In Anger Remember Mercy

Well, things really couldn't get much worse.

It's the end of a long, hard journey.

We've slogged through eight chapters of doom, gloom and judgment

with very little sign of hope.

We've read as Amos first brought messages to the surrounding nations,

condemning them for what they are doing.

And then we've read six long chapters of accusation and prophecy of coming judgment to Israel herself.

And as Graham says, each week the preacher has been saying,

hold on till chapter nine.

Things are going to get better.

So we're here now.

And I'm afraid to say it goes from bad to worse.

As I was looking at this passage, there was a piece of music that came to mind that seemed to fit well.

I did consider playing it to you, but I decided I'd spare your ears.

It's by the Polish composer Penderecki.

And it's called Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima.

If you look it up on YouTube, you'll find it.

It's horrific.

It's almost ten minutes of absolute wailing anguish.

An expression of complete terror.

And I think as we get into this passage,

you'll understand why I thought it was appropriate.

If nothing, the previous chapters almost seem tame in comparison.

Like all prophecy, it's difficult to tell what time period Amos is speaking about here.

Is it something immediate speaking about the coming exile?

Is it messianic about the coming of Jesus and everything that goes around that?

Or is it ultimately apocalyptic about final end times?

To be honest, I think the language leaves us in a position where we have to say all of the above.

The whole book has definitely been speaking about current events in Israel at the time.

But this chapter talks of both destruction and blessing

in ways that seem too complete and absolute

to just be some event in the middle of history.

And then there is a subtle but definite reference

to the coming of the Messiah in the middle of it.

Hopefully, that makes everything crystal clear.

So, we've read the passage in total,

but I'd like to, as we go through it,

read the relevant verses.

So, if you can keep your Bibles open in front of you,

that would be very useful.

As we move on to verses 1 to 4,

where Amos says,

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 heads of all the people.

Those who are left,

I will kill with the sword.

Not one will get away.

None will escape.

Though they dig down to the depths of the grave,

from there my hand will take them.

Though they climb up to the heavens,

from there I will bring them down.

Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,

there I will hunt them down and seize them.

Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea,

there I will command the serpent to bite them.

Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,

there I will command the sword to slay them.

I will fix my eyes upon them,

for evil and not for good.

In fact, let's continue on.

The Lord,

the Lord Almighty,

he who 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.

He who builds his lofty palace in the heavens,

and sets its foundation on the earth,

who calls for the waters of the sea,

and pours them out over the face of the land.

The Lord is his name.

And so in the first verses here,

we see the destruction of the temple,

commanded from the altar.

It's unclear here what temple is being spoken of.

Is it Solomon's temple in Jerusalem,

which will ultimately be destroyed?

Or is it one of the centers of corrupt worship

in Israel that Jeroboam had set up?

Chapter 3 suggests it might be the altar of Bethel,

where God says,

on the day I punish Israel for her sins,

I will destroy the altars at Bethel.

But either way,

it is complete top-to-bottom destruction.

From the capitals to the threshold,

this is not just a little reprimand.

This is total, complete demolition.

Throughout the book,

the repeated complaint

has been about their hypocritical worship.

They're bringing sacrifices.

They're bringing more sacrifices than they need to.

In fact, they're boasting about how many sacrifices they're bringing.

But there's no repentance.

There's no change.

They're still oppressing the poor and needy.

They think they can do whatever they want

and just bring sacrifices to settle the account with God.

I was recently reading a book set in medieval times

where one of the characters

had got things so nicely organised with the local priest

that he would go and get absolution

for the sins he was about to commit

and then go out and do them.

It sounds completely ridiculous to us.

Whether that happened in reality or just in fiction,

I don't know.

But do we risk taking God's mercy

for granted in the same way?

We think we can just go out

and do anything we want

because we will be forgiven.

We confess our sins

with barely any intention to change.

That's not repentance.

But God, we see,

will not accept any more of it.

The temple will be destroyed.

The sacrifices will end.

It almost looks here

as if there is no more mercy available.

And as we read on,

we see it's not just the temple that's being destroyed,

but it's all the people with it.

We read Psalm 139 at the beginning

and hopefully as we read this passage,

you'll have noticed a striking parallel between them.

In Psalm 139,

we read of God's inescapable presence

and largely it's reassuring.

It's comforting.

It's the sort of thing that we write on cards

to people who are leaving.

Yes, it is in a way challenging,

but still,

it's largely something positive.

But here,

it's totally different.

It is totally terrifying.

Wherever people could go,

there God is seeking them out,

hunting them down.

Even the grave will not protect them.

There's no escape from God.

As has been said several times through this series,

quoting Lucy from the Narnia books,

he is not a tame God.

And if before he has roared,

here he really goes in for the kill.

The interesting thing is we see God

personally active in judgment.

