Amos Judgement Has Its Limits

Well, good morning, everyone.

It's an absolute privilege and a bit sad to be here this morning to preach my last sermon to you here.

I remember when I first came to St. Paul's, I was asked, I'm not sure why I was asked to say this,

but I shared with you all my passion for ministry and, I guess, why I do what I do.

Sorry.

Sorry.

I didn't plan for this.

From Ephesians 1, Paul prays for the Ephesians, reminding of the hope that I have,

all the benefits of salvation that I enjoy, and he says this,

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you and my prayers.

I keep asking that God, our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,

may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.

I pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you

in the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

That's my prayer for you for the last two and a half years.

That's my prayer for you this morning as we look at God's word.

So please pray with me as we open up his word once more.

Heavenly Father, we give you great thanks and praise for the privilege it is to sit under your word.

You're a God who is holy and perfect, powerful, mighty,

and we ask, Lord, that you would give us eyes to see who you are this morning

and the great privilege it is that we can come before you through your son, Jesus Christ,

to worship you and to love you.

We give you thanks and praise that we can do this now.

We pray this in your son's name.

Amen.

I'm going to just clean myself up here.

Okay.

You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found wanting.

I first heard this quote from the movie A Knight's Tale.

You haven't seen it.

It's a fantastic film set in medieval times.

The basic plot line is a young squire, a knight in training, Heath Ledger,

dreamy, gorgeous Heath Ledger,

who dreams of becoming a knight one day.

And he eventually does.

By fraudulently taking upon his dead master's name and title as knight,

he goes in as Sir Orlick von Liechtenstein,

and he beats every single knight in every single jasping tournament there is

in Paris and in London,

except for one knight, Count Adhemar.

Early on in the movie, he loses to Count Adhemar,

and Heath Ledger's character says to Count Adhemar,

Next time I face you, you will look at me from the flat of your back.

And Count Adhemar, from his position of having just beaten Heath Ledger in this jasping tournament,

says to him,

You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found wanting.

In other words, you've been tested, and you've failed.

Your actions don't stand up to the measure set before you.

Such a response is an appropriate way to describe the people of God in the book of Amos.

As we saw last week with the imagery of the plumb line in chapter 7,

God's people did not measure up to God's standard set by his law and covenant.

They had been found wanting.

They had not lived as God's people.

Amos 9 comes to a boiling point.

This chapter is probably the most devastating of all judgment oracles in this book,

and yet towards the end of the chapter, there is hope.

There's a promise of restoration.

It'd be easy for us to skip to the hope bit and focus on that,

thinking that's what's applied to us.

But I believe God is still roaring through the book of Amos,

and this roar of judgment is still declared,

sorry, directed towards his people, Christians, and to us as a church today.

It's something that we must hear and reflect upon,

lest we end up like the nation of Israel.

But we will all face judgment.

We will be weighed.

We will be measured.

But the question is, is whether or not we'll be found wanting.

In chapter 9, we learn the full consequences and dangers

of presuming upon God's love and status,

that God must punish and judge sin.

But we also learn the extent of God's grace,

that God's judgment is not forever.

There are two main points this morning.

Firstly, to those who presume upon God's favor and love,

God promises to punish them.

In verse 1, Amos has changed in introduction.

No longer is the prophet being shown something by the Lord or declared a vision,

Amos now sees the Lord in action.

He is described as standing beside the altar.

The phrase is very similar to the one used in chapter 7, verse 7,

of God standing beside the wall of the plumb line.

This conscious connection between God standing beside the altar

is supposed to bring to mind the illustration of God standing beside the wall of the plumb line,

measuring up the Israelites' obedience against the law itself.

And here now, more specifically, he measures their sacrifice upon the altar,

against their lives, their hearts,

and concludes that they are found wanting.

And instead of consuming the sacrifice and sparing them from his judgment,

he instead rejects their sacrifice,

and from the altar he pours out his judgment upon the people.

Strike the tops of the pillars,

let the threshold shake,

bring them down their heads.

Of all the people, those who are left,

I will kill the sword.

