passage (and all the law) specifically states not to glean or harvest a field a second time but to leave the fallings/leftovers for the poor. It is the right of the landowner – but God places a higher calling upon us. Israel’s purpose is greater than that.

IV) Election and God's Purposes for us

·         We are chosen (elected) to fulfill God’s purposes. It is amazing that God chose Israel from among all peoples to be his instrument in accomplishing His purposes in the world.

·         And having been chosen we shall be held accountable even to a greater degree than other nations who do not have this higher calling. Israel could not grasp being the object of judgment.

·         God is not vengeful or vindictive - a punishing God bent on destroying people. But God is a jealous God and actively working to keep His promises to Abraham (Covenantal promises) to bless all families of the earth through His children (Genesis 12:3). God is working toward restoring His creation to the goodness He intended for it from the beginning.

·         John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

·         God is transforming, refining, and purifying His people and judgment is a tool.

V) Righteousness and Arrogance in Worship

·         Our prayer of confession (from Amos 5) is God’s rejection of superficiality in worship. The religion of Israel had become a celebration of their national optimism and preoccupation with prosperity and themselves.

·         There was no humility in worship, they were simply managing God.

·         In a sense - God belonged to them instead of them belonging to God.

Conclusion: We Are Not To Be Like Everyone Else

·         Israel and the church are not “natural” people, bound together by ties of blood or soil or economic interest, and so they cannot do just what comes naturally; it is not natural to love your enemies or to die for someone who hates you. It is the custom of society to return evil for evil, or to despise the poor and weak, or to look out for number one. “But a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” Pray for those who persecute you. Blessed are the poor. The meek shall inherit the earth. Whoever saves his life shall lose it.  Everywhere throughout the Scriptures, God’s will is not the world’s will, and His thoughts and ways are in conflict with the ways of the world. Israel and the church are bound to him by love and covenant and promise.

·         Will we live as though God belongs to us - or that we belong to God?