He's not just allowing things to happen.

In fact, we see God here directing it,

carrying out the judgment himself.

As we read in chapter 3, verse 6,

if disaster comes on a city,

has not the Lord caused it?

But that doesn't fit with our nice

21st century sensibilities.

God is love.

Even the man out there in the street

knows that if he knows anything about God.

So what is going on?

I think largely,

it comes down to a complete misunderstanding

of who God is.

Of his identity.

God is called by many titles

throughout this book.

Titles that emphasize power

and authority.

And there's several passages

like this one in verses 5 and 6

that give a description

of his majesty and power

and then say

something is his name.

Almost all of them

are basically a combination

of four Hebrew words.

Very wary of trying to

teach anything about a language

that I don't know at all.

Particularly when I'm aware

that there are people here who do.

However, I think

I'm on solid ground here.

It's essentially four words here.

There's Adonai.

There's Lord.

A title of status.

Of authority.

And then there's Elohim.

Which basically means God.

It's a title of divinity.

Then there's this word

Sabaoth

which

is sometimes translated

of hosts

or

almighty

or

the God of heaven's armies.

This is a title

of real power.

and then there's

this strange one

that goes under

various different names

and we're not really sure

how to pronounce it.

The Jews consider it

too holy to say

and they'll replace it

with Hashem

which means

the name.

It's generally written

in our English Bibles

as Lord

in capital letters.

we sometimes

we pronounce it

Yahweh

we sometimes

pronounce it

Jehovah

depending whether

you're trying to be

trendy or traditional.

It means

something like

I am

I am who I am

the self-existent

one

something

of that nature.

and it's really

the name

that God

reveals himself by.

But here we see

these four words

are put together

in all sorts

of different combinations

and we get

different titles

that are translated

as

Lord God Almighty

Sovereign Lord

The Lord

The Lord Almighty

Titles that express

great power

and divine authority.