No one will get away.

None will escape.

It's a picture of God bringing down the temple

whilst his people are inside it.

Can you imagine if our building right now just collapsed in on us?

That's what's going on here in this image.

As we saw in our series in Leviticus,

the altar was once a place where God's people could meet with them

and experience his grace and love,

his mercy, his forgiveness.

It was a divine barbecue

on which the nation could bring the meat,

the bull, the pigeons, etc.,

to sacrifice for their sins.

These animals would take the judgment of God for Israel.

So Israel wouldn't have to experience the wrath

and anger and judgment of God

and instead enjoy his presence and grace.

Here in Amos 9,

the people still gather with this intention.

They still come to God and bring him sacrifice.

They still come and gather these people to worship him,

expecting blessing,

expecting to enjoy his presence and grace and mercy,

completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen

the moment they brought their sacrifice to him.

It's kind of like in Star Wars,

The Empire Strikes Back,

when Han Solo and the crew of the Millennium Falcon

are seeking refuge from the Empire

and Han decides to go to Cloud City

to seek refuge from his friend Lando Calrissian

in the Bespin system.

I know my Star Wars quite well,

for those who don't know me.

But when they go to dinner that night

and the doors are opened,

before them is Darth Vader.

And in that moment,

as soon as they see Darth Vader,

they know they've been betrayed.

And the look on their faces

says that they had no idea.

They had no idea the whole time

they were in danger.

They were never safe,

never secure.

The place they thought was refuge

turned out to be the most dangerous place of all to be.

In a similar way,

the Israelite people thought they were safe.

They thought that coming before the altar of God

would mean safety and blessing for them,

that they could find refuge in him,

knowing that their sins might be forgiven.

But they could not be in any more danger now.

As they approached a holy and awesome God,

they presumed upon his goodness

when in fact he was angry with them

because of their sin.

In chapter 5,

we get an idea of what he thinks of their worship.

I hate, I despise your feasts.

I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer me your burnt offerings

and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.

And the peace offerings of your fasting animals,

I will not look upon them.

Take away from the noise of your songs.

To the melody of your harps,

I will not listen.

The altar was once a place of grace

and mercy,

a place which allowed the people of God

to escape God's judgment

and enjoy his presence.

But here in Amos 9,

the place, the altar,

has become the place of judgment

from which no one will escape.

This scene is a devastating one.

You can imagine the terror and upheaval

as people try to escape the Lord God Almighty.

People will trample on each other

to try and get out of the temple

to escape the debris.

But no one will escape his judgment.

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.

Though they hide themselves

on top of Mount 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.

Though they are driven to exile

by their enemies,

there I will command the sword

to slay them.

Nowhere is safe.

God will make sure

everyone is brought under judgment.

And he concludes in verse 4,

I will keep my eye on them for harm

and not for good.

They presumed they were safe

in the presence of God

before the altar,

when in fact they never were.

Their sin blinded them

to the reality that they were fools

to offer worship and sacrifice

without recognizing their need

for repentance.

They were fools to think

they could buy God's protection

instead of devoting themselves

to obedience and holiness.

But the tables have turned

and their foolishness

has come to light.

No longer does God look upon

his people with blessing

and good intention,

but he intends to judge them

and punish them.

The altar,

once the place

of receiving God's mercy,

has now become the place

of receiving God's judgment.

It's a bit much to hear

at the moment, is it?

The lot coming in through here.

Can you imagine

Aeolus' hearers

being stunned at this?

I mean, they were God's people,

chosen, taken from Egypt.

They thought God loved them.

It's a bit of a

deer-in-the-headlights moment.

It's a bit of a

Han Solo-seen Darth Vader moment.

What is going on?

And then God interjects again

in verse 7.

Are you not like the Cushites

to me, O people of Israel?

Declares the Lord.

Did I not bring up Israel

from the land of Egypt

and the Philistines

from Kapdor

and the Syrians

from Kerr?

The Cushites were

a remote people

who the Israelites

considered as

very insignificant,

a small,

tribal-type people.

