AMOS “FAILING THE GREATEST COMMANDS” Mark
Kolbe
INTRODUCTION
Amos 1:1-2 WHO
WAS AMOS
· Amos was a s_______________ from Tekoa in Judah.
· He was a prophet from approximately 760-755 BC, when U____________ was king of the southern kingdom, Judah, and J_______________ was king of the northern kingdom, Israel.
Amos 1:3 - 2:3 AMOS PROPHESIES AGAINST 6 GENTILE NATIONS
The sins of the gentile nations primarily involved offenses against p___________ and p___________.
1. D_______________ was the capital of Aram. They were the main power in the region.
2. G__________ represents the Philistine nation.
3. T_________ was a city in Phoenicia.
4. E_________ was nation of people descended from Esau.
5. A_____________ was a nation of descendants born through Lot and one of his daughters.
6. M___________ was a nation of descendants born through Lot and his other daughter.
· God primarily used the A_____________ to bring judgement against these people.
· Ignorance is not an e___________ for evil behavior. Even though they didn’t have God’s written law, the law was written on t________ h ___________ (Romans 2:12-15).
Amos 2:4 - 2:5 AMOS PROPHESIES AGAINST JUDAH
· The southern kingdom is being judged for evil done over the course of the last __________ years while being led by several b______ and/or evil rulers.
· God also used the Assyrians to conquer all of Judah (except for J______________), around 701 BC.
· The B__________________ then finished the job and destroyed the t____________ in 586 BC, leading the people into c______________ for 70 years.
Amos 2:4 - 9:15 AMOS
PROPHESIES AGAINST ISRAEL
· The northern 10 tribes of Israel were initially led by a man named Jeroboam who had worked for Solomon (1 Kings 11 and 12).
· Jeroboam m______ u_____ his own religion to keep the people devoted to Him (1 Kings 12:28-33).
·
The prophecy Amos unleashes against Israel is
l___________ and more d___________ then the ones above.
Amos 2:6-8 EXAMPLES OF THEIR EVIL
BEHAVIOR
· The rich and powerful were taking advantage of g________, p_________ people, selling them into slavery to receive m_____________ and p____________ in return.
· They also made a m_____________ of their places of worship by wearing the clothing they took off others, and drinking their wine while stretched out on the a________.
· F____________ and s_________ were also having sex with the same woman.
Amos 2:9-12 THE IRONY OF THEIR BEHAVIOR
· God reminds the people what he had done for these people in the past - ending their s____________, giving them the p________________ land, and His w_________.
· But they have even responded by disrespecting His p___________ and p_____________.
· People would rather hear good f_________ news than the t___________.
Amos 2:13-16 THERE WOULD BE NO ESCAPE FROM
WHAT WAS TO COME
· No matter how swift, strong, or fortified you are, if God has declared j_____________ upon you, you will be d______________.
Amos 3:1-10 USING RHETORIC TO MAKE A POINT
· If you are going to rebel and choose s______, then judgement must go along with it - it is the natural, required result.
· Even the c________________ occurring in the world go hand in hand with God’s s____________.
Amos 3:11-15 GOD WILL USE ENEMY NATIONS TO
PUNISH THEM
· God will also use the A____________ to overthrow Israel and lead them into captivity.
· The horns of the altar, once granting individuals a____________ would no longer do so.
Amos 4:1-13 PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL
· The people were proud and s___________, caring only about pleasure and o____________ religiosity. They were going to be led away into b_____________.
· God has used various events like famine, lack of rain, wind, mildew, insects, plague, war to get the people to r___________ to Him, but they would not.
· God has had enough, and now the people will be forced to meet their M_________.
Amos 5:1-25 A DIRGE AGAINST ISRAEL
· Only o_____ in 10 of the men who make up its armies will survive.
· Amos reiterates the c_____________ in the legal and financial systems and their m____________ of the poor.
· The people loved their sin so much that they would come up against anyone who s________ out against their evil.
· Everywhere the people would turn, something b______ would happen.
· Even though the people held f____________ and gatherings, made offerings, and sang s_______, those things were meaningless to God.
· The people felt secure in their a__________ and f__________.
· They put their t________ in their possessions, and focused on living lives of comfort and leisure. Those most guilty of these sins will be at the front of the line of those who are being taken prisoner into exile into Assyria.
· But judgement will come to a_____.
Amos 7:1-17 GOD IS MERCIFUL, BUT USES
PROPHETS TO WARN THE NATIONS
· God is not willing that any should p___________, but His m_________ will not last forever.
· People of this world are being measured against a plumb line, which is the h__________ of God. And by it everyone is shown to be crooked.
· A real prophet is never wrong, and always tells the t__________, even if it is bad news.
· The people resorted to d______________ to cheat the vulnerable.
· Pleasure and bounty are going to give way to mourning and s_____________ from God.
Amos 9:1-15 HIDING, CAPTIVITY, AND RESTORATION
· The A________________ will lead most of them into captivity in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:6).
· God does not totally d__________ Israel or eliminate its people. He makes a p _________ that they’ll be restored to their land.
· This prophecy was p___________ fulfilled about 200 years later after the captives return to Israel and rebuild cities. Some have also returned after the re-establishment of Israel in 1948.
· The prophecy will be fulfilled in the future during the m_____________ kingdom.
· A_____ believers in Christ will also reign with Him during that time.
· Do not introduce extrabiblical ideas into your faith. They will cause you to not love God completely.
· Do not take advantage of other people, especially those less fortunate. Treat everyone humanely.
· Prosperity doesn’t prove God’s favor, and adversity doesn’t prove defeat.
· The events of this world are still leading to fulfillment of God’s prophecies.
· Everyone will receive what they deserve eventually.
· For Christians, the best is yet to come.