So this is not

some

nice

tame

friendly

God

This is an

awesome

great

powerful

authority

and we read

in these verses

of his power

to create

and to destroy

He only needs

to speak

and it's created

He only needs

to touch

and the earth

melts

as he sends

volcanoes

earthquakes

floods

and other

disasters

So we see

that this is a

God

who created

the whole

universe

to which

the whole

universe owes

absolute allegiance

and who will

do whatever

it takes

to destroy

evil

and to restore

all things

to glorious

perfection

I think

in fact

it was quite

revealing

something that

was said

by Ava

in the

children's talk

this morning

Comment about

who her

favourite

superhero was

was

Spider-Man

because he is

good at

catching bad

people

Is there

something that

children innately

feel and know

the need

for a

powerful

figure

who will

destroy

evil

that we

in our

supposedly

sophisticated

adult

ideas

slightly

struggle

with

but if

that is

who God

is

we read

on about

who his

people are

let's read

verse 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

Kaphtor

the

Arameans

from

Kerr

and

basically

here

God

says

provocatively

do you

think

you're

special

why do

you think

you're

immune

to my

anger

but of

course

yes

God

did

have a

special

place

for

Israel

but what

they're

not

realizing

is

it was

nothing

to do

with

them

they

had

been

chosen

although

they

were

nothing

so

that

God

might

show

his

glory

among

the

nations

through

them

and

they're

not

living

up

to

their

calling

but

they're

also

not

recognizing

that

God

was

active

in

other

nations

he's

talking

here

about

how

he's

brought

other

nations

from

where

they

originated

to

their

current

location

he was

not

just

a

local

tribal

deity

and

is

something

that we

maybe

often

forget

when we're

looking at

the

Bible

we sort

of

read

here

about

Israel

and we

think

that

God

is

only

active

in

Israel

but

we see

that

God

is

actually

directing

the

affairs

of

all

nations

and

we

occasionally

catch

glimpses

of how

other

people

recognize

this

we see

Melchizedek

who we're

not really

sure

where he

comes

from

we see

Jethro

the priest

of

Midian

who

appears

to be

worshipping

the same

God

as

Moses

and we

see

the wise

men

of the

nativity

pagan

astrologers

that

appear

to know

more

about

the

identity

of

Jesus

than

anyone

in

his

own

country

but

also

Israel

must

not

think

that

their

position

gives

them

immunity

in

fact

as

we

were

reminded

in

chapter

3

you

have

I

chosen

therefore

I

will

punish

you

it's

because

they

have

been

chosen

that

the

standard

they're

held

to

is

higher

and

I

think

there's

a

real

challenge

to

us

here

I

wonder

how

many

of

us

could

start

our

testimonies

with

the

cliched

line

I

grew

up

in

a

Christian

home

in

fact

let's

take

a

quick

survey

put

up

your

hand

if

you

could

start

your

testimony

with

the

line

I

grew

up

in

a

Christian

home

I

can

maybe

count

about

three

or

four

who

didn't

put

up

their

hands

there

there's

a

real

challenge

for

us

there

to

not

take

our

position

for

granted

as

I

was

told

by

godly

men

growing

up

God

has

no

grandchildren

and

this

is

particularly

relevant

for those

who have

never

really

got to

the point

of

deciding

that

this

is

for

them

it

probably

might be

particularly

relevant

for some

of the

new

students

among us

who are

away from

home for

the first

time

and having

to think

is this

what I

believe

or is

this just

what my

parents

believed

but it's

not just

for those

that are

in that

position

how much

of our

identity

as

Christians

is

essentially

cultural

and how

much of

it is

about

being

in

Christ

how

much

of it

is

just

an

act

that

seems

to

convince

most

people

most

of the

time

and how

much

is

real

are there

any of

us

who as

Ian warned

this morning

actually the

whole thing

is just

an act

we may be

convincing

everyone

pretty well

but we're

not convincing

God

but also

there's a

challenge here

to not

exclude

any

to

recognise

God

was

at work

in

Aram

in

Philistia

he's

even

at work

in

pagan

idolatrous

complacent

Edinburgh

today

are we

excluding

any

that we

think

no

this is

not for

them

they would

never

accept

this

I think

that's

a challenge

we have

to consider

but then

let's

read on

to verses

from verse

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 house

of Jacob

declares

the lord

for I

will give

the command

and I

will shake

the house

of Israel

among all

the nations

as grain

is shaken

in a sieve

and not a

pebble

will reach

the ground

all the

sinners

among my

people

will die

by the

sword

all those

who say

disaster

will not

overtake

or meet

us

and so

the end

has come

the nation

of Israel

that's the

northern kingdom

is to be

completely

destroyed

wiped off

the face

of the earth

God will

put up

with them

no more

there will

be no

more

second

chances

but then

there is

that little

word

yet

yet

I will

not

totally

destroy

the house

of Jacob

yes

this nation

will be

destroyed

but out

of the

ashes

a remnant

of the

people

will be

preserved

we've seen

little glimpses

of this hope

throughout the

book

in chapter

three we

read of

the two

leg bones

or a piece

of an ear

saved from

the lion's

mouth

in chapter

five of

only ten

left

not complete

destruction

there

the call

to seek

me and

live

perhaps

the lord

god almighty

will have

mercy on

the remnant

of Jacob

and in

chapter

seven

twice we

read

so the

lord

relented

and now

even when

final destruction

has been

prophesied

there is

still

that hope

I will

not

totally

destroy

in the

midst of

his anger

God

the great

almighty

God

we thought

about

earlier

is still

holding out

grace

because we're

told that

Israel will be

shaken among

all the

nations

as grain

is shaken

in a

sieve

in

hindsight

it's probably

reasonably easy

for us to

get part

of that

of Israel

among the

nations

we see

Israel

scattered

as a

diaspora

all around

the world

that

since that

time

they have

never really

been

together

in one

place

yes there

was a

bit of a

return after

the exile

yes there

was a bit

of a return

in the

20th century

but still

the majority

of the

Jews are

not a

nation

they're

distributed

throughout

the nations

of the

world

but then

we get

this

about being

sifted

like grain

I assume

the description

of grain

being

sifted

would be

fairly

familiar

to Amos'