And so hearing that

their God thinks of them

like the Cushites,

that they are

an insignificant people,

not worth a second look at

or a second thought,

would have stung them

to the core.

But what is more stinging

is the next question.

God has not only saved

his own people from Egypt,

but the Philistines

from Kapdor

and the Syrians

from Kerr.

There was nothing unique

in the saving of God's people

from Egypt

that prevented them

from facing judgment

for sin.

God has saved

other nations

from other nations

as well.

They thought the Exodus

in and of itself

made them special

and unique

compared to every

other nation,

but it's very clear

that God's sovereignty

and care

extends beyond

just Israel

to the other nations

as well.

Any pride

they might have had,

any smugness

they might have had

about their status

and favour

was dashed away

at God's

impending judgement

and not even

their exodus

from Egypt

could do anything

about it.

We might look

at the northern kingdom,

the Israelites

and think,

such fools!

What are they doing?

But I wonder

if we'd only be

making ourselves

out to be fools

as well.

The northern kingdom

thought they were

in the right

because of who they were

by the fact

they were sacrificing

and worshipping,

by the fact

that they were

God's people

taken out of Egypt,

doing all the right

things,

but they were

proven to be fools.

Their sacrifices

were measured

and weighed

and they were

found wanting.

I wonder

if we think

we are in the right

with God

when in fact

we might be

dangerously

presuming

upon Him

as well.

Do we think

we are safe

as we gather

here now

before Him

praising Him

and praying to Him

and reading His word

when in fact

maybe we're not?

It depends

upon our picture

of God.

Do we think

that we can buy

God's favour and love

like the Israelites did

by showing Him

our good works

and our good deeds

that we come to church

every Sunday

that we read our Bibles

and pray

that we serve

at morning tea

or throughout the week?

Or do we think

God doesn't care

about sin?

That He doesn't

want to judge you?

He's not angry

at you?

He doesn't want to

punish you

for your sin.

He's all sugar

and spice

and everything nice.

He says

come as you are

no need to change.

The problem

with both those views

with both those responses

is they presume

upon who God is

based on what

we think He is

from a human point of view.

And surely

this passage

so far

teaches us

to never do that

to never presume

upon who God is

and what He is like

from our point of view

from our perspective.

Anyone who tries

to measure up

upon their own

thinking they are

in the right

with God

whilst remaining

in sin

will be destroyed.

And anyone who thinks

sin is irrelevant

God will destroy them

as well.

Only a fool

would presume

to be in the right

with God

based on his own

status and actions

or based upon

sin

not having any

consequences at all.

A misunderstanding

of what God's love is.

Such a fool

will discover

in the same way

the people of Israel

did

God's awful

judgment.

As Jesus

says Himself

in Matthew 7

many will say

to me on that day

Lord, Lord

did we not

prophesy

in your name

and your name

drive out demons

and your name

perform many miracles

then I will tell

them plainly

I never knew you

away from me

you evil

doers.

At the heart

of the issue

is being

presumptuous

upon God's

love and favour

towards them.

Amos

warns us

to not

to never

presume

upon

God's love

and favour

because God

promises to destroy

all who do so

promising to judge

and punish them

for ignoring

and not acknowledging

their sin.

But

God is also

faithful to

His promise

that He's made

to His people

in the past

which is my

second point

here this morning.

God remains

faithful to

His promise

of salvation

even when

His people

remain

unfaithful.

Verse 8

Behold the eyes

of the Lord God

are upon this

sinful nation

and I will

destroy it

from the surface

of the ground

except that I

will not utterly

destroy the house

of Jacob

declares the Lord.

God will not

destroy His people

completely.

His promise

to remain

faithful to

His covenant

by saving

a few.

God is always

faithful to

His promises

that He made

way back

in Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

that Abraham

and the nation

that would come

through Him

would be a

great nation

would be a

blessing to

all the nations.

He remembers

His promise to

David in 2 Samuel 7

when He said

that He would

always establish

His throne

forever.

and so despite

the sin

of the people

how far

gone they are

we know how

far gone

they are

God is still

going to make

good on His

promise

by being the

one to do

the work

Himself.

He is going

to remain

faithful

when His

people

remain unfaithful.

He will

establish a

better king.

Verse 11

In that day

I will restore

David's fallen

shelter

I will repair

its broken

walls

and restore

its ruins

and rebuild

it as it

used to be.

The language

of repairing

broken walls

and restoring

ruined cities

is figurative.

The kings

that had come

before

did not measure

up to God's

standard.

They had failed

the test

of the plumb

line.

They did not

execute their

office of king

in a worthy

manner.

required by

God.

Thus they

crumbled

and failed

and became

ruined.

The nation

therefore as a

result also

became ruined

in shambles.

But God

will repair

and restore

the kingship

to one who

would uphold

the office

with integrity

and in a

deserving manner.

He would love

justice

and love

mercy.

He would

protect the

poor

and the

vulnerable.

He would

love righteousness

and hate

evil.

He would

uphold the

righteous

and punish

the

evildoer.

He will be

the king

Israel has

longed for

since David.

But he will

be a better

king for this

king will

have a kingdom

that's much

vaster than

the one that's

gone before.

Verse 12

said to

Edom.

The grand

plan of

this

restoration

was to

include the

surrounding

nations

who will

bear God's

name also.

The mercy

and grace

of God

will not

only extend

to Israel

but to

Edom

and to

all the

nations as

well.

The same

God who

punished and

judged the

nations in

the opening

chapters of

Amos will

also extend

his mercy

and his

grace to

them also.

That they

might be

included as

his people

and receive

salvation.

For as God

told us a few

verses earlier,

his care and

his sovereignty

goes beyond

just Israel.

And through

the work

of Christ

we enjoy

this reality

now ourselves.

For we are

those nations

as well,

as Australians.

We enjoy

being part

of God's

restored

people who

have received

mercy and

grace with

Jesus as

our promised

king on

the throne.

And if

that is what

we enjoy

now as

believers,

for indeed

we are

those other

nations,

verses 13

and 15

then are

what we

are to

anticipate

for the

future.

This

agricultural

picture of

fruitfulness,

dwelling in

God's kingdom

as bountiful,

perfect,

wonderful,

a site for

sore eyes,

a place that

is untainted

from the

corruption of

sin,

where everything

is growing,

a place

where we

will never

again be

uprooted

and taken

away.

That is the

glorious plan

of restoration

God has in

store for

his people

in the book

of Amos.

Though whilst

there is

judgment

coming,

this is

going to

be the

result.

What are

the people

of Israel

to do

with this

prophecy?

For nine

and a half

chapters,

all they

have heard

is judgment.

Judgment.

And now

towards the

end there

is hope.

Why does

Amos finish

with hope

when judgment

is still

to come?

I think

Amos wants

to leave

his hearers,

his Israelite

people,

with a bigger

picture in

mind.

God's

judgment

is not

capricious

or vindictive,

but an

extension of

his love

and jealousy

for his

people to

obey him,

to be his,

and to

live with

him and

for him.

The role

of judgment

then plays

a part

for the

sake of

restoration,

for the

sake of

bringing back

his people

into alignment

with his

way of

living.

And so

here Amos

wants to

remind him

that judgment

is not

the goal,

but restoration

is.

And God

will restore

those who

seek him.

The heart

of the book's

message to

Israel and

to us

here this

morning is

literally in

the heart

of the book,

in the middle,

in chapter 5

from verse 4.

This is what

the Lord says

to Israel.

Seek me

and live.

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.

Seek the

Lord and

live.

Seek good,

not evil,

that you

may live.

Then the

Lord God

Almighty

will be

with you,

just as

you say

he is.

Hate

evil,

love

good.

maintain

justice

in the

courts.

Perhaps

the Lord

God

Almighty

will have

mercy

on the

remnant

of

Joseph.

The book

of Amos can be

summed up as

a judgment

is coming,

seek the

Lord and

live.