original

audience

it would

have been

a normal

part of

life

unfortunately

for us

today

it's

distant

and every

commentator

seems to

have a

different

understanding

of how

you

sift

grain

the way

that the

authorised

version

translates

it

it talks

about

even

the

smallest

grain

being

kept

in the

sieve

so we're

thinking

here of

the

chaff

and the

dirt

falling

through

but

not a

single

grain

not even

the smallest

grain

being lost

that's

nice

and simple

and true

but unfortunately

it seems

that most

people

agree

that

better

translation

is

pebble

rather than

small

grain

which people

then try and

explain about

a way of

sieving grain

that seems to

need quite a lot

of skill

that involves

shaking it

in a particular

way

the grain

and the

pebbles

both stay

in the sieve

but as you

shake it

the densities

separation

out

everything is

still there

in that

one sieve

but they

become

separated

so the

more it's

shaken

the more

distinct

the groups

become

as we were

being reminded

this morning

it's often

when the church

is in crisis

that its true

colours are

seen

when its

distinctive

nature

from the

world around

it

is most

clear

but either

way

the

obvious

simple

bit

is

the sieve

has been

used to

separate the

grain

from everything

else

but we'll

discover later

that it's

slightly surprising

what actually

comes out of

the sieve

but even

with all of

this going

on

with all

of this

destruction

with all

of this

shaking

we still

see in

verse 10

the arrogant

confidence

of some

they still

think they're

immune

they still

think

that what

has been

written

is written

to other

people

not to

them

they think

they'll be

okay

except

it's

specifically

them

that God

says he's

after

it's

them

who will

die by

the sword

but even

after all

that has

happened

they're

unwilling

to

give up

their self

deception

their self

reliance

and throw

themselves

in God's

mercy

because

there still

is

mercy

available

if only

they looked

for it

but then

let's

read on

verses

11

to 15

so 11

to the

end

in that

day

I will

restore

David's

fallen

tent

I will

repair

its

broken

places

restore

its

ruins

and build

it

as it

used

to be

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

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

I

will

bring

back

my

exiled

people

Israel

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

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

and

so

now

we

get

into

the

good

news

proper

what

you've

been

waiting

for

all

this

time

we

started

the

chapter

with

the

destruction

of

a

stone

building

but

here

we

read

of

the

restoration

of

a

broken

tent

it's

small

it's

weak

it's

humble

it's

not

what

the

world

would

consider

to be

greatness

but

it

will

be

restored

and

it

will

be

repaired

by

God

himself

but

we

also

see

that

it's

David's

tent

that

is

restored

Israel

had

completely

rejected

the

line

of

David

when

they

broke

away

but

the

restoration

will

come

through

David

the

past

rebellion

will

be

forgotten

there

will

once

more

be a

single

people

if

they

want

to

return

to

God

they

have

to

do

it

under

his

terms

they

can't

continue

with

their

rebellion

and yet

come back

to

God

but

although

this

restored

people

is

small

and

weak

we

see

that

it

will

possess

the

remnant

of

all

nations

that

bear

God's

name

what's

been

talked

about

here

is

this

a

nation

that

will

conquer

its

neighbors

let's

just

leave

that

question

hanging

for a

bit

and

we'll

come

back

to

it

later

because

then we

move

on

and

see

how

the

prophecy

ends

with

the

description

of

the

coming

days

the

same

caveats

about

timescale

apply

here

but

there

seems

a

finality

in the

description

here

that

suggests

this

is

ultimate

final

blessing

and

we

see

that

God

yes

has sent

famine

he's sent

drought

he's sent

destruction

to get

his people's

attention

but now

he's restored

them to a

land of

plenty

in fact

the land

is described

as being

so fertile

that growth

is so fast

that the

crops are

almost ready

to be

harvested

before

they've

been

planted

there is

wine

flowing

in

plentiful

supply

there is

joy

there is

celebration

this is

great

blessing

but it's

not just

these

plentiful

crops

that they're

blessed

with

following

their exile

following

their scattering

and wandering

they're to be

once more

established

and settled

permanently

the curses

that have been

pronounced on

them before

will be

reversed

in chapter

five

we read

though you

have built

stone

mansions

you will

not live

in them

though you

have planted

lush vineyards

you will

not drink

their wine

here instead

we read

of an

exiled

people that

have returned

of ruined

cities

that are

rebuilt

and lived

in

of vineyards

that are

planted

and the

wine

drunk

gardens

that are

made

under

fruit

eaten

and

ultimately

that Israel

will be

planted

in their

land

permanently

established

never

again

to be

uprooted

so we've

seen

clearly

in these

verses

that God

is an

almighty

God

we've

seen

that he

brings

terrifying

judgment

and we've

seen

he brings

glorious

hope

but where

does the

division lie

between them

on what

grounds are

some

destroyed

and some

restored

I hope

we'll find

an explanation

if we go

back to

verses 11

and 12

that we

passed on

earlier

unfortunately

this is one

case where we

don't have to

come up with

our own

interpretation

we don't

even have to

look to the

commentators

to see what

they say

on it

instead

we can

look and

see what

James

said about

it

in the

council of

Jerusalem

in Acts

15

where

they've been

reporting to

the council

about the

Gentiles

that are

being saved

and there's

this uncertainty

about how

they should be

included into

the church

it says

in verse

12

the whole

assembly

became silent

as they

listened to

Barnabas

and Paul

telling about

the miraculous

signs and

wonders

that God

had done

among the

Gentiles

through them

when they

finished

James spoke

up

brothers

listen to

me

Simon

has

described

to us

how God

at first

showed his

concern

by taking

from the

Gentiles

a people

for himself

the words

of the

prophets

are in

agreement

with this

as it

is written

after this

I will

return

and rebuild

David's

fallen tent

its ruins

I will

rebuild

and I will

restore it

that the

remnant

of men

may seek

the Lord

and all

the Gentiles

who bear

my name

says the

Lord

who does

these things

that have

been known

for ages

and so

it becomes

clear

when God

shakes

Israel

among the

nations

in the

sieve

it's not

just

the good

grain

of Israel

that is

separated

out

and preserved

for blessing

instead

God shakes

Israel