With all

negativity

and devastation

prophesied,

it would be

easy for the

Israelites to

lose sight of

the bigger

picture here,

to think that

promises have

failed.

God has

forgotten us.

Judgment

is the

end.

The promise

of the end

of Amos 9

shows that

judgment is

not the

end.

God will

restore his

people.

He will

do good

on his

promises,

that if

you seek

him,

you will

live.

Even though

you face

the pain

of judgment,

the devastation

of your

homeland,

the suffering

and death

of loved

ones,

the loss

of your

livelihood,

even though

you see

all these

things happen

before you

now,

foreign

occupation,

exile,

do not

take your

eyes off

the Lord.

Continue

to seek

him.

He will

make good

on his

promise as

he did

to Abraham

and to

David.

He will

restore the

kingdom.

The end

of chapter 9

is to

encourage them

to keep

going.

Despite

what is

coming for

them,

seek God

and they

will live.

In the

same way,

the message

is for

us as

well.

Judgment

is coming.

Seek the

Lord and

live.

Do not

presume upon

his love

and mercy.

Do not

be so

smug and

proud of

who you

might think

you are

in God's

sight.

Instead,

be humble

thankful for

the salvation

that God

has worked

in you

through

Christ,

through

his death

and resurrection

on the

cross,

in light

of his

work to

save you

from God's

judgment.

Continue to

live in

faith and

repentance

in these

dark days.

For these

are dark

days where

the impact

of sin in

our lives

makes living

for God,

seeking him

very difficult

and tough.

Some of us

here live

day-to-day

with pain

in our

bodies.

Some of us

live day-to-day

struggling

with depression

and anxiety.

Some of us

live day-to-day

with uncertainty

about our

jobs or

our health,

about our

future.

Some of us

live day-to-day

with the pain

of broken

relationships.

There is

increase in

pressure on

Christians to

conform to

the status

quo of

secularism.

Increased

pressure for

us to give

up the

faith that

has been

declared by

the public

as archaic

and useless,

as a threat

to modernity

and progression.

Vitriol and

hate towards

Christians is

increasing,

and slowly

but steadily

we are losing

our influence

in the general

public,

shunned from

them,

considered by

some as a

plight on

society,

as those who

cause wars

and conflict.

There's a

great struggle

ahead for

Christians in

this growing

secular age,

a struggle for

us to seek

the Lord.

But the great

hope that Amos

reminds of is

that God is

going to make

good on his

promise to

those who

seek him,

to those who

are humble

themselves

before the

Lord,

who acknowledge

their sin,

that they

don't measure

up,

to seek

him,

and you

will live.

In him,

in Christ,

we place

our trust

and hope.

It is in him

we seek,

and when we

do,

we will live,

for he has

come to give

life,

and life to

the full,

life eternally.

For those

who doubt

God will

make good

on his

promise,

Amos 9

says he

will and

he always

has,

and so you

can be

sure of

that.

In fact,

the coming

of the

Son,

the coming

of Jesus

shows that

he has

done so,

and so we

can look

forward to

that future

that's been

talked about

in verses

13 to

15.

For those

who fear

that they

will face

the judgment

of God,

that like

the Israelites,

they have

presumed for

far too

long upon

God's love

without

recognizing

their sin,

Amos 9

says there

is still

time.

Seek the

Lord and

you will

live.

But judgment

is coming,

so seek

the Lord,

seek Jesus

and you

will live.

God promises

us, for

those who do

seek him,

they will

live.

The message

we might

take away

from Amos

from this

series is

this,

never presume

upon the love

of God

based on

who you

are,

for those

to be

complacent

and foolish.

Instead,

humble yourselves

before God

and repent

of your

sin.

Give

thanks to

God who

in Christ

Jesus has

made a

way for

you to

know God's

love and

mercy.

Seek

Jesus

and you

will live.

I pray

that you

would continue

to seek

God,

St.

Paul,

that you

would not

presume

he ever

arrived

before God,

but you

would continue

to seek

him in

repentance

and in

faith,

for by

doing so

you will

live.

Amen.